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Are social representations of positive ageing really effective? the ageing process through the eyes of elderly
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
In this paper we focused on the experiences of ageing from the perspective of elderly people.
Our main aims were to explore their perceptions and representations about the ageing
experience and to analyse if their conceptions are closer to positive social representations
of active ageing or to ageist social assumptions. Thirty-five females (mean age of 80 years)
and seven males (mean age of 73 years) participated in this study, recruited in a network of
institutions run by the city council of Setubal. Data collection was conducted with structured
interviews and the obtained transcriptions were submitted to qualitative thematic analysis.
With this analytic approach it was possible to identify dominant themes in participants
discourses. Results show that elderly perceive and represent the process of ageing according
to a binary perspective, displaying both positive and negative dimensions. Even if the ageing
experience is described according to a positive perspective, it is also anchored on ageist social
constructions. Thus the positive social representations of ageing expressed through active
ageing discourses are still not fully assimilated and integrated on people s self-perceptions
and identities.
Description
Keywords
Ageing Older People Social Representations Ageism
Citation
Soares, C., Marques, A. M., Silva, M. G., Cerqueira, A., Bonança, I. & Arguello, P.(2014). Are social representations of positive ageing really effective? The ageing process through the eyes of elderly. Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, II, (2). 41-54.