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Physical Activity Across the Life Span: Personality, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behavior

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Sport and Exercise Psychology

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Abstract

In this chapter, the prevalence of physically activity as well as sedentary behavior across the life span is presented. Empirical findings on the associations between the Big Five personality dimensions of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism and health behavior (i.e., physical activity and sedentary behaviors) as well as various health parameters are introduced. Explanations for these relationships are discussed. It is proposed that health behavior (i.e., physical activity, sitting time) acts as mediator between personality traits and health status. Finally, a heuristic model is presented as a foundation for future research into the relationships between personality, health behavior, and health over the life  span.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Ines Pfeffer

  2. University of Victoria, Victoria, Canada

    Ryan E. Rhodes

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  1. Ines Pfeffer
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  2. Ryan E. Rhodes
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Correspondence to Ines Pfeffer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universität Konstanz, Constance, Germany

    Julia Schüler

  2. University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Mirko Wegner

  3. Ruprecht-Karls-University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany

    Henning Plessner

  4. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    Robert C. Eklund

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Pfeffer, I., Rhodes, R.E. (2023). Physical Activity Across the Life Span: Personality, Physical Activity, and Sedentary Behavior. In: Schüler, J., Wegner, M., Plessner, H., Eklund, R.C. (eds) Sport and Exercise Psychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-03921-8_15

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