Non-leisure Activities Research Articles

Routine activities and fraud re-victimization among older adults: Do types of routine activities matter?

Previous studies have established a link between prior victimization and subsequent victimization, although research in the context of fraud victimization, particularly among older adults, remains limited. To address this research gap, this study examines data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, a national survey of older Chinese adults, to explore the occurrence of re-victimization in fraud and the influence of routine activities on re-victimization. The findings of this study are threefold. First, a higher number of previous fraud victimizations significantly increases the likelihood of experiencing subsequent fraud exposure and loss. Second, the diversity and frequency of routine activities have a significant impact on fraud exposure and mitigate the effect of prior victimization on subsequent fraud loss. Third, both leisure and non-leisure routine activities contribute positively to fraud exposure, but the moderating effect is observed only in the case of leisure activities, instead of non-leisure activities. This research underscores the importance of considering the relationship between previous victimization and subsequent victimization in the context of fraud, specifically among older adults. These findings contribute to the understanding of re-victimization dynamics and offer insights for developing targeted prevention strategies to reduce fraud victimization among older adults.

Associations Between Type and Timing of Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior With Mental Health in Adolescents and Young Adults.

This cross-sectional study analyzed the association of leisure-time physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB), nonleisure PA and SB, and total PA and SB in different time segments of the day with mental health among Dutch adolescents and young adults. A total of 881 participants aged 16-25years completed an online survey. Mental health was assessed using the Mental Health Inventory-5, and participants also reported sex, age, and income. They filled out a questionnaire of types of PA and SB for each hour of the day. Activities were categorized into nonleisure and leisure, during the morning, afternoon, evening, and for the whole day. Participants (52.8% female, on average 20.8y) generally engaged in more leisure-time PA and SB during weekends compared with weekdays, and more nonleisure activities on weekdays. Associations varied between time segments and days of the week. Positive associations of leisure-time and total PA during the whole day and evenings with mental health were observed on weekdays. Total, leisure-time, and nonleisure-time SB were associated with worse mental health. Nonleisure PA was not associated with mental health. Leisure-time PA was found to have a favorable association with mental health, particularly in the evenings of weekdays and afternoons of weekend days. On the other hand, leisure SB was associated with poorer mental health in most of the time segments analyzed, and nonleisure SB in the evenings was also related to worse mental health. The type and timing of PA and SB behaviors play an important role in the relationship with mental health.

Association of Physical Activity with Retinal Thickness and Vascular Structure in Elderly Chinese Population

Introduction: We aimed to assess the association of physical activity (PA) with retinal thickness and vascular structure in an elderly Chinese population. Methods: This study enrolled 220 retirees aged 50 years and above from Tianjin University of Sport, China. PA data gathered through the International Physical Activity Questionnaires were computed for metabolic equivalent of task-minutes per week. All participants underwent full ophthalmic examination including optical coherence tomography angiography. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the association of PA with retinal thickness and vascular structure. Results: A high amount of total PA was associated with smaller size of foveal avascular zone (FAZ) (high vs. low: area, β = −0.04; circumference β = −0.14) and greater central vessel density (VD) (β = 1.04) and perfusion density (PD) (β = 0.02). For domain-specific PA, participants with high and moderate recreational PA levels were found to have greater central VDs and PDs. Nonleisure activities demonstrated negative relationship with FAZ perimeter ratio (moderate vs. low: β = −0.08; high vs. low: β = −0.13) and, counter-intuitively, negative relation with VDs measured at the inner (high vs. low: β = −0.98) and outer retinal layers (high vs. low: β = −0.38). Additionally, higher levels of total PA were related to increased macular fovea thickness and average thickness of retinal nerve fiber layer. Conclusions: High PA level, particularly recreational PA, was associated with smaller FAZ and greater VD and PD in senior adults. Nonleisure-time PA might not confer the same health benefits as leisure-time PA. Our data support a possible protective role of recreational PA in the retina against microvascular changes.

A Comparative Time-Diary Analysis of UK and US Children’s Screen Time and Device Use

This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of the time school-age children 8-17 years in the UK and the US spent using devices such as smartphones and tablets, and their time in screen-based activities such as watching TV and playing videogames in 2014-15. The paper draws on innovative instruments measuring children’s time using technology and engaging with screens in these two countries. We find that in both, children’s time using devices overlaps with time in screen-based activities, non-screen leisure, and non-leisure activities. Children in the UK spend more time using devices than children in the US, but family size and the availability of an internet connection at home largely explain major cross-national differences. Children in the US spend less time using computers than children in the UK, and, on non-school days, more time watching TV and playing videogames. These differences remain significant after controlling for a range of child, parent and family-level characteristics. Divergent cross-national patterns for children’s time using relatively new devices and their time in more established screen-based activities are linked to differences in family composition and to differential access.

Glucose tolerance: hypothesis testing on Malaysian diabetic community.

Our study objective was to evaluate glucose tolerance and effecting factors among diabetes patients' with home care program (PHCP) in Malaysian community. A 24-week longitudinal quasi-experimental -single blind - pre/post-test study design was used to assess the effectiveness of a diabetes education program to enhance self-care practices. An attrition rate of 25% implied longitudinal design of the study in the calculation of sample size. Hence the sample size of the study was 106 subjects (53 cases and 53 focus group). The level of significance was set at 0.05. Ethical clearance had been made prior to conducting this study. Of the 109 subjects who met the study-entry criteria, 3 subjects declined to participate due to lack of time and interest. No significant parameters were revealed in the demographic and clinical characteristics of participants who completed the study. Focus group showed significant reduction in HbA1c value with mean 1.1% as compared to cases with a mean 0.06%. Similarly, hypothesis on self-care management suggest significantly improved practices among focus group [M=2.94, SD=2.25] for case group M=0.47, SD=1.36; t[127.64]=-8.23, p≤0.001] with moderate effect size [eta squared=0.06]. Total physical activity was defined as the combination of non-leisure and leisure activities. There was a statistically significant difference for increase in total physical levels between the focus [M=14.01, SD=6.41] and case groups [13.21, SD=5.22; t[148.04]=-3.15, p=0.002] with no difference in the non-leisure activity [p=0.43]. As for the case group, there was no significant difference in SMBG practices from baseline [M=0.70, SD=1.35] to follow-up [M=0.47, SD=1.36, t[72]=0.97, P=0.34] and no relationship was found between the number of blood glucose tests done with demographic or clinical variables. This study offered improved self-care practices and physical activity after PHCP but with problematic dietary care. This might be due to social and cultural habits among Malaysian population.

I20 The Impact Of Lifestyle On The Onset Of Huntington Disease

<h3>Background</h3> A study of pre-morbid lifestyle in 154 individuals in Australasia published in 2010 made two findings. Firstly, a passive lifestyle can be a preclinical expression of HD. Secondly, and more importantly, the higher levels of lifestyle passivity associated with those showing an earlier age at onset (AO) is in part independent of the HD mutation, suggesting that overcoming the tendency to be passive may delay onset. <h3>Aims</h3> To undertake a replication study in a European cohort through EHDN. <h3>Methods</h3> The Australian questionnaire was modified to reflect cultural differences and translated into Czech, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish and Swedish. Trained interviewers in 30 centres gathered data from 194 individuals with early symptomatic HD to ascertain pre-morbid lifestyle, including participation in leisure and non-leisure activities (education, occupation and domestic duties). Activities were classified as physical, intellectual or passive, and scores were generated under the categories leisure, non-leisure and total lifestyle, and data were matched with the individual’s AO and HTT CAG repeat length. <h3>Results</h3> The mean AO was 44.4 years (range 16–71) There were strong inverse correlations between AO and both CAG repeat length (r=-0.68, p &lt; 0.001) and a lifestyle that includes higher levels of passive activity (r = -0.22, p &lt; 0.001), though not with higher levels of intellectual or physical activity. CAG repeat length and average pre-morbid lifestyle passivity were also strongly associated (r= + 0.32, p &lt; 0.001). Details of the breakdown into leisure and non-leisure aspects of lifestyle and into activity data for various life stages (teens, 20s/30s and 40s/50s) will be presented. <h3>Conclusions</h3> The data support the contention that passivity can be a pre-clinical manifestation of disease and that there may be a considerable impact of lifestyle on the age of onset.

International Students’ Experience of Studying and Working at a Northeastern Public University in the US

This study explores international students’ experiences with studying and working at a North Eastern public university. Through phenomenological research approach that utilized face-to-face interview and photo-elicitation techniques, the personal experiences of twenty international students were captured. The findings of this study indicated that these students benefited from the responsibilities that resulted from their dual role as both students and employees in many ways. However, they also suffered from emotional and physical stress which resulted in tiredness, lack of sleep, role conflict, homesickness and frustration. Interestingly, these students effectively employed different coping mechanisms including finding social support, and participating in leisure and nonleisure activities to off-set the negative effects of studying and working concurrently.

Conceptual Domains Included in Wellbeing and Life Satisfaction Instruments: A Review

Wellbeing and life satisfaction instruments are increasingly used in health outcome research, and by health professionals. Despite their usefulness, the absence of an agreed on conceptual definition of wellbeing, and corresponding inconsistencies in operationalization, makes it difficult for researchers to operationalize the concept, and for health professionals to determine which instruments are most suitable for use. Therefore the aim of the study was to identify and define conceptual domains included in wellbeing, and life satisfaction instruments and delineate their operationalization. Using the Health and Psychosocial Instruments database (HaPI), a search for wellbeing and life satisfaction instruments was conducted for all available years using the key words of wellbeing, wellness, life satisfaction, and personal satisfaction. Measurement instruments were critically reviewed using five coding guides. Next, three raters content-analyzed the 680 items in the instruments and identified 15 conceptual domains. Finally, five other raters separately coded items into the 15 domains with a .83 coefficient of agreement. Twenty-six of the 250 instruments met inclusion criteria. The documents revealed moderate or high reliability and validity for the instruments. Items from the emotional health, physical health, social health, and non-leisure activities domains were most commonly included in the instruments. These domains were included in 73, 69, 65, and 65 % of all instruments respectively. No instrument included items from all 15 domains; the largest number included was 12 in two instruments. Despite the need for a comprehensive wellbeing instrument for research, and clinical applications, most wellbeing and life satisfaction instruments include only a few domains.

Time, gender and carbon: A study of the carbon implications of British adults' use of time

In order to meet the UK's challenging greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets, behaviour change will be necessary in addition to changes in technology. Traditionally this has been approached from the angle of shifting the goods people purchase towards lower impact options. But an equally valid angle is through changing the way people use their time. This study explores the GHG emissions per unit time for different types of activities. It focuses on ‘non-work’ time, and examines how different activities, such as household chores and leisure pursuits, give rise to varying amounts of household carbon emissions. We do this first for an average British adult, and then examine how time use varies within households, and how this impacts on resulting carbon emissions. We find, for example, that leisure activities are generally associated with lower carbon emissions than non-leisure activities, and that a higher proportion of an average man's carbon footprint is due to leisure than an average woman's. In the discussion we explore the implications of our findings for the varying roles carried out within different types of household, we investigate the concept of carbon as a potential marker for social justice, and discuss the implications for work-time reduction policies.

Hours spent and energy expended in physical activity domains: Results from The Tomorrow Project cohort in Alberta, Canada

BackgroundKnowledge of adult activity patterns across domains of physical activity is essential for the planning of population-based strategies that will increase overall energy expenditure and reduce the risk of obesity and related chronic diseases. We describe domain-specific hours of activity and energy expended among participants in a prospective cohort in Alberta, Canada.MethodsThe Past Year Total Physical Activity Questionnaire was completed by 15,591 Tomorrow Project® participants, between 2001 and 2005 detailing physical activity type, duration, frequency and intensity. Domain-specific hours of activity and activity-related energy expenditure, expressed as a percent of total energy expenditure (TEE) (Mean (SD); Median (IQR)) are reported across inactive (<1.4), low active (1.4 to 1.59), active (1.6 to 1.89) and very active (≥ 1.9) Physical Activity Level (PAL = TEE:REE) categories.ResultsIn very active women and amongst all men except those classified as inactive, activity-related energy expenditure comprised primarily occupational activity. Amongst inactive men and women in active, low active and inactive groups, activity-related energy expenditure from household activity was comparable to, or exceeded that for occupational activity. Leisure-time activity-related energy expenditure decreased with decreasing PAL categories; however, even amongst the most active men and women it accounted for less than 10 percent of TEE. When stratified by employment status, leisure-time activity-related energy expenditure was greatest for retired men [mean (SD): 10.8 (8.5) percent of TEE], compared with those who were fully employed, employed part-time or not employed. Transportation-related activity was negligible across all categories of PAL and employment status.ConclusionFor the inactive portion of this population, active non-leisure activities, specifically in the transportation and occupational domains, need to be considered for inclusion in daily routines as a means of increasing population-wide activity levels. Environmental and policy changes to promote active transport and workplace initiatives could increase overall daily energy expenditure through reducing prolonged sitting time.

Platform Presentation—Lifestyle Activity and the Age of Onset of Huntington Disease

Transgenic HD mouse model studies have shown that raising mice in an enriched environment delays the onset of symptoms, leading us to consider whether pre-morbid lifestyle may affect age-at-onset in humans. Subjects with symptomatic HD were interviewed using a questionnaire to retrospectively ascertain pre-morbid lifestyle, including participation in a range of leisure activities and non-leisure activities (education, occupation, and domestic duties). Recorded activities were classified as physical, intellectual, or passive, and activity scores were generated under the headings leisure, non-leisure, and total lifestyle. Surveys were matched with the subject's age-at-onset and CAG repeat length. Analysis of age-at-onset data from 154 subjects in Australia and New Zealand showed a mean of 45.7 years (range 21-76), and a strong inverse correlation with CAG repeat length (r = −0.72, p p Multiple regression analyses that included CAG repeat length as one predictor variable showed passivity (both in leisure and non-leisure) to be a second, independent predictor of age-at-onset (b = −0.28, p = 0.04, and b = −0.27, p = 0.02, respectively), suggesting that a passive lifestyle also contributes to the early onset of symptoms. Leisure activity data covering three life stages (teens, 20s/30s, and 40s/50s) indicate that it is teenage passivity that correlates most strongly with age-at-onset (r = −0.38, p The impact of passivity on age-at-onset is illustrated by comparing the mean age-at-onset in three groups based on lifestyle passivity score. A difference of 4.6 years (95% CI = 1.3 to 7.9) between high and low scoring groups (after adjusting for the impact of CAG repeat length) indicates a significant delay in the onset of symptoms in those who are less passive.

Adolescent Participation and Flow in Physically Active Leisure and Electronic Media Activities: Testing the Displacement Hypothesis

The relationships between participation in various types of electronic media and time spent on other leisure activities have not been examined to any great extent and the research findings in the reported studies have been mixed. In this article, research is described in which 219 adolescents’ electronic media use (TV/video watching, computer/video game playing and Internet/web surfing) was monitored using a time use survey and the experiential sampling method. Behavioral and experiential data were analyzed with a particular focus on the impact of electronic media use on participation in physically active leisure. The findings were consistent with the “displacement” hypothesis. Those adolescents who engaged in higher levels of electronic media activities, in particular, TV/video watching and computer/video game playing, not only reported lower levels of physically active leisure but had more free time as a result of displacing non-leisure activities such as homework. While the overall patterns were similar for females and males, TV/video viewing among females and computer/video gaming among males created the greatest displacement in physically active leisure. More sedentary adolescents not only engaged in less physically active leisure but when they did participate they were less likely to experience intrinsically rewarding flow, and consequently, the psychological growth opportunities it provides.

Enduring Involvement, Situational Involvement, and Flow in Leisure and Non-leisure Activities

This research was conducted to investigate relationships between enduring involvement (EI), situational involvement (SI), and flow. It was hypothesized that the constructs would be related and that SI would mediate relationships between EI and flow. In addition, the relationships were examined in both leisure and non-leisure contexts. The sample consisted of 46 recently unemployed adults, diverse with respect to gender, age, pre-unemployment income, and education. Respondents completed a number of experiential sampling forms (ESF) as part of a larger study. Flow and SI were measured at this time. Three months later respondents completed EI scales related to 2 leisure and 2 nonleisure activities for which they had completed ESFs. Structural equation modeling suggested that in both leisure and non-leisure activities participants with higher levels of EI were more likely to experience higher levels of flow (p <.05) and that SI mediated these relationships. This study is the first to establish links between EI, SI, and flow.

Physical Activity Patterns Among Women in Rural Alabama

To explore factors associated with physically active women in a rural community. Physical activity patterns were assessed in 585 women in rural Alabama. When combining leisure and nonleisure activities, 68% of women reported > or = 150 minutes per week. Active African American women tended to be younger (AOR 0.97), married (AOR 1.75), less likely to report arthritis (AOR 0.58), or give health (AOR 0.30) or motivational reasons (AOR 0.39) for not being more active; active white women were less likely to report lower health perception (AOR 0.51). Ethnic differences in factors associated with higher activity levels need to be considered in physical activity interventions.

Gender Differences in the Quantity and Quality of Free Time: The U.S. Experience

This study uses newly collected time diary data to assess gender differences in both quantity and quality offree time, including measures of contamination offree time by nonleisure activities such as household chores, thefragmentation offree time, and how frequently children's needs must be accommodated duringfree-time activities. Our findings suggest that men and women do experience free time very differently. Men tend to have more of it. Marriage and children exacerbate the gender gap and market work hours erode men's and women's free time in different ways. Ourfindings reveal that despite gains toward gender equality in other domains, discrepancies

On Endogenous Growth with Physical and Human Capital

This paper presents a class of models in which agents may devote part of their nonleisure activities to going to school so as to increase the efficiency units of labor they supply to the firms and the wages they receive. The interaction among the technology of human capital accumulation and agents' preferences will determine endogenously the economy's rate of growth. Given a constant returns to scale technology for physical capital accumulation, we characterize the set of steady states as a ray from the origin and show the global convergence of every off-balanced path to some point on this ray. Further properties concerning the dynamic evolution of the state and control variables around the ray of steady states are also established. Our analysis is useful to understand the role played by the technologies of physical and human capital in the process of accumulation and to evaluate the impact of policies geared toward attaining higher levels of capital. Our results highlight the importance of human capital in the dynamics of growth.

Humor as play: Its relationship to psychological well‐being during the course of a day

Abstract Much of the play in daily life likely occurs at times or during activities other than those commonly viewed as leisure. Humor is one form of play that appears to accompany many nonleisure activities, while also being the basis for some forms of entertainment that engage people during leisure. With the use of a humor diary and mood measures, this study examined the frequency and types of humorous experiences of university students and their relationship to psychological well‐being during a day. Mass media provided the fewest playful incidents of humor, while social interaction generated the largest number. Increases in positive moods and decreases in negative moods were associated significantly with greater numbers of incidents of humor and overt laughter. It is argued that leisure researchers should give more attention to the psychology of everyday playful behaviors, such as humor, day‐dreaming, fantasy, and make‐believe.

Leisure and the Urban Life

The separations of the time and of the space mark urban life. Leisure in the urban life is related to these facts. It is a domain of our lives in which the way of life is expressed. We can say that leisure is the domain filled up with the activities released from the institutional duties-we call these “the leisure activities” -, among the living activities relating reciprocally.This perspective needs for a sociological study which consists of five schemes ; the structure of the life time, the occupational culture sector, the family culture sector, the community culture sector, and the leisure culture sector.The first is an aspect of the distributions of the leisure activities and the non-leisure activities, which is analyzed by means of “the time budget”. But this scheme is not the very object of the sociological study of leisure, but offers the basic data to the other four aspects of the culture sectors.The second is the aspect of the leisure life which emerges from relating to the occupation, its contents, income, career, milieu and human relations in the working place.The third is the aspect of the leisure life which emerges from relating to the family constitution, the family life cycle, the role structure in the family.The fourth is the aspect of the leisure life which emerges from relating to the geographic-physical circumstances in the community, the condition of the leisure facilities, the neighbourhood, the organization of leisure, and the traditional culture in the community.The last is the aspect of the leisure life which emerges from participating in the various leisure groups and relating to the mass-like world, and this would be the important sector for the sociological study of leisure.