Perry Tam E, Ruggiano Nicole, Shtompel Natalia, Hassevoort Luke
School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
School of Social Work, Robert Stempel College of Public Health and Social Work, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.
Res Aging. 2015 Apr;37(3):253-74. doi: 10.1177/0164027514527974. Epub 2014 Mar 30.
According to Erik Erikson's theory on the stages of human development, achieving wisdom later in life involves revisiting previous crises and renewing psychosocial accomplishments. However, few studies have used Erikson's theory as a framework for examining how older adults self-manage physical and mental health changes that commonly occur later in life. This article presents findings from two qualitative studies that demonstrate how older adults apply wisdom in new domains. Specifically, it was found that older adults (1) reasserted autonomy by initiating creative problem solving and (2) applied skills gained from productive activities earlier in life to new health-related problems that arise later in life. These findings highlight the importance of engaging older adults to repurpose their life skills and thus reapply wisdom to new areas of their lives. Implications for practice are discussed.
根据埃里克·埃里克森的人类发展阶段理论，在生命后期获得智慧涉及回顾先前的危机并更新心理社会成就。然而，很少有研究以埃里克森的理论为框架，来考察老年人如何自我管理生命后期常见的身心健康变化。本文呈现了两项定性研究的结果，这些结果展示了老年人如何在新领域应用智慧。具体而言，研究发现老年人（1）通过启动创造性问题解决来重申自主性，以及（2）将生命早期从生产性活动中获得的技能应用于生命后期出现的新的健康相关问题。这些发现凸显了促使老年人重新利用其生活技能，从而将智慧重新应用于生活新领域的重要性。文中还讨论了对实践的启示。
