6533b824fe1ef96bd12815ec

RESEARCH PRODUCT

FLEXIBLE AND TENACIOUS GOAL PURSUIT IN RELATION TO OUTDOOR MOBILITY IN OLD AGE

subject

description

Goal pursuit may affect older people’s outdoor mobility, a correlate of quality of life. This study investigated associations of flexible and tenacious goal pursuit with perceived autonomy in participation outdoors and life-space mobility. Participants were community-dwelling older people aged 79–93 years (n=185). Tenacious goal pursuit (TGP) and flexible goal adjustment (FGA) were self-reported with separate scales (ranges 5–25). Perceived autonomy in participation was assessed with the Impact on Participation and Autonomy ‘outdoors’-subscale (range 0–20), and life-space mobility with the Life-Space Assessment (range 0–120). Two-step cluster analysis was used to create data-driven goal pursuit profiles. Associations with autonomy and life-space mobility were analyzed with general linear modeling. Cluster analysis revealed three goal pursuit profiles: 1) high TGP and high FGA, 2) moderate TGP and low FGA, 3) low TGP and moderate FGA. Those with high TGP and FGA had the highest life-space mobility (marginal mean MM 65.3, standard error SE 2.4) and perceived autonomy (MM 5.1, SE 0.5). Life-space mobility was most restricted among those with low TGP and moderate FGA (MM 55.5, SE 2.9) and autonomy among those with moderate TGP and low FGA (MM 7.6, SE 0.5). Life-space mobility and autonomy scores differed statistically significantly between goal pursuit profiles (p=0.037 and p<0.001, respectively). In old age, the ability to flexibly adjust one’s goals to actual situations is important for perceiving having possibilities to participate. On the other hand, more persistent goal pursuit may motivate older people to move in a wider life-space, which enables more active participation in society.