School of Technology and Business Studies, DalarnaUniversity, Falun, Sweden.
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Akademiska Sjukhuset, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2019 May-Jun;82:35-44. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2019.01.002. Epub 2019 Jan 19.
The late life experiences of men in the oldest-old age group have been under-researched, and their perspectives on ageing successfully neglected. This study explored the perspectives of oldest-old Swedish men on what a 'good old age' and ageing successfully meant to them. A purposive sample of 17 men, aged 85-90 years, was drawn from the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men. An interview guide explored participants' perspectives on their ageing experiences and how they viewed ageing successfully. Participants were interviewed twice, with 1-2 weeks between interviews, and both interviews were recorded and transcribed. Content analysis identified four themes: i) Adaptation, concerning the ability to adapt to growing old with increasing limitations; ii) Sustaining Independence, related to financial resources and good health as the foundation for independence; iii) Belongingness, representing close relationships, established friendships, and the significance of the spouse; and iv) Perspectives of Time, also a common thread in all themes, in which past life experiences create an existential link between the past, the present and the future, establishing continuity of the self and enhancing life satisfaction. The participants presented themselves as active agents involved in maintaining meaning and achieving life satisfaction; a process related to the ability to manage changes in life. Our findings have resonance with models of healthy or successful ageing, but also diverge in important ways, since such models do not consider the significance of an individual's life history for their present well-being, and primarily conceptualise health as an outcome, rather than as a resource.
针对最年长年龄组的男性的晚年生活经历的研究较少，他们对成功老龄化的看法也被忽视了。本研究探讨了瑞典最年长的男性对“美好老年”和成功老龄化的看法。从乌普萨拉成年男性纵向研究中，我们选择了 17 名年龄在 85-90 岁的男性作为研究对象。一个访谈指南探索了参与者对他们的老化经验的看法，以及他们如何看待成功老化。参与者接受了两次采访，两次采访之间间隔 1-2 周，两次采访都进行了录音和转录。内容分析确定了四个主题：i）适应，指的是随着年龄的增长和限制的增加而适应的能力；ii）保持独立，与财务资源和良好的健康有关，是独立的基础；iii）归属感，代表着亲密的关系、建立的友谊以及配偶的重要性；iv）时间的观点，也是所有主题的共同线索，过去的生活经历在过去、现在和未来之间建立了一种存在的联系，从而保持了自我的连续性，并增强了生活满意度。参与者将自己描述为积极的参与者，参与维持意义和实现生活满意度；这是一个与管理生活变化的能力有关的过程。我们的研究结果与健康或成功老龄化的模型有共鸣，但也存在重要的差异，因为这些模型没有考虑到个人的生活经历对他们现在的幸福感的重要性，并且主要将健康概念化为一种结果，而不是一种资源。
