The results show a significant inverse relationship between purpose in life and depression in the cross-sectional study; however, a high PIL score does not seem to serve very old people as a protection against the risk of developing depression.
The aim of this study was to investigate purpose in life in relation to psychological well-being, social relations, and physical and psychological symptoms among very old women (n=120) and men (n=69). Their purpose in life was evaluated using the Purpose in Life (PIL) scale. Women scored lower on this PIL scale than men (102 vs. 108 p = .0.013). Regression analysis was used to estimate influencing factors on the PIL score. Determinants for purpose in life did not differ between the men and women, except for musculoskeletal symptoms. Attitude toward own aging had the strongest relation to PIL scores for both men and women; to have family to talk to was also important, as were musculoskeletal symptoms, for women. Our study indicates that the very old people studied were feeling indecisive about their purpose in life and that feelings are linked with poorer psychological health. For this reason, the purpose in life must be discussed and taken into consideration in the care of the elderly.
A strong purpose in life does not seem to prevent very old people from developing depression, and being depressed at baseline and living with depression over five years is associated with a loss of purpose in life.
The aim of the study was to illuminate how very old women describe their experiences of purpose in life (PIL) in narratives about becoming and being very old. The participants comprised 30 women selected from 120 women who had answered the PIL test and had been interviewed about their experiences of being very old. The interviews were analyzed with qualitative content analysis, which revealed four themes: having a positive view of life, living in relation to God, having meaningful activities, and simply existing. Our findings show that very old women experience purpose in life both in their daily activities and in their contact with a spiritual world. It seems to be facilitated by a positive view of life. Although the results were dominated by a positive view of life, some of the participants saw their lives in terms of simply existing, and did not experience purpose in life.
This paper provides very old men's experiences of and reflections on purpose in life. The answers from an interview question about purpose in life from 23 men were analyzed by using qualitative content analysis. The results revealed three content areas: talking of purpose of life in general, talking of own purpose in life and reflections on purpose in life. Our findings showed that very old men experienced purpose in life most strongly when remembering the past and describing their earlier work. The old men reflected on purpose in life not just from their own individual perspectives, but also from a more reflective and analytic perspective.
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