Walking trail access, exercise behavior, and going out-of-home among older adults: Examining longitudinal associations and mediators.

AIM: Although the presence of a walking trail within a neighborhood would be an important environmental determinant of health behaviors, such as exercise and going out-of-home, their longitudinal associations and mediators are still unconfirmed. This study examined the longitudinal associations of walking trail access with exercise behavior and going out-of-home and mediating roles of awareness and use of walking trails on their associations among older adults. METHODS: A four-wave questionnaire-based longitudinal survey was conducted among Japanese older adults (Wave 1: baseline; Wave 2: after one year; Wave 3: after three years; and Wave 4: after five years). Each survey measured weekly exercise time and frequency of going out-of-home. Wave 4 survey also measured awareness and use of walking trails. This study calculated distance to nearest walking trail using geographic information systems. This study analyzed the data from all waves (n = 834) for longitudinal associations and the data from Wave 4 (n = 567) for mediated associations. RESULTS: Latent growth modeling showed insignificant longitudinal associations of walking trail access with weekly exercise time and frequency of going out-of-home. The path analyses showed that a shorter distance to the walking trail was indirectly and significantly associated with longer weekly exercise time (standardized indirect effect=-0.03, p<.001) and a higher weekly frequency of going out-of-home (standardized indirect effect=-0.03, p<.001), mediated by awareness and use of walking trails. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that the influence of walking trail access on exercise behavior and going out-of-home would be attenuated by awareness and use of walking trails among older adults.

Physical Activity Components that Determine Daily Life Satisfaction Among Older Adults: An Intensive Longitudinal Diary Study.

BACKGROUND: Although previous studies have shown that engaging in physical activity can elevate daily life satisfaction, few studies have identified the specific aspects that can result in this. This study examined whether enjoying moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercises with others for a longer time, but not any aspects of non-exercise physical activity, was associated with higher daily life satisfaction among older adults. METHOD: We conducted an intensive longitudinal diary survey of 182 individuals for 1 week and obtained valid data for 853 person-days. The time spent engaging in light and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity at 8:00-11:59, 12:00-15:59, and 16:00-19:59 h was measured using an accelerometer. Duration, intensity, timing, social context, and enjoyment of the exercises were assessed based on diary entries. Stratified by non-exercise and exercise days, we conducted multilevel models. RESULTS: On non-exercise days, longer duration of light physical activity from 12:00 to 15:59 at the within-person level was associated with higher daily life satisfaction. On exercise days, longer duration of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity from 12:00 to 15:59 at the within-person level, longer exercise duration at the within-person level, exercising with moderate-to-vigorous intensity, and enjoyment of exercise at both the within- and between-person levels were associated with higher daily life satisfaction. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that enjoying moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise for a longer duration than usual and engaging in non-exercise physical activity in the afternoon are important for elevating older adults' daily life satisfaction.

Relationship Between Habitual Use and Degree of Emotion Regulation: Age Differences in Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression.

BACKGROUND: The present study examined age differences in and the relationship between two indices of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression: the degree of emotion regulation and the habitual use of emotion-regulation strategies. METHOD: In total, 101 younger and 99 older participants were included in this study. The degree of emotion regulation was measured using an experimental task in which participants were presented with negative or positive pictures and required to regulate their emotions. Habitual use of emotion regulation strategies was measured using an emotion regulation questionnaire. RESULTS: The results showed that younger adults regulated their emotions to a greater extent than older adults in both reappraisal and suppression. Younger adults were more likely to use reappraisal than were older adults, although there were no age differences in the use of suppression. No significant correlations were found between the degree of emotion regulation and the habitual use of emotion regulation strategies. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that age differences in emotion regulation depend on the regulation strategy and that the degree of emotion regulation and habitual use of emotion regulation strategies are independent and quite different indicators in nature.

Between- and Within-Couple Concordance for Health Behaviors Among Japanese Older Married Couples: Examining the Moderating Role of Working Time.

BACKGROUND: Although previous studies report spousal concordance for health behaviors at between-couple levels, concordance at within-couple levels remains unconfirmed. To clarify the behavioral mechanisms of spousal concordance for health behaviors among older couples at both levels, it is necessary to examine the moderators (effect modifiers) of spousal concordance. This study examined (1) whether spousal concordance for dietary variety, exercise behavior, and TV viewing behavior was observed at both the between-couple and the within-couple levels and (2) whether this spousal concordance was moderated by working time among older Japanese couples. METHOD: This study analyzed data obtained from a questionnaire-based, three-wave longitudinal survey (baseline, 1-year follow-up, 3-year follow-up) among 210 Japanese older couples. Each spouse's dietary variety, exercise time, TV viewing time, the couple's working time, and demographic factors were investigated by multi-level analyses. RESULTS: One spouse's dietary variety and TV viewing time, but not exercise time, were significantly associated with the other spouse's corresponding behaviors at both levels. The regressions of the wife's TV viewing time on the husband's TV viewing time were moderated by working time at the within-couple level; the regressive effects of wife's TV viewing time on husband's TV viewing time were more relevant as working time was lower. CONCLUSION: This study found that spousal concordance for dietary variety and TV viewing was observed at within-couple and between-couple levels among older Japanese couples. In addition, shorter working time partly moderates the wife's influence on the husband's TV viewing among older couples at the within-couple level.

Leisure-time management and subjective well-being among older adults: A three-wave longitudinal survey.

AIM: As older adults have longer leisure time and the types and influences of leisure activities they participate in are diverse, appropriate management of their leisure time would be important to optimize their subjective well-being. Although greater use of time management in educational and occupational settings is associated with better job performance, academic achievement, and the well-being of workers and students, few studies have investigated time management in leisure settings. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal association between leisure-time management and subjective well-being among older adults. METHODS: Data on 879 individuals in Nada Ward, Kobe, Japan were obtained from a three-wave questionnaire-based longitudinal survey (Wave 1: December 2017 to January 2018; Wave 2: after one year; Wave 3: after three years). In each survey, leisure-time management (newly developed in this study) and subjective well-being (simplified Japanese version of the World Health Organization Five Well-Being Index) were measured. This study used a cross-lagged model to analyze the longitudinal association between leisure-time management and subjective well-being after considering their inverse association. RESULTS: The cross-lagged model indicated that that the standardized path coefficients from leisure-time management in Wave 1 to subjective well-being in Wave 2 (0.13, p<0.001) and from leisure-time management in Wave 2 to subjective well-being in Wave 3 (0.06, p=0.042) were positive and significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that leisure-time management is a determinant of subjective well-being among older adults. This finding indicates that the management of leisure time elevates one's subjective well-being among them.

Does Future Time Perspective Moderate Associations of Instrumental and Affective Attitude With Exercise Behavior? A Three-Wave Longitudinal Survey Among Japanese Older Adults.

OBJECTIVES: To develop effective promotion strategies for exercise behavior in older adults, it is essential to identify the psychological determinants. Previous studies investigated affective and instrumental attitudes as determinants. However, from the conceptual assumptions of socioemotional selectivity theory, affective attitudes might be more influential on the exercise behavior of older adults with an expansive future time perspective, whereas instrumental attitudes would be more influential on those with limited perspectives. This study examined whether the associations of affective and instrumental attitudes with behavioral intention and exercise behavior differed according to future time perspective among older Japanese adults. METHODS: Data were obtained from a 3-wave longitudinal questionnaire survey of 886 individuals (Wave 1: December 2017-January 2018; Wave 2, 1-year follow-up; Wave 3, 3-year follow-up). Using the data on exercise behavior, affective and instrumental attitudes, and behavioral intention at each wave, and the data of future time perspective and demographic factors at Wave 1, this study performed multiple regression analyses and a multigroup cross-lagged model. RESULTS: Affective attitude was a significant predictor of behavioral intention regardless of future time perspective. Although instrumental attitude significantly predicted behavioral intention among those with a lower future time perspective, it did not predict behavioral intention among those with middle-to-higher future time perspective. Regardless of future time perspective, affective attitude, but not instrumental attitude, significantly predicted exercise behavior. DISCUSSION: Unlike the socioemotional selectivity theory, this study found that affective attitude was more influential on exercise behavior than instrumental attitude regardless of future time perspective among them.

Social network and health behaviors among Japanese older adults: a three-wave longitudinal study.

Identifying modifiable determinants of behavior is essential for developing effective strategies to promote health behaviors among older adults. Although social networks are potentially modifiable determinants of health behaviors, their longitudinal associations have not been established in previous studies. The present study examined whether a larger social network is associated with higher dietary variety, longer time spent exercising and shorter time spent viewing TV among older adults. This is a longitudinal study. The data of 908 Japanese older adults were obtained through a three-wave questionnaire survey (Wave 1, December 2017 to January 2018; Wave 2, after 1 year; Wave 3, after 3 years) and analyzed. In each wave of the survey, dietary variety (dietary variety score), exercise time (hours per day), TV viewing time (hours per day) and social network (family and friend subscales of the Japanese version of the abbreviated Lubben Social Network Scale) were measured. The present study used latent growth, cross-lagged and simultaneous effect models to investigate the longitudinal associations of family and friend social networks with dietary variety, exercise time and TV viewing time. However, these models did not show clear and robust associations. Whether social networks are determinants of health behaviors among older adults remains inconclusive.

The importance of promoting health behaviors among older adults is obvious. Identifying the modifiable determinants of health behaviors is essential for developing effective strategies to promote health behaviors. Although social networks are potentially modifiable determinants of health behaviors, their longitudinal associations have not been established in previous studies. This study examined the longitudinal associations between social networks and health behaviors among older adults. To address this issue, we conducted a three-wave questionnaire. However, we failed to find clear and robust associations between social networks and health behaviors. Whether social networks are determinants of health behaviors among older adults remains inconclusive.

Memory for actions and reality monitoring in adults with autism spectrum disorder.

Reality monitoring is the cognitive process of distinguishing between internally and externally generated information sources such as imagined and performed actions. The purpose of this study was to examine self-self-monitoring with action in people with autism, which has not been examined previously, using subject performed tasks along with free recall and recognition. Twenty adults with ASD and 20 adults with typical development (TD) participated in this study. Participants memorized action sentences such as "write in pencil" and "under imagined, pantomime, or enacted conditions." Free recall, yes/no recognition, and reality monitoring tests were conducted immediately after and one week later. There was no difference in reality monitoring between the ASD and TD groups. The free recall and recognition performance of the ASD group was lower than that of the TD group. The results of the present study support the previously reported finding of unimpaired retrospective mechanisms of sense of agency related to reality monitoring in people with ASD. Moreover, low levels of free recall and recognition were discussed regarding difficulties in memory reconstruction and consolidation.

Emotional valence of self-defining memories in older adults: A longitudinal study.

The present study aimed to evaluate the pleasantness bias and fading affect bias in self-defining memories (SDMs) and to examine the relationship between their emotional valence of SDMs and cognitive function and serotonin transporter polymorphisms (5-HTTLPR) with a prospective longitudinal method. Ninety-two older adults recalled SDMs twice at an interval of one year (T1 and T2). The results showed a pleasantness bias and a fading affect bias in SDMs. The higher the working memory was, the higher the vividness of SDMs and the higher the concordance rate of SDMs between T1 and T2. Meanwhile, cognitive performance had no effect on the emotional valence of SDMs. Additionally, the repeatedly recalled SDMs in the S/S allele carriers of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism changed with a lower negative valence at T2 than at T1. The 5-HTTLPR polymorphism may be a plasticity factor that predicts positive outcomes in positive situations.

Age differences in option choice: Is the option framing effect observed among older adults?

Previous studies reported that consumers choose a higher number of options in subtractive framing (-OF), which delete the unnecessary options from the full model with all options chosen than in additive framing (+OF), which adds options to a simple base model. The purposes of this study are to examine the effect of age on option framing and the differences of product type on the option framing effect using two product scenarios (travel package and medical examination). Participants were 40 younger and 40 older adults. We measured the number of options chosen, total price, choice difficulty, and choice satisfaction. In addition, cognitive functions (coding, symbol search, digit span, arithmetic, and information) were assessed. Results revealed that older and younger adults chose more options in the -OF condition for both the scenarios. For the medical examination, older adults chose more options than did the younger adults in both -OF and +OF conditions. Developmental shift in goals and motivation related to life-span may explain the differences between the age differences.

Hilly environment and frequency of going out-of-home among older adults: Examining moderating effect of driving status.

AIM: The health benefits of "going out-of-home" frequently among older adults are well known. A hilly environment would inhibit this habit. This study examined (i) longitudinal associations between a hilly environment and the frequency of going out-of-home, and (ii) the moderating effect of driving status on their association among older adults. METHODS: This study involved a longitudinal study design. Data on 856 older adults in Nada Ward, Kobe, Japan, was obtained from a three-wave questionnaire survey (Wave 1: December 2017 to January 2018; Wave 2: after 1 year; Wave 3: after 3 years). In each survey, the frequency of going out-of-home time was measured. The average land slope within 500 m network buffers of each participant's home was calculated as the index of the hilly environment. Driving status was also measured. RESULTS: The latent growth model revealed that while a higher value of average land slope was not significantly associated with changes in the frequency of going out-of-home over time, it was significantly associated with a lower frequency of going out-of-home at the initial level. The interaction term in the latent growth model showed that driving status did not moderate the associations of the average land slope with the initial level of, and changes in, the frequency of going out-of-home. CONCLUSIONS: Although it remains unclear whether a hilly environment would accelerate a decline in the frequency of going out-of-home over time, this study found that older adults living in a hilly environment were less likely to leave their homes. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 961-967.

Three-year effects of neighborhood social network intervention on mental and physical health of older adults.

OBJECTIVES: Although neighborhood is considered to be a crucial source of social network to promote health among older adults, current findings are mostly derived from observational study designs. This study examined whether participations in event-based community programs could increase neighborhood social network and whether such increase could lead to desirable changes in mental and physical health among older adults. METHOD: This study employed quasi-experimental design. A baseline questionnaire survey was sent to residents of Tsurukabuto community aged 60 years or more (n = 1769); 1,068 responded. Community events were implemented approximately once a month for three years. Then, a three-year follow-up survey questionnaire was sent to the respondents of the baseline survey. The total number of respondents in the latter survey was 662; of the total, 173 participated in the intervention. Strong and weak ties with neighbors, mental well-being (Ikigai-9), health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) were measured in the surveys. RESULTS: The path analysis revealed that intervention participation was significantly associated with changes in strong ties (standardized path coefficient = 0.12) and changes in strong ties were associated with those in Ikigai-9 scores (standardized path coefficient = 0.15). The total and indirect effects of intervention participation on Ikigai-9 scores were significant. Significant intervention effects were not observed for HRQOL and IADL scores. CONCLUSION: This study found that participation in our event-based intervention could indirectly and positively influence older adults' mental well-being through their strong ties with their neighbors.

Distance to supermarkets and dietary variety among Japanese older adults: examining the moderating role of grocery delivery services.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether using grocery delivery services moderates the relationship between distance to supermarket and dietary variety among Japanese older adults. DESIGN: We conducted a 1-year prospective cohort study. Distance to supermarket was measured using geographic information systems. We collected information on dietary variety score (range 0-10), regular use of grocery delivery services and socio-demographic factors using a questionnaire delivered via post. SETTING: The current study was performed in Nada Ward, Kobe City, Japan, from 2017 to 2018. PARTICIPANTS: Older adults living in Nada Ward (n 778). RESULTS: The linear mixed model showed that a longer distance to supermarket (per 100 m: B = -0·07, 95 % CI -0·14, -0·01, P = 0·048) significantly predicted lower dietary variety after adjusting for socio-demographic factors. Using grocery delivery services (B = 0·28, 95 % CI -0·08, 0·64, P = 0·127) did not significantly predict dietary variety, and neither did its interaction with distance to supermarket (B = -0·04, 95 % CI -0·17, 0·10, P = 0·604). CONCLUSIONS: The current study found that longer distance to supermarket was associated with lower dietary variety among Japanese older adults and that the use of grocery delivery services did not moderate this association. The findings imply that the use of grocery delivery services is insufficient to reduce the negative influence of inconvenient food access on dietary variety among older adults.

The impact of age on goal-framing for health messages: The mediating effect of interest in health and emotion regulation.

Messages to promote health behavior are essential when considering health promotion, disease prevention, and healthy life expectancy. The present study aimed to examine whether (1) positive and negative goal-framing messages affect message memory and behavioral intention differently in younger, middle-aged, and older adults, (2) framing effects are mediated by interest in health (health promotion and disease prevention) and emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), and (3) mediation effects differ between positive and negative frames. Participants (N = 1248) aged 20 to 70 years were divided into positive and negative frame conditions. Framing demonstrated interactive effects on message memory; all age groups showed higher recognition accuracy in the positive than the negative frame. The accuracy of younger adults was higher than that of older adults in the negative frame, while older adults showed higher accuracy than younger adults in the positive frame. Additionally, recognition accuracy was higher in the positive frame, as participants had higher interest in health promotion and used cognitive reappraisal more frequently. Contrariwise, emotion regulation and interest in health promotion did not have significant effects on memory in negative frames. Moreover, regardless of the message valence, age did not influence behavioral intention directly but was mediated by interest in health and emotion regulation, while the older the participants were, the higher their interest in health, resulting in higher intention. For emotion regulation, intention increased with higher reappraisal scores and decreased with increasing suppression. Our results suggest that interest in health and emotion regulation should be considered when examining the relationship between age and goal-framing for health messages.

Different associations of routine work time with exercise behavior and objectively measured physical activity among middle-aged and older adults: a daily and longitudinal analysis.

This study examined whether routine work time was associated with exercise time, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and step counts (SC) among middle-aged and older adults. A 7-day diary survey was conducted with 158 adults, and 138 participated in the 1-year follow-up survey for measuring routine work time and exercise time. An accelerometer was used to measure MVPA and SC, and a questionnaire assessed perceived barriers and self-efficacy. Daily analyses revealed that while longer routine work time was associated with shorter exercise time after adjusting for perceived exercise barriers and exercise self-efficacy, it was associated with higher amounts of MVPA and SC. Longitudinal analysis showed that increased routine work time was associated with decreased exercise time and increased MVPA and SC. Changes in perceived barriers and self-efficacy did not mediate these associations. Actual lack of time would inhibit exercise behavior independently of perceived barriers and self-efficacy but elevates MVPA and SC.

Social Interaction in Walking Groups and Affective Responses Among Japanese Older Adults.

This study examined whether satisfaction with social interactions and the number of people interacted with during walking groups is associated with affective responses among older adults. Twenty-six older adults were asked to participate in five walking group sessions. The participants walked together for 40-50 min. In every session, the participants reported their affective responses to walking (positive engagement, tranquility, and negative affect), their level of satisfaction with the social interactions experienced, and the number of people interacted with during the walk. The available data were from 107 person-sessions. Multilevel models revealed that, although a higher number of people interacted with was not significantly associated with improvements in any affective responses, higher satisfaction with the interactions was significantly associated with improvements in positive engagement at both the within- and between-person levels. This study found that higher satisfaction with the interactions was associated with desirable affective responses among older adults.

Memory for Rules and Output Monitoring in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study examined factors related to repetitive errors in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) from the perspective of output monitoring and memory for rules. Previous studies have suggested that output monitoring errors are associated with repetition errors. Moreover, people with ASD have a reduced memory for rules, which could result in repetitive errors. Typically developing (TD) and ASD participants memorized rules and conducted an object arrangement task consisting of sorting objects according to their price under two conditions. Memory tests and output monitoring tests were conducted immediately, and 1 week later. Results indicated that output monitoring in ASD was significantly lower than in TD, although the memory for rules showed no differences between ASD and TD.

Exercising Alone or Exercising With Others and Mental Health Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Longitudinal Analysis of Cross-Lagged and Simultaneous Effects.

BACKGROUND: Although the beneficial effects of physical activity and exercise on mental health are well known, the optimal conditions for them for benefitting mental health are still unclear. Engaging in exercise with others might have more desirable effects on mental health than engaging in exercise alone. This study examined the associations between exercising alone, exercising with others, and mental health among middle-aged and older adults. METHODS: Baseline and 1-year follow-up surveys were conducted with 129 individuals. Time spent exercising alone or with others was measured using a 7-day diary survey. Total physical activity was objectively measured using an accelerometer. Mental well-being was assessed using the simplified Japanese version of the World Health Organization Five Well-Being Index, and mental distress was assessed using the Japanese version of the Kessler Distress Scale (K6). RESULTS: Cross-lagged and simultaneous effects models revealed that exercising with others positively influenced mental well-being. Exercising alone and total physical activity did not significantly influence mental well-being. Neither total physical activity, exercising alone, nor exercising with others was significantly associated with mental distress. CONCLUSION: Engaging in exercise with others could be effective in improving mental well-being relative to engaging in exercise alone.

Age-Related Differences in the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) Valence and Arousal Ratings among Japanese Individuals.

Study Context: The question of whether relationships between valence and arousal might differ among older and younger adults has not yet been totally clarified. Previous studies focused on only age-related mean-differences, but in the current study mean differences and variance in emotional ratings for the International Affective Picture Systems (IAPS) were both examined in Japanese older and younger adults. METHODS: Participants were 31 older adults (69 ± 5.17 years) and 31 younger adults (19 ± 0.77 years). Each picture was projected on the screen for about 5 s in random order and participants subsequently rated its valence from "unhappy" to "happy" and its arousal from "calm" to "exciting," using 9-point scales. RESULTS: Pearson's correlation analysis showed that positive and negative valence tended to be negatively correlated with arousal in both age groups. The 95% Confidence Intervals for positive arousal in older adults included those of younger adults. Arousal ratings for negative pictures were higher than those for neutral pictures, and those for neutral pictures were higher than those for positive pictures in older adults. There were no significant differences between arousal ratings for neutral pictures and positive pictures in younger adults. CONCLUSION: Older adults tended to rate the pictures as more arousing, with higher arousal ratings for negative pictures than for positive pictures, and the variance of positive arousal in older adults was the highest variance for all conditions. The results of this study suggest that older adults may be sensitive to harmful negative experiences in order to make them less aversive.

Daily and longitudinal associations of out-of-home time with objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behavior among middle-aged and older adults.

This study examined the associations of time spent out of home with physical activity and sedentary behavior among middle-aged and older adults. A diary survey was conducted for 7 days with 157 adults to measure out-of-home time and working status. Time spent in sedentary behavior and levels of physical activity were measured using an accelerometer. After a year, 137 individuals from the original sample participated in a follow-up survey. From the daily analyses of 535 non-working days and 347 working days, multilevel models revealed that on non-working days, more out-of-home time was associated with less sedentary time and higher levels of physical activity at both within- and between-person levels. Longitudinal analyses of non-working days supported these results. However, on working days, similar associations were not revealed by daily or longitudinal analyses. These results suggest that increasing out-of-home time could contribute to increased physical activity and reduced sedentary behavior on non-working days.