Table 1.
Sample characteristics, by status (non-frequent attenders vs. frequent attenders) (n = 7,446)
| Variables | Non-frequent attenders (n = 6,700) |
Frequent attenders (n = 746) |
p-value | Missings (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female (Ref.: Male): N (%) | 3,385 (50.5) | 399 (53.5) | ns | 0.0 |
| Age in years: Mean (SD); Range | 64.1 (11.2); 40–95 | 67.8 (11.3); 40–93 | <.001 | 0.0 |
| Employment status: N (%) | <.001 | 0.0 | ||
| Working | 2,576 (38.5) | 150 (20.1) | ||
| Retired | 3,549 (53.0) | 505 (67.7) | ||
| Not employed | 572 (8.5) | 91 (12.2) | ||
| Married, living together with spouse (Ref.: Others): N (%) | 4,745 (70.9) | 460 (62.0) | <.001 | 0.2 |
| Monthly net equivalence income in Euro: Mean (SD); Range | 1,976.2 (1,415.1); 80–33,333.3 | 1,579.9 (828.3); 122.0–7,018.0 | <.001 | 5.3 |
| East Germany (Ref.: West Germany): N (%) | 2,238 (33.4) | 228 (30.6) | ns | 0.0 |
| Sports at least once a week (Ref.: Sports less than once a week): N (%) | 3,693 (55.1) | 331 (44.4) | <.001 | 0.0 |
| Body-Mass-Index (BMI): Mean (SD); Range | 26.7 (4.4); 13.2–55.8 | 28.5 (5.5); 16.4–60.9 | <.001 | 1.7 |
| Current smoker (Ref.: No): N (%) | 1,178 (17.7) | 122 (16.5) | ns | 0.8 |
| Daily alcohol consumption (Ref.: Less than daily alcohol consumption): N (%) | 818 (12.2) | 70 (9.4) | <.05 | 0.2 |
| Number of physical illnesses: Mean (SD); Range | 2.5 (1.8); 0–11 | 4.0 (2.0); 0–11 | <.001 | 1.5 |
| Life satisfaction (Pavot/Diener 1993): Mean (SD); Range | 3.8 (0.7); 1–5 | 3.5 (0.9); 1–5 | <.001 | 0.9 |
| Positive affect (Watson, Clark & Tellegen, 1988): Mean (SD); Range | 3.6 (0.5); 1–5 | 3.4 (0.5); 1.4–5 | <.001 | 0.9 |
| Negative affect (Watson, Clark & Tellegen, 1988): Mean (SD); Range | 2.1 (0.5); 1–5 | 2.2 (0.6); 1–4.6 | <.001 | 0.9 |
| Optimism (Brandstädter & Wentura, 1994): Mean (SD); Range | 3.0 (0.5); 1–4 | 2.8 (0.6); 1–4 | <.001 | 0.3 |
| Self-efficacy (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1999): Mean (SD); Range | 3.1 (0.4); 1–4 | 2.9 (0.5); 1-4 | <.001 | 0.4 |
| Self-esteem (Rosenberg 1965): Mean (SD); Range | 3.4 (0.4); 1.4–4 | 3.3 (0.5); 1.2–4 | <.001 | 0.1 |
| Self-regulation (Freund & Baltes, 2002): Mean (SD); Range | 4.0 (0.5); 2-5 | 3.9 (0.5); 2–5 | <.01 | 2.0 |
| Perceived stress (Cohen et al., 1983): Mean (SD); Range | 2.3 (0.6); 1–5 | 2.6 (0.7); 1–4.8 | <.001 | 1.5 |
ns not significant, N number, SD standard deviation; Comparisons between the two groups were done using t-test and chi-square procedures