Perceived barriers and contributors to sense of purpose in life in retirement community residents

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Nathan A. Lewis ◽  
Naomi Reesor ◽  
Patrick L. Hill
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Sense Of Purpose ◽  
The Social ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities ◽  
Retirement Facilities

Abstract Despite the growing use of retirement communities and ageing care facilities, little is known about how residing in retirement residences may impact aspects of older adult wellbeing. Living in these communities may hold particular influence on residents’ sense of purpose, if they feel limited in their opportunities for individual action, or could serve to promote purposefulness depending on the social connections available. The current study sought to explore contributing factors as well as barriers to purpose in older adults living in three continuing care retirement communities. Using brief semi-structured interviews, 18 older adults were asked to describe their purpose in life, community-related activities and any perceived challenges limiting their ability to pursue this purpose. Thematic analysis was used to examine themes common across interviews. Interviews presented a mixed picture of the nature of purposefulness in retirement facilities. Residents espoused several benefits of community living such as social and leisure opportunities, while also noting several obstacles to their purpose, including health concerns and the belief that purpose in life was not relevant for older adults. These findings provide insight into how older adults can derive a sense of purpose from activities within their retirement community and how facilities can better tailor programmes to promote purposefulness and support personally valued roles for residents.

scholarly journals Envy and Jealousy of Living-Apart-Together Relationships in Continuing Care Retirement Communities

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 382-382
Author(s):  
Chaya Koren ◽  
Liat Ayalon
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Living Apart Together ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities

Abstract Moving to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) and living apart together (LAT) as a repartnering form, represent new late-life beginnings. A larger qualitative study on LAT relationships constructed in the CCRC identified envy and jealousy yet they were not examined in-depth. Envy is wanting something we lack whereas jealousy is fear of losing something that is ours to another. These emotions are rarely explored in the context of older adults’ relationships. Our aim is to examine experiences of envy and jealousy from perspectives of residents aged 79 to 96 and staff, heuristically using Goffman’s framework on (semi)-totalitarian institutions. 30 semi structured qualitative interviews were conducted in three CCRCs in Israel with 10 LAT residents, 10 residents not LAT, and 10 CCRC staff members including social workers. Analysis was conducted based on principles of thematic analysis and triangulation. Findings refer to kinds of envy, ignoring envy, and the development and consequences of jealousy and/or envy related to LAT in the CCRC. Conclusions address how semi-totalitarian CCRC features influence envy and jealousy experiences including implications for assisting social workers, older adults and their family members to adjust to life in the CCRC and assist CCRC management and staff to address possible consequences of envy and jealousy.

Envy and Jealousy of Living apart Together Relationships in Continuing Care Retirement Communities: Perspectives of Staff and Residents

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaya Koren ◽  
Liat Ayalon
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
Living Apart Together

Abstract Moving to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) and living apart together (LAT) as a repartnering form represent new late-life beginnings. A large study on LAT relationships constructed in CCRCs identified envy and jealousy, yet they were not examined in-depth. Envy is wanting something we lack, whereas jealousy is fear of losing something that is ours to another. These emotions are rarely explored in the context of older adults’ relationships. Using Goffman’s framework of (semi)-totalitarian institutions, our aim is to heuristically examine experiences of envy and jealousy from the perspective of residents and staff. In total, thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted in three CCRCs in Israel with ten LAT residents, ten non-LAT residents and ten CCRC staff members, including social workers. Findings refer to kinds of envy, ignoring envy and the development and consequences of LAT-related jealousy and/or envy in CCRCs. The discussion and conclusions address how semi-totalitarian CCRC features influence envy and jealousy experiences. They include implications for social work practice with older adults and their family members regarding adjustment to life in the CCRC and may assist CCRC management and social workers in addressing possible consequences of envy and jealousy.

“Not living together yet all the time together”: The construction of living apart together in continuing care retirement communities from perspectives of residents and CCRC staff*

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 3855-3874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chaya Koren ◽  
Liat Ayalon
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Living Apart Together ◽  
The Social ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities ◽  
Person Environment Fit ◽  
Living Together ◽  
New Beginnings

Moving to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) and living apart together (LAT) late in life are occurrences representing new beginnings in old age. However, they may also involve restrictions related to partnership characteristics and to the semi-totalitarian features of the CCRC. From community, person-in-environment and person–environment fit/misfit approaches, we aim to examine how LAT relationships are constructed in the CCRC from perspectives of residents and CCRC staff as members of the same semi-totalitarian communities. This could provide new understandings on CCRC features and LAT relationships for enhancing residents’ quality-of-life. A total of 30 semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted in three CCRCs in Israel: 10 with widowed LAT residents, 10 with widowed residents not LAT, and 10 with CCRC staff. The interviews were analyzed based on thematic analysis and triangulated to produce a broad and rich experience of LAT in the CCRC. Two themes that characterize LAT relationships in the CCRC were identified: (1) friendship rather than partnership characterize the LAT relationship and (2) not living together yet being all the time together. The intersection between the social environment (the CCRC) as a semi-totalitarian institution and the persons (residents in LAT and not in LAT and CCRC staff) is discussed. The discussion focuses on LAT relationships in the CCRC as representing exclusive friendship and the limited autonomy associated with not living together yet being all the time together. Implications on micro, mezzo, and macro levels are suggested.

scholarly journals ‘We have become prisoners of our own age’: from a continuing care retirement community to a total institution in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liat Ayalon ◽  
Sharon Avidor
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Total Institution ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Total Institutions ◽  
Design And Methods ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract Background and objectives during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Israel, people residing in continuing care retirement communities (CCRC) found themselves under strict instructions to self-isolate, imposed by the CCRC managements before, during and after the nationwide lockdown. The present study explored the personal experiences of CCRC residents during the lockdown. Research design and methods in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 CCRC residents from 13 different CCRCs. Authors performed a thematic analysis of interview transcripts, using constant comparisons and contrasts. Results three major themes were identified: (i) ‘Us vs. them: Others are worse off’. Older residents engaged in constant attempts to compare their situation to that of others. The overall message behind these downward comparisons was that the situation is not so bad, as others are in a worse predicament; (ii) ‘Us vs. them: Power imbalance’. This comparison emphasised the unbalanced power-relations between older adults and the staff and management in the setting and (iii) ‘We have become prisoners of our own age’. Interviewees described strong emotions of despair, depression and anger, which were intensified when the rest of society returned back to a new routine, whilst they were still under lockdown. Discussion and implications the measures imposed on residents by managements of CCRCs during the lockdown, and the emotional responses of distress among some of the residents, revealed that CCRCs have components of total institutions, not normally evident. This underscores the hidden emotional costs of the lockdown among those whose autonomy was compromised.

Leisure-Related Predictors on a Sense of Purpose in Life among Older Adults with Cancer

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanghee Chun ◽  
Jinmoo Heo ◽  
Sunwoo Lee ◽  
Junhyoung Kim
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Sense Of Purpose

Rising above It: Status Ambivalence in Older Adults

Gerontology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (6) ◽  
pp. 576-588
Author(s):  
Deirdre A. Robertson ◽  
David Weiss
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Protective Mechanism ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Social ◽  
Implicit And Explicit

Background: Social status is the standing of a person or group in the social hierarchy, and is perceived to change across the life span from low social status in early life, to peak in midlife, and to a decline thereafter. As threats to subjective social status are known to be detrimental to individuals’ health, it is important to better understand how older adults perceive themselves and others in terms of age-related social status. Objective: We examined status ambivalence – the potential discrepancy between how older adults’ perceive social status for themselves compared to older adults in general. Method: Study 1 used qualitative data from 37 semi-structured interviews with older adults to assess perceptions of social status. Study 2 used quantitative survey data from 114 older adults who completed explicit and implicit measures of social status. Results: Study 1 (n = 37, meanage = 71.72, SDage = 5.69; 81.1% women) provided preliminary evidence for status ambivalence such that older adults reported unequivocal low social status for other older adults but a more ambivalent perception of their own social status. Study 2 (n = 114, meanage = 64.32, SDage = 8.98, 57.9% women) compared implicit and explicit measures of social status revealing that older adults consistently perceive older adults to have low social status but again show a more ambivalent perception of their own social status. Conclusion: We discuss status ambivalence as a potential protective mechanism in the context of negative societal perceptions of age-related social status that may be important for well-being in later life.

scholarly journals Perception of COVID-19 Restrictions on Daily Life among Japanese Older Adults: A Qualitative Focus Group Study

Healthcare ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 450
Author(s):  
Risa Takashima ◽  
Ryuta Onishi ◽  
Kazuko Saeki ◽  
Michiyo Hirano
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Functional Decline ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Focus Group Study ◽  
Sense Of Purpose ◽  
Social Risks

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed older adults to health and social risks. This study examined the perceptions of community-dwelling older adults regarding how COVID-19 restricted their daily lives. Six focus-group interviews were conducted with 24 participants (mean age, 78.2 ± 5.5 years) living in urban and rural areas in Japan. Then, a qualitative inductive content analysis was performed. Six themes were generated: “fear of infection and public, watchful eyes,” “consistency in daily personal life,” “pain from reducing my social life,” “readiness to endure a restricted life,” “awareness of positive changes in myself,” and “concern for a languishing society.” There was no change that would make their lives untenable, and they continued their daily personal lives at a minimum level. However, their social lives were reduced, which over the long term can lead to a lost sense of purpose in life. This was reported as an adverse factor in the development of other diseases and functional decline in previous studies. While there is no doubt that infection prevention is important, supporting older adults in engaging in activities that provide a sense of purpose in life could contribute to their present and future overall health including mental health.

Validity of the Multidimensional Outcome Expectations for Exercise Scale in Continuing-Care Retirement Communities

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 456-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine S. Hall ◽  
Thomas R. Wójcicki ◽  
Siobhan M. Phillips ◽  
Edward McAuley
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Functional Performance ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Outcome Expectations ◽  
Retirement Communities ◽  
Continuing Care ◽  
Continuing Care Retirement Communities ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
Best Fit

Objective:The current study examined the psychometric properties and validity of the Multidimensional Outcome Expectations for Exercise Scale (MOEES) in a sample of older adults with physical and functional comorbidities.Methods:Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the hypothesized 3-factor model in 108 older adults (M age 85 yr) residing in continuing-care retirement communities.Results:Analyses supported the 3-factor structure of the MOEES reflecting physical, social, and self-evaluative outcome expectations, with a 12-item model providing the best fit. Theorized bivariate associations between outcome expectations and physical activity, self-efficacy, and functional performance were all supported.Conclusions:The 12-item version of the MOEES appears to be a reliable and valid measure of outcome expectations for exercise in this sample of older adults with physical and functional comorbidities. Further examination of the factor structure and the longitudinal properties of this measure in older adults is warranted.

scholarly journals Sense of Purpose in Life Promotes Resilience to Memory Deficits Related to Depressive Symptomatology

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 255-255
Author(s):  
Nathan Lewis ◽  
Patrick Hill
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Mental Status ◽  
Depressive Symptomatology ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
Older Adulthood ◽  
Sense Of Purpose

Abstract Individuals higher in depressive symptoms commonly present with neuropsychological deficits including poorer memory performance. Sense of purpose in life, a component of psychological well-being, has been shown to promote resilience to cognitive impairment in older adulthood, but it is unclear whether it may also protect against cognitive deficits associated with higher depressive symptoms. This study examined whether purpose in life moderated the effect of depressive symptoms on cognitive functioning in a large longitudinal study of 4599 American older adults (Mage = 74.33 years, range = 65–104 years, 56.84% female) across a 12-year follow-up period. Depressive symptomatology was assessed at each wave using the 8-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Multilevel models assessed the influence of depressive symptoms and the interaction with sense of purpose in life on changes in word recall and mental status. Higher depressive symptoms were associated with poorer recall at baseline, but not rate of change over time. A negative interaction was observed between sense of purpose in life and depressive symptoms such that individuals higher in purpose experienced a less negative impact of depressive symptoms on word recall. No significant interaction of sense of purpose and depressive symptoms was observed on mental status. Having a sense of purpose in life may help protect older adults from memory deficits associated with higher depressive symptoms. The present findings underscore the potential for sense of purpose to promote cognitive reserve in older adulthood, allowing individuals to maintain cognitive performance in the face of accruing neuropsychological challenges.

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