Table 2.
Univariate associations between socio-demographic, health-related and psychosocial variables and fear of falling and avoidance of activity
| Fear of falling | Avoidance of activity | |||
| Mild (n = 298) |
Severe (n = 242) |
Mild (n = 315) |
Severe (n = 225) |
|
| Socio-demographic | ||||
| -Age (M, SD) | 77.2 (4.6) | 78.2 (4.9)* | 77.1 (4.7) | 78.3 (4.8)* |
| -Sex (female) | 64.8% | 80.6%** | 67.9% | 77.3%** |
| -Educational level (low)1 | 59.4% | 66.8%** | 59.9% | 66.7% |
| -Living alone | 50.0% | 60.3%** | 52.4% | 57.8% |
| Health-related | ||||
| -Activity of daily living (M, SD)2 | 15.9 (3.5) | 19.0 (4.9)* | 15.8 (3.4) | 19.4 (5.0)* |
| -Impaired vision (M, SD)2 | 2.7 (1.3) | 3.1 (1.6)* | 2.7 (1.3) | 3.1 (1.7)* |
| -Impaired hearing (M, SD)2 | 2.7 (1.1) | 2.8 (1.1) | 2.7 (1.0) | 2.8 (1.1) |
| -Perceived general health (poor/fair) | 64.9% | 75.3%** | 63.3% | 78.4%** |
| -Number of chronic conditions (M, SD) | 2.2 (1.5) | 2.5 (1.7)* | 2.1 (1.5) | 2.6 (1.7)* |
| -Cognitive functioning (M, SD)3 | 32.1 (3.8) | 31.8 (3.7) | 32.1 (4.0) | 31.7 (3.4) |
| -One or more falls in previous six months | 49.0% | 63.6%** | 50.3% | 62.9%** |
| Psychosocial | ||||
| -General self-efficacy (M, SD)3 | 55.8 (10.2) | 52.3 (11.9)* | 55.6 (10.4) | 52.4 (11.9)* |
| -Mastery (M, SD)3 | 21.7 (4.5) | 20.6 (4.7)* | 21.9 (4.7) | 20.2 (4.4)* |
| -Social support interactions (M, SD)3 | 29.5 (6.3) | 29.5 (7.3) | 29.9 (6.3) | 29.1 (7.3) |
| -Feelings of loneliness (all the time/mostly/often) | 13.5% | 21.3%** | 12.5% | 23.4%** |
| -Feelings of anxiety (M, SD)2 | 6.5 (4.1) | 8.4 (4.8)* | 6.6 (4.2) | 8.5 (4.7)* |
| -Symptoms of depression (M, SD)2 | 6.1 (3.6) | 7.7 (4.2)* | 6.3 (3.7) | 7.5 (4.2)* |
p < 0.05 * T-test ** Chi-square
1 Low education refers to elementary school, junior high school or lower vocational level. 2 Higher level refers to poorer functioning. 3 Higher level refers to better functioning