| This study examined the effects of physical activity, stress, and social support on the health status of 225 married men. The men ranged in age from 27 to 65, with a mean age of 43.1 and a standard deviation of 6.7. Eighty-five percent were Caucasian, and 15% were Hispanic. Measures of health included current perceived health, general well-being, somatic symptoms, and self-esteem. Many significant findings emerged. As predicted, there was a significant inverse relationship between perceived stress and health (i.e., the higher the level of perceived stress, the lower the health) and also a significant inverse relationship between negative life events and health. A positive relationship was found between physical activity and health. In addition, there was a significant interaction of perceived stress and physical activity in predicting health. Specifically, among subjects experiencing high degrees of perceived stress, those with high levels of physical activity reported better health than those with low levels of physical activity. There was also a significant interaction of negative life events and physical activity in predicting health. That is, among subjects experiencing low degrees of negative life events, those with high levels of physical activity reported better health than those with low levels of physical activity. Finally, the independent variables and interactions independently accounted for uniquely significant variance in predicting health. The independent variables accounted for 35% of the variance in predicting health when general well-being served as the criterion measure of health. This study demonstrated the importance of stress, physical activity, and social support in predicting men's health. |
