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This study incorporates the Stages of Change model to examine the relationship between the stages of exercise adoption and indicators of health and fitness. Subjects were 198 United States Forest Service (USFS) workers recruited from 8 USFS ranger stations in the Pacific Northwest. Analysis indicated that those subjects in Action and Maintenance stages of exercise adoption differed significantly from those in Preparation and Precontemplation/Contemplation stages on a variety of indicators of both health and fitness. Also, interesting differences were noted among the physically inactive stages, e.g., Preparation stage subjects showed lower triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, and higher HDL cholesterol compared with subjects in the Precontemplation/Contemplation stage. Progressing to the Preparation stage, where the individual remains inactive but is aware of the problem and has begun to make small changes, is associated with a differing (more positive) health profile in this study compared to those in the Precontemplation/Contemplation stage. These results imply that simply advancing in stage can have a variety of health benefits.

The purpose of the current study was to estimate the relationship between exercise frequency and measures of shyness and loneliness in a sample of 882 college students. Analysis provided evidence that higher shyness and loneliness scores were associated with not exercising and infrequent exercising. Also, subjects who exercise 7 times a week scored significantly lower than the other exercise-frequency groups. Analysis of covariance, controlling for possible confounding variables, gives further support.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate differences in demoralization between those who live in single-person households and those who live in households with others in a random sample of 8,634 urban adults. Responses to the 26-item Psychiatric Epidemiologic Research Interview did not substantiate that adults who live alone are more likely to be demoralized than those who live with others, until age and gender are considered. Men who live alone scored higher on demoralization than men who live with others, yet women who live with others scored higher on demoralization than those who live alone. An interaction for living arrangement and age group on demoralization was also observed.

The relative magnitude of individual demographic characteristics, compared with other demographic characteristics, in the prediction or explanation of frequency of loneliness has not examined or reported in the literature. The relative strengths of a series of demographic variables (gender, age, marital status, household income, educational attainment, race or ethnicity, employment status, and occupation) in explaining frequency of loneliness in a random sample of 8,634 adults residing in a large metropolitan county were examined. Logistic regression analysis indicated several variables significantly affected group membership as lonely vs not lonely: marital status, household income, gender, and educational attainment. The strongest predictor of all was marital status. Age group as a predictor variable approached significance, but employment status, occupation, and race/ethnicity were not significant predictors of group membership as lonely vs not lonely in the logistic regression model.

The association between frequency of watching TV and scores on a measure of shyness was estimated for a sample of 3,307 Philippine high school students (1,267 boys and 1,819 girls). Students who watched more than 5 hours of TV a day scored significantly higher on shyness than students who watch less TV.