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The purpose of this study was to examine which determinants discriminate between resocialization and continuity patterns of physical activity among elderly Japanese. Information was collected through face-to-face interviews with two groups of elderly Japanese: one that was inactive in middle age and became active after retirement (resocialization group), and another that was active both in middle age and after retirement (continuity group). Discriminant analysis (Hayashi's Quantification Theory IT) was used to compare these two groups in four personal and contextual dimensions: personal attributes, socializing situation, socializing agent, and cognitive involvement. The findings indicated that socializing agents such as friends and leaders influenced the resocialization group more than the continuity group. Conversely, the continuity group was more affected by activity programs than the resocialization group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]