Abstract
Both cognitive and psychosocial theories of adult development stress the fundamental role of older adults' appraisals of the diverse sources of cognitive and social-emotional strengths. This study reports the development of a new self-appraisal measure that incorporates key theoretical dimensions of internal and external sources of life strengths, as identified in the gerontological literature. Using a pilot study sample and three other independent samples to examine older adults' appraisals of their sources of life strengths which helped them in their daily functioning and to combat life challenges, adversity, and losses, a psychometric instrument having appropriate reliability and validity properties was developed. A 24-month followup of a randomly selected sample confirmed that the nine-scale appraisal measure (SLSAS) is a promising instrument for appraising older adults' sources of life strengths in dealing with stresses of daily life's functioning and also a robust measure for predicting outcomes of resilience, autonomy, and well-being for this age group. A unique strength of the appraisal instrument is its critically relevant features of brevity, simplicity of language, and ease of administration to frail older adults. Dedicated to the memory of Shanta Khurana whose assistance in the pilot work for the study was invaluable
Highlights
Given the resurgence of interest in the field of positive psychology [1], both gerontologists (e.g., [2, 3]) and social psychologists (e.g., [4]) concur that older adults’ appraisals of their life strengths are at the very basis of older adults’ identity development and contribute significantly to their perceptions of empowerment.In recent years, an approach known as the “life strengths perspective” has emerged both in the theoretical literature (e.g., [5]) and in the practice literature as extended to the treatment and clinical approach to older adults ([6, 7])
Based on theoretical dimensions of sources of life strengths we reviewed in the existential, social-cognitive, and psychosocial frameworks, it is reasonable to define the global construct of life strengths as a constellation of inner resources including skills, habits, beliefs, values, goals, behaviors, commitments, and expert knowledge, as well as the ability and resourcefulness to draw on resources in the external environment in order to adapt to changing circumstances
We tested the factorability of the data set using Bartlett’s test of sphericity, χ2 (528/3 = 3711.72) that was significant at the .0001 level indicating further that the data matrix approximates an identity matrix and that the factor model was appropriate for a principal components analysis [56]
Summary
Given the resurgence of interest in the field of positive psychology [1], both gerontologists (e.g., [2, 3]) and social psychologists (e.g., [4]) concur that older adults’ appraisals of their life strengths are at the very basis of older adults’ identity development and contribute significantly to their perceptions of empowerment.In recent years, an approach known as the “life strengths perspective” has emerged both in the theoretical literature (e.g., [5]) and in the practice literature as extended to the treatment and clinical approach to older adults ([6, 7]). The life strengths perspective recognizes that, even in the most difficult circumstances, there is reciprocity between older adults’ personally constructed views of reality and their social environment (see [8, 9]). Another conceptual framework that is related to the life strengths perspective, in collaboration with the resilience theory perspective, is Maslow’s self-actualization perspective [10]. The life strengths perspective represents a paradigm shift in clinical practice wherein practitioners focus on assessing and magnifying the worth, dignity, and uniqueness of older adults by helping them identify strengths and resources that facilitate and promote the actualization and achievement of client goals and plans for success [11] in contrast to highlighting disabilities
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