Stability in health behavior patterns in middle adulthood: a 19-year follow-up study

Objective: This study investigated subgroups of adults with particular health behavior patterns, their stability over 19 years, and the role of sociodemographic and personality characteristics in these.

Methods and Measures: Data on smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity were collected at ages 42, 50, and 61 in the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development (n = 205-302). Latent class, latent transition, and logistic regression analyses were used.

Results: Four similar classes of health behaviors were identified at each age. A class named low alcohol consumption (AC)-high physical activity (PA) included individuals with the lowest levels of alcohol consumption and the highest levels of physical activity, and a class named high AC-low PA vice versa. Classes between these extremes of alcohol consumption and physical activity levels were nonsmokers with the lowest proportion of smokers, and smokers vice versa. Although transitions emerged, class memberships were relatively stable. Women, those who were married, held a degree, had higher occupational status, and certain personality traits at age 42 were more likely to belong continuously to healthier classes compared to a stable membership in high AC-low PA.

Conclusion: Health behaviors exist in patterns, are relatively stable across adulthood, and associated with sociodemographic and personality characteristics.

Health hopes and fears for the future in relation to health behavior and current health status

We examined the relationships among age, health, beliefs, and possible-selves. Using a new approach based on health-related possible-selves, young-old and older individuals were separated into specific health types: (1) improvement or maintenance health hopes and (2) preventable or unpreventable health fears. The young-old perceived greater capability to achieve health hopes and reported more health activities than older individuals; the older group reported more maintenance than improvement. More unpreventable fears were related to experiencing higher pain and worse physical functioning. Health types provide useful information about individual differences in health behavior and beliefs and are sensitive to current health status.

An Interaction Effect of Leisure Self-determination and Leisure Competence on Older Adults’ Self-rated Health

This study examined whether there was an interaction effect of leisure self-determination and leisure competence on older adults’ self-rated health (SRH), controlling for self-efficacy. Three hundred eighty-nine older adults living in Keelung City, Taiwan were systematically selected as participants. Data were collected by a face-to-face questionnaire survey which included measures of self-efficacy, leisure self-determination, leisure competence, and SRH scales. The data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The results showed a significant reinforcement interaction effect of leisure self-determination and leisure competence on SRH among the participants after controlling for self-efficacy. Implications of the results are further discussed.