Propósito de vida em adultos e idosos: revisão integrativa

Abstract

Resumo Propósito de vida (PV) é definido como o senso de que a vida tem sentido e intencionalidade, o qual desempenha papel orientador em relação às metas de vida e à tomada de decisões relativas ao uso dos recursos pessoais. Objetivos: reconhecer e analisar dados sobre PV e condições identificadas com bom envelhecimento ou com adaptação positiva no envelhecimento. Método: foi realizada revisão integrativa de publicações de periódicos com avaliação por pares, indexadas nas bases de dados PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycInfo e Scielo/BVS/Lilacs, com os termos “purpose in life” and “aging” no título, sem restrição de datas. Resultados: foram selecionados 27 artigos, 22 dos quais conduzidos no âmbito de grandes estudos longitudinais prospectivos, 3 de corte transversal e 2 experimentais, que revelaram associações robustas entre alta pontuação em PV e redução do risco para mortalidade, Doença de Alzheimer, doenças coronarianas e cerebrovasculares, incapacidades e distúrbios de sono; alto PV e desfechos positivos em saúde, cognição, regulação emocional, bem-estar subjetivo e senso de ajustamento; PV como variável moderadora, ou recurso de resiliência, entre riscos e adversidades e boa adaptação. São dados úteis à investigação e à intervenção envolvendo idosos longevos e vulneráveis.

Higher purpose in life and education were associated with better cognition among older adults

“…34,35 It is possible that older people with higher levels of PiL have a more positive view of aging and present more protective behaviors in relation to their health. 36 In turn, such behaviors could be associated with greater cognitive reserve, such as involvement in intellectually stimulating activities.…”

“…Other authors postulated the idea that higher PiL could lead to greater adoption of healthy behaviors, 39 a more positive view of aging and life, greater resilience, optimism, a sense of self-efficacy, and better functioning of biological systems. 36 Likewise, higher PiL would be related to low neuroticism, as it could enable emotional self-regulation in the management of adverse events 39 and also favor positive affects. 37 One of the limitations of this study is its cross-sectional design.…”

Purpose in life and performance of advanced activities of daily living among the oldest old

“…People with high PIL seem more likely to engage in more elaborate activities that require multiple skills and different environmental demands. The presence of high PIL may constitute motivation for active involvement in the execution of these activities, which are usually carried out in the community 27,28 . To our knowledge, there are no prior studies that examine the relationship between PIL and AADL performance.…”

Reciprocal associations between sense of purpose and subjective well-being in old age

“…As such, it is related to both future goals as well as daily decisions and serves as a source of engagement and personal meaning to the individual. 1 This construct has become a focal point in the study of adaptive development, and accumulated evidence shows that it relates to a wide range of desirable outcomes across the lifespan, both focused on physical and subjective well-being (for recent reviews, see Irving et al, 2017; Ribeiro et al, 2020). While it is a robust predictor of successful ageing, sense of purpose is vulnerable to declines during older adulthood, following life transitions such as retirement and health decline (Pfund & Lewis, 2020).…”

“…Meanwhile, subjective well-being, a correlate of sense of purpose, often peaks in older adulthood (Blanchflower & Oswald, 2008). While these constructs are consistently connected cross-sectionally in older adults (Ribeiro et al, 2020), it remains unknown whether changes in one construct precede changes in the other or if they generally change together.…”