Psychological theories
A number of psychological resources for successful ageing mention a positive outlook and self worth, self efficacy or sense of control over life, autonomy and independence, and effective coping and adaptive strategies during changing circumstances. For example, when some activities need to be given up (perhaps because of ill health) other strategies need to be initiated to find substitute activities and to maximise one’s reserves (Baltes and Baltes, 1990). Successful ageing is regarded as dynamic and the outcome of one’s psychological development over the life span (Ryff, 1989) and one’s development and learning by using past experiences to cope with present circumstances (Bowling and Dieppe, 2005).
Over time, researches elaborated the psychological meaning of successful ageing to include other dimensions such as happiness, adjustment, affect balance, morale, subjective well-being, and optimal interplay between the individual and the environment (Fozard and Popkin, 1978; Lawton, 1977; Ryff, 1989). Some of these perspectives grew out of focus on old age (Lawton’s research on morale) while other were derived from separate empirical domains and applied to the later years (Fozard and Pokin, 1978). More recent psychological definitions of successful aging have focused on cognitive function, perceived control, and life satisfaction. Baltes and Baltes (1990) focused on successful aging as a process involving selection, optimization, and compensation through which the individual prioritises, expands on resources, and adapts. Featherman, Smith and Peterson (1990 cited in Fisher and Specht, 1999) discussed adaptive competence while the individual encounters changes in body, mind and environment. Schaie (1990 cited in Ford et al. 2000) offers a more cognitive based theory where he defines successful ageing as “the optimization of cognitive functioning” and describes cognitive functioning as composite of verbal meaning, spatial orientation, inductive reasoning, number, and word fluency.
Evidently, the changing meanings of successful ageing have paralleled changes in prevailing theories of social and psychological ideas of ageing, because ideas of what constitutes successful ageing are implicitly contained in each theory. Three major theories will be briefly presented in the next section followed by a critical evaluation of widely accepted concepts.
One of the original theories of ageing was postulated by Cumming and Henry’s “disengagement theory” (1961 cited in Bearon, 1996) which proposed that in a typical course of ageing, as peoples capabilities and interests seemed diminished and societies disincentives for participation increased, people gradually began to withdraw or disengage from social roles as a natural response. In this model, the successfully ageing individual voluntarily retires from work or family life and is at ease with turning to a rocking chair or pursuing other solitary activities, sub consciously preparing for the inevitable. Although this model seems rather passive and dated today, it was appropriate for a time period where life expectancy was shorter, onset of disability was earlier, and the jobs were physically tiring, with little activities being available for older adults (Bearon, 1996). Investigators during the 1960s possibly saw what was typical or common among older people, and that may have structured their perception of what was optimal or possible.
A second major theory of ageing, referred to as “activity theory”, suggested that people are most successful when they engage in a full round of daily activities (Lemon, Bengston, and Peterson, 1972). This model possibly explained the surge of volunteerism and senior activism in the 1960s and 1970s, and may have been responsible for forming public policies which constructed senior centres and recreational facilities in that period. Contemporary gerontologists have criticised this view as too narrow and only advocating one particular lifestyle. Research has shown that older people are heterogeneous, and include many people who prefer less structured lives without the means to fulfil a regimented schedule of activities (Bearon, 1996). Despite criticism, activity has been promoted by older adults themselves as the key to successfully ageing with a gerontological dubbing of this philosophy as “the busy ethic” (Ekerdt, 1986).
Another theory of successful ageing has been more positively viewed in recent years; the “continuity theory” (Atchley, 1972 cited in Fisher and Specht, 1999). To summarise, this model proposes that people can age successfully if they carry forward the habits, preferences, lifestyles and relationships from midlife onto late life. The theory has been supported by results of major longitudinal studies which have shown that variables measured during midlife are significant predictors of outcomes in later life, and that many psychological and social characteristics remain throughout the lifespan (Markides and Pappas, 1982). Considering Atchleys (1972) model, the internal continuity provides direction for action and adaptation to external changes which suggests the need for specific criteria required for successful ageing.
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Aside from a clear definition of the concept, the prerequisites or criteria necessary for successfully ageing need to be considered as well. Ryff (1989) identified six criteria for successful ageing, which included positive interactions with others, a sense of purpose, autonomy (as opposed to dependency), self acceptance, personal growth, and environmental fit. Fisher (1992, 1995 cited in Fisher and Specht 1999) built upon Ryff’s categorization by using a phenomenological approach and verified that five of the six criteria were viewed by respondents as necessary for successfully ageing, and that respondents considered successful ageing as a coping or attitudinal orientation to life in general. Fisher (1995 quoted in Fisher and Specht, 1999) pointed to a definition of successful ageing as a developmental process:
“People who are aging successfully are still involved in addressing current problems of identity and development, and do so in light of anticipated future situations as implicated on the basis of past experience. Put another way, successful agers continue to grow and learn as they use past experience to cope with the present and set goals for future development.” (p. 240)
Although this is unclear as a definition, it may suggest that successful ageing involves an ability to cope with present circumstances by drawing on past experiences and maintaining a positive attitude towards the future. This emphasis on adaptability or coping has been shown to be central to achieving well-being in later life (Brandstadter and Renner, 1992 cited in Fisher and Specht, 1999).
The above lines of research have contributed quite significantly to our knowledge of psychological functioning in the later years. For example the broad array of indicators has expanded our thinking to operationalize such variables as well being and underscored the importance of using multi dimensional approaches to successful ageing. Despite these conceptual and empirical gains, the study of successful ageing suffers from various limitations. As a way of identifying potential research areas, the following section will critically evaluate contemporary research and identify overlooked ideas in earlier studies.
Evaluations of Existing Approaches
There are four central criticisms which may be applied to earlier research on successful ageing. The first general criticism is that there seems to be a certain amount of negativism in previous approaches to successful ageing (Ryff, 1989). In other words, a significant amount of research has been conducted with emphasis on measures of illness rather than measures of wellness. Lawton’s review (1977) reveals the focus on indices of anxiety, depression, worry, loneliness, and somatic symptoms as measures of well-being. Essentially, such research suggests that the absence of illness equates to well being. The negative atmosphere is also evident in researchers’ expectations: “With regard to life span patterns, happiness has always been a part of youth, while the shrinking perspective associated with growing older is assumed to lead to unhappiness, if not despair” (Herzog, Rodgers, and Woodworth, 1982, p.3 cited in Ryff, 1989). Preconceived notions such as “the paradox of happiness in old age” (Costa and McCrae, 1984 cited in Ryff, 1989) and the reliance on measures of illness have not facilitated a more positive understanding of successful ageing.
Another issue with previous research is that little attention has been given to the unique challenges that come with old age, or to possibilities of continued development in the later years. Most indicators such as happiness, well-being etc. are more effective measures of successful living rather than measures of successful ageing (Scheidt et al. 1999). A related tendency has been to equate positive functioning with maintenance of previous attitudes and behaviour patterns rather than successful handling of new challenges and developmental tasks (Ryff, 1989). The existing literature on well-being generally excludes the individual’s potential for further development, self realisation and growth. These studies in the area of the ‘continuity theory’ discussed earlier indicate there is little continued development in adulthood and old age. Such findings however were not reported on the basis of developmental theory, nor have the indices used been designed to assess growth and development (Ryff and Heincke, 1983 cited in Scheidt et al. 1999). The instruments used are actually oriented against finding evidence of change (e.g. items which show low test-retest reliability are deemed unreliable even though they may be sensitive indicators of change). Therefore, it is too early to conclude whether there is growth or development in the older years, especially given the importance of such features in holistically understanding positive ageing (Ryff, 1989).
A third possible criticism levelled against existing research singles out Rowe and Kahns (1987) famous study. Firstly, on a general level the term successful used to describe older individuals who age with no or minimal loss of function poses both connotational and denotational problems (Scheidt et al. 1999). The word connotes a fixed standard, one that requires certain criteria to be fulfilled. The outcome has been rather unrealistic: a perspective that has centred on the static endpoint - active engagement with others and productive behaviour – and are treated as fixed ends rather than desired goals (Pearlin and Skaff, 1996). Pearlin and Skaff (1996) have noted that it could be more appropriately termed as ‘successfully aged’ than ‘successfully ageing’. Rowe and Kahn (1997) reinforced this end-point perspective reporting that it is possible for older people to move “in and out of success over time” with those who cope better and able to “return to meeting the criteria of success” (p.439 cited in Scheidt et al. 1999).
Scheidt et al. (1999) view the categorical thinking sparked by the Rowe and Kahn model of successful aging as “the mission-oriented Boy Scout, who in a presumptive attempt to aid an older pedestrian, pulls her against her will across a busy street as she kicks and screams in opposition” (p.279). Tornstam (1992) suggests we might be forcing old people to wear our own theoretical caps thinking that our points of departure for assessment are relative. In a broader context, thus far models of successful ageing have overlooked the issue of external validity and not mentioned the extent to which the model can be generalised to different cultural settings. Considering the ludicrous universality associated with the successful ageing paradigm, it has been suggested that the debate around this construct is typical of the kind of “imposition of western templates” that is sometimes characteristic of research (Thomas and Chambers, 1989) prelim test.pdf. They have even argued that “it is impossible for Western researchers to discuss so value-laden an issue as successful ageing without imposing their own values” (p.199).
Implications for Future Research and Conclusions
As this paper has shown, attempts to operationalize and clearly define successful ageing have varied widely. Some constructs have originated out of theory (e.g. construct of one study grew out of disengagement theory) whereas others been derived in an empirical manner. A more effective way to view these constructs may be to examine how many and which dimensions of health (physical, functional, psychological, and social) they encompass. Most constructs have encompassed only one of these dimensions with exceptions of a few studies (Palmore, 1979) which have been multidimensional. None of the studies have emerged as a standard and no study has directly assessed older adults beliefs about the attributes of successful ageing (Phelan, Anderson, LeCroix and Larson, 2004). An investigation into older individuals’ perspectives on the meaning of successful ageing is required to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the concept. It is possible, for instance, that successful ageing may be a dynamic concept for individuals as they age and that individuals definitions may vary substantially by birth cohort, gender, ethnic subgroup and the presence or absence of various chronic diseases (Phelan and Larson, 2002). Exploratory research could be conducted to examine the relevance and meaning of success among different subgroups of ageing individuals at different times in their life span. This would incorporate cultural validity and a more qualitative approach from the point of view of the individual.
Although researchers have operationalized the term in a variety of ways, “successful ageing” remains a value judgment. The face validity of the term, and an empirical understanding of its purpose and application, could be improved if societal beliefs were elicited and compared with and incorporated into researchers’ definitions (Phelan and Larson, 2002). Aging individuals could enrich the meaning and relevance of successful ageing by providing input to the theoretical definitions which have largely dominated the concept, allowing a more person centered approach to the term. A person centered approach will also be essential for future research on successful ageing as it will allow determination of predictor variables which are truly relevant to persons who are ageing (Phelan and Larson, 2002). Such an understanding is critical in increasing our understanding of a perspective that has not been explored thus far.
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