Abstract
BackgroundStill, a considerable number of older adults hardly meet the daily physical activity recommendation. The current study examined how the elderly’s attitudinal and perceptional aspects were associated with their Leisure-Time Physical Activity (LTPA) participation in order to provide insight into the physical activity promotion.MethodsStudy used a total sample of 10,700 older adults aged 65+ drawn from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) 2014–2015 in USA. Multiple questionnaire items were employed to assess older adults’ attitudes and outlook across different life domains. LTPA participation was measured using two indicators—walking and sports/exercise. A technique of adjusted multivariate analysis was employed to examine the relationships between predictors and outcome variables.ResultsResults indicated that psychosocial indicators were significantly associated with older adults’ LTPA: self-perception of ageing, self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, spiritual engagement, perceived social tie and neighbourhood safety; while measures of perceived social relations and neighbourhood safety demonstrated different associations with walking and sports/exercise on its intensity.ConclusionsHealth professionals should be well-informed about psychosocial roles, either as facilitators or constraints, in older adults’ physical activity participation. Incorporation of psychosocial intervention into physical activity promotion can help older adults develop positive attitudes and inner strength linked to their health behaviour.
Highlights
Benefits of Leisure-Time Physical Activity (LTPA) in older adulthood are well-documented [1,2,3]
Self-efficacy, positive perception of ageing, and positive social interactions play an important role in helping older adults more engage in health behaviours such as healthy eating and physical activity participation [11, 15,16,17]
The current study examined psychosocial correlates of older adults’ LTPA employing seven psychosocial factors that represent an individual’s cognitive and affective states across different life domains: self-perception of ageing, self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, perceived social relations, spiritual engagement, optimism, and perceived neighbourhood safety
Summary
Benefits of Leisure-Time Physical Activity (LTPA) in older adulthood are well-documented [1,2,3]. Older adults rather desist from their favourite pastime physical activities due to declined physicality and psychological instability [7,8,9] Psychological constraints such as a loss of control, fear of Existent literature shows that optimistic mindset and intrinsic motivation positively contribute to older adults’ daily coping strategies, health improvement, and psychological well-being [12,13,14]. Older adults’ involvement and perceived benefits of physical activities depend on the favourable perception of the neighbourhood environment [18,19,20]. All of this suggests that the relations. The current study examined how the elderly’s attitudinal and perceptional aspects were associated with their Leisure-Time Physical Activity (LTPA) participation in order to provide insight into the physical activity promotion
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