Contributing factors toward SWB of the Institutionalized Elderly Essay

Apart from delineating the cognitive and affective indicators of SWB, this study alike attempted to identify the possible factors which contribute to SWB. A host of factors were set in the largely westbound literature. These are presented in the succeeding pages. strong-arm Health Health is unity of the most important variables in predicting whether wad are happy (Campbell et al. , 1976). The World Health Organization defines health as, the optimum military operation of the human organism to meet biological, psychological, ethical and spiritual postulate (Emeth & Greenhut, 1991).In this study the elderly were said to bugger off optimal functioning when he or she had basic competence, which was necessary for maintenance of independent lively (Martin, 2001). In the case of the elderly in the study it was denoted by their king for personal care on their own. It also pertained to mental health, which was a tell apart where the elderly were not pr one to depression, or other m ental illness, and did not have any major cognitive impairments. Autonomy Autonomy could be equated to having the capacity for selfdetermination, independence, internal locus of check, and internal regulation of behavior (Ryff, 1989).Having a backbone of being in control (autonomy) means that ones thoughts and actions are ones own and not determined by others. It is related to somatogenic health too as it gives a smack of mastery over situations. It is important for all and particularly for the elderly to swear that sense of control or autonomy because a sense of losing control of ones life or ones force play is to in some ways lose ones worth, which give the bounce have detrimental effect on ones physical as well as psychological health. Money/Income Income or money is importantly related to a sense of upbeatin ancient age (Diener, 1984) and the elderly in the study may or may not enjoy financial security Money is important likely because of the sense of security that t hey experience when they have enough money which could implicitly affect their sense of autonomy and self-worth. Family Relationships Family is a natural institution eonian across time and space which is a very close and well-read group and ones sense of well-being is sustained by membership in this primary group, as it provides a sense of security, connectedness, and be hankeringness to the aged. in that respect are no substitutes for the close family in the experience of well-being in the case of the aged. In the case of the elderly in the study, family kind is limited to this intimate group consisting of the spouse, children and grandchildren as the extended family is almost missing in the given mount. Friendship Friendship or close relationship with members of the same age group often sharing personal characteristics, life styles, values and experiences is a source of enjoyment, socializing, and reminiscing the past promote a higher(prenominal) satisfaction among the older adults (Sorensen & Pinquart, 2000).In the given situation it could be long standing friends from the past, and or the friendship developed among the co-residents of the home. hearty Support and Social Interest To experience a sense of well-being persons should have bass feeling of sympathy, and affection for human beings (social interest/altruism). That is, their ability to go beyond the personal to interpersonal establishing deep, profound interpersonal relationships and social support, to transpersonal, which is relating to the Divine in the social context of ones life.These play a material role in maintaining their psychological, social, and physical integrity over time (Witmer & Sweeny, 1992) and then the sense well-being. Attitude toward Death Death can be understand as a natural process of transition from one typify of life to another. Depending on the meaning people attach to stopping point, they fear destruction or embrace it as a natural transition with a sense of acceptance and surrender (Atchley, 1997). Accepting old age and death meaningfully makes life happier. Fear or acceptance of death is near related to general satisfaction.According to (Moberg, 2001), when life is lived to the full, death becomes a fulfillment, a completion. Religion and Spirituality Subjective aspects of religion and spirituality include religious identification, religious attitudes, values, beliefs, knowledge, and mystical/religious experiences. Religious experience provides a sense of meaning and purpose in daily life (Polner, 1989). Spirituality unremarkably refers to a unique, personally meaningful experience of a transcendent proportion that is associated with wholeness and wellness (Westgate, 1996).Spiritual wellness is the dimension that permits the integration of ones spirituality with the other dimensions of life, thus maximizing the potential for increase and self-actualization (Westgate, 1996). At this point of SWB research, there is already an idea o f the variables which correlate with SWB. However, a better understanding of parameters that influences the relationships, the directions of influences between variables, and the different influences interact are quieten needed (Diener, 1984). Given the assumption that these features are deepcross-cultural, universally applicable, load characteristic features of well being sought by the aged, the researcher believed that the institutionalise care for the aged and their subjective sense of well-being is also context specific. An understanding of psychological well-being necessarily rely upon the moral visions that are culturally embedded and frequently culture specific (Christopher, 1999). In this context, one top executive ask how the institutionalized aged of Gladys Spellman experience the transition from mathru-pithru devobhava(mother and breed are like gods) to institutionalized care, what their experience of the subjective well-being consisted in, and what might be the spec ific factors that would contribute to their sense of well being. It is possible that the western culture-specific factors of subjective well-being outlined above may not have the same relevance for the population under investigation. This study was expected to aid understand the contextspecific aspects of well-being of the institutionalized aged.