Does a skiing intervention influence the psycho-social characteristics of the elderly?

The purpose of this study was to assess whether a guided alpine skiing intervention lasting 12 weeks has an impact on psycho-social dimensions, measured by subjective assessments, of individuals who are 60+ years of age. A number of well-established questionnaires were used to measure well-being, life satisfaction, self-concept, health status, depression and self-efficacy. The physical self-concept in the domain "strength" increased significantly in the intervention group from pre- to post-test and remained stable through the retention test, whereas the control group demonstrated nearly no alteration. A similar effect was obtained in life satisfaction for the dimension "friends and relatives." On the contrary, psycho-social aspects of the elderly were not negatively influenced. The subjects of this study had very high pre-test scores that might reflect a ceiling effect which, in turn, can explain the marginal positive impact of the intervention. The findings of this study argue for recommending a guided alpine skiing intervention for individuals who are 60 years of age and older with high values in psycho-social variables.