title: Predictors of older adults' personal and community mobility: using a comprehensive theoretical mobility framework.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Forty-six percent of older adults report limitations in their mobility, and maintaining mobility is considered an important factor in keeping adults independent and active in later life. This study tests a comprehensive theoretical framework of mobility (Webber, S. C., Porter, M. M., & Menec, V. H. [2010]. Mobility in older adults: A comprehensive framework. The Gerontologist, 50[4], 443-450. doi:10.1093/geront/gnq013) identifying multiple determinants that additively influence mobility (financial, psychosocial, environmental, physical, and cognitive), as well as cross-cutting influences of gender, culture, and biography.
  
  
  METHODS
  Structural equation modeling was used to examine several models of mobility using data from 6,112 respondents in the Health and Retirement Study (mean age: 74.74, 85% white, 41% male, 57% married).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The original measurement model fit the data well. When both personal and community mobility were simultaneously predicted, only the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, and environmental determinants were retained in the independent models. Age and marital status also predicted personal and community mobility. Although most of these relationships were in the expected direction, interestingly when both forms of mobility were included in the model, poorer cognitive ability was associated with greater personal mobility in the final model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results indicate the importance of accounting for and examining comprehensive models of mobility. The factors affecting older adults' mobility are complex, and these relationships need to be explored in more depth to ensure the maintenance of individuals' independence and quality of life.
authors.affiliation: *Address correspondence to M. Renée Umstattd Meyer, MCHES, Department of Health, Human Performance, & Recreation, Baylor University, One Bear Place 97313, Waco, TX 76798. E-mail: Renee_Umstattd@Baylor.edu.
authors.forename: M Renée
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Umstattd Meyer
authors.forename: Megan C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Janke
authors.forename: A Alexander
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Beaujean
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D008962:Models, Theoretical
keywords: Health and Retirement Study; Structural equation modeling; Theory testing