Some Patterns of Participation in Physical Activities among Elderly People

Abstract

The study attempts to explore social patterns of participation in physical acti viities by elderly people. It was hypothesized that both sport involvement during earlier stages of the life cycle and actual partioipation in social life by aged persons perform a socializing role with regard to participation in physical activi ties. Continuity and activity as theoretical perspectives of a successful aging process were reflected in the hypothesis. Data was obtained by interviewing a sample of eighty people between sixty and seventy years of age. It was found that both hypotheses tend to be partially supported. A relation appears to exist between former sport involvement and current participation in physical activi ties among the elderly, but only when participation in general is considered. So cial contact with same age peers showed a relation with actual involvement in physical activities, more specifically with folk games. Recommendations for the development of physical activity programs for the elderly are formulated.