Flow Experiences in Recreational Doubles Pickleball Among Adults 60 Years and Older

This study investigates flow experience, a state of total immersion and optimal experience conceptualized by Csikszentmihalyi in 1990, in adults aged 60 years and older while playing recreational doubles pickleball. It compares their flow experiences to those in other activities (yoga, sports, exercise, and physical activity) and begins to identify demographic and player characteristics linked to flow.

A convenience online sample of 213 participants (105 men, 107 women, one nonresponse), with demographic characteristics broadly similar to the target population, completed the Long Dispositional Flow Scale-Physical to measure player flow across nine subdimensions and answered five demographic and five player characteristic questions. Comparative analyses utilized aggregate data from The Flow Manual. Statistical analyses were employed to evaluate the results, conduct comparisons, and identify significant variables influencing the flow experience.

Participants reported high Total Flow and engagement in all nine flow subdimensions: Challenge/Skill Balance, Merging of Action and Awareness, Clear Goals, Unambiguous Feedback, Total Concentration, Sense of Control, Loss of Self-Consciousness, Time Transformation, and Autotelic Experience. Pickleball players exhibited significantly higher Total Flow and specific subdimension scores than other activities. Days Played per Week positively correlated with Total Flow. Years of Play and Tournament Participation showed small positive correlations with Challenge/Skill Balance, Sense of Control, and Merging of Action and Awareness. Gender, Age, Education, and Location were unrelated to flow.

Older adults playing pickleball experience robust flow states, surpassing other activities.