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Building Blocks of Successful Aging: A Focus Group Study of Older Adults’ Perceived Contributors to Successful Aging

From the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA (JR, CAD, DVJ), Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA (JR, CAD, LAP, DPF, DVJ); the VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, San Diego, CA (DVJ); and the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California (LAP).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to solicit the opinions of older adults about factors related to successful aging using focus group methods.

Methods: Twelve focus groups were conducted with an average of six individuals per group. Participants included 72 community-dwelling older adults (age range: 60–99 years) recruited primarily from retirement communities in San Diego County, California. Interview transcripts were analyzed using a grounded theory framework of "Coding Consensus, Co-occurrence, and Comparison."

Results: A total of 33 factors were identified, out of which four major themes emerged: attitude/adaptation, security/stability, health/wellness, and engagement/stimulation. Every focus group emphasized the need for a positive attitude, realistic perspective, and the ability to adapt to change. Security and stability encapsulated one’s living environment, social support, and financial resources. General physical health and wellness were frequently mentioned, with mixed opinions on their necessity for successful aging. Finally, a sense of engagement, reflected in pursuit of continued stimulation, learning, feeling a sense of purpose in life, and being useful to others and to society, was considered a prominent aspect of successful aging. All four themes appeared to be interrelated such that engagement required a foundation of security and stability while positive attitude and adaptation strategies often compensated for impaired physical health.

Conclusion: Older adults place greater emphasis on psychosocial factors as being key to successful aging, with less emphasis on factors such as longevity, genetics, absence of disease/disability, function, and independence.

Key Words: Successful aging • healthy aging • qualitative methods • resilience • psychosocial

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