Understanding pickleball as a new leisure pursuit among older adults

For older adults, participating in leisure activities has psychosocial benefits, increases social interactions, and promotes well-being. Among various leisure activities, pickleball is an activity that fosters positive social interaction and health benefits in older adults. Pickleball is regarded as one of the fastest growing sports in the USA, and it is reported to be popular among people of all ages, especially among older adults. The purpose of this study was to gather demographic details of older pickleball participants and elucidate the psychosocial benefits of playing the sport, such as life satisfaction, optimism, and social integration. To this end, we gathered information from 153 older adults who competed in pickleball tournaments. Multivariate analysis of variance and Hotelling’s T² test were used to compare the differences that emerged in experiential factors such as life satisfaction, optimism, and social integration among the different demographic characteristics. The results showed that life satisfaction was significantly different among the following three age groups: 50–59 years, 60–69 years, and ≥70 years. Results of Hotelling’s T² test showed a significant difference in social integration between male and female participants. The test also revealed a significant difference in terms of life satisfaction between retired and employed participants. The results suggest that playing pickleball can be an enriching leisure activity for retirees and may help them cope with the transition that retirement typically entails.     

Serious Leisure,Health Perception,Dispositional Optimism,and Life Satisfaction Among Senior Games Participants

This study investigated factors that explain the life satisfaction of Senior Games participants. One 193 older adults from the 2005 Michigan State Senior Games and the 2005 New York State Senior Games participated in the study. The results of the study show that one of the indicators of serious leisure (affective attachment) was positively correlated to optimism (.16, p <.05), age (.28, p <.01), and the number of years participated (.28, p <.01). Regression analysis was also used to identify which variables contribute to predicting life satisfaction. It was found that dispositional optimism (β =.308, p <.001) and perceived health (β =.185, p <.05) were significant predictors of life satisfaction.     

Ageism and aging anxiety among young adults: relationships with contact,knowledge, fear of death,and optimism

ABSTRACT

Ageism refers to discrimination against individuals based on age, while aging anxiety is defined as fear about getting older. We were interested in whether ageism and aging anxiety had distinct correlates among young adults. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects that knowledge of aging, contact with older adults, fear of death, and optimism have on ageism and aging anxiety in young adults (N = 623). Knowledge of aging and contact with older adults were associated with lower ageism. Aging anxiety was associated with greater fear of death and lower optimism. Results indicate that the positive effects of contact and knowledge on the attitudes of young adults toward the older adult population. Increased education on the aging process and improving quality of contact with older adults could help reduce ageism and ageing anxiety.     

Personal Growth of New Fathers following Assisted Reproductive Technology or Spontaneous Pregnancy

Objective: The study aimed at comparing personal growth between fathers whose infants were conceived with the aid of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and those whose infants were conceived spontaneously and to examine associations with personal resources. Design: We examined associations between personal growth on the one hand and optimism, positive and negative emotions, and parenting stress on the other, among fathers whose infants were conceived with the aid of ART and those whose infants were conceived spontaneously. One hundred and seventy-two Israeli first-time fathers (76 following ART and 96 following spontaneous pregnancies) whose infants were 5–18 months old completed a series of self-report questionnaires. Results: No difference was found in personal growth between the two research groups. For all men, lower economic status, older age of the child, higher optimism, higher positive and negative emotions, and parenting stress were all associated with greater growth. Conclusions: Although a certain level of stress and negative affect is a prerequisite for personal growth, it is made possible by positive resources, such as optimism and positive emotions. In addition, the manner in which the pregnancy was achieved appears to have no long-term consequences for men’s experience of personal growth in the transition to fatherhood. Professionals should relate to the present needs and emotional states of new fathers rather than their fertility history.     

Senior fashion models’ perspectives on serious leisure and successful aging

ABSTRACT

Studies have revealed the positive impact of serious leisure among older adults. Serious leisure is the systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer core activity that is highly substantial, interesting, and fulfilling and where, in the typical case, participants find a career in acquiring and expressing a combination of special skills, knowledge, and experience. As serious leisure involves productive engagement and commitment, performing as a senior model reflects the serious leisure participation of older adults, which might offer a new insight into promoting healthy lifestyles. While many studies have been conducted in the context of leisure behavior of older adults, a study is yet to explore the behavior of senior fashion models. Given that serious leisure offers positive outcomes (e.g., personal growth, happiness) and demands substantial effort as and perseverance, the behavior of senior modeling can be understood using a serious leisure framework. The purpose of the study is to explore the behavior of older adults engaged in fashion modeling as a form of serious leisure. We conducted a series of face-to-face interviews with 31 participants. Interview questions focused on the participants’ perception as senior models and the meaning of being senior models. The ages of the participants ranged from 54 to 85 years (Mean age = 66.9). The constant comparison method was applied to continuously compare the views and experiences of the participants. Two central themes that shaped the participants’ senior fashion modeling experiences were identified: (1) the benefits of senior fashion modeling and (2) the costs of senior fashion modeling. Under each theme, several sub-categories were identified: confidence, stylish and ageless, friendships, painful training and investing effort, barriers associated with aging, and structural constraints. The findings obtained in this study highlight the important link between serious leisure and successful aging. Considering the benefits identified by the study participants, it is suggested that engaging in senior fashion modeling positively affects older adults’ quality of life.     

Leisure Participation and Enjoyment Among the Elderly: Individual Characteristics and Sociability

Using data from a national survey of adults in Taiwan, this study explored how often older adults participate in and how much they enjoy 2 mostly-solitary leisure activities (reading books and watching TV/DVDs/videos) and 2 mostly-social leisure activities (socializing with friends and engaging in physical activities). According to ordinal regression analyses of these 4 dependent variables, individual characteristics (such as age, health, education level, and rural/urban residence) significantly contributed to older adults' leisure participation and enjoyment. More importantly, such participation and enjoyment also varied by the extent of sociability (social contacts, a preference for being with others, and a desire for making friends through leisure activities).     

Integrating Curriculum and Practice with Students and their Field Supervisors: Reflections on Spirituality and the Aging (Rosa) Model

Previous research has found links between older adults' future orientation—hope, optimism, and death anxiety—and their physical and mental health; however, these relationships may be confounded by other psychosocial variables such as locus of control and social support. The purpose of the present study was to isolate the effects of future orientation in order to determine which future orientation variable or variables predict physical and mental health among older adults. Older adults (n = 182) completed a survey. After controlling for the effects of sociodemographic and psychosocial variables, hope emerged as the sole predictor of both physical health and mental health. This indicates that hope is a reliable predictor of physical and mental health among older adults.     

The predictive value of job demands and resources on the meaning of work and organisational commitment across different age groups in the higher education sector

This study examines the predictive value of job demands and resources on the meaning of work and organisational commitment across three age groups; young workers (<30 years), a middle age group of workers (30–49 years) and older workers (>50 years). Data were collected from a survey conducted among university employees (N = 3066). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to test the relationship between the antecedent variables and the meaning of work and organisational commitment in the age groups separately. Age differences in the experience of these two variables were tested by one-way ANOVA. Both job demands and resources were related to the meaning of work and organisational commitment, however, the relative importance of demands and resources varied across the groups. Overall, older workers reported higher scores on the meaning of work and organisational commitment. The results suggest that different interventions should be considered when aiming to improve the meaning of work and commitment among different age groups.     

Changes in Memory Prediction Accuracy: Age and Performance Effects

Memory performance predictions are subjective estimates of possible memory task performance. The purpose of this study was to examine possible factors related to changes in word list performance predictions made by younger and older adults. Factors included memory self-efficacy, actual performance, and perceptions of performance. The current study examined the age differences in a sample of 59 older adults (M = 76.83 years) and 52 younger adults (M = 21.19 years) on memory predictions and the accuracy of those predictions for both an immediate and delayed word recall task. While memory self-efficacy did not influence predictions for either group, perceived and actual performance at immediate recall was related to accuracy of predictions at delay for both groups. In addition, there was a significant age-by-time interaction such that older adults became more accurate over time whereas younger adults declined slightly in their prediction accuracy. These findings suggest that older adults are able to make accurate adjustments to their predictions based on both their perceived and actual performance on tasks.     

Assessing positive attitudes toward older and younger adults

Meaningful intergenerational interactions between older and younger adults are rare outside of family relationships. Interventions to increase positive intergenerational interactions are growing, but finding appropriate measures of attitudes toward both younger and older age groups is difficult. Many measures assessing attitudes toward older adults can remind participants of negative stereotypes of aging and are rarely used to assess attitudes toward younger adults. We adapted Pittinsky, Rosenthal, and Montoya’s allophilia measure to assess attitudes toward younger (18–25 years old) and older (over age 65) adults. In the first study, 94 traditional college age and 52 older adults rated older and younger adults. The allophilia measure distinguished between younger and older adults’ attitudes toward each age group. In the second study, we compared the age-related allophilia measures with seven traditional measures of attitudes toward older adults. Forty-seven traditional college age students completed measures. As predicted, correlations between allophilia toward older adults and the traditional semantic differential measures were weak (i.e., r = |0.15|or less), whereas correlations with general attitudes toward older adults were more moderate (r = 0.59 or less). Correlations between allophilia toward younger adults and the traditional measures were primarily non-significant as predicted. The allophilia measure differentiated between the five domains of positive attitudes toward younger and older adults and was not highly correlated with measures of more negative attitudes toward older adults. Results suggest that the allophilia measure can fill a need for a measure of positive attitudes toward older and younger adults.     

Social Activities and Health of Korean Elderly Women by Age Groups

The objective of this study was to examine the extent to which the association between different types of social activities and multiple dimensions of health outcomes varies by age groups among Korean elderly. This study employed regression models with data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Social activities were associated with various dimensions of health status of adult women after adjusting for background variables. The association between social activities and health status does not show a great difference between adults of ages 45–64 and of those aged over 65 years. Compared to informal family relationships, involvement in social activities was positively associated with various health outcomes. While previous studies emphasized the importance of informal family relationships among the elderly, which increase with age, this study showed that social activities have a significant influence on the health of elderly females. This influence is equally significant for adults older than 65 years of age as well as 45- to 64-year-old adults. This finding suggests that social policy to get older females more involved in a wide array of social activities helps keep them in good health status.     

Longitudinal Adult Practical Problem-Solving: 1983, 1993, 2003

A 20-year longitudinal study was conducted to examine adult performance on practical problems. Effects of independent variables of age, education, and administration time were assessed on solutions generated and quality points earned. Younger adults generated more solutions than other adults in 1983, 1993, and 2003. Both younger and middle adults increased the number of solutions offered across the 2 decades, but older adults did not. Similar patterns were observed with number of quality points earned. Participants from all age groups and all education levels were aware of, and applied, some changes in technology over the 20-year period.     

In care and digitally savvy? Modern ICT use in long-term care institutions

ABSTRACT

Although information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as smartphones, tablets, and the internet, have all become increasingly important in modern society, available studies on the adoption of ICTs have mostly focused on healthy and community-dwelling “young-old” adults. Relatively little is known about ICT use among long-term care residents, such as “old-old” adults, who often have various functional impairments and live in institutionalized settings. The study includes data on ICT use (TV, radio, computers, smartphones, tablets, and internet) among a large sample of 940 residents (mean age: 87.6 years) living in 20 retirement homes in Zurich, Switzerland. Twenty-one percent of residents reported using the internet, 13% used a smartphone, and 5% used a tablet. Younger older adults, those with more education, those with lower nursing-care levels, and those who reported being particularly interested in technology were more likely to own more than one ICT device. Compared with nonusers, internet users were more likely to be younger, better educated, and more interested in technology in general. Modern ICT usage has reached the long-term care sector and appears to play a significant role in many residents’ lives. Researchers should continue to examine the role of ICTs in the lives of older adults in general and for residents in long-term care in particular, given that this population is often ignored in studies of older adults and ICT use.     

What Predicts Older Adults’ Adjustment to Aging in Later Life? The Impact of Sense of Coherence,Subjective Well-Being,and Sociodemographic,Lifestyle, and Health-Related Factors

The aim of this study was to build a structural model to explore the predictors of adjustment to aging (AtA) in a community-dwelling older population. A community-dwelling sample of 1,270 older adults aged between 75 and 102 years answered a questionnaire to determine sociodemographic (sex, age, professional and marital status, education, household, adult children, family's annual income, living setting, and self-reported spirituality), lifestyle, and health-related characteristics (perceived health, recent disease, medication, and leisure). Several instruments were used to assert psychological variables, namely AtA, sense of coherence, and subjective well-being. Structural equation modeling was used to explore a structural model of the self-reported AtA, encompassing all variables. Significant predictors are self-reported spirituality (β = .816, p < .001); perceived health (β = .455, p < .001); leisure (β = .322, p < .001); professional status (β = .283, p < .001); income (β = .230, p = .035); household (β = –.208, p = .007); sense of coherence (β = ?.202, p = .004); and adult children (β = .164, p = .011). The variables explain, respectively, 60.6% of the variability of AtA. Self-reported spirituality is the strongest predictor of AtA. Other predictors are perceived health, leisure, professional status, income, household, sense of coherence, and adult children. This study emphasizes the need for deepening the variables that influence older adults’ AtA—in particular, perceived health and further lifestyle-related characteristics—as being relevant for promoting aging well in later life, within a salutogenic context for health care.     

Perspective taking,empathic concern,and perceived humanness of people with dementia

Past work has documented the detrimental psychological and health outcomes of negative age stereotypes and dehumanization of older adults. We investigated the role of perspective taking in enhancing positive perceptions of humanness of older individuals with dementia. To manipulate perspective taking, participants either imagined the situation of an older woman with dementia (n = 35), remained objective and detached (n = 37), or received no instructions (n = 35). We measured evidence of impairments of humanness needed to conclude personhood loss for the woman with dementia (i.e., humanness standards). Compared to stay-objective participants, imagine-other and no-instructions participants asked for more evidence of impairments of uniquely human characteristics, but not of human nature characteristics, in order to conclude personhood loss for the woman with dementia. Empathic concern for the woman with dementia mediated this effect. We discuss the importance of studying perceptions of personhood of those with dementia with a focus on the person with dementia and his or her social and personal connections with others. Strategies for developing and maintaining healthy relationships with persons with dementia based on active perspective taking are also discussed.     

Perspectives on Age and Continuing Professional Development for Nurses: A Literature Review

The need for nurses to participate in continuing professional development (CPD) is growing to keep abreast of rapid changes in nursing care. Concurrently, the nursing workforce is growing older. Ageing leads to changes in biological, psychological, and social functioning. Little is known about the effects of age-related changes on nurses’ CPD. A literature review was conducted to examine whether and how CPD differs across age groups. A framework with five perspectives on age was used in an attempt to distinguish factors contributing to these age differences. Given the limited research on this topic with respect to nurses, we also included studies of workers in general. The literature search revealed 27 relevant studies. In general, older workers appeared less likely to participate in CPD, when considering formal learning activities and late-career workers (older than 50/55 years). We found no clear age patterns for motivation to participate in CPD, for learning outcomes, and for participation in informal and non-formal learning activities. The study showed that more nuanced results are found when studies distinguish at least three age groups. By using different perspectives of age, a comprehensive overview of age-related factors in CPD was generated and gaps in current research were identified. Recommendations for further research are discussed, such as the need for research on whether the types of learning activities that nurses undertake change with ageing.     

Leisure Experiences and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Older People: A National Survey in Taiwan

We aimed to explore older people's subjective leisure experiences and to further examine associations of such experiences with their depressive symptoms in Taiwan. Known correlates of depression, such as demographics, physical health, and social support, were taken into account. Face-to-face interviews were conducted to collect data using structured questionnaires from a national representative sample of community older people (N = 1308, aged 65 +). We found that (a) being female, older, single, less educated, and having lower family income were demographic risk factors of depression; (b) worse physical health, lack of independent functioning in Activities of Daily Living (ADL), and disability were related to more depressive symptoms; (c) greater social support was related to fewer depressive symptoms; (d) having controlled for effects of demographics, physical health, and social support, positive leisure experiences were independently related to fewer depressive symptoms. The benefits of meaningful leisure pursuits for successful aging are discussed.     

Literacy activity and health among older adults in the USA

ABSTRACT

Health literacy skills are known to be a key mediator of the relationship between education and health in the general population. However, one aspect of health literacy skills—individuals’ actual literacy activities—remains understudied, especially among older adults. Health disparities that are driven by inequalities in education and level of health literacy skills are particularly problematic for older adults since they are exacerbated in old age by disadvantages that accumulate over the life course. This study examined a nationally representative sample of US adults age 50 years and older (n = 2,573) using data from the 2014 Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Parallel mediation analysis was conducted to examine the partial mediation effects of health literacy skills and literacy activity (i.e., reading at home) on the relationship between education and health. Results showed that both health literacy skills and literacy activity mediated the education–health relationship. On average, literacy skills mediated 31.89% and literacy activities mediated 9.59% of the effect of education of self-rated health. Literacy activity, such as reading, is an easily accessible, autonomous, and sustainable option for promoting health in later life. Policies that support the intersection of public health and education may promote lifelong learning and well-being among US adults.     

Correlates of dementia-related anxiety: self-perceived dementia risk and ageism

ABSTRACT

As public awareness of and exposure to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) have increased worldwide, the fear of developing ADRD, or dementia-related anxiety (DRA), is expected to increase as well. It was hypothesized that at least part of what makes dementia so anxiety-provoking is the association of ADRD with older adults, an often stigmatized group. To test this hypothesis, two online studies examined how ageist beliefs contribute to DRA; the roles of ADRD-related factors, such as self-perceived risk and personal exposure, were also examined. Study 1 included university students (n = 295, age range: 18 to 58 years, M_age  = 21.16, SD_age  = 4.85) to determine what factors may contribute to young adults’ DRA. Study 2 included adults of all ages (n = 352, age range: 18 to 81 years, M_age  = 37.85, SD_age  = 12.88) to determine whether Study 1 results were replicable among adults of all ages. Hierarchical multiple regressions were used. Results from both studies demonstrated that being female and having higher self-perceived dementia risk and benevolent ageism uniquely explicated higher levels of DRA. Within Study 2, significant relationships for both benevolent and hostile ageism were observed, suggesting that diverse negative attitudes toward older adults are associated with DRA. It is possible that strong ageist attitudes stigmatize older adults as those who are forgetful and this may contribute to DRA, as age is a major risk factor for developing dementia. Study limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

Exploring the association of learning participation with the quality of life of older Chinese adults: A mixed methods approach

The study aims to investigate the association of learning participation with the quality of life (QoL) in older Chinese adults, verifying how the differing types of learning activity participation may influence their QoL. We conducted two studies to gain a better understanding of learning participation and QoL among adults over 55 years of age. In the first study, we conducted five focus groups among 43 older adults about their understanding of learning benefits and their general well-being. In a second study, we assessed the QoL using the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index, while learning participation was measured through a questionnaire addressing the frequency of involvement in educational activities among 579 Chinese older adults. The results indicate that being engaged in learning activities in old age has the potential to increase the QoL of older adults. Moreover, in contrast to nonformal learning, the results of the hierarchical linear regression model demonstrate that both informal and formal learning have a significant positive influence on QoL. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for research and practice pertaining to the encouragement of learning participation in later life.