Exploring Older Adults' Social Influences for Physical Activity

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to use older adults as active agents to identify the different types of social influences for physical activity that may be salient for this population. Fifteen active older adults participated in one of two focus groups discussing who was important for them to be active and what these individuals did that influenced the participants to be active. Results revealed the emergence of four main types of social influence, which included compliance, conformity, modeling, and obedience. Older adults discussed these influences coming from a variety of channels including friends, family, and health care workers. An interesting finding that emerged was that not all influences were associated with all channels. These findings provide initial support for the suggestion that we may need to consider different combinations of type and channel when examining the effects of social influence on the physical activity behaviors of older adults.