The dynamics of daily sedentary behavior in older adults
Open Access
- Author:
- Maher, Jaclyn P
- Graduate Program:
- Kinesiology
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- March 06, 2015
- Committee Members:
- David E Conroy, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
David E Conroy, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Melissa Jean Bopp, Committee Member
Steriani Elavsky, Committee Member
Martin John Sliwinski, Committee Member - Keywords:
- sitting
aging
intraindividual
dual process
motivation
life satisfaction
intervention
behavior change - Abstract:
- Sedentary behavior has emerged as a major public health threat because accumulating evidence links excessive sitting with deleterious health consequences, independent of physical activity. On average, older adults spend more than 60% of their waking hours each day sitting – the most out of any segment of the population. Understanding the factors that contribute to this high volume health behavior and its consequences will facilitate the development of effective interventions to reduce sedentary time that also promote healthy and successful aging. This dissertation aims to (1) identify the motivational processes that contribute to sedentary behavior, (2) test relations between sedentary behavior and life satisfaction – an important indicator of well-being and successful aging in older adults, and (3) evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, safety, and preliminary efficacy of a brief psychoeducational intervention designed to reduce older adults’ sedentary behavior. A 14-day ecological momentary assessment study with ambulatory monitoring was conducted to capture time-varying and time-invariant motivation, behavior, and evaluations among older adults (n = 100). These data were used to test hypotheses about the motivational antecedents of daily sedentary behavior and hypotheses about relations between daily sedentary behavior and life satisfaction. Next, a brief psychoeducational intervention to reduce older adults’ sedentary behavior was developed and implemented at local senior centers (n = 5). This intervention was evaluated in terms of feasibility, acceptability, safety, and preliminary efficacy. Results of these studies led to five major conclusions. First, older adults’ sedentary behavior is regulated by both controlled and automatic motivational processes. Second, both between-person and within-person motivational processes were associated with sedentary behavior. Third, sedentary behavior and life satisfaction were negatively linked through within-person processes. Fourth, older adults found the psychoeducational intervention approach to be engaging. Finally, the intervention reduced older adults’ self-reported weekday sedentary behavior by approximately two hours more per day compared to the control group. Ultimately, this dissertation informs the development of interventions designed to reduce older adults’ sedentary behavior to promote healthy and successful aging. Prioritizing healthy aging interventions of this nature may reduce health care costs associated with treatment and management of chronic diseases and improve care for older adults.