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Self-Regulation and Planning Strategies to Initiate and Maintain Physical Activity Among Older People

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The Palgrave Handbook of Ageing and Physical Activity Promotion

Abstract

Self-regulation is the capability of the individual to actively decrease the discrepancy between intended behaviour and set goals. General theories of self-regulation such as the Control Theory are supplemented by developmental self-regulatory theories such as the Theory of Selection, Optimisation, and Compensation in explaining the regulation of physical activity (PA). In the context of PA interventions, two important self-regulatory strategies are self-monitoring and planning. There is research indicating that self-regulation interventions effectively promote PA in older adults. However, there is also a body of evidence showing the limitations of these interventions in this age group. Possible interactions of self-regulation capacity with age-related changes in cognition, motivation, as well as physical functioning in the context of PA are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Medical Sociology and Rehabilitation Science, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Paul Gellert

  2. Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Andre M. Müller

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  1. Paul Gellert
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  2. Andre M. Müller
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, Poole, United Kingdom

    Samuel R. Nyman

  2. Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Anna Barker

  3. Department of Physiotherapy, Monash University, Frankston, Victoria, Australia

    Terry Haines

  4. School of Health Sciences, City, University of London, London, United Kingdom

    Khim Horton

  5. Centre for Innovative Ageing, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom

    Charles Musselwhite

  6. Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Geeske Peeters

  7. College of Health and Life Sciences, Brunel University, Uxbridge, United Kingdom

    Christina R. Victor

  8. Institute of Psychogerontology, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Nuremberg, Germany

    Julia Katharina Wolff

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Gellert, P., Müller, A.M. (2018). Self-Regulation and Planning Strategies to Initiate and Maintain Physical Activity Among Older People. In: Nyman, S., et al. The Palgrave Handbook of Ageing and Physical Activity Promotion. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71291-8_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71291-8_14

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