title: Physical, Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Mediators of Activity Involvement and Health in Later Life.
abstract: The current study tests the indirect effect of activity-related physical activity, cognitive activity, social interaction, and emotional exchange on the relationship between activity involvement and health (physical and emotional) in later life. Longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study (N = 5,442) were used to estimate a series of linear regression models. We found significant indirect effects for social interaction and benefit to others (emotional exchange) on emotional health (depressive symptoms) and indirect effects for use of body and benefit to others (physical) on physical health (frailty). The most potent indirect effect associated with emotional and physical health was experienced by those engaged in all four domains (use of body, use of mind, social interaction, and benefit to others). While effect sizes are small and results should be interpreted with caution, findings shed light on ways in which public health interventions aimed toward increasing role engagement in later life could be improved.
authors.affiliation: Boston College School of Social Work, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA matzch@bc.edu.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Matz-Costa
authors.affiliation: Stanford Center on Longevity, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Dawn C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.affiliation: Center on Aging & Work at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Tay K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: McNamara
authors.affiliation: Center on Aging & Work at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jacquelyn Boone
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: James
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003863:Depression; D004526:Efficiency; D004651:Employment; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D014838:Volunteers
keywords: activity levels; employment; health outcomes; productivity; volunteer activity