Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T09:39:24.529Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Purpose in life over a five-year period: a longitudinal study in a very old population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2010

Pia Hedberg ,
Christine Brulin ,
Lena Aléx  and
Yngve Gustafson
Pia Hedberg*
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Christine Brulin
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Lena Aléx
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Yngve Gustafson
Affiliation:
Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Geriatric Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Pia Hedberg, Department of Nursing, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. Phone: + 46 90 786 9858; Fax: + 46 90 786 9851. Email: pia.hedberg@nurs.umu.se.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background: Few studies have specifically examined purpose in life among very old people, and we know of none that has used a prospective approach. The aim of this study was to examine changes in purpose in life over five years in very old men and women and to investigate whether depressed mood, malnutrition, inactivity in daily life, or cognitive impairment increased the risk for developing low purpose in life.

Methods: The study includes data from 51 participants (42 women and 9 men) living in northern Sweden who completed the Purpose in Life (PIL) Test once at baseline and again five years later.

Results: Purpose in life decreased over five years and the decrease was significantly associated with being a woman (p < 0.001) and having depressed mood (p = 0.009) or depression (p = 0.002) at baseline. There were no differences in baseline PIL scores between depressed and not depressed, but those who had depression had significantly decreased PIL scores after five years (p = 0.001).

Conclusion: A strong purpose in life does not seem to prevent very old people from developing depression, and being depressed at baseline and living with depression over five years is associated with a loss of purpose in life.

Keywords

purpose in lifevery olddepressed mooddepressiongender
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 23 , Issue 5 , June 2011 , pp. 806 - 813
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Åkerberg, H. (1987). Livet som utmaning existentiell ångest hos svenska gymnasieelever [Life as a Challenge: Existential Anxiety Among Pupils in Swedish Upper Secondary Schools]. Stockholm: Norstedts.Google Scholar
Antonovsky, A. (1979). Health, Stress and Coping: New Perspectives on Mental Health and Physical Wellbeing. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Bergdahl, E., Gustavsson, J. M. C., Kallin, K., von Heideken-Wågert, P., Lundman, B., Bucht, G. and Gustafson, Y. (2005). Depression among the oldest old: the Umeå 85+ Study. International Psychogeriatrics, 17, 557–575.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bergdahl, E., Allard, P., Aléx, L., Lundman, B. and Gustafson, Y. (2007). Gender differences in depression among the very old. International Psychogeriatrics, 19, 1125–1140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Björkelund-Björkman, K., Larsson, S., Gustafson, L. and Andersson, E. (2006). The Organic Brain Syndrome (OBS) scale: a systematic review. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21, 210–222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, R. N. (1995). Ageism. In Maddox, G. L. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Aging (pp. 38–39). New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Butler, R. N. (2009). Combating ageism. International Psychogeriatrics, 21, 211.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Calasanti, T. and Slevin, K. F. (2001). Gender, Social Inequalities and Aging. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press.Google Scholar
Collin, C., Wade, D. T., Davies, S. and Horne, V. (1988). The Barthel ADL Index: a reliability study. International Disability Studies, 10, 61–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coupland, J. (2009). Time, the body and the reversibility of ageing: commodifying the decade. Ageing and Society, 29, 953–976.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crumbaugh, J. C. (1968). Cross-validation of Purpose-in-Life Test based on Frankl's concepts. Journal of Individual Psychology, 24, 74–81.Google ScholarPubMed
Crumbaugh, J. C. and Maholick, L. T. (1981). Manual of Instructions for the Purpose in Life Test. Murfreesboro, TN: Psychometric Affiliates.Google Scholar
de Craen, A. J. M., Heeren, T. J. and Gussekloo, J. (2003). Accuracy of the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15) in a community sample of the oldest old. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18, 63–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dyck, M. J. (1987). Assessing logotherapeutic constructs: conceptual and psychometric status of the Purpose in Life and Seeking of Noetic Goals tests. Clinical Psychology Review, 7, 439–447.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ebersole, P. and de Paola, S. J. (1989). Meaning in life depth in the active married elderly. Journal of Psychology, 123,171–178.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E. and McHugh, P. R. (1975). “Mini-mental state”: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189–198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frankl, V. (1958). The will to meaning. Journal of Pastoral Care, 12, 82–88.Google Scholar
Frankl, V. (2004). Man's Search for Meaning. London: Rider.Google Scholar
Gadalla, T. M. (2009). Association between mood and anxiety disorders and self-reported disability: results from a representative sample of Canadians. Journal of Mental Health, 18, 495–503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guigoz, Y. and Vellas, B. J. (1994). Mini Nutritional Assessment: a practical assessment tool for grading the state of elderly patients. Facts and Research in Gerontology, 4, 15–59.Google Scholar
Hedberg, P., Brulin, C. and Aléx, L. (2009). Experiences of purpose in life when becoming and being a very old woman. Journal of Women and Aging, 21, 125–137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hedberg, P., Gustafson, Y. and Brulin, C. (2010a). Purpose in life among men and women aged 85 years and older. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 70, 213–229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hedberg, P., Gustafson, Y., Aléx, L. and Brulin, C. (2010b). Depression in relation to purpose-in-life among a very old population: a 5-year follow-up study. Aging and Mental Health, 14, 757–763.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jensen, E. and Dehlin, O. (1993). A comparison between three psychogeriatric rating scales. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 8, 215–229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lenze, E. J. et al. (2001). The association of late-life depression and anxiety with physical disability: a review of the literature and prospectus for future research. American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 9, 113–135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levy, B. R. and Myers, L. M. (2004). Preventive health behaviours influenced by self-perceptions of aging. Preventive Medicine, 39, 625–629.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Molasso, W. R. (2006). Exploring Frankl's purpose in life with college students. Journal of College and Character, 7, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Montgomery, S. A. and Åsberg, M. (1979). A new depression scale designed to be sensitive to change. British Journal of Psychiatry, 134, 382–389.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nygren, B., Aléx, L., Jonsén, E., Gustafson, Y., Norberg, A. and Lundman, B. (2005). Resilience, sense of coherence, purpose in life and self-transcendence in relation to perceived physical and mental health among the oldest old. Aging and Mental Health, 9, 354–362.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Palmore, E. B., Branch, L. G. and Harris, D. K. (2005). Encyclopedia of Ageism. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press.Google Scholar
Ryff, C. D. and Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 719–727.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sheikh, J. I. and Yesavage, J. A. (1986). Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS): recent evidence a development of a shorter version. In Brink, T. L. (ed.), Clinical Gerontology: A Guide to Assessment and Intervention (pp. 165–72) New York: Haworth Press.Google Scholar
Tombaugh, T. N. and McIntyre, N. J. (1992). The Mini-mental State Examination: a comprehensive review. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 40, 922–935.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tornstam, L. (2007). Stereotypes of old people persist. International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, 2, 33–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Werntoft, E. and Edberg, A. K. (2009). The views of physicians and politicians concerning age-related prioritisation in health care. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 23, 38–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, C. A. (2004). Meaning and its measurement in psychosocial oncology. Psycho-Oncology, 13, 468–481.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed