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Continuity of Leisure Participation From Middle Age to Old Age

¹ Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University, Sweden.
² Vårdal Institute, Lund University, Sweden.

Address correspondence to Neda Agahi, Aging Research Center, Gävlegatan 16, SE-113 30 Stockholm, Sweden. E-Mail: neda.agahi{at}ki.se

Objectives. Continuity in habits, activities, and roles is important upon entering old age according to the continuity theory of aging. Few studies have investigated patterns of leisure participation over an extended period of time among older adults. This study examines changes in nine different leisure activities in a nationally representative sample of individuals followed over a 34-year period in Sweden.

Methods. We used longitudinal data from three waves of an interview survey that followed 495 individuals from 1968 to 2002. Individuals were aged 43–65 in 1968 and 77–99 in 2002. We conducted logistic regression analyses on each of the leisure activities.

Results. For the panel followed, a decline in participation rates was the most common pattern over time. Analyses at the individual level showed that late-life participation was generally preceded by participation earlier in life. Previous participation, both 10 and 34 years earlier, predicted late-life participation. The modifying effect of functional status in late life was small.

Discussion. In accordance with the continuity theory of aging, leisure participation in old age is often a continuation of previous participation. However, there is considerable variation among both activities and individuals.