Exploring the Influence of Family Holiday Travel on the Subjective Well-being of Chinese Adolescents

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to explore the influence of family holiday travel on the subjective well-being (SWB) of Chinese adolescents. Surveys were distributed at two public middle schools in the urban area of a large city located in the eastern part of Mainland China. Participants were middle school students aged between 12 and 15 years (grades 7–9). By using Labor Day in China as an experimental context, this study applied a longitudinal research design. Findings suggest that family holiday travel influences the global life satisfaction; contentment with school, self and leisure life; positive and negative affects of adolescents. In particular, there is a short-term lift-up effect of family holiday travel on the SWB of adolescent travelers. However, the results suggest that the benefits of family holiday travel in terms of SWB diminish when adolescent students return to school. Moreover, students who travel with their families during holidays have significantly higher post-holiday SWB than their non-traveling counterparts. The current study advances our knowledge on the influence of family travel on the SWB of adolescents. Recommendations for parents, schools, and the government were put forward.

摘要

本研究旨在探索家庭旅游对中国青少年主观幸福感的影响。研究对象为年龄介于12至15岁的初中学生。以劳动节小长假为实证研究的背景，本研究采用了纵向研究的设计方法，调查问卷于中国大陆东部地区某大城市的两所中学进行发放。研究发现家庭旅游能够提升青少年的整体生活满意度。此外，家庭旅游对于青少年的自我认可，对学校生活和休闲生活的满意度，以及对积极和消极情绪存在显著影响。具体来说，家庭旅游能够在短期内提高青少年旅游者的主观幸福感。然而，家庭旅游对于青少年主观幸福感的积极影响在青少年返校后有所削减。在假期中，和家人旅行的青少年相比没有旅行的青少年其主观幸福感显著较高。此研究对于加深理解家庭旅游和青少年主观幸福感的关系有一定贡献，文末分别针对家长、学校以及休假制度的完善提出了相关建议。

KEYWORDS:

• Benefits of travel
• adolescents
• family holiday
• family travel
• subjective well-being

关键词:

• 旅游的利益
• 青少年
• 公共假期
• 家庭旅游
• 主观幸福感

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mingjie Gao

Mingjie Gao is a PhD candidate of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo. Her research interests include family vacations, travel and health, and coastal governance. E-mail: [email protected]

Mark E. Havitz

Mark E. Havitz is a professor of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo. His teaching and research interests focus on consumer behavior, marketing, finance, and management. His research applies this subject matter most often to public sector and nonprofit sector delivery systems which provide special challenges related to social and environmental issues, equity, and unresponsive markets. E-mail: [email protected]

Luke R. Potwarka

Luke R. Potwarka is an assistant professor of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on consumer behavior related to sport events. It addresses the overarching question: under what conditions do sport events have positive impacts for individuals and organizations in host communities? His research draws from diverse disciplinary perspectives (e.g., social psychology, geography) and methodological approaches. The knowledge generated from his work is aimed to improve event management practices in ways that maximize participation and economic-related impacts that can result from hosting elite-sport events. E-mail: [email protected]