The purpose of the present study was to investigate how serious leisure and flow contributes to Subjective Well-being (SWB) in the daily lives of older adults. Twenty-two older adults were recruited from a local aging agency in a Midwestern city in the United States. Experience Sampling Method (ESM) was used to collect data on the daily experiences of older adults.

Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) was used to predict levels of SWB from experience variables (i.e., serious leisure, flow) and individual difference variables (e.g., age, gender, retirement). One-way ANOVA, random coefficient, and intercepts and slopes-as-outcomes models were tested. The flow slope showed that there is a negative relationship between flow and SWB (γ = -1.56, p < .05). In the serious leisure-SWB slope, it was found that there was a significantly positive between-person relationship (γ = 1.27, p < .001). The influence of serious leisure on SWB is decreased among those who are retired (γ = -.67, p < .05).

In this study, high levels of commitment to an activity were positively associated with positive affect, which suggests that the SWB of older adults is influenced by serious leisure and flow. The results of this study confirm previous findings that SWB is an important consequence of serious leisure in everyday life (Haworth, 1986; Mannell, 1993). In accordance with previous research, this study confirmed that there is a positive relationship between serious leisure and SWB (γ = 1.27, p < .001).