Time Use, Disability, and Mobility of Older Americans

Abstract

This study explored how disability, mobility, social and leisure engagement, and travel behavior influence older people’s life satisfaction. The study used the 2013 Disability and Use of Time data for people ages 50 years and older, many of whom reported physical impairments. The study developed a model that related life satisfaction with various time use, disability, and mobility variables. Summary statistics of time use showed that as people aged, they spent more time on solitary, passive leisure activities; social face-to-face time did not seem to change very much. Alone passive leisure time use was especially large for those who experienced a physical mobility-related disability and were carless. The study used an ordinal logistic regression and found that longer alone leisure time uses were associated with lower life satisfaction. Life satisfaction was positively affected by transportation variables, such as vehicle availability. The study also found that social face-to-face time use had a weak positive relationship with life satisfaction, and technology-mediated social activities had a strong negative relationship with life satisfaction.

Analysing the travel behaviour of older adults: what are the determinants of sustainable mobility?

“…As a major Midwestern city that is more auto-dependent than coastal cities such as New York, San Francisco and Boston, the analysis of the travel behaviour of older adults can offer valuable insights to numerous US cities with a similar urban form and transportation network. (Hess and Russell, 2012;Fordham et al, 2017;Li and Tilahun, 2017). Both surveys provide detailed information on respondents' individual and household characteristics, transportation mode choices and impressions regarding amenities, services, infrastructure and barriers within their neighbourhood.…”

Differences in ride-hailing adoption by older Californians among types of locations

“…Analyses using American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) data found that a smaller social network, lower socio-economic status, lack of transportation options, and living in an unwalkable location are all connected to a lower quality of life among seniors (Kim & Ulfarsson, 2013;Kim, 2011b). The literature also suggests that the health impacts of aging affect travel and, in turn, lead to diminished life satisfaction (Enam, Konduri, Eluru, & Ravulaparthy, 2017;Li & Tilahun, 2017). By contrast, an active lifestyle and traveling to socialize can improve quality of life in older adults (Chen et al, 2020;Ravulaparthy, Konduri, & Goulias, 2016).…”

“…Non-driving seniors and individuals with lower income have the smallest activity area compared to those who drive (Kim & Ulfarsson, 2015) in that driving extends accessibility to various destinations (Figueroa, Nielsen, & Siren, 2014;Hess, Norton, Park, & Street, 2016). In addition, driving is associated with increased life satisfaction for many seniors (Li & Tilahun, 2017). Many factors are associated with seniors' driving needs such as living in a location for more years (Hess et al, 2016) or living in suburbs or exurbs (Kim & Ulfarsson, 2015).…”

Mechanisms of Social Interaction and Virtual Connections as Strong Predictors of Wellbeing of Older Adults

“…Older adult emotions are positively affected by mobility factors, such as vehicle availability or being able to drive or walk to seniors’ centers and meet with friends. Lower levels of mobility due to physical impairments, sedentary lifestyle, and long hours of TV viewing as well as assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs) are positively associated with heightened depressive symptoms [ 32 ]. As mobility relates to motor control and maintenance of brain volume, being able drive or workout with friends promotes functional independence [ 33 ].…”