Participation in physical activity and life skills in older adults: sequential roles of resilience and ego integrity.

BACKGROUND

As the global population ages, fostering adaptive capacities to resolve daily challenges has become a critical public health priority. While older adults' participation in physical activity is known to promote healthy aging, the psychological processes through which it may be associated with practical life skills in older adults remain under-explored.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the sequential associations between participation in physical activity and life skills in older adults, focusing on the roles of resilience and ego integrity.

METHODS

A total of 279 older adults participated in this study. Older adults' participation in physical activity was assessed based on the World Health Organization (WHO) threshold of 150 min of moderate-intensity activity per week. Resilience, ego integrity, and life skills in older adults were measured using validated scales. Data were analyzed using Hayes' PROCESS Macro (Model 6) to test the hypothesized sequential association model.

RESULTS

The results indicated that physical activity was positively associated with resilience, which was in turn associated with both ego integrity and life skills in older adults. While the indirect path through ego integrity alone was non-significant, physical activity maintained a significant direct association with life skills. Most importantly, a statistically significant sequential indirect association was observed between physical activity and life skills through resilience and ego integrity.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that resilience may represent an important psychological factor associated with the relationship between behavioral engagement and broader psychological development, ultimately being associated with the practical competencies required for successful aging. To maximize the enhancement of life skills in older adults, physical activity interventions should be intentionally designed to foster psychological resilience as a supportive factor for developmental processes in later life.