INTENSITY AND CORRELATES OF FEAR OF FALLING AND HURTING ONESELF IN THE NEXT YEAR - BASE-LINE FINDINGS FROM A ROYBAL CENTER FEAR OF FALLING INTERVENTION

Fear of falling is highly prevalent and associated with restricted act ivity. To help inform design of interventions, the authors examined th e correlates of this fear. Data came from baseline information on subj ects in a community-based falls intervention study (N = 392). In a mul tivariate model, lower levels of fear of falling and hurting oneself i n the next year were related to being younger, having higher levels of dysfunction, and having lower levels of perceived ability to manage f alls, with the last two remaining significant even after controlling f or generalized fearfulness. When analyzing specific domains of dysfunc tion, higher levels of fear of falling and hurting oneself in the next year were associated with higher levels of physical dysfunction. The findings lend support to the expanding awareness that fear of falling may imperil quality of life and suggest the importance of intervention s aimed at enhancing ability to manage falls.