The purpose of this study was to examine the processes involved with connectedness in community-dwelling older adults, which the authors contend is quality of life from a generative perspective. Using a grounded theory approach, 12 older adults were interviewed using a semistructured interview guide. The tape-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim, categories were created to code the data, and themes were extracted. Four processes involved with connectedness in older adults were identified: (a) having something to do, (b) having relationships, (c) having a stake in the future, and (d) having a sense of continuity. Various aspects of spirituality were also apparent in each of the four processes. This study suggests that connectedness provides older adults with a mechanism to engage life in meaningful, positive, and purposeful ways.
Decades of quality of life (QOL) research has failed to produce widely recognized QOL definitions or measurements. The inconsistency may be due to an ontological error in the perspective of researchers. Most researchers portray QOL as a given or inherent condition that declines in the face of challenges. We believe QOL is a cumulative process that results from a series of connections and disconnections that elders experience in their daily lives. The Register theory of Generative Quality of Life for the Elderly offers an alternative ontological perspective by placing elder QOL in a generative context.
Viewing quality of life from a generative context gave rise to a new perspective and the old term quality of life failed to capture the essence of the new idea. Creation of a new term required a series of deliberate studies to develop the concept of connectedness. This article traces the conceptual progression and presents the concept synthesis of connectedness using literary synthesis, qualitative synthesis, and quantitative synthesis. Based on the concept synthesis, connectedness in community-dwelling older adults can be defined as engaging life by self-regulating, facing aging, being part of a family, having friends, and being spiritual.
Connectedness, maintaining active engagement with life, is crucial to successful aging. Yet, no instruments were found to measure connectedness. The purpose of this study was to develop and test a connectedness scale for older adults. A 72-item instrument was administered to 428 community-dwelling older adults. The sample was largely female, White widows/widowers, with a mean age of 76 (SD 6.95) years. The instrument was reduced to 45 items representing five factors with loadings ranging from .40 to .86. The factor labels and their reliability estimates were: (a) self-regulating (.86), (b) facing aging (.85), (c) being part of a family (.87), (d) having friends (.87), and (e) being spiritual (.88). This promising instrument may advance the science of successful aging.
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