Reported change in preferred sexual activity over the adult years

Fifty‐nine women and 40 men, aged 60 to 85, participated in a study which examined changes in preferred sexual activity from young adulthood to old age. The results indicated that change in preferred sexual activity over time was common and not associated with low psychological well‐being or with unfavorable ratings on satisfaction with sex life, subjective pleasure, incidence of the preferred activity, or interest in sex in old age. However, change in preference was related to physical changes in both sexes and to opportunity factors among women. These findings suggest that sexual experience and psychological well‐being in old age are related more to the type of sexual activity that is preferred than to the occurrence of change per se.     

Determinanten der Sportaktivität und der Sportart im Lebenslauf

This paper investigates the impact of social class, occupational and family life-course, relocation, age, generation and gender on exercise. Longitudinal, life course-oriented analysis enables identification of the (often diverse) conditions for (re-)uptake and discontinuation of exercise. The paper takes a detailed look at different types of exercise, enabling exploration of the various motivating influences and barriers involved. The database is a retrospective representative survey of the 50 to 70 year old population of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The results show that higher educational qualifications are associated with higher levels of exercise, whereas manual labor and – among women – childcare are associated with lower levels of exercise. With respect to the impact of education, cultural rather than economic capital seems to be the determining influence. Other factors – (un-)employment, partnership, relocation, age and cohort – tend to have more complex effects on exercise. Though being a member of the workforce reduces the likelihood of starting to exercise, it also reduces the likelihood of dropping out. Though partnership encourages the dissemination of exercise, initiation of a relationship is also associated with a higher incidence of discontinuation. Relocation prompts both initiation and discontinuation of exercise. Surprisingly, up to the over-50 age group, increasing age is associated with an increased prevalence of physical activity, especially among women. The results of analysis of social differences in terms of types of physical activity can be used in health programs to provide scientifically founded recommendations for the promotion of specific types of physical activity for lower educational groups, seniors, and other social groups whose lifestyle tends to be inactive.     

Correlates of physical activity participation in community-dwelling older adults

The authors examined factors related to participation in walking, gardening or yard work, and sports or exercise in 686 community-dwelling adults 60-95 years of age from Wave IV of the population-based Americans' Changing Lives Study. Logistic regression revealed that male gender, being married, and better functional health were associated with greater likelihood of participating in gardening or yard work (p < .05). Male gender, better functional health, and lower body-mass index were independently associated with greater likelihood of walking (p < .05). Increasing age, male gender, higher education, and better functional health were associated with greater likelihood of participating in sports or exercise (p < .05). Subsequent analyses yielded an interaction of functional health by gender in sport or exercise participation (p = .06), suggesting a greater association between functional health and participation in men. Gender and functional health appear to be particularly important for physical activity participation, which may be useful in guiding future research. Attention to different subgroups may be needed to promote participation in specific activities.     

Socio-economic patterns of sport demand and ageing

Due to the demographic situation in nowadays societies, physical activity, and sport expenditure have to be analysed from a demographic as well as socio-economical perspective. This means that determinants such as age, gender, nationality/ethnicity, income, time, educational level, profession, and social status have to be taken into account. However, when comparing the various studies, the different methods of analysis and different operationalisation of variables have to be considered. This is in particular vital investigating age. Whilst cross-sectional studies point out that physical activity generally decreases with increasing age, longitudinal analyses come to different results. Previous studies indicate that pertaining to gender more men take part in sports than women. However, considering period and cohort effects, recent longitudinal studies showed that women participate more in sport than in the past. Besides, it was found out that men generally tend to spend more money on sports than women do. A further finding is that the educational level influences physical activity positively. Research revealed that income had a positive impact on both, physical activity and sport expenditure.     

Re-Assessing the Relationship between High School Sports Participation and Deviance: Evidence of Enduring, Bifurcated Effects

Despite its long-standing popular appeal, the idea that athletic activity is a deterrent to crime and delinquency suffers from a distinct lack of empirical support. This article tests the hypothesis that the relationship between high school sports participation and deviance varies by both type of deviant behavior and level of athletic involvement. The analysis is based upon longitudinal data focusing on the effects of involvement in high school sports, the country's largest institutional setting for youth sports participation, in early adulthood. We find that the relationship between athletic involvement and deviance varies significantly depending upon the deviant behaviors examined. Specifically, we find that shoplifting decreases with sports participation, while drunken driving increases. Moreover, these effects extend further into the life course (age 30) than has been demonstrated in any previous study and hold across all our measures of sports participation. Several potential explanatory mechanisms are evaluated. The implications of these enduring, bifurcated effects are discussed.     

Physical activity in people age 80 years and older as a means of counteracting disability, balanced in relation to frailty

The aim of this study was to describe experiences of physical activity, perceived meaning, and the importance of and motives and barriers for participation in physical activity in people 80 years of age and older. A qualitative design with focus-group methodology was used. The sample consisted of 20 community-living people age 80-91 yr. Data analyses revealed 4 themes: physical activity as a part of everything else in life, joie de vivre, fear of disease and dependence, and perceptions of frailty. Our results suggest that physical activity was not seen as a separate activity but rather as a part of activities often rated as more important than the physical activity itself. Thus, when designing physical activity interventions for elderly people, health care providers should consider including time for social interaction and possibilities to be outdoors. Moreover, assessment of physical activity levels among elderly people should include the physical activity in everyday activities.     

Gender, aging, poverty and health: Survival strategies of older men and women in Nairobi slums

This paper is based on data from focus group discussions and in-depth individual interviews carried out in two slum areas, Korogocho and Viwandani in Nairobi, Kenya. It discusses how the division between domestic sphere and public sphere impacts on survival during, and adaptation to old age. Although this paper adopts some of the tenets of the life course approach, it posits that women's participation in the domestic sphere may sometimes give them a ‘gender advantage’ over men in terms of health and adaptation to old age. The paper also discusses the impact of gender roles on the cultivation of social networks and how these networks in turn impact on health and social adjustment as people grow older. It investigates how older people are adjusting and coping with the new challenges they face as a result of high morbidity and mortality among adults in the reproductive age groups.     

Parental Death and Subjective Age: Indelible Imprints from Early in the Life Course?*

Past research suggests that sustaining a young identity helps adults maintain a greater sense of well‐being. The experience of subjective aging, however, is not a spontaneous phenomenon, but stems from lifelong developmental experiences. Drawing from writings on the life course and self‐concept, I consider how parental death in childhood shapes subjective age in adulthood. To examine the effects of maternal and paternal death on subjective age, I employ the Midlife Development in the United States Study (MIDUS). A series of linear regression analyses indicates that maternal death during childhood is associated with an older subjective age in adulthood, death of a father does not have a similar influence on subjective age, and that the effect on subjective age is stronger if maternal death occurred during childhood than during other periods of the life course. The findings highlight interconnections between timing of transitions in the life course, linked lives, and the development of self‐concept. Subjective age in adulthood seems to hinge on important biographical experiences from childhood, such as parental death, though the processes differ by the gender of the deceased parent.     

Practicing gender in youth sports

To learn more about gender identity and sports participation, I observed and photographed two mixed‐gender teams of six and seven year‐old soccer players in a youth sports program. My observations of these twenty‐six children (twelve boys and fourteen girls) were made at practices and games during the Fall soccer season of 1997. I also conducted photo‐elicitation interviews with five girls and five boys on the two teams. Field notes, photographs and interviews documented some of the gendered and non‐gendered behavior engaged in by the children and interviews revealed how the children thought about this. One intriguing pattern was that the young soccer players interacted freely with teammates of the other gender during adult‐structured exercises, yet self‐separated by gender when allowed to structure their own activities. This finding has important implications for understanding the social construction of gender and for strengthening gender equity provisions in youth sports programs.     

Best practices for physical activity programs and behavior counseling in older adult populations

Physical activity offers one of the greatest opportunities for people to extend years of active independent life and reduce functional limitations. The purpose of this paper is to identify key practices for promoting physical activity in older adults, with a focus on older adults with chronic disease or low fitness and those with low levels of physical activity. Key practices identified in promotion activity in older adults include: (1) a multidimensional activity program that includes endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility training is optimal for health and functional benefits; (2) principles of behavior change, including social support, self-efficacy, active choices, health contracts, assurances of safety, and positive reinforcement, enhance adherence; (3) management of risk by beginning at low intensity but gradually increasing to moderate physical activity which has a better risk/benefit ratio should be the goal for older adults; (4) an emergency procedure plan is prudent for community-based programs; and (5) monitoring aerobic intensity is important for progression and for motivation. Selected content reviews of physical activity programming from major organizations and institutions are provided. Regular participation in physical activity is one of the most effective ways for older adults, including those with disabilities, to help prevent chronic disease, promote independence, and increase quality of life in old age.Publication Note All National Blueprint Publications are in the public domain and can be freely reproduced without copyright. This article has been previously published in Medicine Science and Sports and Exercise and the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity. Individuals or organizations who wish to publish National Blueprint articles should contact the National Blueprint Office for permission.     

Managing turning points and transitions in childhood and parenthood – insights from families with disabled children in Norway

This article explores turning points and transitions emerging in the life course of children with disabilities and their parents. Through in‐depth interviews with parents we found that a change appears in disabled children’s social participation and belonging, at approximately eight years of age for children with learning difficulties and at approximately ten years of age for children with mobility difficulties. Most of the parents experienced a ‘turning point’ that directed them into either marginal or inclusive positions in adulthood. The ‘transition’ emerges at a time described as a stable period of life for families in general and illustrates parents’ experiences of the importance of both ‘doing’ and ‘being’ in parenthood and childhood. Parents’ experiences are strongly interwoven with the child’s life and access or lack of access to services and relational responses.     

The social bordering of lifestyle sports: inclusive principles,exclusive reality

Lifestyle sports are created and maintained through global youth cultural representations disseminated by many current media channels. Lifestyle sports attract young people due to their images of sociality, joyful creativity, speed and excitement, urban exoticism and their subcultural distinction from mainstream sports. This distinction is maintained with claims of social and cultural openness. Through a case analysis conducted for a research project we asked: How open are lifestyle sports communities and to whom? Who can take part in the subcultural world of lifestyle sports? What kinds of structural or personal attributes connected with individuals restrict certain young people's participation in this world? The research material consists of qualitative and quantitative data collected among skateboarding, longboarding, parkour and roller derby practitioners in Finland. Seeking answers brings researchers to the classical sociological background variables and their intersections: gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and socioeconomic status. In lifestyle sports, these categorisations are linked with physical skills as subcultural symbolic capital, which is central in the exclusive and inclusive practices in lifestyle sports communities. Despite the inclusive principles that lifestyle sports practitioners emphasise, the ideal lifestyle sport practitioner seems to be represented by hegemonic masculinity, muscular strength and agility symbolising sporting abilities.     

Aging effects on joint proprioception: the role of physical activity in proprioception preservation

Throughout the human life span the functions of several physiological systems dramatically change, including proprioception. Impaired proprioception leads to less accurate detection of body position changes increasing the risk of fall, and to abnormal joint biomechanics during functional activities so, over a period of time, degenerative joint disease may result. Altered neuromuscular control of the lower limb and consequently poor balance resulting from changes in the proprioceptive function could be related to the high incidence of harmful falls that occur in old age subjects. There is evidence of proprioception deterioration with aging. Regular physical activity seems to be a beneficial strategy to preserve proprioception and prevent falls among older subjects. Some studies have demonstrated that the regular physical activity can attenuate age-related decline in proprioception. This paper reviews the evidence of age effects on joint proprioception. We will discuss the possible mechanisms behind these effects and the role of regular physical activity in the attenuation of age-related decline in proprioception.     

The role of sports in making sense of the process of growing old

Drawing on interviews with 22 athletically active old men and women, the study explores whether and how the practice of sports can affect old adults' processes of sense-making about old age and the process of growing old in ways that challenge dominant constructions about old age. Thereto, the study will explore the possible impact of gender in this process. The results show that men and women who continue to practice competitive sports into old age make sense of the process of growing old by focusing primarily on their physical abilities, at least in the context of sports. This focus on capability age allows them partly, although not completely, to challenge the usual thinking about old age and the process of growing old.     

Experiencing emerging adulthood in the Netherlands

Emerging adulthood is recognized as a recent and developmentally distinct phase in the life-course, characterized as a period of identity exploration, of instability, being self-focused, feeling in-between, and an age of possibilities. To measure the subjective experience of emerging adulthood Reifman, Arnett, and Colwell developed the Inventory of the Dimensions of Emerging Adulthood (IDEA). While a series of studies demonstrated the applicability of the five dimensions of emerging adulthood and effectiveness of IDEA for measuring these in US samples, results from non-US samples revealed important cultural differences in how emerging adulthood is experienced. The current study tests the extent to which emerging adulthood is experienced by Dutch young people, and the relevance and validity of the IDEA for a general urban population sample from the Netherlands. We examined differences between socioeconomic and ethnic groups within this population. The results revealed that certain aspects of the Dutch emerging adulthood experience are different from the USA. In addition, there are small but significant differences between Dutch socioeconomic and ethnic groups in how this period of life is experienced. Economic and cultural explanations for these differences are discussed.     

Accessibility of sports facilities for persons with reduced mobility and assessment of their motivation for practice

This study aims to create awareness, both within the scientific community and among providers of sports facilities, for individuals with impaired or reduced mobility, promoting the development of technical solutions that allow greater autonomy and social integration of people with disabilities. The purpose of this work is, on the one hand, to evaluate the accessibility of sports facilities for people with reduced mobility and, on the other hand, to investigate why this user group has such low rates of participation in sporting activities. Firstly, using the Portuguese norms and legislation transcribed from European Community directives, a check list was created comprising all the items that sports facilities should abide by in order to provide accessibility and safety to people with reduced mobility. Another questionnaire was designed aimed at this user group, with questions pertaining to their desire and ability to use sports facilities. This questionnaire was distributed in Portugal, in the greater metropolitan area of Porto, to users of Rehabilitation Centres and Physiotherapy Clinics. The results obtained from the check-list showed the compliances and non-compliances of the respective sports facilities, proving that many barriers preventing the participation of people with reduced mobility still exist. Twenty-four people with permanent impairment of the lower extremities (paraplegia) answered the questionnaire pertaining to the desire and ability to perform physical activity. Two individuals (8%) had sporting activities available to them in their area of residence and only five (21%) performed any physical activity. The main reason given for not taking part in any activity was the lack of adapted sports facilities. All the participants felt that taking part in sports is beneficial. The benefits stated were: general well-being and development of the psychomotor component (e.g. coordination, balance, body posture), of physical condition (e.g. strength, resistance, flexibility) and social integration and quality of life. Besides wellbeing, they also mentioned social interaction, a way of occupying their time and an escape from the routine as the main motives for which they would like to take up physical exercise.     

Social inequalities and exercise during adulthood: toward an ecological perspective

Grounded in ecological theory, this study examines the association among participation in regular vigorous exercise and social status, aspects of prominent life settings, interactions between life settings, and more proximal individual resources and processes using data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (N = 3,032). Among women, a higher level of earnings was associated with more vigorous exercise, yet those women with more education had a steeper decline in exercise across adulthood. Among men, those with the lowest level of education had the steepest decline in physical activity across adulthood, and earnings did not affect exercise patterns. Less participation in vigorous exercise among blacks, in contrast to nonblacks, was explained by their tendency to live in less safe neighborhoods and having more functional health problems. Finally, contextual factors from multiple domains were independently associated with participation in regular exercise. Consistent with ecological theory, these results suggest that interventions to promote exercise habits among adults need to consider the independent and interactive effects of multiple contextual factors.     

Predicting participation and outcomes in out-of-school activities: similarities and differences across social ecologies

The majority of research on out-of-school-time activity participation has focused on its relation to academic and social development, presumed to be consequences of participation, rather than on antecedents or predictors of participation. Understanding who participates in these programs can assist program directors in improving and sustaining youth involvement. This chapter uses data from two research study samples to examine differences in children's activity participation based on family social ecology and child gender and how the relations between participation and outcomes vary based on sample, gender, and activity type. Although children in both samples were of roughly the same age and were assessed for similar outcomes, their family incomes, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and neighborhoods were very different. Findings suggest that participation in activities varies depending on the young person's social ecology, age, and gender. Furthermore, participation in activities was typically associated with positive youth outcomes, but these relations varied depending on the level of youth participation, type of activity, and social ecology.