Sociodemographic Determinants of Leisure Participation Among Elderly in Malaysia

Leisure participation has been proven to be beneficial and has a positive link to successful ageing. This study aims to explore
the sociodemographic determinants of leisure participation among the Malaysian elderly. A cross-sectional study was conducted
among persons aged 60 years and above, purposively selected from eight health clinics in the state of Selangor. Leisure participation
was measured using a validated Leisure Participation Questionnaire specific for Malaysian elderly, consisting of 25 activities,
categorized into 4 categories, namely recreational (physical), cognitive, social and productive. Frequency of such participation
was measured on a 6-point scale. Its association with sociodemographic variables was examined using inferential and regression
analysis. 268 participants were involved in this study (response rate = 100%). The most common daily leisure activities were
having conversations while relaxing (78.7%), watching television (74.6%) and reading (63.4%). The least frequently done leisure
activities were from the recreational and cognitive categories. The activities were weakly correlated to each other, reflecting
the lack of diversity of leisure activities among respondents. Education was the main predictor for leisure participation
among elderly, with higher educational level is associated with high RAS (B = 1.020, P < 0.05), CAS (B = 1.580, P < 0.05) and SAS (B = 1.276, P < 0.05). Education level, marital status and locality were important determinants of leisure participation among elderly,
with education being the main predictor. Further studies exploring the effective method of educating the ageing society are
recommended.