Cultural Consonance Mediates the Effects of Leisure Constraints on Leisure Satisfaction: A Reconceptualization and Replication

Satisfaction with leisure contributes to life satisfaction, marital satisfaction, health, and overall wellbeing. It is not clear, however, how individuals develop expectations for satisfaction with their leisure experiences. In this study, we propose a cultural basis for leisure expectations. In particular, we model cultural consonance in leisure, the degree to which individuals, in their own behavior, match cultural conventions for appropriate or favored leisure, as a mediator between leisure constraints and leisure satisfaction based on data from urban, suburban, and rural Taiwan. We then apply the same model to data previously gathered in Mainland China and Taiwan. Results indicate that the new model fits all three data sets well and that, under most conditions, cultural consonance mediates the relationship between leisure constraints and leisure satisfaction.