A longitudinal comparative study on the acceptance of aging and self-reliance during the aging process in elderly people

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K13947
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Clinical psychology
• Research Institution: Kitasato University
• Principal Investigator: Fukase Yuko 北里大学, 医療衛生学部, 准教授 (80632819)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 老いの受容 / 老いの自覚 / 自立の喪失 / 独立性 / 心理的自律性 / 精神的健康 / 縦断研究 / 比較研究

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study revealed the relationship between acceptance of aging, self-reliance, and psychological adjustment in elderly people using quantitative analysis and evaluated their level of acceptance of aging and self-reliance through a projective test. The study results indicated that self-reliance was positively related to psychological adjustment, whereas acceptance of aging was negatively related to psychological adjustment in elderly people aged 65 - 74 years; moreover, no relationship prevailed between acceptance of aging, self-reliance,　and psychological adjustment in elderly people aged over 75 years. Therefore, the acceptance of aging may be crucial for elderly people with physical disabilities and several restrictions. Regarding the evaluation using a projective test, some limitation related to the evaluation criteria in Japanese existed, although the inter-rater reliability was confirmed.

Free Research Field

高齢者心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の知見は，先行研究で示唆されている，老いの受容が高齢者全般に有効であるという考え方に一石を投じるものであり，高齢者への心理的支援において自立の感覚を強化すべきか，老いへの再適応を促すべきかの指標となることが期待される。また，投影法の評価については，国外の評価マニュアルを応用して日本では初めて数量的に検討した研究であり，高齢者臨床のみならず，今後の臨床場面への活用に寄与するものと考えられる。