Objective: The purpose of the current study was to examine the bidirectional relationship between physical activity (PA) and purpose in life in an older adult sample using longitudinal data. Method: Data were collected from three waves (2006, 2010, and 2014) of the Health and Retirement Study. A total of 4591 participants who had complete information of PA and purpose in life at baseline were included in the current study. A series of cross-lagged models were tested separately for vigorous-intensity PA, moderate-intensity PA, and light-intensity PA. Results: While higher levels of purpose in life were associated with more frequent engagement in future vigorous-intensity PA, moderate-intensity PA, and light-intensity PA, none of the PA variables predicted subsequent purpose in life. Discussion: The results did not support a reciprocal relationship between PA and purpose in life in older adults. It is more likely that purpose in life predicts PA, rather than vice versa.
AmireaultS.BaierJ. M.SpencerJ. R. (2018). Physical activity preferences among older adults: A systematic review. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 27(1), 128-139.
2.
ArbuckleJ. L. (1996). Full information estimation in the presence of incomplete data. In G. A. Marcoulides & R. E. Schumacker (Eds.), Advanced structural equation modeling: Issues and techniques (pp. 243-277). Lawrence Erlbaum.
3.
AshfordS.EdmundsJ.FrenchD. P. (2010). What is the best way to change self-efficacy to promote lifestyle and recreational physical activity? A systematic review with meta-analysis. British Journal of Health Psychology, 15(2), 265-288. doi:10.1348/135910709X461752
4.
BanduraA. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215.
5.
BollenK. A. (1989). A new incremental fit index for general structural equation models. Sociological Methods & Research, 17(3), 303-316.
6.
BoyleP. A.BuchmanA. S.BarnesL. L.BennettD. A. (2010). Effect of a purpose in life on risk of incident Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older persons. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67(3), 304-310.
7.
BrassaiL.PikoB. F.StegerM. F. (2015). A reason to stay healthy: The role of meaning in life in relation to physical activity and healthy eating among adolescents. Journal of Health Psychology, 20(5), 473-482.
8.
BreitbartW.PoppitoS.RosenfeldB.VickersA. J.LiY.AbbeyJ.AbbeyJ.OldenM.PessinH.LichtenthalW.SjobergD.CassilethB. R. (2012). Pilot randomized controlled trial of individual meaning-centered psychotherapy for patients with advanced cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 30(12), 1304-1309.
9.
BrownT. A. (2015). Confirmatory factor analysis for applied research. Guilford publications.
10.
ChenD. S.BetzJ.YaffeK.AyonayonH. N.KritchevskyS.MartinK. R.MartinK. R.HarrisT. B.Purchase-HelznerE.SatterfieldS.XueQ.-L.PrattS.SimonsickE. M.LinF. R. (2015). Association of hearing impairment with declines in physical functioning and the risk of disability in older adults. The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 70(5), 654-661.
11.
ChoiS.McDonoughI. M.KimM.KimG. (2018). The association between the number of chronic health conditions and advance care planning varies by race/ethnicity. Aging & Mental Health, 24(3), 453-463.
12.
CrosswellA. D.SureshM.PutermanE.GruenewaldT. L.LeeJ.EpelE. S. (2018). Advancing research on psychosocial stress and aging with the health and retirement study: Looking back to launch the field forward. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 75(5), 970-980.
13.
DelextratA. A.WarnerS.GrahamS.NeupertE. (2016). An 8-week exercise intervention based on zumba improves aerobic fitness and psychological well-being in healthy women. Journal of Physical Activity & Health, 13(2), 131-139.
14.
DeWitzS. J.WoolseyM. L.WalshW. B. (2009). College student retention: An exploration of the relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and purpose in life among college students. Journal of College Student Development, 50(1), 19-34.
FriedmanE. M.HayneyM.LoveG. D.SingerB. H.RyffC. D. (2007). Plasma interleukin-6 and soluble IL-6 receptors are associated with psychological well-being in aging women. Health Psychology, 26(3), 305-313.
17.
HolahanC. K.SuzukiR. (2006). Motivational factors in health promoting behavior in later aging. Activities, Adaptation & Aging, 30(1), 47-60.
18.
HolahanC. K.HolahanC. J.SuzukiR. (2008). Purposiveness, physical activity, and perceived health in cardiac patients. Disability and Rehabilitation, 30(23), 1772-1778.
19.
HolahanC. K.HolahanC. J.VelasquezK. E.JungS.NorthR. J.PahlS. A. (2011). Purposiveness and leisure-time physical activity in women in early midlife. Women & Health, 51(7), 661-675.
20.
HomanK. J. (2016). Self-compassion and psychological well-being in older adults. Journal of Adult Development, 23(2), 111-119.
21.
HomanK. J.BoyatzisC. J. (2010). Religiosity, sense of meaning, and health behavior in older adults. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 20(3), 173-186.
22.
HookerS. A.MastersK. S. (2016). Purpose in life is associated with physical activity measured by accelerometer. Journal of Health Psychology, 21(6), 962-971.
JohnsonB. T.AcabchukR. L. (2018). What are the keys to a longer, happier life? Answers from five decades of health psychology research. Social Science & Medicine, 196, 218-226.
25.
JuH. (2017). The relationship between physical activity, meaning in life, and subjective vitality in community-dwelling older adults. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 73, 120-124.
26.
KearneyM. W. (2017). The SAGE encyclopedia of communication research methods. SAGE Publications, Inc.
27.
KennyD. A. (1975). Cross-lagged panel correlation: A test for spuriousness. Psychological Bulletin, 82(6), 887-903.
28.
KimE. S.SunJ. K.ParkN.PetersonC. (2013). Purpose in life and reduced incidence of stroke in older adults: 'The health and retirement study'. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 74(5), 427-432.
29.
KimJ.LeeS.ChunS.HanA.HeoJ. (2017). The effects of leisure-time physical activity for optimism, life satisfaction, psychological well-being, and positive affect among older adults with loneliness. Annals of Leisure Research, 20(4), 406-415.
30.
KimE. S.ShibaK.BoehmJ. K.KubzanskyL. D. (2020). Sense of purpose in life and five health behaviors in older adults. Preventive Medicine, 139, 106172.
31.
KlineR. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling. Guilford Publications.
32.
LeonhardtCLehrDChenotJFKellerSLuckmannJBaslerHDBaumEDonner-BanzhoffNPfingstenMHildebrandtJKochenMMBeckerA (2009). Are fear-avoidance beliefs in low back pain patients a risk factor for low physical activity or vice versa? A cross-lagged panel analysis. Psycho-Social Medicine, 6, Doc01.
33.
MackD. E.WilsonP. M.GunnellK. E.GilchristJ. D.KowalskiK. C.CrockerP. R. E. (2012). Health-enhancing physical activity: Associations with markers of well-being. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 4(2), 127-150.
34.
McMahanE. A.EstesD. (2011). Hedonic versus eudaimonic conceptions of well-being: Evidence of differential associations with self-reported well-being. Social Indicators Research, 103(1), 93-108.
35.
MeeksT. W.VahiaI. V.LavretskyH.KulkarniG.JesteD. V. (2011). A tune in “a minor” can “b major”: a review of epidemiology, illness course, and public health implications of subthreshold depression in older adults. Journal of Affective Disorders, 129(1-3), 126-142.
36.
MilanovicZ.JorgićB.TrajkovićN.SporišG.PantelićS.JamesN. (2013). Age-related decrease in physical activity and functional fitness among elderly men and women. Clinical Interventions in Aging, 8, 549-556.
37.
MiltonK.BullF. C.BaumanA. (2011). Reliability and validity testing of a single-item physical activity measure. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45(3), 203-208.
38.
MiltonK.ClemesS.BullF. (2013). Can a single question provide an accurate measure of physical activity?British Journal of Sports Medicine, 47(1), 44-48.
39.
MusichS.WangS. S.KraemerS.HawkinsK.WickerE. (2018). Purpose in life and positive health outcomes among older adults. Population Health Management, 21(2), 139-147.
40.
MuthénL.MuthénB. (2019). The comprehensive modelling program for applied researchers: user’s guide. Muthén & Muthén.
41.
PinquartM. (2002). Creating and maintaining purpose in life in old age: A meta-analysis. Ageing International, 27(2), 90-114.
42.
RoepkeA. M.JayawickremeE.RiffleO. M. (2014). Meaning and health: A systematic review. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 9(4), 1055-1079.
43.
RuiniC.FavaG. A. (2012). Role of well-being therapy in achieving a balanced and individualized path to optimal functioning. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 19(4), 291-304.
44.
RushCLHookerSARossKMFrersAKPetersJCMastersKS (2019). Brief report: Meaning in life is mediated by self-efficacy in the prediction of physical activity. Journal of Health Psychology, 26(5), 753-757.
45.
RuuskanenJ. M.RuoppilaI. (1995). Physical activity and psychological well-being among people aged 65 to 84 years. Age and Ageing, 24(4), 292-296.
46.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52(1), 141-166.
47.
RyanR. M.HutaV.DeciE. L. (2008). Living well: A self-determination theory perspective on eudaimonia. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 139-170.
48.
RyffC. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069-1081.
49.
RyffC. D. (2014). Psychological well-being revisited: Advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 83(1), 10-28.
50.
RyffC. D.BoylanJ. M. (2016). Linking happiness to health: Comparisons between hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. In L. Bruni & P. L. Porta (Eds.), Handbook of research methods and applications in happiness and quality of life. Edward Elgar Publishing.
51.
RyffC. D.SingerB. (1998). The contours of positive human health. Psychological Inquiry, 9(1), 1-28.
52.
SchmidtC. K.Raque-BogdanT. L.PiontkowskiS.SchaeferK. L. (2011). Putting the positive in health psychology: A content analysis of three journals. Journal of Health Psychology, 16(4), 607-620.
53.
SeligmanM. E. P.CsikszentmihalyiM. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5-14.
54.
SmithB.MarshallA.HuangN. (2005). Screening for physical activity in family practice: Evaluation of two brief assessment tools. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 29(4), 256-264.
55.
SonnegaA.SmithJ. (2015). Health and retirement study: A longitudinal data resource for psychologists. In N. Pachana (Ed.), Encyclopedia of geropsychology (pp. 1-13). Springer.
56.
SonnegaA.FaulJ. D.OfstedalM. B.LangaK. M.PhillipsJ. W.WeirD. R. (2014). Cohort profile: The health and retirement study (HRS). International Journal of Epidemiology, 43(2), 576-585.
57.
StathokostasL.JonesG. R. (2016). Exercise modality choices one year after intervention in previously inactive older men and women. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 24(3), 435-443. doi:10.1123/japa.2015-0167
58.
StegerM. F.FrazierP.OishiS.KalerM. (2006). The meaning in life questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80-93.
59.
Vella-BrodrickD. A.StanleyJ. (2013). The significance of transport mobility in predicting well-being. Transport Policy, 29, 236-242.
60.
WiesmannU.HannichH.-J. (2011). Salutogenic perspectives on health maintenance. GeroPsych, 24(3), 127-135.
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
