QOL Models Constructed for the Community-dwelling Elderly with ikigai (purpose in life) as a Composition Factor, and the Effect of Habitual Exercise

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.

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Features of perceived neighborhood environment associated with daily walking time or habitual exercise: differences across gender, age, and employment status in a community–dwelling population of Japan

Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine ◽

10.1007/s12199-013-0334-x ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 18 (5) ◽

pp. 368-376 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Tzu-an Chen ◽

Jung Su Lee ◽

Kiyoshi Kawakubo ◽

Etsuko Watanabe ◽

Katsumi Mori ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Employment Status ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Neighborhood Environment ◽

Habitual Exercise ◽

Perceived Neighborhood Environment ◽

Walking Time

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Psychological well-being among older adults during the COVID-19 outbreak: a comparative study of the young–old and the old–old adults

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610220000964 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (11) ◽

pp. 1365-1370 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

J. López ◽

G. Perez-Rojo ◽

C. Noriega ◽

I. Carretero ◽

C. Velasco ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Personal Growth ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Stressful Life Event ◽

Purpose In Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Personal Resources ◽

Psychological Well Being ◽

Young Old

ABSTRACTThe COVID-19 outbreak could be considered as an uncontrollable stressful life event. Lockdown measures have provoked a disruption of daily life with a great impact over older adults’ health and well-being. Nevertheless, eudaimonic well‐being plays a protective role in confronting adverse circumstances, such as the COVID-19 situation. This study aims to assess the association between age and psychological well-being (personal growth and purpose in life). Young–old (60–70 years) and old–old (71–80 years) community-dwelling Spaniards (N = 878) completed a survey and reported on their sociodemographic characteristics and their levels of health, COVID-19 stress-related, appraisal, and personal resources. Old–old did not evidence poorer psychological well-being than young–old. Age has only a negative impact on personal growth. The results also suggest that the nature of the COVID-19 impact (except for the loss of a loved one) may not be as relevant for the older adults’ well-being as their appraisals and personal resources for managing COVID-related problems. In addition, these results suggest that some sociodemographic and health-related variables have an impact on older adults’ well-being. Thus, perceived-health, family functioning, resilience, gratitude, and acceptance had significant associations with both personal growth and purpose in life. Efforts to address older adults’ psychological well-being focusing on older adults’ personal resources should be considered.

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Psychological well-being in relation to frailty: a frailty identity crisis?

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610212000269 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 24 (8) ◽

pp. 1347-1353 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Melissa K. Andrew ◽

John D. Fisk ◽

Kenneth Rockwood

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Sex Education ◽

Personal Growth ◽

Sense Of Self ◽

Purpose In Life ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Health ◽

Identity Crisis ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Psychological Well Being

ABSTRACTBackground: Frailty can be defined as the presence of multiple, interacting medical and functional problems. Frailty is associated with psychiatric conditions but its relation to psychological well-being is unclear. A “frailty identity crisis” has been proposed as a maladaptive response to the sense of self as health deficits accumulate. We evaluated this so-called identity crisis by investigating associations between well-being, frailty, and mortality in community-dwelling older Canadians.Methods: In this secondary analysis of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (N = 5,703; age 70+), frailty was defined by an index of 33 health deficits. Psychological well-being was measured using Ryff's 18-item scale, with six domains (autonomy, personal growth, environmental mastery, positive relations, purpose in life, and self-acceptance). Cognition was measured using the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination. Associations between well-being, frailty, and mortality were measured using linear regression, adjusting for age, sex, education, cognition, and mental health.Results: For each additional frailty-defining deficit, the psychological well-being score worsened by 0.3 points (0.29, 95% CI: 0.22–0.36, p < 0.001), independent of age, sex, education, cognition, and mental health. Among the six domains of well-being, only “purpose in life” and “autonomy” were not associated with frailty (all others, p < 0.001). Worse psychological well-being was associated with five-year mortality independent of age, sex, education, frailty, and mental health; this association was not statistically significant when adjusting for baseline cognition.Conclusions: Frailty was associated with low levels of well-being. Psychological well-being impaired by a frailty identity crisis may play an important role in defining subjective health in older adults.

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Psychological wellbeing and resilience among Egyptian community-dwelling older adults

Journal of Nursing Education and Practice ◽

10.5430/jnep.v9n9p55 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 55

Author(s):

Amira Y. Sharaf ◽

Hanaa S. Ibrahim ◽

Ola A. Lachine

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Personal Growth ◽

Purpose In Life ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Psychological Wellbeing ◽

Potential Contribution ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Five Dimensions ◽

Confounding Variables ◽

Community Dwelling Older Adults

Background: Aging represents a time of significant challenges as well as opportunities for growth. Resilience helps older adults adjust to ongoing demands of aging. Little is known, however, about individual factors that bolster resilience. This study examines the potential contribution of psychological wellbeing in building resilience in older adults.Methods: A sample of 150 community-dwelling older adults was recruited from elder clubs in Alexandria, Egypt. Participant interviews included measures of resilience, psychological wellbeing, as well as measures of physical and psycho-social functioning.Results: Psychological wellbeing and resilience were positively and strongly correlated (r = .70, p < .001). Resilience was significantly associated with five dimensions of psychological wellbeing: mastery of environment (r = .54, p < .001), self-acceptance (r = .53, p < .001), personal growth, and purpose in life (both r = .49, p < .001), and autonomy (r = .36, p < .001). A weak, but significant association was found with the sixth dimension, positive relationship with others (r = .29, p < .001). Adjusting for potential confounding variables, psychological wellbeing remained significantly associated with resilience (β = .59, p < .001). Mastery of environment (β = .23, p < .01), autonomy (β = .20, p < .01), personal growth (β = .19, p < .01), and purpose in life (β = .18, p < .01), were independently influenced resilience among older adults.Conclusions: The findings highlight the adaptive function of psychological wellbeing in boosting resilience among older adults. Nursing strategies to optimize resilience and psychological wellbeing among older adults are delineated.

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Meaning in Life Among Middle-Aged and Older Gay and Heterosexual Fathers

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/0192513x17741922 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 39 (7) ◽

pp. 2155-2173 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Geva Shenkman ◽

Kfir Ifrah ◽

Dov Shmotkin

Keyword(s):

Gay Men ◽

Personal Growth ◽

Meaning In Life ◽

Purpose In Life ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Sociodemographic Characteristics ◽

Middle Aged ◽

Gay Fathers ◽

Heterosexual Relationship ◽

Older Gay Men

This study explored differences in meaning-in-life indicators, namely purpose in life and personal growth, among 76 community-dwelling middle-aged and older Israeli gay men, who had become fathers through a heterosexual relationship (mean age = 59.42, SD = 6.15, range: 50-78), 110 gay men that were not fathers (mean age = 60.37, SD = 9.69, range: 50-84), and 114 heterosexual fathers (mean age = 62.27, SD = 8.09, range: 50-87). As hypothesized, after controlling for 10 sociodemographic characteristics, personal growth was higher among middle-aged and older gay fathers compared with heterosexual fathers. No difference emerged for purpose in life. In line with a second hypothesis, both purpose in life and personal growth were higher among middle-aged and older gay fathers compared with middle-aged and older gay men that were not fathers. The ﬁndings emphasize the possible strengths, manifested by elevated levels of meaning in life, which fatherhood embodies for gay men.

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