The effects of exercise participation, self-perceived fitness level, and dispositional hardiness for promoting stress resistance were examined in a sample of 373 college students. Self-report measures of stressful life experience and recent physical illness were positively correlated, and fitness and hardiness were negatively correlated with illness as expected. Multiple regression analyses indicated that neither fitness nor hardiness provided a stress-moderator effect because neither was found to significantly interact with stress in the prediction of illness scores. Structural equation analyses suggested that hardiness may affect health indirectly by first influencing either the occurrence or subjective interpretation of stressful life events. No direct effect on health was found for exercise participation, although exercise may reduce illness indirectly by improving fitness. Implications for the multivariate modeling of proposed stress-resistance-enhancing effects are discussed.

Considerable heterogeneity exists in the criteria used for the establishment of stages of impairment for patients with dementia. The valid distinction of stages is important both for clinical interpretation and the study of dementia. This study reports on the use of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) in staging dementia. Using a sample of 42 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer-type dementia, DRS performance and a rating of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) were compared with clinical ratings of dementia severity. Total DRS score provides a clinically valid measure of stage of impairment and appeared to provide a better distinction among stages than IADL score. However, use of the IADL score in conjunction with total DRS may improve correspondence with clinical staging over use of the total DRS score alone. Normative data for the DRS are also provided.

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This study examined whether chronic physical exercise activity is associated with better neurocognitive performance in older adults. One hundred five men participated in 1 of 3 age groups (18-28, 35-45, and 60-73). For each age group, subjects were classified as high or low in fitness on the basis of self-reported activity levels and the results of a submaximal bicycle ergometer test. A comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests was administered to each subject, and older subjects scored significantly lower than the younger groups on most tests. Significant differences between high- and low-fit subjects were found only on tasks with heavy visuospatial demands, and these differences were most notable in the older adult group. These findings suggest that participation in aerobic exercise activity selectively preserves some cognitive functions that normally decline with age. The benefits of activity appear to be most evident on tasks that require visuospatial processing.