여가 활동 참여와 정신건강 및 생활만족도와의 관계

Abstract

Purpose of this paper was to identify relation of leisure activity with mental health and life satisfaction. Under this purpose, the subjects of the study are housewives who are engaged in some forms of dance activities at present. They were selected by random sampling method. The considerations in selecting the sample were the regions of residence and the kinds of dance they participated in. Out of the randomly sampled subjects in Daejeon and Cheongju, a total of 199 surveys were selected to be reliable materials. The population consists of 126 participants in Korean traditional dancing and 73 participants in the 'life dancing' (aerobic and jazz dancing). The tools used in the study are Stress Scale (Thomas Holms, 1985; Richard, 1989); Geriatric Depression Scale (1988, mainly used at neuropsychiatric clinics), and Life Satisfaction Inventory (Jin Yun, 1982). A survey was conducted by means of self-administration. For data analysis, ANOVA was carried out using the SPSS Ver. 10.0 for Windows. Schette' (.05) was used in the post-test. The result of this analysis is as follows: First, Relations of General Characteristics (age, education, income, health conditions, etc.) of the Women with Their Mental Health and Life Satisfaction - age, education and income don't seem to make a significant difference in their stress and life satisfaction, but they do make a difference in their depression (p<.01). On the other hand, their health conditions contribute to the significant difference in their stress (p<.05), depression (p<.001), and life satisfaction (p<.001). This result indicates that healthy housewives have less stress and depression and more life satisfaction. Second, Comparison of Mental Health and Life Satisfaction Levels in the Women Depending on Their Participation in Dancing Activities (kinds, frequency, time, and experience of the dancing activities) - there is a significant difference in their stress (p<.01) and life satisfaction (p<.05) depending only on the kinds of dancing activity. Specifically, when they participate in Korean traditional dancing, their stress and depression are lower and life satisfaction is higher. Other variables, such as frequency, time, or experience in dancing, don't seem to make a significant difference. This result is consistent with the previous studies suggesting that participation variables have significant effects only when they are comprehensive. Third, Comparison of Life Satisfaction Levels in the Women Depending on Their Mental Health Conditions (stress, depression) - the levels of their life satisfaction are significantly different depending on the degree of stress (p<.01) and depression (p<.001). In conclusion, among all their general characteristics (background variables), age, education, and income make a significant difference only in the degree of depression. Their health conditions significantly contribute to the differences in all the stress, depression and life satisfaction. Among the participation variables, 'kind of dance' seems to have an influence: When they participate in Korean dancing, their stress and depression are significantly alleviated. Especially, Korean traditional dance seems to be an more affective leisure to mental health and life satisfaction.