Successful aging: Coping strategies, subjective well-being, and social context of Filipino older adults

• Main Authors: Fernandez, Catherine Marie M., Gabit, Mitzi Angelee B., Gines, Ma. Audrey Bernadette A., Sanchez, Gabriel Luigi K.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2017
• Subjects: Aging > Philippines; Older people > Physiology > Philippines; Older people > Philippines > Social conditions
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/6218
• Institution: De La Salle University

As aging is part of the natural process of life, older adults are not exempted from the struggles that come along with it. While there are some who fail to adjust with the changes and endanger their well-being (Andrews, Clark, & Luszcz, 2002), others are more accepting of the negative changes thus are able to adapt successfully (David & Douglas, 2004). In relation to this, there has been a rise in the study of successful aging throughout the years (Horbal, 2011) since people have different understandings of the concept. With this in mind, the goals of this study are to explore the influence of one's social context to aging, the lifestyle changes that come with aging, the coping strategies utilized to overcome the lifestyle changes and the difficulties brought about by aging, the factors that contribute to successful aging, and the understanding of successful aging from the perspective of Filipino older adults. Ten elders from six different senior citizens' organization were chosen to participate in the study through the process of nomination. A qualitative approach, specifically, one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted while thematic analysis (Braun & Calrk, 2006) was done for data analysis. The responses are in line with what the researchers intended to understand. Although the lifestyle changes were a mix of both negative and positive, the elderly employed different coping strategies to combat the negative changes and the difficulties that came with aging. Regarding the concept of successful aging, Filipino older adults had various views but the emergence of spirituality, as an important aspect was a new discovery that unfolded.