Life resources and personal goals in old age

Abstract

It has been theorized that life resources influence goal engagement. The aim of the present study was to examine whether personal characteristics, and socio-economic, social and health resources are associated with personal goal content in old age. The participants were 824 community-dwelling people aged 75-90 from the LifeSpace Mobility in Old Age project. Personal goals were elicited using a revised version of the Personal Project Analysis in a structured interview. Cross-sectional bi-and multivariate analyses using logistic regression modelling were conducted. The results showed that the most commonly reported goals were health maintenance related. People with better health resources were more likely to report goals related to leisure-time, social and physical activities and less likely to report goals related to recovery of health. Those with poor social resources were at risk for having no personal goals in their lives. The results are in line with theorizing on the influence of life resources on goal setting in old age. Further longitudinal studies are needed on whether resource loss precedes goal modification, and how goal setting strategies influence both mental and physical well-being in old age.

Health promotion for mild frailty based on behaviour change: Perceptions of older people and service providers

“…In our study, older people's own subjective individual judgement about their needs was an important factor influencing their attitudes towards information provided by the project workers. Other research has shown that health maintenance‐related goals are the most common, whereas people with better health resources are more likely to report goals related to leisure‐time, social and physical activities, and those with poor social resources are at risk of having no personal goals (Saajanaho et al, ). These findings are in keeping with the theory of Ziegelmann and Knoll () who distinguished health behaviours in two types: ‘proximal’, that is a core set of behaviours directly linked to physiological processes or producing straightforward health benefits, and ‘distal’, that is more complex activities indirectly linked to health‐related outcomes via different pathways.…”

The effect of individualized, theory-based counselling intervention on active aging and quality of life among older people (the AGNES intervention study)

“…With increasing age, however, people may give up important activities e.g. due to declining functional capacity [3,4], which may concur with lower quality of life [4].…”

“…However, adopting a broader view on activity by emphasizing participation in any meaningful activities based on individual predispositions may provide a more inclusive picture of active aging [6]. Older people have many personal goals related to diverse activities [3]. As people often act in line with their goals [3], most likely their activities are also highly diverse.…”

“…Older people have many personal goals related to diverse activities [3]. As people often act in line with their goals [3], most likely their activities are also highly diverse. We acknowledge this diversity in our recent definition of active aging as "the striving for activities relating to a person's goals, functional capacities and opportunities" [7] which we aim to capture in our 17-item University of Jyväskylä Active Aging Scale (UJACAS).…”

Realizing and Maintaining Capabilities: Late Life as a Social Project

“…Support services will need to focus on developing interventions with older people that function to maintain, to the greatest extent possible, their identities and capacities, such that they can make judgments about how they wish to participate in social life. As Claassen has claimed, empowering individuals within civil society and participation in democratic decision‐making processes is vital for the exercise of navigational agency, and so maintaining older persons as active participants in civil and political life will also be an important component of the support role. Part of this role must also be focused on the maintenance of navigational agency, which will be a particular priority for older adults with dementia.…”