Relationships between leisure activity types and well-being in older adults

This study investigates the relationships between specific types of leisure activities and well-being variables (i.e. health perception, life satisfaction and optimism) in older adults. A convenience sample of 188 participants ranging in age from 60 to 90 years (M = 74.99, SD = 5.49) was recruited from three different senior centres in Korea. Three hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between specific types of leisure activities (outdoor, physical, hobbies and indoor, cultural, home-centred and social and volunteering) and outcome variables. After controlling for covariates, it was revealed that home-centred and social activities were associated with all outcome variables. Volunteer activities were positively related to health perception and life satisfaction. Positive relationships were also observed between life satisfaction and physical activities, optimism and cultural activities and health perception and outdoor activities. These findings suggest that promoting positive social interaction in recreational settings and encouraging participation in volunteer activities are important factors contributing to successful ageing.     

健康不平等视角下医疗服务可及性对老年健康的影响* ——基于CLHLS数据的实证分析

随着我国人口预期寿命的延长和人口老龄化进程的加剧,如何促进老年健康成为学术界及政策制定者亟需关注的重要议题。基于2005年、2008年、2011年及2014年"中国老年健康影响因素跟踪调查"(CLHLS)数据,以健康不平等理论为研究视角,探讨医疗服务可及性对老年健康的影响。研究结果表明,医疗服务可及性与老年健康之间呈显著相关,医疗服务不可及会显著增加老年人IADL、ADL及认知功能障碍和死亡风险;且这种关系随性别、年龄及城乡呈现出差异性。具体表现为医疗服务可及性对女性老人健康结果的影响大于男性老人;对低龄和中龄女性老人与中高龄男性老人的影响大于同性别的其他年龄组;与城镇老人相比,医疗服务可及性对农村老人健康结果的影响更大。医疗服务可及性对老年健康影响的性别、年龄及城乡差异,与其在整个生命周期中所遭遇的不公平制度环境有关。研究的政策意义在于,在我国人口快速老龄化的背景下,如何通过提升医疗保障制度在不同性别、年龄以及城乡之间的公平性来提高老年人医疗服务可及性,消弭由于制度不公平而带来的健康不平等,从而降低老年人IADL、ADL及认知障碍的发生率及死亡风险,实现老年群体的健康老龄化。     

How do leisure activities impact leisure domain and life domain satisfaction and subjective well-being?

This study examines the impact of leisure activities on leisure domain and life domain satisfactions and subjective well-being (SWB) and explores the differences between genders in these associations, using data from 316 middle-aged adults. The results suggest that sports and travel & outdoor activities have the greatest impact on physiological, psychological, and relaxing satisfactions. Social activities are key ingredients in social, psychological, and physiological satisfactions as seen by men, whereas cultural activities and hobbies are important in women's psychological satisfaction. While relaxing and social satisfactions are important in men's SWB, psychological satisfaction is the most important factor in women's SWB.     

Travel risk dimensions,personal-related factors,and intention to visit a destination: a study of young educated German adults

The study examines travel risk dimensions and their relationships with tourist role, past visit experience, gender and intention to visit Thailand among young educated German adults. Using an online survey of 323 German university students, six dimensions of travel risk perception and their relationships with tourist role and past travel experience were revealed. Over-commercialisation risk was found to be the most concerned risk and produce different relationships with tourist role and travel experience from other types of risks. Although political risk was of least concern, it was confirmed as the only risk having a negative influence on travel intention.     

Experience,change and vulnerability: consumer education for older people revisited

Everyday consumer transactions have the same potential for unexpected consequence whatever the age of the consumers involved. Young and old alike can find that products and services fail to live up to performance claims and that they are left with problems not easily resolved, or costs that are difficult to recover. While not overlooking consumer heterogeneity – especially on the basis of age – older consumers are arguably distinguishable in terms of the social and financial context in which they make decisions and attempt to redress problems. In 1988, attention was drawn to the need for consumer education to look beyond generic objectives to the specific situation of older people and their transactions. More than a decade later, in an allegedly consumer‐oriented society, the issue is revisited here to assess the argument's current relevance. Despite the increased availability of information for decisions and consumer protection, difficulties persist in the way information is presented or accessed. Chameleon‐like, old problems become manifest in new unfamiliar ways and invalidate experience. Consumer education today is as important as it was in 1988. Arguably, technological change means that the need for a better understanding of dangers, rights and redress procedures is greater than ever and the needs of older people in increasingly complex private and public sector transaction environments are all the more pressing. However, a fundamental revision of the way we approach the design of products, services and environments is needed to improve prospects for older consumers.     

Effects of service setting and other consumers’ age on the service perceptions of young consumers

Services are often delivered in settings where many consumers are present at the same time, yet the issue of how other consumers affect service perceptions has received little attention. We study young adults’ response to fellow consumers who are middle-aged and old, testing predictions based on recent research suggesting that stereotypes are context dependent, and that stereotypes of older adults vary depending on the person attributes considered. Varying the age of the other consumers and service settings we find that the presence of older consumers affects young adults’ attitude to the service as well as their patronage intentions. Young consumers’ attitude to the service deteriorated in the presence of older consumers for services requiring physical attributes, but this was less so for services requiring personal expressive attributes.     

Age stereotypes and the job suitability of older workers from hotel managers’ perspectives

This study explored hotel managers’ views of older workers and the underlying mechanism of their appraisal of older workers’ job suitability. A qualitative research approach was adopted: in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 hotel managers in Hong Kong. Analysis of the hotel managers’ responses revealed that age stereotypes influenced their perceptions of the suitability of certain jobs for older workers. The study contributes to the hospitality literature by developing a novel version of the cognitive framework of prototype matching to examine hotel managers’ perceptions of job suitability according to age. It offers examples of age-typed jobs in the hotel industry and suggests human resource practices to reduce age stereotypes and age-related discrimination in the hotel workplace.     

Positive emotions and spirituality in older travelers

This paper explores the potential of travel to generate self-transcendent positive emotions and contribute to the spirituality of travelers. Senior travelers are chosen as the target group for this research as spirituality and focus on emotions are salient characteristics of older adults. Sixteen depth interviews are conducted with experienced travelers aged 60–85. Content analysis reveals that travelling generates three categories of self-transcendent positive emotions including awe of natural beauty and Man’s harmonious relationship with nature, awe of manmade heritage and artistic beauty, admiration of other people and appreciation of kindness. Respondents also describe how travelling positively influences their spirituality by giving a positive meaning to their lives and nurturing their reflection on the meaning of life.     

Serious Leisure,Life Satisfaction,and Health of Older Adults

This study explored the relationships among serious leisure, life satisfaction, and health. The study sample consisted of 454 older adults from two annual events: the 2008 Indiana Senior Olympic Games and 2008 Colorado Senior Olympic Games. Cluster analysis was used to identify distinct groups based upon patterns of serious leisure involvement. In addition, relations among life satisfaction, health, and membership in serious leisure clusters were documented. This analysis resulted in three clusters, and they were named high/medium/low involvement groups. A one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was employed to determine cluster differences in life satisfaction, physical health, and mental health. MANOVA results revealed significant differences among the clusters on dependent variables. The findings document significant heterogeneity in the expression of serious leisure involvement among the Senior Games participants. The results also suggest that there are positive relationships between level of involvement in serious leisure and life satisfaction and health.     

Serious leisure among older gardeners in Australia

Activities such as gardening are fast becoming acknowledged as a much desired health management strategy in later life. However, few studies have examined gardening as a serious leisure pursuit. The aim of this study was to apply the concept of serious leisure to the context of leisure gardening by older adults in Australia. Casual, participant and devotee gardeners were compared with respect to the relative importance of the characteristics of serious leisure, using self-administered questionnaires (n = 514). Findings indicated that characteristics of serious leisure varied significantly across the three groups. The most powerful discriminating characteristics were Identity, Unique Ethos and Significant Effort; with Identity particularly important for devotee gardeners. The deeper the level of engagement, the more gardening was perceived as contributing to overall life satisfaction. Findings indicated that gardening could be a serious leisure pursuit that assists in the development of a positive leisure identity and contributes to a more mobile and active life for older adults.