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Full-Text Articles in Gerontology

Exploring The Definition Of Resilience: A Convergent Parallel Mixed Methods Study In Adults Over The Age Of 65, Sara J. Blessington Jan 2023

Exploring The Definition Of Resilience: A Convergent Parallel Mixed Methods Study In Adults Over The Age Of 65, Sara J. Blessington

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The definition of a word helps us understand its context and how it is meant to be used in daily life or research. When a word lacks a universal definition, it is hard to know how to use it. “Resilience” is that type of word. The resilience community in psychological research does not have a concrete, universal definition for this word. It takes on whatever characteristics are useful to the investigator. This study began with seeking a universal definition for the domain known as resilience. This study used a convergent parallel design with adults aged 60 and older living independently …


Life Stories Of Older Chinese Immigrant Women In The U.S., Lijun Li Jan 2022

Life Stories Of Older Chinese Immigrant Women In The U.S., Lijun Li

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This study is an effort to turn to older Chinese immigrant women aged 60 and above, one of the most marginalized groups in American society, to recognize their humanity and rediscover the unseen and unheard. It asks what we can learn from their life stories, particularly from the ways in which each experience(d) being a woman in different societal systems. Using in-depth life story interviews supplemented with secondary sources of information, this study crafts four women’s stories that are first read and interpreted individually to capture the whole person in context, and then are looked at thematically. Nine themes are …


The Impact Of Career Experiences On Generativity And Postretirement Choices For Intelligence Community Baby Boomers, Marianne Victoria Kramer Jan 2020

The Impact Of Career Experiences On Generativity And Postretirement Choices For Intelligence Community Baby Boomers, Marianne Victoria Kramer

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This study focused on baby boomers and explored how a career with a mission-focus in the Intelligence Community influenced boomer generativity and subsequent choices after retirement. Baby boomers make-up the majority of the population that is retirement eligible today and have the benefit of a longer life expectancy commensurate with improvements in health care over the past century. Current retirement literature covers a range of options that redefine what retirement means today. This study employed a two-phase mixed method approach to investigate the characteristics and impacts of a mission-focused career, and to understand how such experiences impact postretirement opportunities and …


Experiencing The Death Of A Formerly Abusive Parent, Heather Spence Jan 2016

Experiencing The Death Of A Formerly Abusive Parent, Heather Spence

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

It is well documented that approximately 25–33% of children experience abuse, many of those at the hands of a primary caretaker. Within the literature on child maltreatment, there exists a paucity of research about the long-term effects of early maltreatment on adult attachments with the previous abuser, including the experiences of adults who experience the death of their previous caretakers. Additionally, most of the research on grief and bereavement assumes positive affect for the deceased by survivors. This dissertation is an in-depth examination of five adults, aged 50–70 years old, who experienced the recent death of a parent or stepparent …


The Happy Boomer: Baby Boomer Life Satisfaction Through Affect And Feeling Of Belonging, Brooke Christina-Marie Massey Jan 2016

The Happy Boomer: Baby Boomer Life Satisfaction Through Affect And Feeling Of Belonging, Brooke Christina-Marie Massey

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

The age cohort of 65 years and older is a growing population. It is part of the group referred to as Baby Boomers, the generation born between the years 1946-1964. It will be the largest population to reach late adulthood to date. In the United States alone, the Baby Boomer cohort is expected to reach 70 million by 2030. In response to this growing elderly population much research has been conducted on Baby Boomer quality of life issues. Such research uncovered the phenomenon known as the well-being paradox. The well-being paradox refers to the findings that older adults' life satisfaction …


Worlds Of Connection: A Hermeneutic Formulation Of The Interdisciplinary Relational Model Of Care, Susana Lauraine Mccune Jan 2015

Worlds Of Connection: A Hermeneutic Formulation Of The Interdisciplinary Relational Model Of Care, Susana Lauraine Mccune

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Despite a general agreement across health care disciplines that Advanced Care Planning (ACP) and Advanced Directives (ADs) add important elements to a patient's end-of-life care desires, and can inform their loved ones and advocates, help create ease of mind, and enhance quality of care, they continue to remain significantly underused. More than half of Americans transition to chronic and terminal illness without having completed them. The aim of this study was to increase the frequency and enhance the quality of communication about Advance Directives and Advance Care Planning within the clinical relationship. The resulting Interdisciplinary Relational Model of Care (IRMOC) …


Making Space For Dying: Portraits Of Living With Dying, Elise Lark Jan 2014

Making Space For Dying: Portraits Of Living With Dying, Elise Lark

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

In Making Space for Dying: Portraits of Living with Dying, I describe the everyday lived experience of dying and the care culture within freestanding, community-based, end-of-life residences (CBEOLR) utilizing portraiture and arts-based research. I craft four case studies into “portraits,” based on interviews, on-site visits, up-close observation, and field notes. In the person-centered portraits, I reveal the inner landscape of two terminally ill women, with data represented in poetry. In the place-centered portraits, I “map” the social topography of two CBEOLRs to illustrate how lives and care of the dying are emplaced, from the perspectives of community leaders, …


Computer-Based Cognitive Training For Age-Related Cognitive Decline And Mild Cognitive Impairment, James Fortman Jan 2012

Computer-Based Cognitive Training For Age-Related Cognitive Decline And Mild Cognitive Impairment, James Fortman

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

Cognitive Training has been shown to be an effective tool in enhancing cognitive functioning. Research has also shown video game playing can improve certain aspects of visual attention and cognitive processing speed. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of both a specific computer-based cognitive training program and non-specific video game playing in improving cognitive functioning for individuals with age-related cognitive decline and mild cognitive impairment. Twenty-nine older adults were recruited into the study and randomly assigned to either the cognitive training group or video-game playing group. Nineteen participants completed the study, engaging in either cognitive training …


The Origin Of A Sense Of Self In Women, Kimberly Dewing Robbins Jan 2012

The Origin Of A Sense Of Self In Women, Kimberly Dewing Robbins

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This phenomenological study focuses on how a strong sense of self in women changes social precepts and gender stereotypes empowering women to define themselves instead of being defined by society. A sense of self may be defined as the ability to distinguish one’s own values from those of any outside persuasions, and to do so well enough to be able to protect those ideals from unwanted external influence. Is a sense of self, realized at a young age, an innate feeling or developed over time through adversity and the maturation process? This study will specifically look at what influences can …


First Elderly Client In Therapy: Factors That Influence Student Interest In Geropsychology, Cristina E. M. Filippelli Jan 2011

First Elderly Client In Therapy: Factors That Influence Student Interest In Geropsychology, Cristina E. M. Filippelli

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

In the coming decades, the elderly population in United States (U.S) is expected to grow significantly (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996). Consequently, the number of older individuals seeking mental health services will be greater than at any other time in the history of the U.S. The field of clinical psychology, however, is unable to meet the mental health needs of the current elderly population, and this gap is expected to widen in coming years. There is an ongoing discussion within the field of professional psychology as to how to train more clinicians to work with the elderly population (Gatz …


Aging In Place In Suburbia: A Qualitative Study Of Older Women, Marian L.G. Knapp Jan 2009

Aging In Place In Suburbia: A Qualitative Study Of Older Women, Marian L.G. Knapp

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This research explored "aging in place" among women age 65 and older living in Newton, Massachusetts. Study goals were to understand: the "places" that comprise the environment of "aging in place"; the factors that enable "aging in place"; "aging in place" in a suburb; and to refine definitions of "aging in place" Interviews with women used open-ended questions about women‘s early years in Newton and the changes they experienced in personal status, and places over time. Themes emerged using modified grounded theory with inductive and deductive approaches, and which acknowledged "sensitizing concepts". Six places comprised the "aging in place" environment: …


Portraits: Discovering Art As A Transformative Learning Process At Mid-Life, William Scott Wallace Jan 2008

Portraits: Discovering Art As A Transformative Learning Process At Mid-Life, William Scott Wallace

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This study explores art as a transformative learning process at mid-life. As adults individuate as they develop into middle age and move towards integration, they may experience transformative learning, a process that can lead to a much broader and deeper life view. Most studies have viewed transformative learning as a process that occurs through critical reflection, (Mezirow, 1991, 2000), possible disorienting dilemmas, (Mezirow, 1991, 2000, and Daloz, 2000), influence of personality type (Cranton, 1994), soulfulness (Dirkx), and other means of awareness. While researchers acknowledge the possibilities of experiencing transformative learning through the arts, a review of the empirical literature reveals …