Active Living Among Older Residents of a Rural Naturally Occurring Retirement Community

This cross-sectional single case study of older residents (N = 197, mean age = 71.5 years) of a Midwestern rural naturally occurring retirement community (NORC) investigates patterns of active living and how they relate to sociophysical NORC characteristics and individual factors. The study uses a self-administered questionnaire (mailed to participants), which includes the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE), and the study findings reveal that most respondents engaged in at least one leisure (93.9%) or household (94.4%) activity in the preceding 7 days and walking was the most prevalent activity; respondents who walked, as part of their routine activities (during the 7 days prior to study), had higher self-efficacy scores than nonparticipants (U = 563.5, p < .05); and self-efficacy was positively correlated with the frequency (r(s) = .22, p < .01) and duration (r(s) = .26, p < .01) of walking.