A new category of “future planning” in the activity card sort: Continuity versus novelty in old age

Abstract

The Activity Card Sort (ACS) is a widely used measure for assessing participation in instrumental, leisure, and social-cultural activities. The ACS addresses previous and current activities but not future activity plans. The purpose of the study was to extend the ACS to include future planning. Previous research indicates that participation in activities and future planning is positively related to life satisfaction, and increased well-being and that these positive effects were most pronounced for adults 60 years and older. The current study participants were 60 Israeli adults aged 55 -74 years. The research finds future planning to be widespread, common and significant among older adults. Moreover, it was found that older people planned to continue previous activities more that they planned new activities for the future, indicating more continuity than innovation among the participants in this study. Participants with higher current or past activity levels planed a greater number of future activities. Construct validity using known group method showed the extended ACS to have discriminant validity with respect to age (younger participants were more active) and gender (highly physical activities were favored by men). MANOVA repeated measures and Pearson correlations demonstrated moderate-high test-retest reliability for the extended ACS.

Test–Retest Reliability and Internal Consistency of the Activity Card Sort–Australia (18-64)

“…For example, time spent on domestic activities increased with age, and people aged 15 to 24 years tended to spend the least time on these activities (ABS, 2008). Another study by Ricon, Weissman, and Demeter (2013) found that adults aged 55 years and above were more likely to maintain existing activity patterns, particularly for leisure activities.…”

Participação ocupacional de idosos de um grupo de conviviência na atenção primária em saúde: apontamentos para uma prática baseada na ocupação e centrada no cliente/Occupational participation of elderly people in a group of coexistence in primary health care: notes for an occupation-based and client centered practice

“…No estudo realizado com idosos para avaliar o engajamento em atividades no futuro, identificou-se que as pessoas idosas tendem a manter as atividades em que se envolveram no presente ou no passado, e a não planejar novas (Ricon et al, 2013), corroborando com os dados apontados nesta pesquisa, na qual observou-se apenas um pequeno quantitativo (10,17%) de participação em novas atividades, o que pode ser explicado pela constituição dos hábitos ao longo da vida, esses constituem padrões de comportamento de aprendizagem e organizam rotinas no cotidiano, em alguns casos as pessoas tendem a se apegar a eles, o que limita suas possibilidades de novos aprendizados. Logo, o desenvolvimento relativamente estável de hábitos e papéis ao longo da vida, em diferentes áreas ocupacionais do idoso, tende a fortalecer a manutenção da habituação, ou seja, na pessoa idosa o engajamento em novas atividades é menos evidente (Kielhofner, 2011).…”