title: Does a skiing intervention influence the psycho-social characteristics of the elderly?
abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess whether a guided alpine skiing intervention lasting 12 weeks has an impact on psycho-social dimensions, measured by subjective assessments, of individuals who are 60+ years of age. A number of well-established questionnaires were used to measure well-being, life satisfaction, self-concept, health status, depression and self-efficacy. The physical self-concept in the domain "strength" increased significantly in the intervention group from pre- to post-test and remained stable through the retention test, whereas the control group demonstrated nearly no alteration. A similar effect was obtained in life satisfaction for the dimension "friends and relatives." On the contrary, psycho-social aspects of the elderly were not negatively influenced. The subjects of this study had very high pre-test scores that might reflect a ceiling effect which, in turn, can explain the marginal positive impact of the intervention. The findings of this study argue for recommending a guided alpine skiing intervention for individuals who are 60 years of age and older with high values in psycho-social variables.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport Science and Kinesiology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria. thomas.finkenzeller@sbg.ac.at
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Finkenzeller
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Würth
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Amesberger
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012865:Skiing / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires