The Role of Social Support and Self-Efficacy in Shaping the Leisure Time Physical Activity of Older Adults (Report‪)‬

Introduction At a time when the proportion of older adults in the U.S. population is growing rapidly, the need for older adult services and geriatric health care has increased considerably Himes, 2001). Escalating health care costs have placed pressure on U.S. public finances (Kingson & Williamson, 2001) and the benefits associated with older adult physical activity have drawn increased attention. However, about a quarter of the adult population still reports achieving no leisure time physical activity (LTPA) during the past month (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2005). A growing volume of research is documenting the health-related benefits (e.g., exercise, stress relief) of physical activity participation (Blair, Kohl, Barlow, Paffenbarger, Gibbons, & Macera, 1995; Hull & Michael, 1995; McAuley & Rudolph, 1995; Orsega-Smith, Mowen, Payne, & Godbey, 2004; Orsega-Smith, Payne, & Godbey, 2003; Pate et al., 1995; Penedo & Dahn, 2005; Raymore & Scott, 1998). According to these studies, parks and recreation services provide low-cost and accessible opportunities for increasing LTPA among older adults.