Participation in campus recreation sport, satisfaction with life and leisure boredom of undergraduate students

Abstract

Students experience leisure boredom due to certain constraints. This may lead to some of them dropping out of university before completing their degree. The numbers clearly indicate that resources and campus recreational sport (CRS) programmes are not being used optimally. If students are prevented from participating in activities or their social needs are not met, feelings of unhappiness and low self-confidence arise. This results in leisure boredom and dissatisfaction with life. Leisure boredom can be reduced by increased participation in CRS. The various benefits of participation in CRS – for example increased physical and social health, reduced stress levels, increased academic performance, new leisure skills – lead to feelings of wellbeing and less leisure boredom. The purpose of this study was to determine the participation patterns in CRS and correlations between frequency of participation in CRS, leisure boredom, and satisfaction with life of undergraduate students of the North-West University (NWU). This research formed part of a more extensive study, Recreational sport participation and its associated benefits among students at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University. A once-off cross-sectional design with a quantitative approach was used. Male (48%) and female (52%) full-time registered undergraduate students (n=581) from the NWU, Potchefstroom Campus, completed the online survey on SurveyMonkey®. After giving informed consent, access to the research questionnaire was granted. The questionnaire contained both open- and close-ended questions. The questions related to demographic information, frequency of participation, format of participation, satisfaction with life and leisure boredom. Activities identified in the survey were grouped into six different sport codes (main, additional, group, outdoor, dance, and exercise). The self-determination theory continuum was used to understand and analyse frequency of participation in CRS. Statistical analysis comprised of mean scores, standard deviations and frequencies. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationships between different variables. Results showed both genders are active in participating in similar CRS activities, such as general exercise, road running, jogging, and field hockey. Students participate more with their friends, although general exercise, road running, and jogging are primarily participated in independently. No statistically significant differences were found between gender, race and accommodation types and their satisfaction with life. However, medium to large practical significant differences were found between other/coloured (d=0.9) and coloured/white (d=0.7) and other students and African students (d=0.6). Results regarding leisure boredom showed no

statistically significant differences for race groups (p=0.000). Statistically significant differences (p=0.017) for leisure boredom in the total sample regarding all three accommodation types were found. Furthermore, a statistically significant small negative relationship was found between satisfaction with life and leisure boredom (r=-.170, p=0.000) with positive significance with the total frequency of participation. Therefore, as satisfaction with life increases, their leisure boredom will decrease due to more frequent participation in CRS. It is recommended that CRS programmes are presented in such a way that it caters for students’ needs in terms of activities and the format they want to participate in. This should lead to a decrease in the number of students dropping out of university.