Leisure patterns and happiness among Chinese older adults: the moderating effect of age

Introduction: As life expectancy rises, leisure activities play a more important role in happiness among older adults. This study aims to identify leisure patterns among Chinese older adults and their relationship with happiness. Further, the changes in the effect of leisure patterns on happiness by age were examined. Methods: This study used data from the 2018 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS). We employed a latent profile analysis to clarify leisure patterns of Chinese older adults and hierarchical ordered logistic regression to analyze the relationship between leisure patterns and happiness, as well as the moderating role of age. Results: First, latent profile analysis identified four leisure patterns: Low Overall Leisure, Exercise-Centered Leisure, Network-Centered Leisure, and High Overall Leisure. Second, the Low Overall Leisure and Network-Centered Leisure groups were associated with lower happiness compared to the High Overall Leisure group. Finally, as age increased, the Low Overall Leisure and the Exercise-Centered leisure groups were progressively associated with higher happiness. Conclusion: We suggest that when designing leisure activity programs for older adults, full consideration should be given to the leisure needs of different age groups, and programs should be tailored to promote the happiness of the elderly.