The author conducted this study after she realized that to this date, there was a lack of substantial research conducted on the meaning of aging for American elders and especially that focusing specifically on aged women. Broad research has been done on the aging process, relationship between subjective age and physical and mental health and even women’s attachment to their possessions. Through this research however, the author attempted to fill the gap and find out how women perceive their lives, as they grow older.
This article is based on the analysis of in-depth interviews conducted with 329 women (aged 58-103 years) by the author and her students. Each student interviewed 4 women, aged in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s respectively and recorded them on audio and/or video. The topics which were generally covered in the interview included an overview of the interviewees’ life so far in their own words, focusing primarily on significant people and events, social life, health, attitude towards getting older, financial concerns and how they expected to spend their later life. These analyses were then compared across age groups as well as different student groups.
The results reflected the different ways in which older women belonging to various age brackets perceived life as well as the aging process. Women in their sixties related old age to ‘mental and physical functioning’ and physical appearance, believing aging was something they could manipulate via lifestyle, exercise or cosmetics. They were largely influenced by family members and most women did not want to count themselves in the category of old people. Women in their seventies however, had started to accept the fact that they were aging. Widowhood was a significant rite of passage in this age group, and the women who felt ‘liberated’ after the period of mourning was over were ‘experientially older’ than others. Lack of physical health is also directly related to perception of being older in this age group and family relationships are ranked as the most significant.
The women who were eighty-something were the ones who demonstrated the most acceptance of their age, seeming comfortable with their physical aging. The degree to which they interact with family was a key determinant of their satisfaction with life. Many of these women also displayed exuberance for life and an emphasis on the positive aspects of life, while dreading the event of giving up their home. Women in their nineties were mostly chronically ill, who want to live but ‘anticipate death as their next status passage’. They expressed satisfaction with their lives while at the same time, displayed loneliness especially due to losing a lot of their loved ones.
This was primarily a qualitative research which showed how the perceptions regarding the aging process can hardly be generalized. They differ from one person to the next, depending on social and personal characteristics. The older age brackets were relatively more emphatic about the importance of regular interaction with friends and family. Religious inclination was also strongest in the women in their 90s. Generalizations however were more often than not difficult to make, as the basic crux of this article was the effect of the different social experiences of aging women which led to their varying perceptions on the meaning of life.
While the study was conducted in a very comprehensive manner, its results might be skewed because of the non-representative nature of the sample. The majority of the sample consisted of white women residing in North Carolina. One way this could have influenced the findings was the recurring emphasis on faith and religion, and a possible reason for this could have been the presence of fundamental religious groups in this region. Another point to focus on is that the results are too far and varied, difficult to streamline to anything specific, as they can only be viewed in the context of the particular life experiences of the women interviewed. A broader, more diverse sample as well as a quantitative method of research could be the next step in trying to analyze the attitudes of aging women.
References
Krassen Covan, E. (2005). Meaning of aging in women’s lives. Journal of Women & Aging, 17 (3), 3.