Understanding Older Adults' Wellbeing from a Philosophical Perspective.
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| Title: | Understanding Older Adults' Wellbeing from a Philosophical Perspective. |
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| Authors: | Klausen, Søren Harnow (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Journal of Happiness Studies. Oct2020, Vol. 21 Issue 7, p2629-2648. 20p. |
| Subjects: | Older people, Cognition disorders, Age groups, Well-being |
| Abstract: | In spite of the large research interest in older adults' wellbeing, a theory of older adult's wellbeing as such is still lacking. I present the outline of such a theory, determining its scope and premises and suggesting avenues for its further development and related empirical research. I assume that wellbeing is a complex and dynamic phenomenon, depending on a subtle interplay between several different factors. Older adults tend to combine and value these factors differently from other age groups, and this should be reflected by a domain-specific wellbeing theory. I argue more specifically that dispositional properties are less important to older adults' wellbeing; that vulnerability is a second-order disposition, and that this explains why it does not seem to impede wellbeing; that hedonic adaptation takes very different forms, not least in older adults, and that it should be assessed in a correspondingly differentiated manner; that cognition and cognitive impairment can play very different, both positive and negative, roles depending on the context; and that notions like flourishing need modification, and are actually modified in wellbeing assessments and self-assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | In spite of the large research interest in older adults' wellbeing, a theory of older adult's wellbeing as such is still lacking. I present the outline of such a theory, determining its scope and premises and suggesting avenues for its further development and related empirical research. I assume that wellbeing is a complex and dynamic phenomenon, depending on a subtle interplay between several different factors. Older adults tend to combine and value these factors differently from other age groups, and this should be reflected by a domain-specific wellbeing theory. I argue more specifically that dispositional properties are less important to older adults' wellbeing; that vulnerability is a second-order disposition, and that this explains why it does not seem to impede wellbeing; that hedonic adaptation takes very different forms, not least in older adults, and that it should be assessed in a correspondingly differentiated manner; that cognition and cognitive impairment can play very different, both positive and negative, roles depending on the context; and that notions like flourishing need modification, and are actually modified in wellbeing assessments and self-assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 13894978 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10902-019-00197-5 |
