The Influence of Leisure on the Quality of Life of Refugees in Turkey

Abstract

Quality of life (QOL) is of great concern for refugees who experience significant hardship and life changes. Leisure may support refugees' QOL, however, a review of the literature reveals a gap in understanding the influence of leisure availability and participation on the QOL of adult refugees residing in Turkey. This study examined the influence of different dimensions of leisure (i.e. active, passive, and social) on the QOL of refugees (i.e. physical, psychological, social, and environmental) using the WHOQOL-BREF scale. Responses from 203 adult refugees residing in Turkey were analysed using structural equation modelling. Results showed that both leisure availability (& beta; = .80, p < .001) and participation (& beta; = .32, p < .001) strongly influenced QOL. Leisure availability also indirectly and positively influenced QOL through participation (& beta; = .39, p < .001). The calculated R-squared (R2 = .45) showed that variation in leisure availability and participation explains a significant proportion of variation in QOL of refugees who participated in this study. It can be interpreted that improving refugees' perceived and actual access to leisure and facilitating their leisure participation may substantially improve their QOL when coupled with other interventions.