Prospective Associations Between Older Adults' Social Connections and Trajectories of Change in Physical Activity and Psychological Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Date
2024-09-19
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Social connections show promising evidence for increasing physical activity participation and improving psychological well-being among older adults. However, there is limited longitudinal examinations of associations between different social connection constructs and changes in physical activity and psychological well-being, particularly across periods of rapid change. The purpose of this thesis was to prospectively examine associations between baseline values of social connections and trajectories of change in physical activity and psychological well-being among adults 55 years of age and older. Data was collected over a 6-month period during the COVID-19 pandemic. A single dataset was used for both studies in this thesis. The first study examined associations between seven social connection constructs and trajectories of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and light-intensity physical activity during a period in the COVID-19 pandemic when access to community-based programs was restricted and then restored to follow public health requirements. Six monthly surveys were administered between October 2021 and May 2022 (N = 890). Hypotheses were tested using latent growth curve modelling. Injunctive and descriptive norms did not significantly change over time. Social network and relatedness had a negative linear change whereas social support amount and quality had a positive linear change. Social participation and light-intensity physical activity changed quadratically, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity demonstrated linear and quadratic change over time. Social network negatively predicted the positive quadratic curve of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and descriptive norms positively predicted the quadratic curve of light-intensity physical activity. The second study investigated associations between seven social connection constructs and trajectories of change in stress, negative affect, and positive affect among an older adult sample. Latent growth curve modelling indicated stress and negative affect declined linearly, while positive affect followed a positive quadratic change. Descriptive norms negatively predicted the change in stress, whereas social participation positively predicted the change in negative affect and negatively predicted the change in positive affect. Together findings from these studies provide insights into the nature of these relationships and suggests levels of social connections may make older adults resilient to factors that change their physical activity and psychological well-being.
Description
Keywords
older adults, physical activity, well-being, covid-19, social connections
Citation
Lavallée, N. (2024). Prospective associations between older adults' social connections and trajectories of change in physical activity and psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.