Andrew J. Mowen

The Interaction of Stress and Park Use on Psycho-Physiological Health in Older Adults

Stress can have a negative influence on psychological and physical health, particularly among older adults. However, park-based leisure experiences, can have a positive influence upon mood states, stress, and health of this population. This study examined the relationship between stress, park-based leisure, and physiological/psychological health among older adults (ages 50–86). There were significant interactive effects between: 1) stress and length of park stay and, 2) stress and desired health benefits in their relationship to the physiological health indicator, body mass index (BMI). There were also direct relationships between park companionship and perceived physical health and between length of park stay and lower systolic blood pressures. This study offers early evidence that park-based leisure experiences correspond with physiological health indicators among older adults. Implications for future health-based leisure research and policy are discussed.

Testing Alternative Leisure Constraint Negotiation Models: An Extension of Hubbard and Mannell's Study

The purpose of this study was to test a model of the leisure constraint negotiation process proposed by Hubbard and Mannell. A multidimensional measure of physically active leisure was used to extend their findings to a sample of middle-aged and older adults in a metropolitan park setting. Volunteers and visitors (aged 50–87 years) of a Midwestern metropolitan park agency completed a self-administered questionnaire. Results of a two-step structural equation modeling procedure suggested a constraint-negotiation dual channel model. In this model, the negative influence of constraints on participation was almost entirely offset by the positive effect of negotiation strategies. The effect of motivation on participation was fully mediated by negotiation. The implications of these findings for studying constraint negotiation and active leisure in mid- to late-life are discussed.

An examination of the leisure involvement - agency commitment relationship.

Building from the existing literature, we tested a model suggesting that leisure involvement is an antecedent of commitment to a public leisure service provider (N = 860). Leisure involvement was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct consisting of attraction, centrality, and self-expression. Agency commitment was also conceptualized as multidimensional construct consisting of five components; place identity, place dependence, affective attachment, value congruence, and social bonding. The analyses offered partial support for our hypothesized model. Place dependence and affective attachment were positively influenced by attraction, whereas place identity and value congruence were positively influenced by self-expression. Finally, social bonding was positively influenced by self-expression and centrality, but negatively influenced by attraction. This work adds to a growing body of empirical work suggesting that individuals progress though a developmental process where involvement with a leisure activity leads to the development of specific service preferences.

The role of social support and self-efficacy in shaping the leisure time physical activity of older adults.

Lack of social support and low self-efficacy are important barriers to regular exercise and physical activity. However, it is unclear whether these resources contribute significantly to CDC recommended physical activity levels and which of these factors (and their associated sub-domains) are more robust in relating to leisure time physical activity (LTPA) among older adults. This study examines the role of social support and self-efficacy in shaping recommended levels of older adult LTPA from five cities across the United States. Results indicated that social support provided by friends (rather than family) and the self-efficacy domain of perceived physical ability were significantly related to LTPA as measured through Metabolic Equivalents (METS). Consistent with prior research, age and health were also significantly related to LTPA. Findings suggest that inter-personal resources and intra-personal resources both play an equal role in shaping LTPA of older adults. Suggestions for promoting LTPA of older adults are discussed.

The Role of Leisure Style in Maintaining the Health of Older Adults with Arthritis

This study explores the role of leisure style in relation to the perceived physical and mental health of older adults with self-reported arthritis. A model of successful aging was used as a conceptual framework to examine the relationship between the type of leisure styles and physical and mental health. Altogether, 464 adults over the age of 50 completed a questionnaire that assessed perceived physical and mental health, health history, pain severity (a proxy for arthritis severity), leisure style, social interaction with friends, and socio-demographics. Results indicated that type of leisure style had a significant role in the relationship between arthritis severity and perceived physical health. The main effect, leisure repertoire size was positively related to perceived physical health. That is, the broader the leisure repertoire, the higher the reported health. In terms of mental health, frequency of social interaction with friends was positively related to perceived mental health. Results are discussed in terms of leisure as a buffer for the negative effects of arthritis on health.

Do age and gender matter in the constraint negotiation of physically active leisure

Abstract Our purpose in this study was to examine the relationships between age, gender, leisure constraint, leisure constraint negotiation, motivation, and physically active leisure for 271 older (50+) volunteers and visitors of a Midwestern metropolitan park agency. The primary objectives were: 1) to assess the relationship of age and gender to leisure constraint; 2) to examine the relative importance of all factors to active leisure participation; 3) to test negotiation as a mediator of the relationships of constraint and motivation to participation; and 4) to determine whether these relationships differed by frequency and duration. The inclusion of age, gender and multiple measures of physically active leisure revealed distinct relationships. The implications of these findings for park-based programs and settings for active leisure in mid to late life are discussed.

Integrating Social Capital Into a Park-Use and Active-Living Framework

BACKGROUND Parks have been proposed as a feature of the built environment that may promote increased physical activity. Little, if any, research has investigated the role of the park social environment in promoting physical activity within parks, however. PURPOSE To examine whether social capital is a collective feature of the park environment and whether it is associated with park use and park-based physical activity. METHODS Adult park users (n=222) were surveyed in 27 neighborhood parks in New Orleans LA in July-August 2008. Direct observation methods were used to count the numbers and activity levels of all park users in these parks on weekdays during the hours of 4:00-7:00(PM). Multilevel linear regression models were used to calculate the intraclass correlation (ICC), which measures the variation in perceived social capital attributable to differences among parks and to test whether park use and physical activity outcomes differed between parks with high versus low levels of social capital. Analyses were conducted in 2009-2010. RESULTS In study parks, 27% of perceived social capital was attributable to differences among parks (ICC=0.27). Parks with higher levels of social capital had higher daily numbers of observed park users (42.5 vs 12.1, p=0.0044) and had more energy expended within the park (3200.3 vs 721.2 MET-minutes across all park users, p=0.0087). CONCLUSIONS Interventions to improve park social environments should be conducted to determine if they promote increased physical activity among park users.

The role of park conditions and features on park visitation and physical activity.

BACKGROUND Neighborhood parks play an important role in promoting physical activity. We examined the effect of activity area, condition, and presence of supporting features on number of park users and park-based physical activity levels. METHODS 37 parks and 154 activity areas within parks were assessed during summer 2008 for their features and park-based physical activity. Outcomes included any park use, number of park users, mean and total energy expenditure. Independent variables included type and condition of activity area, supporting features, size of activity area, gender, and day of week. Multilevel models controlled for clustering of observations at activity area and park levels. RESULTS Type of activity area was associated with number of park users, mean and total energy expenditure, with basketball courts having the highest number of users and total energy expenditure, and playgrounds having the highest mean energy expenditure. Condition of activity areas was positively associated with number of basketball court users and inversely associated with number of green space users and total green space energy expenditure. Various supporting features were both positively and negatively associated with each outcome. CONCLUSIONS This study provides evidence regarding characteristics of parks that can contribute to achieving physical activity goals within recreational spaces.

Does self-selection influence the relationship between park availability and physical activity?

OBJECTIVE Increased proximity to parkland is associated with physical activity (PA). This study explored the extent to which self-selection--the idea that active persons simply seek out neighborhoods more endowed with active resources--influences the relationship between park availability and PA. METHOD In August 2007, measures of parkland availability within 1 km, importance placed on living near parks, and park-based PA participation were assessed for 585 adults in Waterloo, Ontario. RESULTS Logistic regression revealed that (i) participants who placed greater importance on neighborhood open space were not more likely to live near more parkland; (ii) both park importance and park space availability were associated with increased, and relatively equal, odds of engaging in at least some park-based PA; and (iii) participants who placed a low importance on living near parks but had a higher amount of park space nearby were significantly more likely to engage in park-based PA than participants who also placed a low importance on parks but had less nearby park space. CONCLUSION The issue of self-selection does not solely account for the relationship frequently observed between park space availability and PA. Future prospective and intervention studies are needed to draw more definitive conclusions about causality.

Escaping to and being active in neighbourhood parks: park use in a post-disaster setting

Neighbourhood parks may serve as a coping resource in post-disaster communities, yet little is known about the impact of large-scale disasters on park use. The objective of this study is to explore the impact of Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) on park use by visitors from flooded areas of New Orleans, Louisiana, compared to visitors from non-flooded areas. In 2006 and 2007, following Hurricane Katrina, 201 adults who visited 27 New Orleans parks were interviewed. Visitors from flooded neighbourhoods used their parks less often and were less likely to engage in animal interaction than visitors from non-flooded neighbourhoods. They placed more importance on escape and physically-active motivations than visitors from non-flooded areas. Social reasons were also more important to visitors from flooded areas, but these differences disappeared after adjusting for race. Neighbourhood parks are a community asset that may play a role in the post-disaster recovery process by providing opportunities for escape and physical activity.