Clothing attitudes of retired men as related to their participation in activities and their life satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to examine the clothing attitudes of retired men. The specific objectives were to determine (a) the relationships between retired men's clothing attitudes, their participation in activities, and their life satisfaction, and (b) whether differences exist in retired men's clothing attitudes, their participation in activities, and their life satisfaction based on sociodemographic characteristics.

The sample was composed of 127 men who had retired. All of the men received retirement benefits and all lived in noninstitutionalized settings. A survey approach was used and data were collected by means of a written questionnaire. Four instruments that measured clothing attitudes, participation in activities, life satisfaction, and selected sociodemographic characteristics were used. The clothing attitude measure consisted of three subscales, as did the participation index. The clothing attitude measure and the participation index were analyzed in both the composite forms and as subscales. Six hypotheses were tested using Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients and least squares analysis of variance.

The retirees had relatively positive attitudes about clothing for social activities and relatively positive attitudes about clothing maintenance. They reflected relatively negative attitudes about clothing for retirement. Participation in solitary activities and expressive leisure activities was relatively moderate, and participation in voluntary associations was relatively low. The men had a relatively high level of life satisfaction.

Attitudes about clothing for social activities and attitudes about clothing maintenance were related positively to participation in solitary activities and to participation in expressive leisure activities. No relationship was found between attitudes about clothing and participation in voluntary associations. Life satisfaction of the retirees was not related to their attitudes about clothing.

Differences existed in clothing attitudes between men who were retired and men who had retired previously but working part-time. Fully retired men had more positive attitudes about clothing for social activities and more positive attitudes about clothing maintenance than retired men who were working part-time. Differences in their participation in activities and their life satisfaction were found among the retirees.