休閒運動參與的好處對個人之憂鬱的影響情形目前尚未很清楚，因此本研究試圖去驗證休閒運動參與、運動自信心及憂鬱等三個變項之間關係。在本研究中休閒運動參與為自變項，憂鬱為依變項，運動自信心為中介變項。受試者400位老人（年齡大於65歲以上）是來自嘉義市居民，本研究使用問卷調查，問卷包括休閒運動參與量表、運動自信心量表及憂鬱量表。315位老人有效回答問卷，有效回收率70%。經結構方程模式分析結果指出：（一）老人的休閒運動參與會顯著影響運動自信心，但不會顯著影響憂鬱。（二）運動自信心會顯著影響憂鬱。此運動自信心為中介變項的假設是被支持的有效模式。在結論方面本研究建議未來可針對老人群體提供一些適合的休閒運動方案是值得進一步探討。

Purpose: Since the mechanism of the benefits of recreation sport participation among depressed individuals is not yet clearly understood, this study attempted to verify relationships among recreational sport participation, sport confidence and depression. Methods: In this study, depression was identified as a dependent variable, recreational sport participation was identified as an independent variable and sport confidence was identified as a mediate variable. Four hundred clinically depressed senior citizens (> 65 years in age) from Chiayi City completed a survey. The questionnaire, which included three components: A recreational sport participation scale, a sport-confidence scale and a depression scale, was distributed based on the quota sampling method. Three hundred and fifteen valid responses were returned, which yielded a 70% rate of return. Results: The results of the structural equation modeling analysis indicated: (1) the participants' recreational sport participation significantly affected their sport confidence, but not their depression levels, and (2) sport confidence indeed affected depression. Thus, the hypothesis that sport confidence is an intermediated variable in the proposed model was validated. Conclusion: In the conclusion, recommendations were provided to promote and implement recreational sport activities among the elderly population; the direction of future studies was also discussed.