The effects of daily hassles on exercise participation in perimenopausal women

Exercise is a key factor in the prevention of many chronic conditions. There are gaps in the research pertaining to social roles, daily hassles women experience, and exercise participation. The purpose of this descriptive study was to examine the effects of daily hassles, age, and race on regular physical activity in perimenopausal women. This study utilized a convenience sample of 35 women aged 35-55 from a large southern university. The Exercise subscale of the Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP), a 5-item Likert scale, was used to measure exercise participation. Daily hassles were measured using the 53-item hassles portion of the Hassles and Uplifts Scale. Age and race were also collected from each participant. There was no statistically significant interaction between overall hassles scale scores and Exercise scale scores. There was, however a statistically significant effect of the Household subscale on exercise. The Environmental and Social Issues subscale with race had an effect on exercise participation, although neither of these variables alone had any effect. Further understanding of the effects of daily hassles on exercise participation in women will help nurses to develop client-centered exercise programs to better assist them in changing lifestyle behaviors.