Sharma Shubam, Bluck Susan
Department of Psychological Sciences, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA.
Curr Psychol. 2022 Jul 19:1-16. doi: 10.1007/s12144-022-03439-7.
Late life is still often characterized as a time of loss and decline. The current study moved beyond this view, using both the resilience framework and the life story approach to highlight the rich life experiences of older adults. Doing so created an opportunity to explore perspectives on sense of purpose in life, from the vantage point of old age. The study had two central questions. That is, how have older adults drawn on their sense of purpose across their lives, and what factors led to the development of a sense of purpose? Following guidelines for the consensual qualitative research method (CQR; Hill et al., , (4), 517-572, 1997; Hill & Knox, 2021), in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 older women and men (aged 60 - 100 years) and transcribed for analysis. The CQR method revealed seven domains in the interviews. Three domains were relevant to the first research question, including: overcoming life challenges to pursue purpose, perspective-taking to maintain purpose, and purpose as part of one's religion. Four domains provided insights on the second research question: life background influencing purpose, shifts in purpose across life, fulfilling purpose across life, and obstacles to pursuing purpose in life. Findings highlighted how older people use sense of purpose as a guide in the face of life's inevitable challenges. They also revealed the unique life story paths that lead to the development of purpose across individuals' lifetimes. The implications of maintaining a sense of purpose in life, across the later years, are discussed.
晚年通常仍被视为一个充满失落与衰退的时期。当前的研究突破了这一观点，运用复原力框架和人生故事法来突显老年人丰富的生活经历。这样做创造了一个从老年的视角探索人生目标感的机会。该研究有两个核心问题。也就是说，老年人在其一生中是如何运用他们的人生目标感的，以及哪些因素促成了人生目标感的形成？遵循共识性定性研究方法（CQR；希尔等人，(4)，517 - 572，1997；希尔和诺克斯，2021）的指导方针，对18名老年女性和男性（年龄在60 - 100岁之间）进行了深入的半结构化访谈，并将访谈内容转录以供分析。CQR方法在访谈中揭示了七个领域。其中三个领域与第一个研究问题相关，包括：克服生活挑战以追求目标、通过换位思考来维持目标以及目标作为宗教信仰的一部分。四个领域为第二个研究问题提供了见解：影响目标的生活背景、人生中目标的转变、一生中实现目标以及追求人生目标的障碍。研究结果突显了老年人如何在面对生活中不可避免的挑战时，将人生目标感作为指引。它们还揭示了在个体一生中导致目标形成的独特人生故事路径。文中讨论了在晚年保持人生目标感的意义。
