Stress and exercise among the Japanese elderly

Neal Krause*, Linda Goldenhar, Jersey Liang, Gina Jay, Daisaku Maeda

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

55 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study seeks to replicate and extend research on the stress process by examining the relationships among stress, social support, physical exercise, and depressive symptoms with data provided by a recent nationwide survey of older adults in Japan. The findings reveal that more frequent physical exercise is associated with less psychological distress. Moreover, the data suggest that some (but not all) types of stressors tend to diminish the frequency of physical activity. Finally, and perhaps most important, the results reveal that social support tends to promote more frequent exercise. This can occur in two ways. First, more emotional support was related to better exercise habits. In addition, negative interaction was also associated with more frequent exercise, suggesting that informal social sanctions can foster positive health behaviors.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1429-1441
Number of pages13
JournalSocial Science and Medicine
Volume36
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - 06 1993
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • emotional support
  • negative interaction
  • physical exercise

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