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Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology 2012, Vol. 1, No.

4, 231241

2012 American Psychological Association 2157-3905/12/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0028636

Physical Self-Esteem in Older Adults: A Test of the Indirect Effect of Physical Activity
Justin B. Moore
University of South Carolina

Nathanael G. Mitchell
Spalding University

Michael W. Beets
University of South Carolina

John B. Bartholomew
The University of Texas at Austin

The Exercise and Self-Esteem Model (EXSEM) is used to help explain the relationships among physical activity, self-perceptions, and self-esteem. However, the current conceptual framework employed relies on an overly narrow range of physical subdomains to explain variation in physical self-worth and self-esteem in older adults. The objective of the present study was to examine an expanded conceptual framework of the EXSEM in a sample of men and women over 60 years of age. Older adults (N 222; age, M 72.9 years) completed questionnaires which assessed global self-esteem, physical self-worth, subdomain level physical self-perceptions, self-efcacy for physical activity, physical activity, and demographic characteristics. A path analysis utilizing maximum likelihood estimation was conducted. The path analysis provided preliminary support for the expanded conceptual framework and use of the Physical Self-Descriptive Questionnaire (PDSQ) in older adults. In conclusion, the EXSEM employing an expanded conceptual framework may be appropriate for understanding the structure of physical self-perceptions in older adults. Keywords: EXSEM, self-worth, self-concept, physical activity, older adults

It has long been established that structured exercise has numerous benets for older adults that include both physical and psychological outcomes. Physical activity has been suggested to reverse many of the comorbidities associated with aging that affect the cardiovascular, circulatory, and musculoskeletal systems; and may signicantly reduce the incidence of injury due to falling through improvements in strength, coordination, exibility, and improved bone density (Taylor et al., 2004). Furthermore, re-

This article was published Online First June 4, 2012. Justin B. Moore, Department of Health Promotion, Education, & Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina; Nathanael G. Mitchell, School of Professional Psychology, Spalding University; Michael W. Beets, Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina; John B. Bartholomew, Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, The University of Texas at Austin. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Justin B. Moore, Department of Health Promotion, Education, & Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, 800 Sumter Street, Room 216, Columbia, SC, 29208. E-mail: dr.justin.b .moore@gmail.com 231

sults of a meta-analysis indicated that exercise had a positive impact on overall well-being, self-efcacy for physical activity, and reduction in anxiety in older adults without psychological disorders (Netz, Wu, Becker, & Tenenbaum, 2005). The antidepressant qualities of exercise in older adults, especially for those who already experience depressive symptoms, have been well established (Barbour & Blumenthal, 2005; Mather et al., 2002; Singh, Clements, & Singh, 2001). Finally, exercise has been shown to both enhance cognitive functioning and may reduce the risk for dementia (AndersonHanley, Nimon, & Westen, 2010; Larson et al., 2006; Rovio et al., 2005). Given these data, it is not surprising that efforts to promote physical activity in older adults has become a focus area in public health (Prohaska et al., 2006; Taylor et al., 2004). Paramount to the promotion of physical activity in older adults is the identication and measurement of correlates and determinants of physical activity (Prohaska et al., 2006), with self-perceptions as a primary area of interest.

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The link between self-perceptions and physical activity is well established and it appears that there may be a reciprocal relationship. It is widely believed that positive self-esteem is integral to overall well-being and satisfaction with life, and a long line of research supports the notion that self-esteem can be improved through physical activity (Sonstroem & Morgan, 1989). In addition, there appears to be a link between an individuals physical selfperceptions and participation in exercise and physical activity (Fox, 2000). Finally, an individuals self-efcacy has been associated with exercise and other healthy lifestyle choices (McAuley & Blissmer, 2000). Thus, examining beliefs that older adults hold about themselves generally (i.e., global self-esteem), about themselves physically (i.e., physical self-perceptions), and about their condence to perform specic tasks (i.e., self-efcacy) may prove fruitful in developing strategies to promote and maintain exercise in this population (Fox, 2000). The Exercise and Self-Esteem Model (EXSEM; Sonstroem & Morgan, 1989) seeks to do just this through a multidimensional, hierarchical model developed to understand the relationships among physical activity, self-efcacy for physical activity, physical self-perceptions, and global self-esteem. The model indicates that physical activity does not have a direct effect on global self-esteem, but rather a follows a series of mediating steps. Working bottom-up through the model, physical activity behaviors serve to modify self-efcacy for physical activity (i.e., beliefs in ability to perform physical tasks). Changes in self-efcacy for physical activity then drive change in various areas of physical competence (e.g., strength, exibility, body composition). Modications in physical selfcompetence are postulated to then impact global self-esteem both directly and indirectly through associated increases in physical acceptance. Later work with the EXSEM (Sonstroem, Harlow, & Josephs, 1994) proposed a fully mediated model at each successive step along the model. Thus, the impact of physical activity was to be fully mediated by self-efcacy for physical activity. Likewise, the impact of selfefcacy for physical activity on physical selfworth was fully mediated by subdomains of physical self-worth (i.e., physical condition, attractive body, etc.). In contrast, McAuley and colleagues (McAuley, Blissmer, Katula, Dun-

can, & Mihalko, 2000) proposed and supported a combination of mediated as well as independent, direct effects of physical activity on selfesteem. Thus, while they found support for most aspects of the EXSEM, they assert that both physical activity and self-efcacy for physical activity independently inuence specic physical self-perceptions (McAuley et al., 2005). Both the original EXSEM and expanded version of the EXSEM have support from crosssectional, intervention, and longitudinal studies (Alfermann & Stoll, 2000; Baldwin & Courneya, 1997; Elavsky, 2010; Elavsky & McAuley, 2007; Gothe et al., 2011; McAuley et al., 2005; Opdenacker, Delecluse, & Boen, 2009) with more recent investigations examining the EXSEM with older adults (e.g.,(Gothe et al., 2011; McAuley et al., 2005; Opdenacker et al., 2009). Yet, older adults remain an understudied population with regards to the relationships among physical activity, self-efcacy for physical activity, physical self-perceptions, and self-esteem. It is interesting that four subdomains have generally been hypothesized to underline physical self-worth: physical condition, attractive body, physical strength, and sport competence. However, in previous studies, researchers have either found no effect for sport (Opdenacker et al., 2009) or choose not to include sport as it would be inappropriate in a sample of older adults (Gothe et al., 2011; McAuley et al., 2000; McAuley et al., 2005). This reects the understanding that the subdomains for physical selfworth are likely to be quite different for older relative to younger adults. For example, older adults experience lower levels of exibility and coordination (Paterson & Warburton, 2010). They are also more likely to be suffering from either chronic disease or be at greater risk for chronic disease (Topp, Fahlman, & Boardley, 2004). As a result, one might expect that the subdomains for physical self-worth would be more varied and complex than for younger adults. Given the diversity of valued, physical subdomains in the population of older adults, it is surprising that the existing literature is limited to only three: physical condition, attractive body, physical strength. It may well be that the underlying structure of the EXSEM model may vary once physical self-perceptions are more fully integrated. There is at least preliminary research support that additional physical self-

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perceptions are important to older adults, with Marsh and colleagues nding signicantly lower physical self-perceptions with regard to Health Status and Body Fat in older adults than in younger samples (Marsh, Martin, & Jackson, 2010). It is, therefore, important to examine the nature of the EXSEM with a broader array of physical self-perceptions to determine if the original, fully mediated model applies to these subdomains, or if the revised EXSEM model with a combination of mediated and direct effects holds across the range of variables. In response, this study will examine the structure of the relationship among physical activity and self-esteem. It will be based upon the modied EXSEM, in which physical activity and selfefcacy for physical activity have independent, direct effects on the physical subdomains selfesteem. Rather than limit these subdomains a priori, we will utilize a fuller range of subdomains. This design will allow for a more complete assessment of physical activity and self-esteem in older adults than presently exists, which may well inuence the design of interventions for this population. We hypothesize that the relationships between physical activity/ self-efcacy for physical activity and selfesteem will be fully mediated though the physical subdomains of self-esteem. Methods Participants A convenience sample of adults, older than or equal to 60 years of age, was recruited from a small, rural community in northern Mississippi. Participants were recruited through word of mouth and yers handed out at local churches (2), retirement communities (2), a hospital afliated tness center, and a foster grandparents program. Participants were excluded if they were unable to complete the questionnaires due to language restrictions, cognitive impairment, or communication difculties. No further limitations regarding health status were enforced. Participants were allowed to complete the questionnaires on site or to take them home and complete them and return them to the investigator within 1 week. Three hundred and 50 questionnaires were distributed and 249 questionnaires were returned (71%). These were screened, with 27 removed due to: duplicate

responses as identied in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 17.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, New York) (n 15) or missing or noncompleted pages which contained entire scales (n 12), leaving a nal sample (N 222; age, mean [M] 72.9 years, range 60 to 101). No signicant demographic differences were found between the excluded surveys and the nal sample. Participants were recruited from churches, assisted living communities, and a hospital-afliated wellness facility. Participants were given the questionnaires to take home for completion, but if they desired assistance they were allowed to complete the packet on site. The Internal Review Board at the University of Texas at Austin approved all procedures. Participants (73 male, 144 female) identied themselves as White (71%), African American (20%), Native American (8%), and Asian American (1%). Participants were single (5), married (51%), separated (1%), widowed (38%), and divorced (5%). Participants reported their education as less than a high school diploma (30%), high school diploma (29%), some college (18%), college degree (9%), or a graduate degree (14%). Measures Participants completed ve questionnaires: (1) a health history, (2) demographics, (3) the Physical Self-Descriptive Questionnaire (PSDQ), (4) the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE), and (5) the Exercise SelfEfcacy Scale (ESES). The health history and demographic questionnaires asked for health status, age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, income level, and education level. As described earlier, the PDSQ (Marsh, Richards, Johnson, Roche, & Tremayne, 1994) provides scores for general self-esteem, physical self-esteem, and nine, lower-order esteem subdomains related to the physical self. The scale asks participants to rate their agreement with 70 statements on a 6-point Likert scale anchored by false and true. Scores are computed by averaging responses within each of the subdomains. Coefcient alphas for the current sample ranged from .69 (health) to .93 (sport) which is consistent with values reported from the only other published data from older adults (Marsh et al., 2010).

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The PASE (Washburn, 2000) records leisure activity (e.g., walking), muscular toning, light, moderate, and strenuous sports, as never, seldom, sometimes, and often. Duration is assessed as less than 1 hour, between 1 and 2 hours, 2 4 hours, or more than 4 hours. Work that involves mostly sitting is recorded in total hours per week. Light and heavy housework (e.g., lawn work, caring for others) are recorded as yes/no. A composite score for the PASE is computed by multiplying each activity score by empirically derived weights and summing across activities. While the PASE is not designed to give an outcome in minutes or metabolic equivalent units (METs), the validity of scores derived from the PASE has been conrmed in two studies that support a strong relationship between the activity score for the PASE and objective activity indices (Harada, Chiu, King, & Stewart, 2001; Washburn, 2000). Self-efcacy for physical activity was assessed using the ESES (McAuley, 1993), an 8-item scale designed to measure an individuals condence in their ability to participate in 40 min of moderate intensity exercise at least three times per week for up to 8 weeks. Each item ranges from 0% condent to 100% condent in 10% increments. The total score is derived from adding the condence ratings and dividing by eight. Coefcient alpha in the present sample was .96, indicative of strong internal consistency. Data Analysis Principal component analysis scores were created for each subscale of the PSDQ using varimax orthogonal rotation of the loadings (Stata, v.12.0, College Station, TX). Scores for each subscale were subsequently used as single item indicators in the path analysis (Mplus, v.5.2) utilizing weighted least squares estimation. Bivariate associations, means, and standard deviations were calculated using SPSS 17.0. Data were examined for linearity and multivariate normality with transformations applied where warranted. Specically, the subscales of endurance and self-esteem were moderately positively and negatively skewed (skewness coefcient 1.0), respectively. Body fat displayed moderate kutosis (1.0). A square root transformation was applied to body fat and

self-esteem (after reection) and a log transformation was applied to endurance. Missing data. In the current dataset, a small proportion of responses were missing, ranging from .5% to 5.4% for the PSDQ, PASE, and ESES scales. Rather than an nonimputation method (e.g., list-wise deletion, mean replacement) that assumes data are missing at random and often result in biased estimates (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001), missing values were estimated through multiple imputation procedures (Schafer, 1997) in Stata. Path model. A path model was estimated based upon the EXSEM utilizing the physical self-perception subdomains of the PSDQ. The model includes correlations among exogenous variables (i.e., physical activity and selfefcacy) and correlated disturbances among endogenous variables. Model t. Model t was assessed using the chi-square statistic, the comparative t index (CFI), the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), and the standardized root square residual (SRMR). All four indices are widely used in the general literature (Hu & Bentler, 1999), as well as in the current body of literature from which this study was designed (Marsh, Asci, & Thomas, 2002; McAuley et al., 2005). For the present analyses, a signicant chi-square relative to degrees of freedom, CFI greater than .95, RMSEA .06, and a SRMR .08 were considered indicative of good t (Hu & Bentler, 1999). Results Descriptive Results and Bivariate Associations Among Variables The means, standard deviations, and bivariate correlations among study variables are presented in Table 1. Of note, self-esteem and physical self-worth were highly correlated (r .63, p .01). Additionally, the strength subdomain was highly correlated with endurance (r .65, p .01), exibility (r .61, p .01), health (r .76, p .01), and coordination (r .73, p .01). Also noteworthy, body fat was only correlated with age (r .26, p .01) and appearance (r .17, p .01). Finally, appearance displayed a strong association with selfesteem (r .62, p .01) and physical selfworth (r .51, p .01).

Table 1 Correlations, Mean, and Standard Deviation for Physical Activity, Self-Efcacy for Physical Activity, Sub-Domain Level Self-Perception, Physical Self-Esteem, and Self-Esteem Measures
3

Variable .01 .63 .26 .02 .08 .12 .10 .17 .07 .11 .07 .04 .38 .52 .05 .10 .28 .65 .01 .62 .51 .24 .03 .01 .10 .23 .61 .72 .04 .05 .22 .33 .76 .63 .08 .64 .15 .36 .33 .53 .33 .14 .34 .46

1 .07 .28 .43 .73. .62 .09 .69 .81 .48 .01

10

11

12 .15 .19 .38 .57 .71 .02 .62 .62 .34 .04 .63

13 .25 .36 .29 .23 .26 .25 .14 .14 .17 .12 .16 .22

14

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. M SD 4.39 1.20


b

Age Self-esteema Physical self-wortha Strengtha Physical endurancea Appearancea Sporta Flexibilitya Healtha Body fata Coordinationa Physical activitya Physical activity (PASE)b Self-efcacy for PAc 3.54 1.19 2.12 1.12 4.53 1.14 2.46 1.39 3.40 1.25 4.75 .81 3.86 1.56 3.52 1.17

.17

72.95 7.67

5.18 .76

3.02 1.45
c

155.69 75.96

.25 .06 .11 .39 .48 .08 .47 .45 .29 .06 .47 .63 .10 42.29 40.27 As measured with the Exercise

As measured with the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire. Self-Efcacy scale. p .05. p .01.

Behavior, as measured with the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly.

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Test of Path Model The initial a priori EXSEM model demonstrated acceptable or good model t for two of the t indices; 2 102.16 ( p .01), df 13, SRMR .047, CFI .94, RMSEA .18 (90% CI .15 .21). While the 2 statistic was statistically signicant and the RMSEA was higher than the recommended value of .06, the SRMR and CFI were both indicative of good t. Lagrange multiplier tests were examined and used as a basis for consideration of additional paths. Nine additional paths were suggested by the modication and only two of the suggested paths, from the health and attractiveness subdomains to self-esteem, were theoretically justiable, and supported in the literature (Cott, Gignac, & Badley, 1999; Tiggemann, 2004; Tiggemann & Williamson, 2000). Therefore, only the paths from health to selfesteem and from attractiveness to self-esteem were added to the model. The modied model resulted in improved t; 2 26.96 ( p .01), df 11, SRMR .023, CFI .99, RMSEA .08 (90% CI .04 .12). While the 2 statistic remained statistically signicant, and the RMSEA remained above the criteria for good t, the SRMR and CFI improved. The nal path model with standardized path coefcients can be seen in Figure 1. Of note, a number of hypothesized paths were nonsignicant in the nal model. Specically the paths from endurance to physical selfworth, body fat to physical self-worth, and health to physical self-worth were nonsignificant. Additionally, while seven of the nine paths from self-efcacy for physical activity to the subdomains were signicant, only four of the nine paths from physical activity to the subdomains were signicant. All direct and indirect effects in the model can be seen in Table 2. Of note, paths from physical activity (measured via the PASE) to athletic ability, exibility, body fat and coordination were not signicant. Similarly, paths from self-efcacy for physical activity to physical attractiveness and body fat were not signicant. At the subdomain level, paths from endurance, body fat, and health to physical self-worth were not signicant.

Discussion Consistent with our hypothesis, these data support the revised EXSEM in that both physical activity and physical activity self-efcacy had independent effects on the subdomains of physical self-worth, and that these subdomains fully mediated the impact of physical activity and self-efcacy for physical activity on physical self-worth and, in turn, general self-esteem. Although this pattern replicates other research with older adults, it is the rst to do so with more varied assessment of the subdomains of physical self-worth. Thus, the revised EXSEM model appears to be robust. To our knowledge, this is the rst study to examine the EXSEM in older adults utilizing a broad range of physical subdomains. While the expanded measurement model explained only slightly more variance in self-esteem (55%) than that previously reported by McAuley (51%; (McAuley et al., 2005), the benets of this approach seems clear. Specically, perceived physical health was shown to be impacted by both self-efcacy for physical activity and physical activity. In addition, physical health had a direct impact on self-esteem that was not mediated by physical self-worth. This supports the work of Marsh and colleagues (2010) who demonstrated the importance of perceived health as a physical self-perception. It is interesting that a number of studies have failed to show a relationship between exercise and self-esteem in older adults (Gothe et al., 2011; McAuley et al., 2000; McAuley et al., 2005). It may be that these null results arose from the failure to include perceived physical health as a self-perception. In addition, physical attractiveness had both a direct effect on general self-esteem, as well as a mediated effect through physical self-worth. This direct effect has not been demonstrated in other studies of older adults. While the relationship between self-rated health and self-esteem is relatively well established in the literature (Cott et al., 1999), the relationship between perceived attractiveness and self-esteem in older adults has been equivocal (Tiggemann, 2004). However, body attractiveness has been found to be one of the stronger predictors of physical self-worth over time (McAuley et al., 2005; Opdenacker et al., 2009) and recent longitudinal research

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Figure 1. Path model showing relationship between physical activity, self-efcacy for physical activity, sub-domain level self-perception, physical self-esteem, and self-esteem with standardized path coefcients ( p .05).

in middle-aged women suggests the relationship between changes in body composition and general self-esteem may be mediated by changes in attractiveness perceptions at the subdomain level (Elavsky, 2010). These data would support this perspective, but more research is warranted to conrm this relationship. Consistent with previous ndings in older adults (Marsh et al., 2010), the absolute scores were considerably lower for many subdomains

in the current sample as compared with adolescent populations (Marsh, Richards, Johnson, Roche, & Tremayne, 1994). For example, physical endurance (mean [M] 2.12) and sport competence (M 2.46) were considerably lower than those observed in an adolescent sample (M 3.93 and M 4.29, respectively, Marsh et al., 1994). Although norms have yet to be developed for this scale, the difference in absolute scores is striking. Of interest, this was not true for the global domains of physical

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Table 2 Direct and Indirect Effects for Physical Activity, Self-Efcacy for Physical Activity, Sub-Domain Level Self-Perception, Physical Self-Esteem, and Self-Esteem
Coefcient Direct effects PASE PASE PASE PASE PASE PASE PASE PASE PASE SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Physical strength Physical attractiveness Physical endurance Athletic ability Physical exibility Body fat Coordination Physical activity Physical health Physical strength Physical attractiveness Physical endurance Athletic ability Physical exibility Body fat Coordination Physical activity Physical health Physical strength Physical attractiveness Physical endurance Athletic ability Physical exibility Body fat Coordination Physical activity Physical health Physical attractiveness Physical health Physical strength Physical attractiveness Physical endurance Athletic ability Physical exibility Body fat Coordination Physical activity Physical health Physical attractiveness Physical health Physical strength Physical attractiveness Physical endurance Athletic ability Physical exibility Body fat Coordination Physical activity Physical health Physical attractiveness Physical health .14 .26 .20 .09 .10 .13 .11 .17 .21 .40 .10 .45 .47 .45 .05 .47 .62 .20 .35 .44 .06 .24 .28 .02 .34 .30 .08 .42 .24 .32 .02 .04 .00 .01 .01 .00 .01 .02 .01 .11 .05 .22 .05 .01 .01 .04 .04 .00 .05 .06 .01 .04 .05 .07 95%CI .02, .26 .13, .38 .09, .32 .02, .21 .02, .21 .26, .00 .00, .23 .07, .27 .08, .33 .29, .51 .23, .03 .35, .56 .37, .57 .35, .56 .18, .08 .37, .57 .54, .70 .07, .32 .18, .53 .35, .53 .22, .09 .39, .09 .47, .09 .12, .08 .16, .53 .15, .44 .03, .19 .32, .51 .14, .33 .21, .42 .00, .03 .01, .06 .01, .01 .02, .00 .02, .00 .00, .01 .00, .03 .00, .03 .00, .01 .05, .16 .01, .08 .13, .31 .02, .08 .03, .01 .03, .01 .06, .01 .07, .01 .00, .00 .02, .09 .02, .09 .00, .01 .10, .01 .01, .08 .03, .16

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical

self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth

3 Global self-esteem 3 Global self-esteem Physical self-worth 3 Global self-esteem 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global Global self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem self-esteem

Indirect effects PASE PASE PASE PASE PASE PASE PASE PASE PASE PASE PASE Total indirect effects SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA SEPA PSE Total indirect effects

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical Physical

self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth self-worth

Note. PASE Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly; SEPA Self-Efcacy for Physical Activity; CI condence interval. Bolded values are signicant at p .05. Standardized path coefcients.

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self-worth and global self-esteem. Thus, it is not merely a tendency to lower responses within this sample. Instead, it seems that older adults are able to maintain their level of physical and general self-esteem despite lower perceptions of physical ability, health, attractiveness, and so forth. A longitudinal or multibanded crosssectional design would be required to conrm these results, but there are clear implications for how older adults integrate limited physical abilities into their self-concept. Despite these signicant relationships, a number of nonsignicant paths warrant further examination. For example, coordination was signicantly related to self-efcacy for physical activity but not to physical activity. This raises the question of the directionality of this effect. That is, might poor perceived coordination undermine self-efcacy for physical activity regardless of ones physical activity. This may be especially true if their physical activity is selected to minimize the need for coordination. For example, walking is the most popular form of physical activity in older adults (Merom, Cosgrove, Venugopal, & Bauman, in press); and walking is one of the least complicated movements for achieving physical activity. It may be that mode of activity is selected as a function of physical self-perceptions. If replicated, this would provide guidance for the exercise prescription within this population. Not only could activity be matched to perceived ability, but interventions could be designed to build a broader perceived ability and, thus, a wider array of potential modes of activity. Perceived body fat was unrelated to either selfefcacy for physical activity or physical activity. Nor was it related to physical self-worth. This is not surprising as body fat appears to be less of a concern as people age (Webster & Tiggemann, 2003), especially given the demonstrated link to physical attractiveness. Thus, it seems that perceived body fat is less important for perceived attractiveness in older adults. In contrast, it was surprising that physical endurance was unrelated to physical self-worth, despite strong relationships with self-efcacy for physical activity and physical activity. Physical condition has consistently been shown to be related to physical self-worth in other studies of older adults (Gothe et al., 2011; McAuley et al., 2000; McAuley et al., 2005; Opdenacker et al., 2009). Likewise it was surprising that athletic ability was related to both self-

efcacy for physical activity and physical selfworth. Opdenacker (2009) did show a signicant impact of self-efcacy for physical activity on sport competence, but no impact on physical selfworth. These discrepancies from other studies may be due to the use of the PSDQ rather than the PSPP. The latter has been used previously and while the scales test related constructs they do so through different methods and items. Future studies might be designed to directly compare these to determine the differences in assessment outcomes. The present study is not without limitations. First, the sample size of the current population does not allow for a conrmation of the path model with an independent subsample of older adults or a comparison of ethnic subgroups. This raises the possibility of random associations overly impacting the pattern of effects. Additionally, the sample size is not sufcient to test a fully latent model, which would be preferable to our using factor scores. Second, the physical activity was assessed via self-report in the present study and the results might not be replicatable with objectively measured physical activity. However, the study utilized a wellvalidated questionnaire designed for older adults (Washburn, 2000). In addition, physical activity data in the present study (M 155.6 SD 75.69) is very similar to physical activity levels in a previous research (M 159.43 SD 75.13) with participants of similar age (McAuley et al., 2005). Finally, the crosssectional nature of the data collection does not allow for a test of directionality of the relationships and thus the hierarchical nature of selfconcept presented here may be a misrepresentation of directionality as has previously been suggested (Marsh & Yeung, 1998). In summary, the expanded EXSEM has been replicated as reecting the relationship among physical self-perceptions in older adults. This model was supported with the addition of subdomains that are potentially more salient to older adults. If future research conrms the specic patterns found in this study, it will do much to advance our understanding of physical activity in this population. References
Alfermann, D., & Stoll, O. (2000). Effects of physical exercise on self-concept and well-being. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 31, 47 65.

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