Dr Magdalena Zadworna (photo: Bartosz Kałużny, Promotion Centre, University of Lodz)
Age-related challenges
Understanding of the individual experience of old age seems to be an important challenge. In general, the elderly report more positive attitudes toward ageing than younger people. However, beliefs related to ageing can become more negative in the presence of age-related challenges. In the autumn of their lives, people face specific tasks, which include: adapting to the physical decline, retirement and reduced income, coming to terms with the death of a spouse, loved ones and the prospect of their own death, and summarising their lives.
In the field of psychology, the search for the dimensions of the so-called Successful Ageing assumes, among other things, conducting research by the use of culturally adapted, reliable and accurate questionnaires. Identifying positive aspects of adaptation to old age can, in turn, provide a basis for the development of health promotion programmes and strengthening the well-being of the elderly.
– says Dr Magdalena Zadworna.
The need to look for the factors that are conducive to a high quality of life in its final stage was emphasized by the United Nations General Assembly, which declared the years 2021-2030 the Healthy Aging Decade.
The concept of positive ageing
Positive attitudes towards one's own age can also be associated with other dimensions of the so-called positive ageing – the implementation of developmental tasks, well-being, wisdom, a lower risk of depression and tendencies to the so-called gerotranscendence, i.e. specific personal transformation and adaptation to changes related to old age. However, these are areas that are so far poorly understood.
There is also no Polish-language tool for measuring attitudes towards one's own ageing. Although the concepts of successful/healthy /active /positive ageing are gaining more and more popularity, there are still gaps in the empirical assessment of the relationship between different aspects of positive functioning in senior age. Despite the existence of a wealth of theoretical knowledge in the field of developmental psychology in the late adulthood phase, health and clinical psychology, identifying "successful ageing" still remains a challenge.
– explains Dr Magdalena Zadworna
New measurement tool – new opportunities for senior citizens
Our goal is to adapt the new measurement tool, i.e. Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire [Laidlaw et al., 2007, 2018] to Polish conditions. The questionnaire will allow assessment of the experience of your own ageing in three dimensions – psychosocial loss, physical change and psychological growth. The research will also assess the psychosocial dimensions of positive adaptation to senior age, i.e. the relationships between the implementation of developmental tasks, the risk of depression, well-being, wisdom and gerotranscendence, i.e. personal transformation in the late years of life and attitudes towards one's own ageing.
– adds Dr Magdalena Zadworna.
The "psychosocial loss" dimension measures perceived negative experiences of ageing, including psychological and social losses. The "physical change" dimension focuses on the experience of relative health and fitness and the personal feeling of ageing. The dimension of "psychological growth" is clearly positive and can be summed up as personal wisdom related to the experiences of life so far. The three dimensions of the test, therefore, reflect the positive and negative aspects of ageing.
The new measurement tool will provide researchers, but also practitioners working with senior citizens, with the opportunity to assess individual experiences of ageing. It will also allow new perspectives on the assessment of processes of adaptation to senior age, supporting the development of scientific research on the dimensions of positive ageing. The results of the conducted research may be used to design strategies to support personal development in late adulthood.
The processes of positive ageing can be effectively strengthened. The actions should be preceded by a reliable psychometric measurement, which may be the first step to shaping the self-awareness of the elderly, both in the retrospective and prospective dimension. The questionnaire for examining individual attitudes towards ageing will be used in support centres for senior citizens, nursing homes, health and family care facilities and other centres offering psychological support for the elderly.
– sums up the researcher.
Head of the project “Postawy wobec własnej starości. Identyfikacja nowych wymiarów pozytywnego starzenia się” [Attitudes towards one's own old age. Identifying new dimensions of positive ageing]: Dr. Magdalena Zadworna.
Cooperation: Dr Paweł Brudek from the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin.
IDUB grants of the University of Lodz
The UL Excellence Initiative - Research University – grant competitions under which the University of Lodz funds research ideas of its scientists and doctoral students. By supporting them in conducting high quality research, the university implements a strategy of striving for research excellence in all fields and disciplines. The competitions also serve the purpose of internationalisation – developing and strengthening the university's cooperation with international researchers. As part of grants addressed to scientists from outside the university, experienced and young researchers join the team of the University of Lodz. This fosters the fusion of experiences and increasing the university's scientific potential, supports networking and employee mobility.
The grants are financed as part of the subsidy increased by 2% for universities that joined the IDUB competition in 2019. University of Lodz will receive additional funding for research until 2026. Internal grant competitions have been implemented since 2020.
Currently, in the 2nd edition, over PLN 3 million was used to finance young, experienced researchers and doctoral students in such grant competitions as: UL IDUB "Grants for young and experienced researchers" and "Doctoral research grants".
Science and research at the University of Lodz
Source: Dr Magdalena Zadworna, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Lodz
Edit: Promotion Centre, University of Lodz
Photo: Bartosz Kałużny, Promotion Centre, University of Lodz