Sense of well being among the institutionalized aged of Kerala, India

• Main Author: Aniyakattu, Philomina
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2004
• Subjects: Older people > India; Older people > Social conditions; Social skills in adolescence; Counseling Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_doctoral/80; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_doctoral/article/1079/viewcontent/CDTG003904_P.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

This study explored the experience of subjective well-being (SWB) among the institutionalized aged: concept of well-being, indicators of the cognitive and affective components, and the factors which contribute towards their sense of wellbeing. The participants of the study were 25 institutionalized elderly (Female= 17; Male = 8; age range from 60 to 85; M=75); 6 administrators (M=59); 8 caregivers (M=29); and 12 significant others of the elderly (M=48). Having employed qualitative research design, in-depth interview and case study methods were used for data collection. Responses were content analyzed. Six cases were selected from the 25 elderly for the case study. Findings indicate that experience of well-being among the elderly rested on their experience of being at home with their past, present, and future including the inevitable death and willing surrender to God. Their SWB depended also on their cognitive and affective dispositions. The contributing factors toward their SWB are physical health, autonomy/freedom, money, meaningful relationships, social interest/altruism, reality of time and death, and spirituality. Spirituality/prayer being their powerful coping strategy, a counseling program was developed to deepen their spiritual life.