Background: Although there is significant scholarly interest in defining the concept of successful aging, there are very few small-scale, in-depth qualitative studies examining the lived experience of women over 80 who self-identify as aging successfully.
Aim: The aim of this study is to explore the lived experience of a small group of community-dwelling Jewish women over 80 in a single county in Northwestern Vermont who self-identify as aging successfully.
Approach: This study has a phenomenological approach.
Method: Phenomenological interviews were conducted with five women over 80 years of age. Interview content was analyzed, and shared themes were synthesized.
Findings: Findings revealed the following shared themes: acknowledgement of extraordinary quality of life events and/or circumstances, extensive and ongoing social involvement with communities and/or individuals, and strong sense of self.
Conclusions: The lived experiences of participants who self-identified as aging successfully were characterized by gratitude for the lives they led and continue to lead, extensive and ongoing communal and interpersonal social engagement, and high levels of self-esteem and self-knowledge.
Implications for practice: Interventions focused on promoting gratitude, ongoing social engagement, and self-esteem/efficacy may improve individuals' chances of aging successfully; women over 80 respond positively given the opportunity to tell their story, and may benefit from affiliation with a religious community.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvm.edu/oai:scholarworks.uvm.edu:graddis-1679 |
| Date | 01 January 2017 |
| Creators | Fredman, Rebecca |
| Publisher | ScholarWorks @ UVM |
| Source Sets | University of Vermont |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Graduate College Dissertations and Theses |
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