Financial Interdependence among Malay Older People in the Community: An interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract

This study explores the practice of financial interdependence among Malay older people who live in the community in Malaysia. Eleven Malay older people participated in this qualitative study by an in-depth interview. The data was analyzed using six stages of the interpretative phenomenological analysis. Two main themes emerged from the interview transcripts are issues regarding living expenses and financial assistance. Financial interdependence is one of the most effective ways for the Malay older people in the community in Malaysia to adapt their retired status, to achieve maximum life satisfaction and productivity thereby improving their overall quality of life. IntroductionThe practice of interdependence was proven to be an important phenomenon amongst the Malay older people in the community to sustain their healthy daily living activity, social acknowledgement and support which enhance their quality of life (QoL), mediated by good interpersonal relationship with their spouse, children, family members, neighbours and members of the community (Abdul Mutalib, Dahlan, Danis & Masuri, 2016;Makhtar, Dahlan, Masuri & Danis, 2016). Malaysia is an aging country and the older people may become financially dependent due to retirement and deterioration of their health and physical status. In the year 2010, the department of a statistic of Malaysia verified that 5.0% of the total population of Malaysia were above 65 years old, with a dependency ratio of 7.4%. The figure is estimated to increase to 11.4% with the dependency ratio of 16.6% by the year 2040 (Department of Statistic Malaysia, 2012).Interdependence is the act of mutual dependence between one another with a common bond, to give and receive love, appreciation and admiration, to and from one another (Beeber, 2008). Among the older people, it is seen as the action of seeking supports through the development of reciprocal relationship (Del Aguila, Cox & Lee, 2006). It is also seen as the prime linkages between family members and friends (Wrzus, Wagner & Neyer, 2011) which promote and help to transpire interactions between two people or more. Rusbult and Van Lange (2008) proposed an interdependence theory of interpersonal connection and realisation which are activated by motivation, oriented by one's cognition or physical ability that drives intentions and activities resulting in interactions. Contributing factors towards interdependency among older people in Malaysia include their need for family support, personal beliefs, cultural affiliations, and religious obligations, and the benefits include increased socialisation and life satisfaction, decreased depression and social isolation, and significant improvement in the QoL (Abdul Mutalib et al, 2016;Wan-Ibrahim & Zainab, 2014).Financial interdependence refers to economic support or dependence between two or more persons. Most of the older people in Malaysia are retired after the age of 60. Rising cost of living and health care after retirement is a major concern to many older people. Some moved to a new ...

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