Characteristics of human resilience in old age: results of an empirical study

Vasilyeva S.

doi:10.14529/jpps230302

S. N. Vasilyeva South Ural State University (76 Lenin Ave., Chelyabinsk, 454080, Russia) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2541-4416 vsn97@mail.ru

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14529/jpps230302

Keywords: resilience, adaptation, self-regulation, self-development, meaningfulness of life, wellbeing, activity, mood, self-efficacy, life satisfaction, anxiety

Abstract

Aims: to identify the psychological characteristics of human resilience in old age. Materials and methods. The paper presents the results of an empirical study of resilience in elderly people (N = 177) and the general sample (N = 385). The study involved the following tests: the Human Resilience test, the Geriatric Depression Scale, the Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory, the life satisfaction questionnaire, the Wellbeing, Activity, Mood test, and the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (R. Schwarzer, M. Jerusalem). The correlation analysis was performed with IBM SPSS Statistics v. 21. Results. The relationship between resilience and life satisfaction, self-efficacy, activity, mood, wellbeing, anxiety, and the level of depression was found in elderly people. The psychological characteristics of resilience in elderly people were identified as a result of correlation analysis and intergroup comparison. Conclusion. The main characteristics of resilience in elderly people involve decreased levels of activity and wellbeing, which result in depressive mood, discouragement, and apathy; in other elderly people, decreased activity does not result in a decrease in quality of life. Such people are able to make plans, develop, and live a full life. In elderly people, a person’s ability for self-regulation and meaningfulness in life increases, while there is a slight decrease in the ability for self-development.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

S. N. Vasilyeva , South Ural State University (76 Lenin Ave., Chelyabinsk, 454080, Russia)

Head of the Educational Laboratory of the Department of Psychology of Management and Performance

References

1. Elnikova O.E., Dobrin A.V. Resilience and vitality of boys and girls with different levels of health. Vestnik psikhofiziologii = Psychophysiology News. 2023;1:86–92. (in Russ.). DOI: 10.34985/h9980-4459-5009-h
2. Nikolaeva E.I., Elnikova O.E., Merenkova V.S., Burkova S.A. Psikhofiziologicheskie osnovy zhiznesposobnosti cheloveka v ontogeneze [Psychophysiological foundations of human viability in ontogenesis]. Zhiznesposobnost cheloveka: individualnye, professionalnye i sotsialnye aspekty [Human viability: individual, professional and social aspects]. Moscow, Institut psikhologii RAN Publ. 2016:394–407. (in Russ.).
3. Bogomazova K.O., Baiguzhina O.V. Social anxiety and psychological climate as indicators of vitality in students of different education fields. Psikhologiya. Psikhofiziologiya = Psychology. Psychophysiology. 2022;15(1):5–15. (in Russ.). DOI: 10.14529/jpps220101
4. Sergienko E.A., Kharlamenkova N.E. Psychological factors of successful aging. Vestnik SPbGU. Seriya 16: Psikhologiya. Pedagogika = Bulletin of St. Petersburg State University. Series 16: Psychology. Pedagogy. 2018;3:243–257. (in Russ.).
5. Tolochek V.A. The phenomenon of “resilience”: possible research prospects. Institut Psikhologii Rossiyskoy akademii nauk. Organizatsionnaya psikhologiya i psikhologiya truda = Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Organizational Psychology and Psychology of Labor. 2021;6(2):21–46. (in Russ.). DOI: 10.38098/ipran.opwp_2021_19_2_002.
6. Sidorchuk T.A. Educational Programs for Senior Citizens. Izvestiya Saratovskogo universiteta. Novaya seriya. Seriya Akmeologiya obrazovaniya. Psikhologiya razvitiya = Izvestiya of Saratov university. Educational Acmeology. Developmental Psychology. 2013;3:289–295. (in Russ.).
7. Mosina, O.A., Khazova S.A., Kilimnik A.A. Organizational-pedagogical support of the physical-health-improving direction of gerontology education. Fizicheskaya kultura, sport – nauka i praktika = Physical culture, sport – science and practice. 2019;2:68–73. (in Russ.).
8. Pryazhnikov N.S. On factors and models of life satisfaction in elderly and senile age. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 14. Psikhologiya = Bulletin of the Moscow University. Series 14. Psychology 2017;4:85–101. (in Russ.). DOI: 10.11621/vsp.2017.04.85
9. Borisov G.I. Psychological characteristics of the elderly of the third age. Pedagogicheskoe obrazovanie v Rossii = Pedagogical Education in Russia. 2016;5:171–176. (in Russ.). DOI: 10.26170/po16-05-28.
10. Davidyan O.V., Masnaya M.V, Silyutina M.V. et al. Resilience in retired people Sovremennye problemy zdravookhraneniya i meditsinskoi statistiki = Current problems of health care and medical statistics. 2020;3:481–491. (in Russ.).
11. Postavnev V.M. Phenomenology of personality of elderly people of creative professions. Razvitie lichnosti = Personality development. 2009;2:100–115. (in Russ.).
12. Belousova O.N., Medzinovskii Yu.F., Likhtinova A.N. et al. Individual resilience in the study of longevity factors. Nauchnye rezultaty biomeditsinskikh issledovanii = Research Results in Biomedicine. 2019;5(4):129–138. (in Russ.). DOI: 10.18413/2658-6533-2019-5-4-0-10
13. Lavrusheva O. The concept of vitality. Review of the vitality-related research domain. New Ideas in Psychology. 2020;56:100752. (in Russ.). DOI: 10.1016/j.newideapsych.2019.100752
14. Tarabrina N.V., Kharlamenkova N.E. Posttravmaticheskii stress i sovladayushchee povedenie v period srednei i pozdnei zrelosti [Post-traumatic stress and coping behavior during middle and late adulthood]. Zhiznesposobnost cheloveka: individualnye, professionalnye i sotsialnye aspekty [Human viability: individual, professional and social aspects]. Moscow, Institut psikhologii RAN Publ. 2016:291–306. (in Russ.)
15. Laktionova A.I. The relationship between the differential type of reflection and the components of resilience in different age groups. Institut psikhologii Rossiyskoy akademii nauk. Organizatsionnaya psikhologiya i psikhologiya truda = Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Organizational Psychology and Psychology of Labor. 2020;5(4):193–217. (in Russ.). DOI: 10.38098/ipran.opwp.2020.17.4.008
16. Rylskaya E.A. Test “Human system capability”: working out and psychometrical characteristics. Sotsium i vlast = Society and power. 2016;1(57):25–30. (in Russ.).

References on translit

-