title: What will they think? The relationship between self-presentational concerns and balance and mobility outcomes in older women.
abstract: BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Indirect evidence suggests that concerns over the impressions made on others (self-presentational concerns) may be associated with balance-related outcomes in older adults, but no empirical evidence exists to support this speculation. The present study examined the relationship between self-presentational concerns (social anxiety, social physique anxiety, and self-presentational efficacy) and functional mobility, accounting for age, balance confidence, falls, and muscle strength.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy women (60 years or older; N = 187) completed measures of self-presentational concerns, balance confidence, and fall history, and performed the timed up and go (TUG) test and a test of leg strength. Bivariate correlations were conducted. A hierarchical regression predicted TUG duration from the three self-presentational concerns, controlling for age, balance confidence, falls, and muscle strength to examine the unique variance in TUG duration explained by self-presentational concerns.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Self-presentational efficacy was a significant predictor of TUG duration over and above that of age, balance confidence, falls, and muscle strength. The results also showed significant correlations between social anxiety and self-presentational efficacy and TUG duration, between all three self-presentational concerns and balance confidence, and between social physique anxiety and self-presentational efficacy and falls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Research is needed to examine the causal relationship between these outcomes. Investigating self-presentational concerns in older women may provide novel ways to impact balance-related outcomes in this population. Practical implications for clinicians are discussed, as the social and physical environment may influence self-presentational concerns in this population and subsequently impact assessment and treatment outcomes.
authors: a Department of Kinesiology , Brock University , St. Catharines , Ontario , Canada.
authors: Larkin
authors: L
authors: Lamarche
authors: Kimberley L
authors: KL
authors: Gammage
authors: Panagiota
authors: P
authors: Klentrou
authors: Allan L
authors: AL
authors: Adkin
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D001007:Anxiety; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000502:physiology; D008124:Locomotion; D008875:Middle Aged; D053580:Muscle Strength; D004856:Postural Balance; D012649:Self Concept; D057566:Self Report