The Influence of Intrinsic Motivation and Free Time Management on Leisure Boredom among University Students
Main Article Content
Abstract
Leisure boredom is a significant concern among university students, as flexible class schedules may increase its prevalence. Leisure boredom has been linked to negative mental health outcomes and engagement in risky behaviors. Prior research suggests that intrinsic motivation and effective free time management can reduce leisure boredom. However, cultural differences necessitate caution when generalizing these findings to the Indonesian context. This study investigates the influence of intrinsic motivation and free time management on leisure boredom among Indonesian university students. A quantitative research design was employed, utilizing an online survey administered to 157 active university students recruited through social media. Translated and modified LBS, IMI, and FTMS were used as measurement tool. Multiple regression analysis was conducted using Jamovi software. The results indicate that (1) intrinsic motivation and free time management, when considered together, do not significantly predict leisure boredom (R² = 0.242, p < .001), (2) intrinsic motivation independently has a significant effect on leisure boredom (β = -0.518, p < .001), and (3) free time management does not exert a significant influence (β = 0.015, p = .887). These findings underscore the critical role of intrinsic motivation in alleviating leisure boredom among Indonesian university students. Author proposed universities to provide opportunities for students to develop awareness of leisure activities, leisure boredom, and coping strategies by creating leisure specific programs.
Article Details

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Barnett, L. A., & Klitzing, S. W. (2006). Boredom in free time: Relationships with personality, affect, and motivation for different gender, racial and ethnic student groups. Leisure Sciences, 28(3), 223–244. doi: 10.1080/01490400600598053
Beaton, D. E., Bombardier, C., Guillemin, F., & Ferraz, M. B. (2000). Guidelines for the Process of Cross-Cultural Adaptation of Self-Report Measures. SPINE, 25(24), 3186–3191.
Buehler, R., Griffin, D., & Peetz, J. (2010). The Planning Fallacy. Cognitive, Motivational, and Social Origins. In Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 43, Issue C, pp. 1–62). Academic Press Inc. doi: 10.1016/S0065-2601(10)43001-4
Buehler, R., Griffin, D., & Ross, M. (1994). Exploring the “Planning Fallacy”: Why People Underestimate Their Task Completion Times. In Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 67, Issue 3).
Çakır, V. O. (2019). The relationship between leisure time management and perceptions of boredom. World Journal of Education, 9(3), 38. doi: 10.5430/wje.v9n3p38
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268.
Dursun, M., Emre Yarayan, Y., Arı, Ç., Ulun, C., & Kocamaz Adaş, S. (2021). Covid-19 in Turkey: Leisure boredom, psychological resilience, physical activity and emotional state. International Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, 2021(15), 460–486. doi: 10.46661/ijeri.5588
Finkielsztein, M. (2021). Boredom and Academic Work. In Routledge Advances in Sociology. Routledge. https://www.routledge.
Finkielsztein, M. (2022). The Significance of Boredom: A Literature Review. Journal of Boredom Studies Issue, 1, 1–33. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.7144313
Floros, G. D., Glynatsis, M. N., & Mylona, I. (2024). No End in Sight; Assessing the Impact of Internet Gaming Disorder on Digital Eye Strain Symptoms and Academic Success. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 14(3), 531–539. doi: 10.3390/ejihpe14030035
Foen Ng, S., Syamimi Iliani Che Hassan, N., Hairunnisa Mohammad Nor, N., & Ain Abdul Malek, N. (2013). The Relationship Between Smartphone Use and Academic Performance: A Case of Students in a Malaysian Tertiary Institution. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology, 5(4). www.mojet.net
Hagger, M. S., Rentzelas, P., & Chatzisarantis, N. L. D. (2014). Effects of individualist and collectivist group norms and choice on intrinsic motivation. Motivation and Emotion, 38(2), 215–223. doi: 10.1007/s11031-013-9373-2
Hall, E. T. (1959). The Silent Language. Doubleday & Company.
Haller, M., Hadler, M., & Kaup, G. (2013). Leisure Time in Modern Societies: A New Source of Boredom and Stress? Social Indicators Research, 111(2), 403–434. doi: 10.1007/s11205-012-0023-y
Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1). doi: 10.9707/2307-0919.1014
Iso-Ahola, S. E., & Weissinger, E. (1990). Perceptions of boredom in leisure conceptualization, reliability and validity. Journal of Leisure Research, 22(1), 1–17.
Javaeed, A., Jeelani, R., Gulab, S., & Ghauri, S. K. (2020). Relationship between internet addiction and academic performance of undergraduate medical students of Azad Kashmir. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 36(2), 229–233. doi: 10.12669/pjms.36.2.1061
Kara, F. M. (2019). Internet addiction: Relationship with perceived freedom in leisure, perception of boredom and sensation seeking. Higher Education Studies, 9(2), 131–140. doi: 10.5539/hes.v9n2p131
Kil, N., Kim, J., Park, J., & Lee, C. (2021). Leisure boredom, leisure challenge, smartphone use, and emotional distress among U.S. college students: are they interrelated? Leisure Studies, 40(6), 779–doi: 10.1080/02614367.2021.1931414
Kosasih, A. V. N. A., Sarbini, S., & Mulyana, A. (2021). Leisure boredom dan religiusitas: Pengaruhnya terhadap kecenderungan adiksi internet. Psympathic : Jurnal Ilmiah Psikologi, 8(1), 47–56. doi: 10.15575/psy.v8i1.12352
Kuo, Y. K., Wang, J. H., Kuo, T. H., & Ho, L. A. (2021). Leisure Satisfaction Influences Learning Performance Among Community College Students. SAGE Open, 11(4). doi: 10.1177/21582440211067238
Layland, E. K., Ram, N., Caldwell, L. L., Smith, E. A., & Wegner, L. (2021). Leisure boredom, timing of sexual debut, and co-occurring behaviors among South African adolescents. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 50(6), 2383–2394. doi: 10.1007/s10508-021-02014-8
Leung, L. (2015). Using tablet in solitude for stress reduction: An examination of desire for aloneness, leisure boredom, tablet activities, and location of use. Computers in Human Behavior, 48, 382–391. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2015.01.068
Leung, L., & Zhang, R. (2016). Predicting tablet use: A study of gratifications-sought, leisure boredom, and multitasking. Telematics and Informatics, 33(2), 331–341. doi: 10.1016/j.tele.2015.08.013
Miller, J. A., Caldwell, L. L., Weybright, E. H., Smith, E. A., Vergnani, T., & Wegner, L. (2014). Was Bob Seger right? Relation between boredom in leisure and [Risky] sex. Leisure Sciences, 36(1), 52–67. doi: 10.1080/01490400.2014.860789
Putri, W. D., & Rusli, D. (2021). Pengaruh leisure boredom terhadap phubbing pada remaja di Kota Padang. Jurnal Riset Psikologi, 2. doi: 10.24036/jrp.v2021i2.11461
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68–78.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2020). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from a self-determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practices, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61. doi: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101860
Ryan, R. M., Deci, E. L., Cerasoli, S., & Lemos, K. (n.d.). Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) Scale Description. Retrieved January 10, 2024, from https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/intrinsic-motivation-inventory/
Sakız, H., & Aftab, R. (2019). Academic achievement and its relationships with psychological resilience and socio-demographic characteristics. International Journal of School and Educational Psychology, 7(4), 263–273. doi: 10.1080/21683603.2018.1446372
Satılmış, S. E., Cengiz, R., & Güngörmüş, H. A. (2023). The Relationship between University Students’ Perception of Boredom in Leisure Time and Internet Addiction during Social Isolation Process. Bağımlılık Dergisi, 24(2), 164–173. doi: 10.51982/bagimli.1137559
Serdar, E., Demirel, M., & Harmandar Demirel, D. (2022). The relationship between the leisure boredom, leisure satisfaction, and smartphone addiction: A study on university students. International Journal of Technology in Education, 5(1), 30–42. doi: 10.46328/ijte.235
Spaeth, M., Weichold, K., & Silbereisen, R. K. (2015). The development of leisure boredom in early adolescence: Predictors and longitudinal associations with delinquency and depression. Developmental Psychology, 51(10), 1380–1394. doi: 10.1037/a0039480
Spruyt, B., Vandenbossche, L., Keppens, G., Siongers, J., & Van Droogenbroeck, F. (2018). Social Differences in Leisure Boredom and its Consequences for Life Satisfaction Among Young People. Child Indicators Research, 11(1), 225–243. doi: 10.1007/s12187-016-9430-y
Steckler, A., & McLeroy, K. R. (2008). The importance of external validity. In American Journal of Public Health, 98(1), 9-10. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.126847
Tan, W. K., & Lu, K. J. (2019). Smartphone use at tourist destinations: Interaction with social loneliness, aesthetic scope, leisure boredom, and trip satisfaction. Telematics and Informatics, 39, 64–74. doi: 10.1016/j.tele.2019.01.004
Temel, A. S., & Tükel, Y. (2022). Investigation of College Students’ Perception of Boredom and Loneliness Level in Leisure Time Activities during Covid-19. Pakistan Journal of Medical and Health Sciences, 16(2), 474–481. doi: 10.53350/pjmhs22162474
Veal, A. J. (1992). School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism Definitions of Leisure and Recreation. In Australian Journal of Leisure and Recreation (Vol. 2, Issue 4). www.business.uts.edu.au/lst/research
Wang, W. C. (2019). Exploring the relationship among free-time management, leisure boredom, and internet addiction in undergraduates in Taiwan. Psychological Reports, 122(5), 1651–1665. doi: 10.1177/0033294118789034
Wang, W. C., Kao, C. H., Huan, T. C., & Wu, C. C. (2011). Free Time Management Contributes to Better Quality of Life: A Study of Undergraduate Students in Taiwan. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(4), 561–573. doi: 10.1007/s10902-010-9217-7
Wazkia, H., & Yanna Primanita, R. (2023). Pengaruh Leisure Boredom Terhadap Phubbing Pada Mahasiswa Universitas Negeri Padang. INNOVATIVE: Journal Of Social Science Research, 3(4), 4689–4698.
Wegner, L. (2011). Through the lens of a peer: Understanding leisure boredom and risk behaviour in adolescence. Journal of Occupational Theerapy, 41(1), 18–24.
Weissinger, E., Caldwell, L. L., & Bandalos, D. L. (1992). Relation between intrinsic motivation and boredom in leisure time. Leisure Sciences, 14(4), 317–325. doi: 10.1080/01490409209513177
Weybright, E. H., Caldwell, L. L., Ram, N., Smith, E. A., & Wegner, L. (2015). Boredom prone or nothing to do? Distinguishing between state and trait leisure boredom and its association with substance use in South African adolescents. Leisure Sciences, 37(4), 311–331. doi: 10.1080/01490400.2015.1014530
Wu-Ouyang, B. (2022). Are smartphones addictive? Examining the cognitive-behavior model of motivation, leisure boredom, extended self, and fear of missing out on possible smartphone addiction. Telematics and Informatics, 71. doi: 10.1016/j.tele.2022.101834
Wu-Ouyang, B. (2023). More mobile connectedness, less wellbeing? Examining how multiplatform mobile connectedness affect negative wellbeing through FoMO and leisure boredom. Journal of Media Psychology, 35(5), 291–302. doi: 10.1027/1864-1105/a000388
Yu, L., Daniel, D. T., & Zhu, X. (2018). The influence of personal well-being on learning achievement in university students over time: Mediating or moderating effects of internal and external university engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(JAN). doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02287
Yusoff, M. S. B. (2019). ABC of Content Validation and Content Validity Index Calculation. Education in Medicine Journal, 11(2), 49–54. doi: 10.21315/eimj2019.11.2.6
Yuwono, M. R., & Virlia, S. (2022). Leisure boredom affects gaming disorder on emerging adult smartphone users. ANIMA Indonesian Psychological Journal, 37(1), 1–18. doi: 10.24123/aipj.v37i1.2324
Zhang, J., Peng, C., & Chen, C. (2024). Mental health and academic performance of college students: Knowledge in the field of mental health, self-control, and learning in college. Acta Psychologica, 248. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104351

