The Reciprocal Relationship Between Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Leisure-Time Physical Activity for Older Adults
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Sample Selection
2.2. Variables and Measurements
2.3. Statistical Analyzes
3. Results
4. Discussion and Conclusions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variable | Measurement | General Adult (N = 34,412) | Older Adult (N = 7714) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weighted % (n) or M (SD) | 95% CI | Weighted % (n) or M (SD) | 95% CI | p-Value | ||
Neighborhood social cohesion (L) | ||||||
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about your neighborhood? | ||||||
People in this neighborhood help each other out | 1 = definitely disagree; 2 = somewhat disagree; 3 = somewhat agree; 4 = definitely agree | 3.09 (0.90) | 3.08–3.10 | 3.27 (0.87) | 3.25–3.29 | <0.001 *** |
There are people I can count on in this neighborhood | 3.17 (0.96) | 3.16–3.18 | 3.42 (0.85) | 3.40–3.44 | <0.001 *** | |
People in this neighborhood can be trusted | 3.14 (0.93) | 3.13–3.15 | 3.39 (0.84) | 3.37–3.41 | <0.001 *** | |
This is a close-knit neighborhood | 2.77 (1.02) | 2.76–2.78 | 2.96 (0.99) | 2.94–2.99 | <0.001 *** | |
Leisure-time physical activity | ||||||
Vigorous leisure-time physical activity | Minutes per week (continuous) | 103.72 (223.14) | 101.33–106.12 | 57.57 (174.27) | 53.57–61.57 | <0.001 *** |
Light or moderate leisure-time physical activity | Minutes per week (continuous) | 126.34 (238.25) | 123.78–128.90 | 116.22 (233.07) | 110.88–121.55 | <0.001 *** |
Leisure-time strengthening activity | Times per week (continuous) | 1.13 (2.73) | 1.10–1.16 | 0.87 (2.55) | 0.81–0.92 | <0.001 *** |
Socio-demographic factors and health status | ||||||
Male | 44.61 (15,351) | 44.08–45.13 | 40.20 (3101) | 39.11–41.29 | <0.001 *** | |
Race/ethnicity | ||||||
Non-Hispanic white | 59.50 (20,474) | 58.98–60.02 | 70.72 (5455) | 69.70–71.73 | <0.001 *** | |
Non-Hispanic black | 14.91 (5130) | 14.53–15.28 | 13.18 (1017) | 12.43–13.94 | ||
Hispanic | 17.19 (5916) | 16.79–17.59 | 9.92 (765) | 9.25–10.58 | ||
Other | 8.40 (2892) | 8.11–8.70 | 6.18 (477) | 5.65–6.72 | ||
Education level | ||||||
Less than high school | 13.07 (4488) | 12.71–13.43 | 18.72 (1439) | 17.85–19.60 | <0.001 *** | |
High school | 47.76 (16,400) | 47.23–48.29 | 49.08 (3772) | 47.96–50.20 | ||
College | 24.96 (8571) | 24.50–25.42 | 18.43 ((1416) | 17.56–19.29 | ||
Graduate school | 14.21 (4880) | 13.84–14.58 | 13.77 (1058) | 12.99–14.54 | ||
Married | 42.97 (14,749) | 42.45–43.50 | 41.57 (3199) | 40.47–42.67 | ||
Family income | ||||||
$0–$34,999 | 43.00 (13,909) | 42.46–43.54 | 53.53 (3726) | 52.36–54.71 | <0.001 *** | |
$35,000–$74,999 | 30.85 (9979) | 30.34–31.35 | 30.45 (2119) | 29.36–31.53 | ||
$75,000–$99,999 | 9.91 (3205) | 9.58–10.23 | 6.68 (465) | 6.09–7.27 | ||
$100,000 and over | 16.24 (5256) | 15.85–16.65 | 9.34 (650) | 8.66–10.02 | ||
Weight status | ||||||
Normal weight | BMI < 25 | 36.91 (11,505) | 36.38–37.45 | 36.03 (2508) | 34.91–37.16 | <0.001 *** |
Overweight | BMI ≥ 25 and < 30 | 35.45 (11,047) | 34.91–35.98 | 37.37 (2601) | 36.23–38.51 | |
Obesity | BMI ≥ 30 | 27.64 (8615) | 27.14–28.14 | 26.59 (1851) | 25.56–27.63 |
General Adult (N = 34,412) | Older Adult (N = 7714) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Factor Loading | S.E. | Factor Loading | S.E. | |
Neighborhood social cohesion a | ||||
People in this neighborhood help each other out | 0.860 *** | 0.002 | 0.865 *** | 0.004 |
There are people I can count on in this neighborhood | 0.849 *** | 0.002 | 0.839 *** | 0.005 |
People in this neighborhood can be trusted | 0.814 *** | 0.002 | 0.799 *** | 0.005 |
This is a close-knit neighborhood | 0.786 *** | 0.003 | 0.772 *** | 0.006 |
Cronbach’s α | 0.896 | 0.888 |
Predictor | Dependent Variable | General Adult (N = 34,412) | Older Adult ((N = 7714) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standardized Coefficients | R 2 | Standardized Coefficients | R 2 | ||
Vigorous leisure-time physical activity | Neighborhood social cohesion | 0.005 | 0.069 | 0.012 | 0.043 |
Light or moderate leisure-time physical activity | 0.023 | 0.023 * | |||
Leisure-time strengthening activity | 0.003 | 0.024 | |||
Gender (male) | −0.003 | −0.035 | |||
Race/ethnicity | |||||
Non-Hispanic white | Ref. | Ref. | |||
Non-Hispanic black | −0.106 *** | −0.091 *** | |||
Hispanic | −0.153 *** | −0.119 *** | |||
Other | −0.064 *** | −0.033 ** | |||
Education level | |||||
Less than high school | Ref. | Ref. | |||
High school | 0.026 ** | 0.025 * | |||
College | 0.021 * | 0.032 * | |||
Graduate school | 0.021 * | 0.056 * | |||
Marital status (married) | 0.071 *** | 0.050 * | |||
Family income | |||||
$0–$34,999 | −0.135 *** | −0.058 * | |||
$35,000–$74,999 | −0.070 *** | −0.019 | |||
$75,000–$99,999 | −0.018 * | 0.004 | |||
$100,000 and over | Ref. | Ref. | |||
Weight status | |||||
Normal weight | Ref. | Ref. | |||
Overweight | 0.002 | −0.025 | |||
Obesity | −0.029 *** | −0.037 * | |||
Neighborhood social cohesion | Vigorous leisure-time physical activity | 0.004 | 0.172 | 0.011 | 0.104 |
Light or moderate leisure-time physical activity | 0.227 *** | 0.221 *** | |||
Leisure-time strengthening activity | 0.266 *** | 0.141 *** | |||
Gender (male) | 0.088 *** | 0.056 *** | |||
Race/ethnicity | |||||
Non-Hispanic white | Ref. | Ref. | |||
Non-Hispanic black | 0.016 ** | 0.029 * | |||
Hispanic | 0.028 ** | 0.022 * | |||
Other | 0.021 * | 0.027 * | |||
Education level | |||||
Less than high school | Ref. | Ref. | |||
High school | 0.029 ** | 0.039 * | |||
College | 0.046 *** | 0.052 ** | |||
Graduate school | 0.030 ** | 0.065 *** | |||
Marital status (married) | 0.008 | 0.010 | |||
Family income | |||||
$0–$34,999 | −0.065 *** | −0.058 * | |||
$35,000–$74,999 | −0.034 *** | −0.042 | |||
$75,000–$99,999 | −0.003 | 0.016 | |||
$100,000 and over | Ref. | Ref. | |||
Weight status | |||||
Normal weight | Ref. | Ref. | |||
Overweight | −0.022 ** | −0.018 * | |||
Obesity | −0.037 *** | −0.023 * | |||
Neighborhood social cohesion | Light or moderate leisure-time physical activity | 0.022 *** | 0.098 | 0.022 *** | 0.091 |
Vigorous leisure-time physical activity | 0.248 *** | 0.224 *** | |||
Leisure-time strengthening activity | 0.102 *** | 0.099 *** | |||
Gender (male) | 0.024 * | 0.048 *** | |||
Race/ethnicity | |||||
Non-Hispanic white | Ref. | Ref. | |||
Non-Hispanic black | −0.048 *** | −0.045 ** | |||
Hispanic | −0.036 *** | −0.022 * | |||
Other | −0.010 | −0.005 | |||
Education level | |||||
Less than high school | Ref. | Ref. | |||
High school | 0.023 * | 0.011 | |||
College | 0.026 ** | 0.02 * | |||
Graduate school | 0.018 * | 0.024 | |||
Marital status (married) | 0.004 | 0.005 | |||
Family income | |||||
$0–$34,999 | −0.014 | −0.069 ** | |||
$35,000–$74,999 | −0.002 | −0.044 | |||
$75,000–$99,999 | −0.001 | −0.031 | |||
$100,000 and over | Ref. | Ref. | |||
Weight status | |||||
Normal weight | Ref. | Ref. | |||
Overweight | −0.006 | −0.014 | |||
Obesity | −0.022 ** | −0.031 * | |||
Neighborhood social cohesion | Leisure-time strengthening activity | 0.003 | 0.129 | 0.024 | 0.058 |
Vigorous leisure-time physical activity | 0.280 *** | 0.148 *** | |||
Light or moderate leisure-time physical activity | 0.099 *** | 0.102 *** | |||
Gender (male) | 0.042 *** | 0.030 * | |||
Race/ethnicity | |||||
Non-Hispanic white | Ref. | Ref. | |||
Non-Hispanic black | 0.009 | −0.013 | |||
Hispanic | 0.001 | −0.005 | |||
Other | −0.012 | −0.009 | |||
Education level | |||||
Less than high school | Ref. | Ref. | |||
High school | 0.032 ** | 0.024 * | |||
College | 0.073 *** | 0.041 * | |||
Graduate school | 0.060 *** | 0.052 ** | |||
Marital status (married) | −0.021 | −0.024 | |||
Family income | |||||
$0–$34,999 | −0.068 *** | −0.084 ** | |||
$35,000–$74,999 | −0.054 *** | −0.067 ** | |||
$75,000–$99,999 | −0.021 ** | −0.021 * | |||
$100,000 and over | Ref. | Ref. | |||
Weight status | |||||
Normal weight | Ref. | Ref. | |||
Overweight | −0.025 *** | −0.014 | |||
Obesity | −0.049 *** | −0.038 * |
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Yu, C.-Y. The Reciprocal Relationship Between Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Leisure-Time Physical Activity for Older Adults. Urban Sci. 2025, 9, 108. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9040108
Yu C-Y. The Reciprocal Relationship Between Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Leisure-Time Physical Activity for Older Adults. Urban Science. 2025; 9(4):108. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9040108
Chicago/Turabian StyleYu, Chia-Yuan. 2025. "The Reciprocal Relationship Between Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Leisure-Time Physical Activity for Older Adults" Urban Science 9, no. 4: 108. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9040108
APA StyleYu, C.-Y. (2025). The Reciprocal Relationship Between Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Leisure-Time Physical Activity for Older Adults. Urban Science, 9(4), 108. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9040108