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Physical activity social support and middle- and older-aged minority women: results from a US survey

Author

Listed:
  • Eyler, Amy A.
  • Brownson, Ross C.
  • Donatelle, Rebecca J.
  • King, Abby C.
  • Brown, David
  • Sallis, James F.

Abstract

Background: Many American adults remain sedentary despite many known health benefits. Research on the determinants of physical activity have indicated that social support is one of the strongest correlates, but little is known about this relation in important subgroups of middle and older-aged women. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the association of physical activity-related social support on several measures of physical activity in a national sample of minority women. A unique aspect of these measures is the inclusion of vigorous household tasks and occupational physical activities. Methods: The US Women's Determinants Study was conducted in 1996-1997. The survey was a modified-random sample, telephone survey of 2912 Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and White women age 40 and older. A composite score of physical activity social support (PASS) was analyzed as the independent variable in logistic regression analyses. Four measures of physical activity levels served as the dependent variables. A separate analysis was done to distinguish PASS from friends versus PASS from relatives. The potential confounding effect of race/ethnicity, marital status, age, income and education were evaluated and adjusted in the models. Results: Hispanic women were more likely to have high PASS scores than the other racial/ethnic groups. Odds ratios indicate that subjects with high levels of PASS were significantly less likely to be sedentary than those with low support, even after adjusting for race/ethnicity. While there were significant associations among levels of social support and physical activity, this was not true for the measure of "regular exercise." There was no significant difference between the contribution of "friend" support versus "family" support on all four measures on physical activity. Discussion: Based on our results, enhancing social support may be an important aspect of interventions aimed at increasing physical activity in a population of sedentary women of various racial/ethnic backgrounds. Also, "regular exercisers" in this population appear to be less reliant social support to maintain their behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Eyler, Amy A. & Brownson, Ross C. & Donatelle, Rebecca J. & King, Abby C. & Brown, David & Sallis, James F., 1999. "Physical activity social support and middle- and older-aged minority women: results from a US survey," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 49(6), pages 781-789, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:49:y:1999:i:6:p:781-789
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    Cited by:

    1. Wagemakers, Annemarie & Vaandrager, Lenneke & Koelen, Maria A. & Saan, Hans & Leeuwis, Cees, 2010. "Community health promotion: A framework to facilitate and evaluate supportive social environments for health," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 428-435, November.
    2. McNeill, Lorna Haughton & Kreuter, Matthew W. & Subramanian, S.V., 2006. "Social Environment and Physical activity: A review of concepts and evidence," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(4), pages 1011-1022, August.
    3. Coulon, Sandra M. & Wilson, Dawn K. & Egan, Brent M., 2013. "Associations among environmental supports, physical activity, and blood pressure in African-American adults in the PATH trial," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 108-115.
    4. Jing Liu & Yu Cheng & Joseph T F Lau & Anise M S Wu & Vincent W S Tse & Shenglai Zhou, 2015. "The Majority of the Migrant Factory Workers of the Light Industry in Shenzhen, China May Be Physically Inactive," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(8), pages 1-14, August.
    5. Johnson, Blair T. & Acabchuk, Rebecca L., 2018. "What are the keys to a longer, happier life? Answers from five decades of health psychology research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 218-226.
    6. Kyunghwan Jung & Younglae Choi, 2023. "Factors Influencing Physical Activity and Exercise in Older Adults during COVID-19 in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-20, May.
    7. Barbara Schehl & Joerg Leukel, 2020. "Associations between individual factors, environmental factors, and outdoor independence in older adults," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 291-298, September.
    8. Torres, Jacqueline M., 2013. "Cross-border ties and self-rated health status for young Latino adults in Southern California," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 79-86.
    9. Barbara Resnick & Denise Orwig & Jay Magaziner & Carol Wynne, 2002. "The Effect of Social Support on Exercise Behavior in Older Adults," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 11(1), pages 52-70, February.
    10. Yuge Tian & Zhenguo Shi, 2022. "The Relationship between Social Support and Exercise Adherence among Chinese College Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Effects of Subjective Exercise Experience and Commitment," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-11, September.
    11. José Antonio Serrano-Sanchez & Angela Lera-Navarro & Cecilia Dorado-García & Juan José González-Henriquez & Joaquin Sanchis-Moysi, 2012. "Contribution of Individual and Environmental Factors to Physical Activity Level among Spanish Adults," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(6), pages 1-10, June.
    12. Elena Druică & Rodica Ianole-Călin & Monica Sakizlian & Daniela Aducovschi & Remus Dumitrescu & Robert Sakizlian, 2021. "Testing the Youth Physical Activity Promotion Model during the COVID-19 Pandemic, with Partial Least Squares Second-Order Latent Constructs," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-15, June.
    13. Thaneswaran Marthammuthu & Farizah Mohd Hairi & Wan Yuen Choo & Nur Afiqah Mohd Salleh & Noran Naqiah Hairi, 2021. "A Qualitative Investigation on the Roles of Social Support on Physical Activity Behaviour among the Rural-Dwelling Older Women in Malaysia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-16, September.
    14. Sonja Wicklum & Elsy Willis & Ashley Amson & K. Ashlee McGuire & Lynden Lindsay Crowshoe & Kerry McBrien & Rita Henderson, 2021. "A Systematic Literature Review of Physical Activity-Based Health Programs for Indigenous Women: Impacts on Physical Activity Levels, Obesity, and Community Building," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, June.
    15. Sangguk Kang & Dong-Han Kim & Jaeseok Lee, 2023. "The Role of a Community-Based Leisure Program for Older Adults’ Leisure-Time Physical Activity: A Focus on the Social–Ecological Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-12, October.
    16. Wegner, Christine E. & King, Ceridwyn & Jordan, Jeremy S., 2020. "The role of organizational membership in overcoming dissonant sport activity identities," Sport Management Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 455-468.
    17. Haewon Byeon, 2019. "Relationship between Physical Activity Level and Depression of Elderly People Living Alone," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-10, October.
    18. Saunders, Ruth P. & Wilcox, Sara & Baruth, Meghan & Dowda, Marsha, 2014. "Process evaluation methods, implementation fidelity results and relationship to physical activity and healthy eating in the Faith, Activity, and Nutrition (FAN) study," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 93-102.

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