Relationship between physical activity and aging perception with mediating role of resilience among community-dwelling older adults

The global demographic shift toward an aging population highlights the need to identify modifiable factors that shape individuals’ perceptions of aging. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the relationship between physical activity and perception of aging, with the mediating role of resilience among older adults. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2025 on 378 community-dwelling older adults in Qazvin, Iran. Participants were selected using cluster sampling method. Data collection instruments included a demographic questionnaire, the Barker Aging Perception Questionnaire, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 for descriptive statistics and Mplus version 7.3 for structural equation modeling. Path analysis was used to examine the mediating role of resilience in the relationship between physical activity and perceptions of aging. The mean age of older participants was 69.69 ± 7.04 years. The majority were married (70.6%, n = 267) and retired (47.9%, n = 181). Mean scores indicated a moderate level of perceptions of aging (55.73 ± 6.47) and physical activity (1803.74 ± 1776.98 MET-min/week), and a high level of resilience (34.78 ± 6.93). Path analysis showed that physical activity was not directly associated with perceptions of aging (β = 0.04, p = 0.397), whereas its indirect association through resilience was statistically significant (β = 0.04, p = 0.005). The total association was not statistically significant (β = 0.08, p = 0.100). The findings indicate that resilience statistically mediates the association between physical activity and perceptions of aging among older adults. These results highlight resilience as a potential psychological mechanism through which physical activity may be associated with more positive perceptions of aging, offering valuable insights for interventions aimed at enhancing well-being in later life.