The Relationship of Recreational Participation with Sustainable Lifestyle, Happiness and Psychological Resilience

Abstract The aim of this study is to examine the relationships among happiness, psychological resilience, and a healthy, sustainable lifestyle, and to test the mediating and moderating roles of psychological resilience in these relationships. Grounded in Positive Psychology and the Subjective Well-Being model, the study evaluates how individuals’ internal psychological resources shape lifestyle choices within a holistic framework. Using a quantitative research design, data were collected from 462 participants (211 women, 251 men) with the Healthy and Sustainable Lifestyle Scale, Happiness Scale, and the Psychological Resilience Scale. The findings indicate that happiness significantly predicts psychological resilience, and that resilience exerts both direct and indirect effects on a healthy, sustainable lifestyle. The mediating role of resilience in the association between happiness and a healthy, sustainable lifestyle was tested using Hayes’s PROCESS Macro (Model 4), and bootstrap resampling revealed a significant indirect effect. Simple slopes analyses further showed that resilience moderates this relationship, such that the impact of happiness on lifestyle is stronger among individuals with higher resilience. Overall, the results suggest that positive psychological characteristics shape not only emotional well-being but also behavioral and sustainable lifestyle choices. The findings imply that recreational and psychoeducational interventions aimed at strengthening resilience may play a critical role in promoting healthy lifestyle practices, offering theoretical and practical contributions to the literatures on positive psychology and healthy living.