Irving Justine, Davis Sandra, Collier Aileen
1 Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
2 University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Int J Aging Hum Dev. 2017 Dec;85(4):403-437. doi: 10.1177/0091415017702908. Epub 2017 Apr 10.
Purpose can provide a sense of intentionality, guide behavior to achieve personal aims and living objectives, and may offer insight into how and why certain people remain healthy over time. A review of the literature sought to identify contemporary research pertaining to purpose and older adults. Thirty-one studies were selected for evaluation based on inclusion criteria. Research outcomes suggest that greater reported purpose is related to a range of better health and well-being outcomes for older adults. With few exceptions, the literature demonstrates that purpose declines with age. Nevertheless, the potential to experience purpose persists across the life span, by providing opportunities for older adults to continue contributing roles, participate in meaningful activities, and sustain their social value and sense of relevance. Further research could explore how purpose is experienced by the oldest-old age-group, those living within noncommunity settings, and people with age-related cognitive impairment such as dementia.
目标能够提供一种使命感，引导行为以实现个人目标和生活宗旨，还可能让人深入了解为何某些人能够长期保持健康。一项文献综述旨在找出与目标和老年人相关的当代研究。根据纳入标准，挑选了31项研究进行评估。研究结果表明，报告显示目标感更强与老年人一系列更好的健康和幸福状况相关。几乎无一例外，文献表明目标感会随着年龄增长而下降。然而，通过为老年人提供继续发挥作用、参与有意义活动以及维持其社会价值和存在感的机会，体验目标感的潜力在整个生命周期中都存在。进一步的研究可以探讨年龄最大的老年群体、居住在非社区环境中的人以及患有与年龄相关的认知障碍（如痴呆症）的人是如何体验目标感的。
