The relationship between reasons for activity and older adult well-being

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between activit y and older adult well-being by examining the reasons for older adult activ ity as moderators of the relationship. A sample of 249 older adults complet ed a questionnaire that contained demographic, health, and activity items. Participants indicated whether they engaged in each of 44 activities, how r outinely they engaged in each, and the reasons for each activity. Results f rom hierarchical regression analyses showed that activities engaged infer s ocial reasons positively related to well-being, and activities engaged in t o pass the rime negatively related to well-being. Total number of activitie s and the number of routine activities did not relate to well-being. These findings suggest that engaging in more activities does not necessarily enha nce well-being, and that the reasons for engaging in activities are importa nt for older adult well-being.