Exploring Feelings of Pleasure and Purpose Associated With Older People’s Activities Using Ecological Momentary Analysis: An Observational Study

Momentary feelings of pleasure and purpose can be sources of intrinsic motivation, but momentary purpose is rarely studied. Activities, contexts, and feelings of retired/semiretired adults (n = 67, aged 50–78 years) were captured using ecological momentary assessment. Participants provided 2,065 valid responses to six daily smartphone surveys for 7 days. Physical activity was measured by waist-worn ActiGraph accelerometer. Pleasure (measured by affective happiness) and purpose outcomes were regressed on activities, context, and potential confounding variables. Interactions between activities and contexts were explored. Participants were highly active: 98.5% met physical activity guidelines. Sedentary activities were negatively associated with sense of purpose, especially when indoors. However, social sedentary activities were positively associated with feelings of happiness. Active, social outdoor activities were positively associated with both outcomes. Less sedentary participants experienced greater happiness and purpose during all their activities. Context matters: active, social, and outdoor activities seem to be more appealing to older adults.

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Exploring feelings of pleasure and purpose associated with older people’s activities using ecological momentary analysis: an observational study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-90369/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

K.E. Hancock ◽

P. Downward ◽

L.B. Sherar

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽

Physical Activity Guidelines ◽

Outdoor Activities ◽

Highly Active ◽

Actigraph Accelerometer ◽

Confounding Variables ◽

Ecological Momentary ◽

Momentary Assessment ◽

Sedentary Activities

Abstract Momentary feelings of pleasure and purpose can be sources of intrinsic motivation, but momentary purpose is rarely studied. Activities, contexts and feelings of retired/semi-retired adults (n=67, aged 50-78y) were captured using ecological momentary assessment. Participants provided 2,065 valid responses to six daily smartphone surveys for seven days. Physical activity was measured by waist-worn Actigraph accelerometer. Pleasure (measured by affective happiness) and purpose outcomes were regressed on activities, context and potential confounding variables. Interactions between activities and contexts were explored.Participants were highly active: 98.5% met physical activity guidelines. Sedentary activities were negatively associated with sense of purpose, especially when indoors. However, social sedentary activities were positively associated with feelings of happiness. Active, social outdoor activities were positively associated with both outcomes. Less sedentary participants experienced greater happiness and purpose during all their activities. Context matters: active, social and outdoor activities seem to be more appealing to older adults.

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Exploring the happiness and sense of purpose associated with older peoples' activities using ecological momentary analysis: an observational study

10.21203/rs.3.rs-29145/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Karen Elizabeth Hancock ◽

Paul Downward ◽

Lauren Sherar

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Older Adults ◽

Smart Phone ◽

Physical Activity Guidelines ◽

Outdoor Activities ◽

Percentage Point Increase ◽

Sense Of Purpose ◽

Highly Active ◽

Ecological Momentary ◽

Sedentary Activities

Abstract Background Older people have more leisure time, but many are physically inactive. Momentary feelings of pleasure or happiness and sense of purpose can be sources of intrinsic motivation. This study’s objective was to investigate how the type (sedentary, active) and context (social and environmental) of older peoples’ activities relate to momentary feelings of happiness and purpose. MethodsDetails of activities, contexts and feelings of retired or semi-retired adults (n=67, aged 50-78y) were captured over 7 days using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) via a smart phone app. Participants were prompted on their smart phone six times at random per day, resulting in 2,065 valid prompts. They wore an Actigraph accelerometer on the waist for 7 days to measure physical activity. Happiness and sense of purpose outcome variables were regressed on activities, context and potential confounding variables (e.g. age, gender, physical activity). Regression standard errors were clustered on participants to account for the hierarchically structured data. Interactions between activities and contexts were explored.ResultsParticipants were highly active: 98.5% met physical activity guidelines. Sedentary activities were negatively associated with sense of purpose, especially when indoors. Social sedentary activities (e.g. visiting friends and family) were, however, positively associated with feelings of happiness. Active, social outdoor activities were positively associated with both outcomes. Less sedentary participants experienced higher happiness and sense of purpose during all their activities: each 1 percentage point increase in percentage time sedentary was associated with a reduction of 2.78-points on the happiness scale and 3.34 on the purpose scale (p <0.05). Conclusions Context is important for happiness and purpose, with social and outdoor activities likely to have the widest appeal for older adults. The study needs to be replicated in larger and more representative samples of older adults.

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An ecological momentary assessment study of physical activity behaviors among mothers of toddlers from low-income households

BMC Women s Health ◽

10.1186/s12905-021-01243-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Katherine L. Campbell ◽

Yan Wang ◽

Ann Pulling Kuhn ◽

Maureen M. Black ◽

Erin R. Hager

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Low Income ◽

Ecological Momentary Assessment ◽

Normal Weight ◽

Activity Count ◽

Group Relations ◽

Environment Factors ◽

Group Relation ◽

Ecological Momentary ◽

Momentary Assessment

Abstract Background Mothers of young children from low-income communities may be vulnerable to barriers associated with low physical activity. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between home environment factors and maternal physical activity among mothers of toddlers. Methods Mothers of toddlers (n = 200) recruited from low-income communities simultaneously wore an ankle-placed accelerometer and were given a personal digital assistant for ecological momentary assessment. Mothers received randomly prompted questions about their current environment, activity, and social setting several times a day over eight consecutive days. Data were analyzed using linear mixed-effects regression models with random intercepts; within-group and between-group relations between physical activity and environment factors were disaggregated. Results Within-group relations included higher physical activity counts for specific mothers with television off versus on (95% CI = 130.45, 199.17), children absent versus present (95% CI = 82.00, 3.43), engaging with a child versus not (95% CI = 52.66, 127.63), and outside versus inside location (95% CI = 277.74, 392.67). Between-group relations included higher physical activity on average when other adults were absent versus present (95% CI = − 282.63, − 46.95). Recruitment site (urban vs. semi-urban) significantly moderated the within-group relation between being outside versus inside and activity count (β = − 243.12, 95% CI = − 358.74, − 127.47), and showed stronger relations among urban mothers (β = 440.33, 95% CI = 358.41, 522.25), than semi-urban (β = 190.37, 95% CI = 109.64, 271.11). Maternal body weight significantly moderated the within-group relation between being located outside versus inside the home and activity count (β for interaction = − 188.67, 95% CI = − 308.95, − 68.39), with a stronger relation among mothers with normal weight (β = 451.62, 95% CI = 345.51, 557.73), than mothers with overweight/obesity (β = 271.95, 95% CI = 204.26, 339.64). Conclusions This study highlights home environmental factors, including screen time, the presence of others (adults and children), and location (i.e., outside versus inside) that may relate to maternal physical activity behaviors. Understanding factors associated with physical activity could reduce physical activity disparities. Trial registry ClinicalTrials. NCT02615158, April 2006

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