Centre for Policy on Ageing



Phenomenology and the meaning of aging for young and old adults
Author(s)	Carolyn E Adams-Price, Tracy B Henley, Melanie Hale
Journal title	International Journal of Aging and Human Development, vol 47, no 4, 1998
Pages	pp 263-277
Keywords	Ageing process ; Biological ageing ; Older people ; Young adults [20-25] ; United States of America.
Annotation	Qualitative methods were used to examine the similarities and differences in the meaning of ageing for young and older adults. Nineteen young adults (18-24 years) and seventeen older adults (65 years and over) were asked to describe in detail a specific event or time in their lives that suggested to them that they were ageing. Their responses were reduced to significant statements by two independent coders, until a thematic structure became apparent. Young adults associated ageing with major events in their lives, and even though these events tended to be positive, ageing had a negative meaning for them. Young adults tended to associate ageing with increased responsibility and lost freedom. By contrast, older adults associated ageing with everyday events or no specific events at all, and they perceived ageing positively. Both young and old adults mentioned themes of times, the body, and others. (AKM).
Accession Number	CPA-990325402 A
Classmark	BG: BH: B: SD6: 7T
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.