Objectives Life satisfaction is an important component of overall well-being. Decline in life satisfaction is related to many adverse health outcomes including mortality. Methods We investigate the association of various psychosocial and health-related factors to life satisfaction in 237 non-demented community-dwelling older adults. Results Lower levels of depressive symptoms, less perceived stress, higher levels of social support, and better self-perceived general health were significantly associated with higher life satisfaction. Social support buffered the adverse impact of depressive symptoms on life satisfaction where more depressive symptoms were associated with much lower life satisfaction at low levels of social support than at high levels of social support. Discussion We discuss study implications, future research directions, and possible interventions that involve boosting social support in at-risk older adults.

Open Access License:This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. abstract BackgroundDespite the established benefits of cognitive and physical activity, a paucity of research examines the specific activities older adults favor, particularly those meeting the nationally recommended minimum duration of > 30 minutes per session. Material/Methods260 non-demented, community-dwelling participants aged 70 and above self-reported the duration of their participation in 26 cognitive and physical activities during a typical week.Overall activity engagement was investigated by sex and educational level. ResultsThe most endorsed physical activities were walking, stretching/yoga and gardening, while the most endorsed cognitive activities were reading magazines/newspapers, reading books, and doing crosswords. Walking (p = .048), swimming (p = .008), reading magazines/ newspapers (p=.011), writing (p=.001), and attending lectures (p = .007) were more common among those with > 12 years of education, while reading books (p = .039) and sewing/knitting (p = .040) were more common among those with ≤ 12 years of education. Doing crossword puzzles (p = .003), sewing/knitting (p = .001), and dancing (p = .015) were more common among females, while weight training (p = .009) and fishing (p = .003) were more common among males. ConclusionsOverall, results revealed several statistically significant activity engagement differences by sex and education. Findings are discussed in relation to enhancing older adults' participation in activities that may improve their overall functioning.