INTRODUCTION
Eric Erickson’s stages of psychosocial development
proposes that as adults reach the final stage of maturity and old age, ego integrity is paramount in avoiding despair. This becomes a time of reflection as one’s active stages of raising a family,
advancing a career, and participating in activities that shape society and advance social causes are completed (Schultz &
Schultz, 2005).
Those who viewed their lives as being successful, both in
accomplishments and in dealing with failures, reached old age with a feeling of satisfaction and contentment. They are considered to have ego integrity. Those who viewed
their lives as a series of failures and misfortunes and were resentful about what life had dealt them felt despair, frustration,
and contempt for society (Schultz & Schultz, 2005). Those who were able to
accept both their successes and failures were able to reach a psychological peace that would prepare them to face death unafraid
(Baltes & Lang, 1997).
In Vital Involvement
in Old Age published in 1986, Erickson reported that to attain true satisfaction in old age, the elderly must remain active
participants in life. They must continue to feel challenged and be stimulated
by their environment (Schultz & Schultz, 2005).
In the 1960s, Cumming & Henry proposed that as aging
takes place there is a gradual withdrawal of the individual from society. They
believed this to be an attempt at reconciliation with their loss of power and a coming to terms with the inevitability of
death. This became known as the disengagement theory (Lansford, Sherman &
Antonucci, 1998).
In rebuttal of the disengagement theory, Martin Ryder proposed
that withdrawal is not a natural part of the aging process, but rather, it is imposed on the aging as they reach retirement
and begin to suffer from physical restrictions. Death of close friends and loved
ones adds to the narrowing of social opportunities. The activity theory states
that, for successful aging, it is imperative to remain active in societal and personal relationships and to maintain a level
of inquisitiveness about and participation in areas of outside enjoyment. Those
relationships lost over the years, in the natural process of maturing, need to be replaced with new ones (Baltes & Lang,
1997). Krause (1987) posited that reflected self-esteem is a product of social
support.
Activity theorist recommended that social programs be instituted
as a means of keeping the aging involved with society at as close to a pre-retirement level as they could physically maintain
(Lansford, Sherman & Antonucci, 1998).
Later studies have shown that withdrawal is a natural part
of the aging process and is chosen in order to concentrate on those relationships and interests that are most valued (Lansford,
Sherman & Antonucci, 1998). Lang and Carstensen (1994) proposed that withdrawal
happens over a lifetime, as individuals gather the experience to target those relationships and activities that are the most
significant. Low-priority social activities and contacts are eliminated to expand
the amount of time available for those that are high-priority. They believe that
withdrawal is a chosen course of action, not one imposed on the individual by a withdrawing society.
Lang and Carstensen (1994) found that frequent social interaction
is not predictive of emotional intimacy. They found that, in general, older
people were more satisfied with their current social relationships than they were in their younger years. The earlier pruning of their social commitments had prepared them for a deeper level of friendships and
relationships with their closest family members and friends.
The socioemotional selectivity theory was Carstensen’s
explanation of the psychosocial processes that regulate social activities over the years (Lang and Carstensen, 1994). In the early years, acquisition of knowledge and information is paramount as
long-term goals are beginning to be defined. As the future becomes more closed-ended,
the regulation of emotion is more necessary as a way to cull superficial and extraneous factors from the narrowing future.
This is in harmony with the lifespan theory, which suggests
that adaptation to environmental conditions and efforts to understand the contextual aspects of life-events is ongoing throughout
the lifespan. Social reductions are not imposed on the individual; rather,
the individual chooses them (Lang and Carstensen, 1994).
Throughout life, individuals surround themselves with those
with whom they have close emotional bonds. This is known as the social convey
method of development. Some people will remain in that convoy throughout a lifetime; others may come and go as needs and goals
change. Still others may remain in the convoy for only the short period of time
that they contribute to or play a part in an aspect of the individual’s life (Lang and Carstensen, 1994). Again, this shows that the ordering of one’s social life is an adaptive process in which individuals
meet their objectives.
Lawton, Moss,
Winter, and Hoffman (2002) posited that “personal projects” are ongoing behaviors that seek to obtain a goal or
lifestyle. They wrote, that it is a “planned action intended to maintain
or attain a state of affairs by the individual…it reflects cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of human contact”
(Lawton, Moss, Winter, and Hoffman, 2002, pg. 539). Their definition of “personal
projects” is those activities that sought to deal with areas such as promoting “physical health, mental health,
cognitive capacity, and attachment to life.” They concluded that
personal projects were a method of choosing those behaviors that were responsible for emotional and psychological well being
throughout the lifespan. Their studies showed a positive correlation between
the proactive nature of personal projects and life satisfaction in the later years of life.
Role theorists believe that retirement can impact an individual’s
role identity. Those, who have considered their career as a central aspect of
personal identity, can feel anxious and depressed when that role is lost to them.
Those, who have felt stressed or are unhappy with their careers, can look towards retirement with relief. Critical to the successful transition from active to retired is for individuals to preserve continuity
(Quick and Moen, 1998). This can be done by continuing to work after retirement
or by viewing retirement as another career stage. For the second group, retirement
is the fulfillment of a previous objective.
Continuity refers to consistent patterns that are established
over a lifetime. Those who have planned for retirement financially, emotionally,
socially, and with adequate leisure-time activities make the transition more smoothly (Quick and Moen, 1998). The continuity theory predicts that an individual’s personality will remain consistent throughout
their lifespan. Their way of viewing the world and responding to it in old age
will be much as it was in their youth. What changes is the acquisition of information,
experience, knowledge, and personal growth, which helps in adapting to changing circumstances and opportunities. Overall, though, the continuity theory predicts that personality traits will remain stable from childhood
to death (Thorson, 2000).
Many researchers believe that one of the keys to healthy
personality development is early parental support. Shaw, Krause, Chatters, Connell,
and Ingersoll-Dayton (2004) define parental support as, “gestures or acts of caring, acceptance, and assistance that
are expressed by a parent towards a child” (p. 4). They found that exposure to parental support in childhood correlated to better
psychological and physical health. Lack of parental encouragement and assistance
in early childhood was associated with early onset psychological disorders that continued over the individual’s lifetime.
Mancini and Bonnano (2006) found that another predictor of
satisfaction in later life was marital closeness. Their findings showed that
marital closeness reduced incidents of depression and anxiety while increasing self-esteem.
Even those with functional disabilities had better psychological outcomes if they were experiencing marital intimacy.
The presence of a network of relationships contributes to
the beneficial sense of social integration and serves as a deterrent to social isolation (Depner & Ingersoll-Dayton 1998). Surprisingly, it was what the individual contributed to the network that was more
therapeutic than what was received; although, it appeared that adjustments were made to keep a relative balance.
HYPOTHESIS
The purpose of this study is to examine
whether the more activities and/or interests, and social connections in which women are involved in later life, will affect
how positively they view their current life conditions and do those activities run throughout the lifespan? Additionally, it will study the relationship of family ties to life satisfaction.
Questions that the study will attempt to answer are: How much do current social activities, hobbies or other interests affect how participants
view their current life conditions and satisfaction? If the subjects are involved
in current activities, is there continuity throughout their lives? How important
is close family in later life and how does it affect mental wellbeing? How important
is it to life satisfaction to have a spouse and/or living children for the aging? How
important is it to have close friends in later life and will one’s social circle and the need for friendship narrow
as one ages or remain constant over a lifetime?
METHODS
The age range for the study was between 75 and 89. Participants were selected to represent the mainstream of American culture during their young though middle
years. This was done in an effort to eliminate extraneous conditions that could
have affected life choices or indicated a divergent pattern of thinking from the norm.
Therefore, participants were women of European descent who were in good physical shape and free of a diagnosis of psychosis
or mental illness. Good physical shape consisted of those who had experienced aging without any physical impairment that would
not be considered normative for their years; thereby, insuring that they were able to maintain social contacts and participate
in leisure time activities. A general survey of their physical and mental
condition was given prior to selection. Additionally, all of those selected chose
“good” or better on a 5-point Likert Scale for the question, “How do you rate your physical health?” Cognitive soundness was determined by the participant being aware of their current
life circumstances and of the cultural and political environment within the United States at the present time. The sample was limited to heterosexual women who had married and had raised children and had enough funds
to not be limited in their activities. At least one offspring must have been
living in the local area at the time of the study and for a period of at least 2 years prior to the study. This insured that the participants could have some form of close familial emotional support. All participants were living independently; being able to meet their own financial, physical and
cognitive requirements for housing, healthcare, clothing, nutrition, transportation, shopping, social interaction, and recreation. Participants were selected from members of the Olympus Senior Center in Salt Lake
City, Utah and the Park City Senior Center in Park City, Utah. Participants were
contacted personally at their homes or at the Senior Centers. Of those contacted,
71.4% agreed to participate. The method used for the survey was a 5-point Likert
Scale Survey. To ensure comfort and privacy the survey was given at their homes
and without the presence of other individuals. All were promised confidentiality
and were debriefed, individually, after the experiment.
LIMITATIONS
Limitations in time and funding have impacted the scope and
the veracity of the study. The availability of prospective subjects was geographically
restricted to the northern region of the state of Utah. Ethical considerations
limited the scope of the survey to the 5 participants permitted for educational purposes without requiring an Institutional
Review Board (IRB) review of the survey vehicle. Because of the limitations on
size, there was no random assignment of participants. The research did not have the backing of an accredited research institute
and there was a lack of credentials and education on the part of the researcher. Without an accredited scientific, experimental
research setting, the number of potential participants was limited to the parameters of the researcher’s social network,
thereby, affecting internal validity. Diffusion of treatment was a potential
problem because many of the individuals knew each other and could discuss the experiment and the survey questions with those
who had yet to be interviewed. Time limits precluded any follow up questions
or a longitudinal study that would have reexamined the subjects over a period of years to detect any changes in their life
satisfaction outlook. The survey vehicle did not include questions about the
personal health of volunteers during their lifetime. The participant’s
health status might account for negative answers during some periods of their life.
DISCUSSION
Survey results showed that all participants
were socially active throughout their lives with 80% being highly active throughout their lives and 20% of the participants
showing varying results at different stages of life. All participants indicated
that they were the most active socially during their middle years, with the desire for more structured activities waning as
they aged. Social activity remained high throughout the lifespan for all participants. A broader base of participants and random sampling of subjects probably would produce
different results as all participants were selected from the active membership of a senior center; indicating that they were
motivated to be social and outgoing to some extent.
Only 40% of the subjects indicated an
unhappy childhood, with 40% indicating that their childhood was extremely happy and 20% viewing their childhood as happy. The 40% of the participants who indicated that they had an unhappy or very unhappy
childhood showed difficulty in social and familial relationships throughout the lifespan, but showed increasing life satisfaction
and progressively more stable relationships in the last 20 years of their lives. Those
who rated their childhood as happy or very happy were high in life satisfaction and stability throughout their lifespan.
All participants reported that religious
commitment was present in childhood and young adulthood. In all participants,
the significance of religion waned during their middle years; with only 20% of the respondents reporting a return to a deeper
faith or greater reliance on religion as a support system in their later years.
Strong
family ties ran consistently throughout the lifespan of the 60% of the participants who indicated a happy or very happy childhood. Only the 20% who indicated a very unhappy childhood lacked familial closeness and
indications of troubled family relationships throughout the lifespan. The 40%
who indicated a very happy childhood showed the strongest relationships with their husbands, which continued until the time
of the survey. They, also, showed somewhat closer relationships to their children
and grandchildren.
In 80% of the subjects, friendships were
an important ingredient for wellbeing throughout their lifetime. Only the 20%
who indicated a very unhappy childhood showed fewer friends and irregularity in maintaining close friendships throughout the
lifespan.
All subjects reported an increase in volunteerism
as young and middle-aged adults, with follow up questions indicating an association with the commitments to organizations
and activities involving their children. Only 40% of the respondents remained
active volunteers at the time of the survey.
All of the subjects showed high levels
of interests, hobbies, and social activity from childhood to the time that the survey was conducted. All were active, engaged, and involved throughout their lifetimes.
Unknown is how this would translate to the general population if an adequate number of participants, chosen by random
sample were used.
All subjects reported having a family
pet as a child and when their children were young. Survey answers indicate that
the personal need for a pet diminished during their active child raising years and while they were committed to an outside
career. For 80% it was important or very important for their wellbeing to have
a pet as seniors and at the time of the survey, with 20% remaining neutral on the subject.
In answers to survey questions and in
follow-up inquiries, all participants felt that commitments to outside social activities, personal hobbies and activities
that promote personal health were of paramount importance to their life satisfaction and wellbeing at the time of the survey. All credited good physical health as an important component to current life
quality. This effected both physical and mental wellbeing and suggests
that more attention should be given to the subject in future studies. In all
participants, there was a continuity of activity throughout the lifespan. The
question of whether this would follow through in a broader, more scientifically selected sample should be investigated to
determine the validity of the present study.
Everyone surveyed reported deeper friendships
as they aged. In 60% of the subjects there was continuity of friendships with
the same peers from childhood and early adulthood to the time of the survey. Reductions
in their circle of friends were a result of attrition through death or relocation. All
had maintained friendships that were added in later years and reported deep emotional bonds that contributed to their feelings
of wellbeing and security at the time of the survey.
In 20% of the subjects, numerous relocations
had interfered with maintaining childhood and early adulthood relationships. They
reported that those relationships that were the most valued were retained throughout the lifespan and deep friendships were
added with more regularity during all phases of the lifespan than did those who had remained in their place of birth. Again, they indicated a narrowing of relationships as seniors and at the time of the
survey and reported a deeper commitment to close friends at the time of the survey.
Only 20% reported a wider circle of friends
in later years. The number of friendships and the emotional commitment to individuals
within their circle of friends was sporadic within this segment. As with the
rest of the participants, friendship became more primary to wellbeing with age. This
segment reported a greater reliance on individual friendships at the time of the survey than other participants.
40% of the subjects had married once. In survey questions and follow up inquiries, they expressed the belief that a strong
and loving bond with their husbands was the primary source of support, wellbeing, and satisfaction throughout their lifetimes. 20% had divorced, not remarried, were happy with their single status, and had no desire
to remarry. 40% had divorced and remarried, with half of those reporting a very
close bond with their husbands and found their greatest support and satisfaction through their spouse at the time of the survey. The other half had remarried, but found the relationships only mildly supportive and
emotionally close and indicated friendship with others as their primary source of emotional support.
Only 20% of the respondents did not rely
on their children or close family for support and emotional closeness at the time of the survey. This followed a pattern of unhappy family associations throughout a lifetime. In follow up questions, 40% of the subjects depended more on close family and children and 40% depended
more on close friends for support at the time of the survey. All subjects
who had a close relationship with children, grandchildren and other close family members reported that family was very or
extremely important to late life happiness and wellbeing.
All participants indicated in their answers
to survey questions and in follow up inquiries that in their later life, and up until the time of the survey, it was a time
of deep personal satisfaction. Satisfaction throughout the lifespan was reported
by 60% of the respondents; with 40% indicating variations in satisfaction during different stages of their lives. All participants were selected because they were in good physical and mental health and were financially
secure; this was an effort to focus the study on the correlation of family, friendship and an active life on overall and late
life satisfaction without negative influences. Future studies should investigate
the mitigating influence of these components to life satisfaction for those with adversities.
CONCLUSIONS
Reaching a conclusion based on the data collected in this
survey and interview is difficult because of the narrow geographical and social sector of society from which the volunteers
were chosen. Future research study participants should be chosen from across
the United States and selected at random from all socioeconomic sectors of the country.
Volunteers were surveyed and interviewed on the same day
and only contacted once; therefore, it is difficult to assess whether their answers were influenced by how they felt physically
at the time of contact or if an extraneous event, whether good or bad, affected their sense of mental wellbeing at the time.
A fault in the survey vehicle and a possible influence on
the volunteers was the question wording. Future surveys should consist of questions
that include both positive and negative statements, rather than asking participants to rate their personal experiences against
the best possible life conditions. Lack of time and experience on the part of
the researcher prohibited an evaluation based on the more complex survey form.
This study made no effort to determine what activities or
interests were the most beneficial and future studies should explore this area. The
results of this study showed a high positive correlation between happy early childhood experiences and having parents who
used successful and effective parenting skills as a predictor of stability and satisfaction through the lifespan. This is an area deserving more investigation.
Another area of the survey design that might have affected
the outcome was posing questions in the chronological order of the life stages, as opposed to asking all of the questions
pertaining to each category at the same time.
Little concern for personal health during the participant’s
lifetime was considered during this study. This weakness in the survey
vehicle might account for negative answers during some periods of the volunteer’s life.
All participants reported being highly satisfied with life
at the time of the survey. Those results would probably be mitigated by poor
health or financial concerns. There did appear to be consistency in the belief
that an active life equated to a happier life. Emotional support, friendship,
and love were highly rated and desired in later years and all participants credited them for providing high levels of satisfaction
at the time of the survey.
Because of the homogenous nature of the volunteers, the financial
and time constraints of the study, and the lack of credentials, experience, and education on the part of the researcher, no
conclusions should be drawn from this study. Rather, it should be used as a stimulus
for further, in-depth and expanded scientific research.
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