EXAMINING THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF LEISURE EDUCATION ON A SENSE OF INDEPENDENCE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG THE ELDERLY

In a recently published study, Searle, Mahon, Iso-Ahola, Adam Sdrolias , and van Dyck (1995) reported that an enhanced sense of independence and improved psychological well-being among the elderly resulted from a leisure education intervention. This study reports on a 16-18 week f ollow-up with 22 of the original 28 subjects to ascertain whether the original results were sustained and if the skills learned through the intervention generalized to other life domains. The results of the fol low-up study indicated that the original effects were sustained with t he exception of life satisfaction. Importantly, the original effects w hich showed no impact on a generalized sense of control were not susta ined and the experimental group subjects did experience a greater sens e of general control over their lives. These results suggest that leis ure education has the potential to significantly impact on older adult 's sense of independence and that skills learned through leisure educa tion may generalize over time to other life domains.