Exploring the pleasure and sense of purpose associated with older peoples’ activities using ecological momentary analysis
Mini-Oral Presentation B2.8
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.615Keywords:
Older Adults, Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour, Ecological Momentary Assessment, Accelerometry, Momentary Happiness, Sense of PurposeAbstract
Background: Older people have more leisure time, but many are physically inactive. Momentary feelings of pleasure or happiness and sense of purpose can be sources of intrinsic motivation. This study’s objective was to investigate how the type (sedentary, active) and context (social and environmental) of older peoples’ activities relate to momentary feelings of happiness and purpose to inform intervention and policy design. Methods: Details of activities, contexts and feelings of semi-retired adults (n=67, aged 50-78y) were captured over 7 days using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) via a smart phone app. Participants were prompted six times at random per day resulting in 2,065 valid prompts. Participants wore an Actigraph accelerometer on the waist for 7 days to measure physical activity. Happiness and sense of purpose outcome variables were regressed on EMA- identified activities, context and confounding variables. Results: Sedentary activities were negatively associated with sense of purpose, especially when indoors; however, social sedentary activities (e.g. visiting friends and family) were positively associated with feelings of happiness. Active, social outdoor activities were positively associated with both happiness and sense of purpose. Less sedentary adults were more likely to experience higher happiness and sense of purpose during all activities. Conclusions: Both happiness and sense of purpose could be leveraged to design more effective interventions and policy for older people. Context is important for happiness, and social and outdoor activities are likely to have the widest appeal. The study needs to be replicated in a larger and more representative samples of older people. Funding: None.
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Copyright (c) 2021 Karen Hancock, Lauren B. Sherar, Paul Downward
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