Successful Aging Means Research Articles

Meanings of Aging Among Older Canadian Women of Varying Physical Activity Levels

This study examines how older women's meanings of successful aging differ depending on their attitudes towards old age and current leisure practices. Twenty-one women aged 75–92 completed in-depth interviews and were divided into three groups (inactive, moderately active, or highly active). Comparisons were made across groups to determine how meanings of “old” and “successful aging” differed. Findings were interpreted using biographical, biomedical, and psychosocial approaches to successful aging, and theories of leisure as a site for women's resistance and empowerment. This study contributes to knowledge about the role of physical activity in shaping the meanings of aging among older women.

성공적 노화와 선택과 보상 책략에 의한 최적화의 질적 연구: 사회 활동 참여 노인을 중심으로

This study aimed to identify the dimensions of successful aging, as perceived by elderly Koreans, and to testqualitatively the elders’ optimization of selection and compensation strategies in a social activity context. The resultswere as follows: First, the most important part of life fulfillment and regret was family and work. Second, socialactivity played a role in self-actualization and physiological needs. Moreover, it contributed to the elders’ physical andmental health maintenance. Third, the elderly effectively participated in social activities by optimizing their selectionand compensation strategies. Fourth, the elderly realized they are growing old, but considered it as a natural process.In addition, some participants suggested retirement age should be raised, but others were against this idea. Finally,elders thought successful aging means having a sufficient and independent life in old age. Thus, the elderly requiredgood health, economic security, and a positive attitude for aging successfully.± ¯ ,FZ
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Successful aging as an oxymoron

Notions of what it means to age well or successfully are central to social gerontological research and practice. As such, one would expect that there would be consensus as to what the construct of successful aging means and/or how aging well is achieved. This is not, however, the case which is why this study explores the meanings that a group of older people (i.e. some with home-help care and some without) attach to this construct. The empirical material is constituted of 16 semi-structured interviews. The findings bring to fore the different resources (such as physical, mental, psycho-social, spiritual, and financial ones) that are associated with successful aging and the kind of outlook on life that is regarded as useful if one wants to age well. Differences between home-help care recipients and those that do not receive this type of care were found. Those that are managing without the help offered by home-help care services listed more resources and offered more nuanced descriptions of what successful aging means than those that receive home- help care. This suggests that receiving home-help care and/or not being able to manage primarily on one’s own might shape the manner in which older people think about what constitutes a good old age. The in-depth analysis of the notions of successful aging that were brought to the fore suggests also the paradoxical fact that the title of this article attests to; namely that some associate aging well with not aging at all and deem, in fact, the term successful aging to be an oxymoron.

Aging without Becoming Old: Myth or Reality?

The marked increase in life expectancy witnessed in the last few decades has turned the topic of aging into an extremely important issue. Consequently, priority should be given in the future to developing the new framework needed for a ‘successful aging’ research program. This article focuses on finding evidence for the real meaning of successful aging in the conviction that it is important to thoroughly discuss the related issues and recommend new policies to implement in public-health circles. To this end, we provide some indicators on how to age without growing old. We would all agree that ‘aging’ is becoming an increasingly important issue for policy makers all over the world. Unfortunately, nothing can be done to delay, stop or reverse the human aging process [1], despite the promise of anti-aging products (intended to make us look younger) that may well succeed in changing our appearance, but do not change our chronological age. In order to provide recommendations on healthy aging for healthcare professionals, we first need to answer some relevant questions. For instance: • What do aging and being old really mean? • Is it possible to live to be 120 years and still be healthy? • Is being healthy synonymous with successful aging? • Can we say that healthy aging is the same as successful aging? • What exactly do we mean by successful aging? This may not be the whole list of the issues that need to be considered. Nevertheless, encouraged by previous work on the subject [2], in the following sections we attempt to provide some answers to these crucial questions. The implementation of these new practices will no doubt

Definição de envelhecimento saudável na perspectiva de indivíduos idosos

O envelhecimento é definido como um processo multidimensional (Baltes & Baltes, 1990). Rowe e Kahn (1998) apresentam três indicadores de envelhecimento saudável: baixo risco de doenças e de incapacidades funcionais; funcionamento mental e físico excelentes; e envolvimento ativo com a vida. Com base nesses pressupostos, o objetivo deste trabalho foi examinar a definição de envelhecimento saudável em uma amostra de idosos da comunidade buscando identificar as multidimensões percebidas pelos mesmos. A amostra foi de 501 idosos com idade entre 60 a 93 anos (M= 72,65; DP= 8,08). Foi realizada análise de conteúdo das respostas abertas sobre envelhecimento saudável. Identificou-se 29 categorias, sendo as mais citadas: saúde física; saúde social e saúde emocional e as menos citadas: envelhecimento como patológico e atividades específicas para idosos. Conclui-se que este estudo confirmou os pressupostos de heterogeneidade e multidimensionalidade do processo de envelhecimento, ao observar-se a variabilidade nas definições dos idosos.

노인주거복지시설 노인들의 성공적인 노화의 의미

노인주거복지시설 노인들의 성공적인 노화의 의미

Successful aging in centenarians: myths and reality

The term “successful aging” appeared in the first issue of “The Gerontologist” in 1961. During the successive years, this expression has changed its meaning. Nowadays, successful aging means “absence of diseases and disabilities, maintenance of high levels of physical and cognitive abilities, preservation of the social and productive activities”. It has become a common opinion that the centenarians may represent the prototypes of the successful aging. This motivated our work to study the clinical, psychical, and functional aspects in a centenarian group, verifying the real autonomy, instrumental capacities, and working abilities. Our study pool consisted of 602 centenarians, who were also subjects of then epidemiological studies of the Italian Multicenter Studies on Centenarians (IMUSCE). All subjects underwent a clinical-anamnestic evaluation, cognitive-functional tests by means of the mini mental state examination (MMSE), the independence index in activities of daily living (ADL), the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) scale. The centenarians were classified in three groups, according to the criteria elaborated previously by us, based on their psychophysical status and autonomy, as follows. Group A: centenarians in good health status; Group B: centenarians in an intermediate health status. Group C: centenarians in bad health status. Group A represented 20.0% of the total pool, Group B amounted to 33.4%, and the Group C was 46.6%. The centenarians of Group A presented normal ADL values, and 47.9% of them were autosufficient in all functions; 5.7% of them were independent in all IADL items. These data confirm that the centenarians of Group A are free of invalidating chronic diseases, are autonomous, maintain good physical and cognitive capacities, however, have not maintained any social or productive activities. Therefore, they cannot be considered as prototypes of successful aging.

Successful Aging in the Oldest Old

Successful aging is a worldwide aim, but it is less clear which indicators characterize elderly persons as successfully aged. We explored the meaning of successful aging from 2 perspectives. Analysis of data from the first cross-sectional part of the longitudinal Leiden 85-plus Study, conducted in Leiden, the Netherlands. All inhabitants of Leiden aged 85 years were eligible. Data were obtained from 599 participants (response rate, 87%). Successful aging from a public health perspective was defined as a state of being. All participants were classified as successful or not successful based on optimal scores for physical, social, and psychocognitive functioning and on feelings of well-being, using validated quantitative instruments. Qualitative indepth interviews on the perspectives of elderly persons were held with a representative group of 27 participants. Although 45% (267/599) of the participants had optimal scores for well-being, only 13% (79/599) had optimal scores for overall functioning. In total, 10% (58/599) of the participants satisfied all the criteria and could be classified as successfully aged. The qualitative interviews showed that most elderly persons viewed success as a process of adaptation rather than a state of being. They recognized the various domains of successful aging, but valued well-being and social functioning more than physical and psychocognitive functioning. If successful aging is defined as an optimal state of overall functioning and well-being, only a happy few meet the criteria. However, elderly persons view successful aging as a process of adaptation. Using this perspective, many more persons could be considered to be successfully aged.

Remarkable survivors: insights into successful aging among women

This book uses open-ended interview techniques to allow women to talk about what successful aging means to them and how aspects of the social system in the United States affect the quality of their lives. The author suggests guidelines for communities and policymakers on how to improve the quality of life for elderly women--improvements that may also reduce the social and economic costs of premature dependency, both for the elderly themselves and for their caregivers.

Successful aging: a developmental approach.

Like goodness, truth, and other human ideals, successful aging may appeal more than it illuminates. It is an image that attracts human interest but defies easy or consensual definition. As growing numbers of people anticipate a long old age, the meaning of successful aging takes on even greater importance. Formulations of the concept become standards by which individuals evaluate themselves and others, as well as visions toward which to strive. In attempting to advance understanding of how these years might be fully experienced, this article examines previous perspectives on successful aging and presents a new alternative. The aim is to illustrate how a developmental orientation adds new challenges and dimensions to the task of growing old successfully. Previous Approaches to Successful Aging Four dimensions of successful aging were proposed in the Kansas City Studies of Adult Life: the amount of activity in which the individual engaged, the ability to disengage, satisfaction with life, and maturity or integration of personality. Williams and Wirths (1965) later derived two additional views of successful aging: a balanced exchange of energy between the individual and the social system, and a stable social system. Of these various formulations, life satisfaction became the most frequently investigated dimension of successful aging. Life satisfaction included the components of zest versus apathy, resolution and fortitude, relationships between desired goals and achieved goals, self-concept, and mood tone (Neugarten, Havighurst, & Tobin, 1961). A vast body of gerontological research was generated by this early formulation, so much so that life satisfaction has been described as the most widely studied variable in the field of aging (Maddox & Wiley, 1976). The abundance of empirical work elaborated and differentiated the concept of life satisfaction far beyond its initial definition. Thus, in addition to the original dimensions, successful aging