INFLUENCE OF INDIVIDUALS AND THE ENVIRONMENT TO PERCEPTIONS OF SUCCESS IN OLD AGE (original) (raw)
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Successful Aging and Self Perceptions
Bombay Psychologist, 2016
This paper is the first of a series of studies conducted on an aging population from the state of Maharashtra, perhaps a first of its kind Indian community based study on successful aging. 448 participants are studied with a view to understand their self perceptions and findings from 410 respondents are presented. To assess the respondents' perceptions of how others see them, survey questions asked about their perceived age and also for adjectives best describing them. Finally, the respondents were also asked to indicate self-ratings of satisfaction across different periods in their life span. Interesting trends in the findings are presented along with descriptive data about the demographic distribution of the sample, and a Chi square analysis of self rating of overall life satisfaction scores across five categories of life satisfaction.
Successful aging as a multidimensional concept: An integrative review
Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 2017
Successful aging as an umbrella term with a large amount of literature has emerged with a variety of meanings and dimensions in different studies. This article aims at determining what dimensions contribute to constructing the concept of successful aging. The method used in this study is an integrative review of published literature related to successful aging. This method includes both qualitative and quantitative studies. Data searching was conducted during November and December 2014 and was then updated in October 2015. First, 2543 articles were identified, and after the screening phase, 76 articles were eligible for inclusion in the integrative review. The results specified 14 subcategories and 5 main categories of successful aging: social well-being, psychological wellbeing, physical health, spirituality and transcendence, and environment and economic security. The present study provides a thorough understanding of successful aging dimensions and proposes the importance of the ...
Psychology of Successful Aging
Journal of emerging technologies and innovative research, 2020
The world's population is ageing rapidly. Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world's older adults is estimated to almost double from about 12% to 22%. Older adults, those aged 60 or above, make important contributions to society as family members, volunteers and as active participants in the workforce. Mental health and well-being are as important in older age as at any other time of life. Older people may experience life stressors common to all people, but also stressors that are more common in later life, like a significant ongoing loss in capacities and a decline in functional ability. In addition, older people are more likely to experience events such as bereavement, or a drop in socioeconomic status with retirement. All of these stressors can result in isolation, loneliness or psychological distress in older people, for which they may require longterm care. This research paper tries to explore mental health problems faced by older people and the stigma surrounding these conditions makes people reluctant to seek help. The increasing proportion of people growing old, demands expanded knowledge of how people can experience successful aging and the factors associated with successful aging.
Successful aging: a cross-national study of subjective well-being later in life
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2013
This paper aims to identify and analyze the life course and contextual factors that influence the subjective well-being (SWB) of individuals over 60 years of age. Our research is based on the results of the 5 th wave of the World Value Survey. We have investigated the level of SWB for older people at both the individual and country level. The results of our research demonstrate that the strongest predictors of SWB later in life are satisfaction with one's financial state, health, and a sense of control, meaning the belief that individuals are in control of their lives. Besides this, the important factors of SWB for older people are the ability to establish and maintain friendly relations with other people, such as family members and friends, and to invest their own resources in positive emotions and important relationships for themselves. Older people from excommunist countries have the lowest level of SWB. Older people from English-speaking countries, such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, have, by contrast, the highest level of SWB. These results suggest that the degree of modernization influences SWB levels very strongly. For older people, the country in which they live, the level of democracy, GDP per capita, freedom, and tolerance are very important. In contemporary society, the later period of life is a time for self-realization, new activities, new leisure, and new emotions. If society understands the needs of older people and provides opportunities for their realization, society can overcome the challenges caused by population aging. Only then can we discuss the concept of 'successful aging'.
Successful Aging From the Viewpoint of Older Adults
Research and Theory for Nursing Practice, 2014
The purpose of this study was to investigate older adults' perceptions of successful aging within the context of the theory of successful aging to validate and further inform this theory. This research was a secondary, qualitative analysis of data from two earlier studies in which participants were asked to provide a response to the open-ended question, "What does successful aging mean to you?" Content analysis using multiple coding was independently conducted by the investigators. Eight broad themes emerged: active independence, relationships with people, relationship with God, comfort resources, health, beneficial contribution, positive perspective/coping, and freedom. Differences and similarities of themes by study subgroups were also explored. The coping processes, functional performance mechanisms, and intrapsychic factors from the theory of successful aging were well represented in the findings of this study. The coping process of spirituality was less frequently represented, whereas that of gerotranscendence was slightly more often described. Interventions that enhance these factors associated with successful aging have the potential to improve quality of life and provide appealing, meaningful activities for older adults.
The Gerontologist, 2014
This article critiques Rowe and Kahn's conceptualization of successful aging using tenets of the life course perspective. A review and synthesis of the literature on successful aging and studies that use a life course perspective. We draw on life course principles that view development as a dynamic lifelong process, embedded in historical time and place, and influenced by the web of relationships individuals are linked to, as well as more distal social structural factors. This discussion questions the relatively static nature of Rowe and Kahn's successful aging model, its emphasis on personal control over one's later-life outcomes, and neglect of historical and cultural context, social relationships, and structural forces in influencing later-life functioning. Caution in using the model in its current formulation is needed, and we promote thinking about how successful aging can better align with micro- and macrolevel issues through utilization of a life course perspective.
Successful aging and life satisfaction: A pilot study for conceptual clarification
Journal of Aging Studies, 1992
Successful aging has often been equated with li$e satisfaction, but some argue the need to separate the two concepts and to specdfy the meanings older people attach to these concepts. This research sought to identtfy how older people understood ltfe satisfaction and successful aging and what they viewed as essential for each. U~en-ended interviews were conducted with 4 sample of older people fn = 19) at a Senior Activity center. Respondents were asked to explain what successful aging and It&e satisfaction meant to them, what was necessary for each, and what prevented each. While there were some overlaps in older people $ understandings of these concepts, one key difference did emerge from the qualitative data. Respondents described life satisfaction in terms of past expectations and present circumstances, while successful aging was more oriented to strategies for coping in later life and maintaining a positive outlook. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE With the aging population growing at a phenomenal rate, there is good reason to be concerned about successful aging. There is considerable debate, however, on the criteria for aging successfully and on the usefulness of a term not easily defined. Since the landmark work of Neugarten, Havighurst, and Tobin (1961), life satisfaction or morale has been typically used as the empirically based operationalization of successful aging (Thomas and Chambers 1989). Havighurst wrote that successful aging involved conditions under which a person gets a '~maximum of satisfaction and happiness" (1963, p. 4).
Successful Ageing: An Opportunity and Responsibility for All
Health and Wellbeing in Late Life, 2019
The term "successful ageing" has gained much popularity among scientists, researchers, politicians and geriatricians (such as myself) when referring to the older adults in the last three decades [1]. However, when I enquired about what "successful ageing" meant to an octogenarian or a nonagenarian, there was hardly any awareness about this term among them. Although most people would like to be physically, psychologically and financially independent, feel satisfied with their life and die in a dignified way, to most octogenarian "life is a path that they have almost travelled, an experience that they have already experienced". For many people, life is just a component in the cycle of birth and death. When I simplified the questions and asked about their life satisfaction, quality of life and late-life participation as per their ability, in the context of social and family, the respondents were mostly clueless. Prevalent notions such as "ageing successfully is a destiny, which cannot be modified" or "ageing means disability and dependence, with an uncertain future about dignity and autonomy" influence the attitude towards the sunset years. So, what about the preparation for successful ageing from middle life or late adulthood (60-75 years)? What about increasing physical and cognitive reserve, thereby building a high intrinsic capacity? There was a paradigm shift, particularly in societies such as Japan, Sweden, the USA, the UK and a few European countries-which have been preparing for active ageing for the last couple of decades-towards disrupting ageing through optimization of mental and physical involvement and minimizing functional loss. Thus, understanding about successful ageing from an individual's perspective within the local sociocultural milieu is important.
PERSONAL MEANING AND SUCCESSFUL AGING
Personal meaning is defined as an individually constructed cognitive system that is grounded in subjective values and capable of endowing life with personal significance and satisfaction. Theories and empirical findings are presented that implicate the importance of personal meaning in promoting health and successful aging. When many of the major sources of meaning, such as work, social status, and activity are threatened or diminished, as in the case of advancing age, the question Why Survive? becomes urgent. One's health and life satisfaction importantly depends on whether this existential need is met. The main thesis of the present paper is that discovery /creation of meaning through inner and spiritual resources is a promising way of transcending personal losses and despair in old age. This paper also describes four strategies, namely reminiscence, commitment, personal optimism and relig-iosity, which may be used to maintain a sense of meaning in the face of illness, pain and personal death.
This paper aims to identify and analyze the life course and contextual factors that influence the subjective well-being (SWB) of individuals over 60 years of age. Our research is based on the results of the 5th wave of the World Value Survey. We have investigated the level of SWB for older people at both the individual and country level. The results of our research demonstrate that the strongest predictors of SWB later in life are satisfaction with one’s financial state, health, and a sense of control, meaning the belief that individuals are in control of their lives. Besides this, the important factors of SWB for older people are the ability to establish and maintain friendly relations with other people, such as family members and friends, and to invest their own resources in positive emotions and important relationships for themselves. Older people from ex-communist countries have the lowest level of SWB. Older people from English-speaking countries, such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, have, by contrast, the highest level of SWB. These results suggest that the degree of modernization influences SWB levels very strongly. For older people, the country in which they live, the level of democracy, GDP per capita, freedom, and tolerance are very important. In contemporary society, the later period of life is a time for self-realization, new activities, new leisure, and new emotions. If society understands the needs of older people and provides opportunities for their realization, society can overcome the challenges caused by population aging. Only then can we discuss the concept of ‘successful aging’