title: Continuity of leisure participation from middle age to old age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Continuity in habits, activities, and roles is important upon entering old age according to the continuity theory of aging. Few studies have investigated patterns of leisure participation over an extended period of time among older adults. This study examines changes in nine different leisure activities in a nationally representative sample of individuals followed over a 34-year period in Sweden.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used longitudinal data from three waves of an interview survey that followed 495 individuals from 1968 to 2002. Individuals were aged 43-65 in 1968 and 77-99 in 2002. We conducted logistic regression analyses on each of the leisure activities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For the panel followed, a decline in participation rates was the most common pattern over time. Analyses at the individual level showed that late-life participation was generally preceded by participation earlier in life. Previous participation, both 10 and 34 years earlier, predicted late-life participation. The modifying effect of functional status in late life was small.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In accordance with the continuity theory of aging, leisure participation in old age is often a continuation of previous participation. However, there is considerable variation among both activities and individuals.
authors.affiliation: Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden. neda.agahi@ki.se
authors.forename: Neda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Agahi
authors.forename: Kozma
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ahacic
authors.forename: Marti G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007899:Leisure Activities / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires