https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5674-6563
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ABSTRACT
The gendered expectations and responsibilities placed upon women can impede their ability to participate in social activities and engage in physical leisure pursuits, ultimately having a negative impact on their health. Our study investigates the mechanisms through which gender influences individuals’ engagement with physical activity during free time and how this relates to self-rated health outcomes among adults aged 45 years or older living in India. Using cross-sectional analysis and Structural Equation Modelling, we analyzed data stratified by gender and age from the Longitudinal Ageing Study of India to examine these conceptual pathways. We found that compared to men, women face greater limitations related to decision-making autonomy, experience more functional impairments, have weaker social networks that provide less support for engaging in leisure-time physical activity, leading them to report lower levels of overall wellbeing than men. Further analyses demonstrated distinct pathways through which each gender’s level of social network connectivity shapes behavior – strong connections increase opportunities for women specifically to engage positively with both peers and physically active pursuits supporting overall wellness goals.
Acknowledgments
This work was undertaken as a part of the project entitled ‘Integrating Aging Research with Policy and Program in India’. The project was executed by IIPS, Mumbai with financial supported from United Nations Population Fund, New Delhi. The paper has been awarded with Research Grants for Writing Scientific Publications from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI). The authors would like to thank Prof. K.S. James and Dr. Sanjay Kumar for their encouragement to carry out this study. The authors are also grateful to Dr Mala Ramanathan, Professor, AMCHSS, SCTIMST, Trivandrum for her technical inputs on index construction.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Supplemental data
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/0361073X.2023.2278982.