Meaning in life among older persons
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Indefinite
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the concept of meaning in life among older people by exploring what was meaningful to older people, the extent to which fulfillment of meaning was experienced, and the relationships among problematic life events, meaning in life, depression and health. Using a symbolic interactionist perspective, the concept of meaning in life utilized in this study referred to people, events, objects, or states of being that contributed significance or a sense of purpose to a person's life. A sample of 81 persons aged 62 or older (mean = 72) was randomly selected from 3 groups (activities, mealsite, and homebound) affiliated with a senior citizen's center. A questionnaire including space for subjects to list things that gave their lives meaning, a fulfillment of meaning scale and problematic life events measure, (researcher constructed), Index of Illness (Shanas, 1962), self-rating of health (Shanas, 1968) and Depression Adjective Check List, Form B (Lubin, 1981) were administered to all subjects...
Description
Dissertation (D.N.S.)--Boston University
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