The Association Between Serious Leisure and University Students’ Life Satisfaction: Focusing on the Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions

Positive psychological capital (PsyCap) is closely linked to well-being. This study examined the role of serious leisure in fostering PsyCap among Korean university students, drawing on Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory of positive emotion. Using structural equation modeling, we investigated whether serious leisure participation predicts life satisfaction through the sequential mediating effects of positive emotion, positive thought, and PsyCap. A stratified sample of 480 Korean college students completed measures of serious leisure, positive emotion, positive thought, PsyCap, and life satisfaction. The findings revealed significant indirect associations, supporting the applicability of Fredrickson’s broaden-and-build theory in explaining how serious leisure enhances life satisfaction via positive psychological resources. These findings highlight serious leisure as a meaningful pathway to psychological well-being and suggest the value of university-based programs that promote constructive leisure engagement. The key contribution of this study lies in extending the understanding of serious leisure by empirically linking it to PsyCap and life satisfaction in a non-Western context, identifying it as a developmental resource that fosters long-term well-being.