“This Brings you to Life” The Impact of Friendship on Health and Well-being in Old Age: the Case of La Verneda Learning Community

Susana León-Jiménez

doi:10.17583/rasp.2020.5538

Abstract

Friendship has been studied along centuries, since ancient times to present-day, as the basis of the social cornerstone, present at all stages of the lifespan and belonging to the world of truthful sentiments. Benefits of friendship on health have been demonstrated. Less is known about the role of friendship on seniors. The aim of this case study has been to show how the end friendship developed in an adults’ school operating for more than 40 years in Barcelona is having a positive impact on the well-being and health of their participants. Through the communicative discussion group, we have deepened in the trajectories of some of the school participants. The results show how participation in the school and the dialogic gatherings have contributed to the emergence of a non-instrumental friendship feeling and to consider an impact on the perceived general wellness and health and an improvement of their life quality. It is discussed how this research provides more elements to the existing literature. More research on how other communitarian environments have similar effects on this population, or on the impact of these dialogical spaces in the development of end friendships in other stages of the life cycle would be of interest.

Highlights

“Esto te Da la Vida” El impacto de la Amistad en la Salud y el Bienestar en la Tercera Edad: el Caso de la Comunidad de Aprendizaje La Verneda
It is considered a feeling (Tabak et al, 2012; Thomson & Crocker, 2013) that can be nearly found at all stages of the lifespan (Bukowski et al, 2009), and that is at the basis of the social cornerstone (Aquinas, 2001; Shushok, 2008; McCall et al, 2017), belonging to the world of truthful and altruist sentiments (Reisman, 1979), such as love, union, trustworthiness or solidarity (Aristotle, 1999; Aquinas, 2001; Alberoni, 2006; Thomas, 2013)
Aristotle came to distinguish among three kinds of friendship: friendship based on utility, friendship based on pleasure and friendship based on goodness, being this last one considered the perfect friendship as it is grounded in excellence, balance and virtue and the friend is loved not purposeful and circumstantially, but on the person oneself (Fortenbaugh, 1975)

Summary

Introduction

“Esto te Da la Vida” El impacto de la Amistad en la Salud y el Bienestar en la Tercera Edad: el Caso de la Comunidad de Aprendizaje La Verneda. Friendship has been widely studied along centuries, since ancient times from classical philosophers as Kant, Plato or Aquinas to present-day researchers on different disciplines (Reisman, 1979; White, 1999; Zamora, 2009) It is considered a feeling (Tabak et al, 2012; Thomson & Crocker, 2013) that can be nearly found at all stages of the lifespan (Bukowski et al, 2009), and that is at the basis of the social cornerstone (Aquinas, 2001; Shushok, 2008; McCall et al, 2017), belonging to the world of truthful and altruist sentiments (Reisman, 1979), such as love, union, trustworthiness or solidarity (Aristotle, 1999; Aquinas, 2001; Alberoni, 2006; Thomas, 2013). Aquinas refers to a charity form of friendship, which would correspond to the purest form, being undertaken because of love towards God (Ney, 2006)

Objectives

Methods

Results