Sandra O'Brien Cousins

Grounding theory in self-referent thinking: conceptualizing motivation for older adult physical activity

Abstract Objectives : The aim of this study was to enrich current theoretical understanding of the kinds of thoughts older people have about physical activity by answering the broad research question: How well does the lay thinking of older adults about their involvement in physical activity fit current theory? Design : In order to enrich current theory, individual beliefs and experiences with physical activity were explored. An interpretive design employed content analysis of in-depth interviews. Methods : Forty-one adults aged 55 to 92 were interviewed for 60 to 90 minutes about their involvement in physical activities and their reasons for participation (or not). The inductive approach was used to extract positive and negative meanings, and generate conceptual themes within each individual interview. Each meaning segment was then matched, if possible, to elements on a theoretical template that used key constructs from major health behavior theories. Results : The main finding was that no new conceptual themes were found but interesting patterns of responses emerged by activity level. In thinking about their physical activity, inactive respondents generally had more negative thoughts than positive ones; their explanations showed contradictions and poor logic at times, lending support for Weinsteins notion of haphazard or faulty thinking. An unexpected finding was that active people also expressed a full array of barriers, but they seemed to counter every negative thought with strong positive dialogue and every barrier with a solution. Conclusions : Active older people were clear about their motives to be active. They felt personally capable, had steadfast goals, anticipated positive outcomes, and showed an overarching commitment to active living despite life distractions. While current behavioral theory was supported, qualitative evidence of haphazard thinking suggests that human nature has observable foibles and complexity.

Exercise cognition among elderly women

Abstract This study explored the role of six theoretically-supported beliefs in the explanation of exercise variability in elderly women: incentive value, self-efficacy, social support, perceived risks, perceived benefits, and health locus of control. Survey data were collected from 327 Vancouver women aged 70 to 98. Energy expended on exercise was assessed using a 7-day report of the type, intensity and duration of 38 leisure-time physical activities. Multiple regression analysis found that 25% of the exercise variance was explained by the full cognitive model. The best predictors of late life exercise were social reinforcement to be physically active (b[dbnd] .352, p < .01) and self-efficacy to take part in fitness exercise (b = .277, p < .01). Together these beliefs explained 22% of the variance in exercise behavior.

Validity and reliability of self‐reported health of persons aged 70 and older

Four self-assessed health ratings were examined for their reliability, concurrent validity, and predictive utility in women aged 70 and older. The Perceived Well-Being (PWB) Scale and self-rated health were two subjective measures; the two objective measures were reported number of prescription medications and a medical symptom index from the Canada Fitness Survey. Four-week test-retest reliabilities ranged from .51 to .86. Significant concurrent validity was obtained among all four instruments, with the strongest association between PWB and SRH (r = .569, p < .001). The best predictor of late-life exercise was PWB, which explained 8% of the variance in involvement.

A self-referent thinking model: how older adults may talk themselves out of being physically active.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to ground current theory on exercise behavior with authentic voices of older adults as they thought about physical activity. Aged 55 to 92, 41 adults of various activity levels provided interviews with regard to personal experiences, health issues, and motivation for active lifestyles. Key constructs from four contemporary health behavior theories were integrated into a decisional balance template. Interpretive analysis organized positive and negative thinking on the template and thereby animated important theoretical constructs with the actual voices of older adults. Although generally supporting current theoretical models, the surprising finding was that active people expressed as much negative self-talk as did inactive people. However, they differed in their ability to balance each issue with strong positive thinking based on previous personal successes and direct experience of benefits. This finding suggests that promoting health through lifestyle change is very difficult to do without positive past-mastery experiences.

Who Plays Bingo in Later Life? The Sedentary Lifestyles of ‘Little Old Ladies’

Bingo is a popular past time with less than 20% of seniors, but the prevailing stereotype of bingo players describes elderly women with nothing better to do, smoking heavily while gambling away their limited income day after day. Little research has actually explored the lifestyles of seniors who frequent the bingo halls or identified social factors explaining who plays and why.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to clarify the social context and lifestyle characteristics of seniors who regularly invest money on bingo.Design and MethodsA 30-min telephone survey was conducted randomly with quotas for gender and urban/rural location with 400 Albertans aged 65+. Next, a strategic sample of 44 bingo players was added to the population sample to strengthen the dependent variable for regression analyses. Multiple regression analyses were used to define key characteristics of bingo players among 10 social or contextual factors and 5 lifestyle variables.ResultsBeing female, more elderly, living in rental accommodation, receiving federal income supplements and reporting more health problems were significant predictors of more money typically spent on bingo (18% variance explained), and these findings lend support to the “little old lady” stereotype. However, sedentary living, rather than smoking, was the only significant and predictive lifestyle pattern, suggesting that the lifestyle vices projected about bingo players are not entirely accurate.ConclusionsElderly women of marginal means do dominate the game of bingo in terms of money spent, but their gaming lifestyle apparently has less to do with habits of smoking, eating poorly, drinking alcohol, or having excessive leisure time, and more to do with sedentary recreation that is socially delimited by their gender, age, income and health.