The desire to retain personal control over self and life circumstances continues into old age; it... more The desire to retain personal control over self and life circumstances continues into old age; it exists in tension with late-life vulnerabilities. This article investigates how older adults respond to threats against control in light of changes surrounding health and identity. Community-dwelling African American (n = 10) and European-American older adults (n = 10), aged 70 years and older, with varied self-reported health statuses were qualitatively interviewed. Open-ended interviews explored older adults' perceptions of control and threats to control in older age. Three themes linked older adults' responses to threats to control. Older adults (a) proactively monitored physical and mental health, (b) maintained roles that shaped important aspects of identity, and (c) fostered personal growth and development by generative practices. Responses of participants who had difficulty countering threats to control are also offered. This study shows that the construct of control is not abstract; it is interpreted and applied by older adults in the contexts of everyday life. Respondents used personal resources honed throughout the life course to respond to threats to control. Older adults viewed control as a cultural construct with nuanced meanings that recalled past roles and current changes that occur with age. Suggestions are offered for how health professionals can assist older adults with the cognitive and emotional tasks required to deal with threats to personal control surrounding health and identity.
Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work, 2012
This qualitative article explores how African-American elders' cultural and r... more This qualitative article explores how African-American elders' cultural and religious belief systems informed elders' perceptions of: (a) healthcare encounters, (b) quality of healthcare received and, (c) relationships with providers. The descriptive study involved interviews with African American elders (N = 60), 60 years of age and older. Open-ended interview questions concerned elders' perceptions of how their age, gender, race, and
This paper is based on research that explored the cultural construction of dying and death in nur... more This paper is based on research that explored the cultural construction of dying and death in nursing homes and assisted living facilities in a large Northeastern city. It focuses on direct care workers' responses to elders' dying and death within the facility. Data were gathered in a multiyear, multisite study through formal ethnographic interviews, informal conversations, and on-site observations of staff members. We introduce the case of Jayson, an activities director in a for-profit nursing home. We show how his belief system and experiences outside the facility, especially those concerning dying and death, shape his view of the nature and content of his work and his reaction to residents' deaths. We suggest caretaking at the intersection of gender, race, socioeconomic status, and the inside and outside life of direct care workers as topics for future research.
The word “depression” is used in many forums, such as clinically or colloquially. Our study explo... more The word “depression” is used in many forums, such as clinically or colloquially. Our study explored how the word is used culturally and experientially in a particular group of individuals. In this article, we examine the meaning of depression to a sample of 60 African-American men and women with varying levels of health and functional status. We presented the word
The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 2007
In this article, the case study of an elderly woman shows how bodily pain and suffering meld in h... more In this article, the case study of an elderly woman shows how bodily pain and suffering meld in her narrative, not as the subjective and objective sides of the same event, but as distinct experiences in which both constructs emerge separately or come together based on the meaning she imputes to the event. The case study shows the clear methodological fit of qualitative narrative research with the lived experiences of pain and suffering. The narrator recalled the "tremendous" pain she experienced almost 60 years previously as both suffering and not-suffering, depending on the outcome of the circumstances that surrounded her pain. This case shows how a significant aspect of the aging experience-suffering-is medicalized, yet remains resistant to both categorization and medicine.
The authors explored a sample of families&amp... more The authors explored a sample of families' beliefs concerning creation of meaning in the recent death of the elderly husband and father and his existence in an afterlife. Data were collected through qualitative inquiry. Family members from 34 families were asked about their reaction to their loved one's death. Three themes emerged from participants' responses (a) the significance of context in the father and husband's life and death; (b) family members' folk beliefs; and (c) recalling the after-death ritual. The themes interpenetrate at the point where family members, although doubtful, hoped their loved one continues in an afterlife.
OBJECTIVE: This article focuses on the lived experience of depression in 20 elderly African Ameri... more OBJECTIVE: This article focuses on the lived experience of depression in 20 elderly African American women. METHODS: Data on depression emerged from research that qualitatively explored experiences of depression, sadness, and suffering in 120 community-dwelling persons aged 80 and older, stratified by gender, ethnicity, and self-reported health. RESULTS: We placed women's narratives under three general themes: Depression was (a) linked with diminishment of personal strength, (b) related to sadness and suffering, and (c) preventable or resolvable through personal responsibility. Brief accounts illustrate how themes emerged in women's discussion of depression. DISCUSSION: African American women created a language for depression that was rooted in their personal and cultural history and presented in vivid vignettes through their life stories. Their belief systems and the language they used to describe depression are integral aspects of the lived experience of depression.
This article is based on ethnographic research that explored experiences of suffering in late lif... more This article is based on ethnographic research that explored experiences of suffering in late life. From a group of 60 oldest-old (age 80 and above) male participants, four were primary, at-home caregivers for wives with dementia. Men’s narratives showed the inter-relation between masculinities, a sense of personal control, and experiences of suffering within caregiving. Three the- matic “tools” of control emerged as strategies men used to mediate their suf- fering: 1) the power of the little; 2) preserving self-identity and marriage-identity and, 3) finding purpose in the role of caregiver. We offer in- sight into the world of the oldest-old male caregiver through men’s accounts of suffering, their daily tasks, thoughts about themselves as caregivers, and the manner in which they embody their masculinity in caregiving.
We examined the concepts of aging, time, spirituality, and future care needs in four randomly sel... more We examined the concepts of aging, time, spirituality, and future care needs in four randomly selected informants from a group of 54 never-married childless older women. Using data from the Generativity and Lifestyles of OlderWomen (GLOW) study, we questioned how women’s perceptions of these concepts came together in current older age. We employed cultural theory, (our theoretical
framework), ethnography, (our methodological framework),
and phenomenology, (our philosophical foundation) to produce a portrait of each woman interviewed. Through a three-session interview process, we elicited the women’s life stories, reasons for childlessness, and topics that emerged as significant to the women, including aging, a sense of time remaining, and spirituality. A key finding was that the context of each woman’s life, both biographical and historical, transpired as a foundation for these concepts. That is, a woman’s “place in time” shaped their experiences of aging, as well as her reasons for childlessness and perceptions of finitude.
The desire to retain personal control over self and life circumstances continues into old age; it... more The desire to retain personal control over self and life circumstances continues into old age; it exists in tension with late-life vulnerabilities. This article investigates how older adults respond to threats against control in light of changes surrounding health and identity. Community-dwelling African American (n = 10) and European-American older adults (n = 10), aged 70 years and older, with varied self-reported health statuses were qualitatively interviewed. Open-ended interviews explored older adults' perceptions of control and threats to control in older age. Three themes linked older adults' responses to threats to control. Older adults (a) proactively monitored physical and mental health, (b) maintained roles that shaped important aspects of identity, and (c) fostered personal growth and development by generative practices. Responses of participants who had difficulty countering threats to control are also offered. This study shows that the construct of control is not abstract; it is interpreted and applied by older adults in the contexts of everyday life. Respondents used personal resources honed throughout the life course to respond to threats to control. Older adults viewed control as a cultural construct with nuanced meanings that recalled past roles and current changes that occur with age. Suggestions are offered for how health professionals can assist older adults with the cognitive and emotional tasks required to deal with threats to personal control surrounding health and identity.
Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work, 2012
This qualitative article explores how African-American elders' cultural and r... more This qualitative article explores how African-American elders' cultural and religious belief systems informed elders' perceptions of: (a) healthcare encounters, (b) quality of healthcare received and, (c) relationships with providers. The descriptive study involved interviews with African American elders (N = 60), 60 years of age and older. Open-ended interview questions concerned elders' perceptions of how their age, gender, race, and
This paper is based on research that explored the cultural construction of dying and death in nur... more This paper is based on research that explored the cultural construction of dying and death in nursing homes and assisted living facilities in a large Northeastern city. It focuses on direct care workers' responses to elders' dying and death within the facility. Data were gathered in a multiyear, multisite study through formal ethnographic interviews, informal conversations, and on-site observations of staff members. We introduce the case of Jayson, an activities director in a for-profit nursing home. We show how his belief system and experiences outside the facility, especially those concerning dying and death, shape his view of the nature and content of his work and his reaction to residents' deaths. We suggest caretaking at the intersection of gender, race, socioeconomic status, and the inside and outside life of direct care workers as topics for future research.
The word “depression” is used in many forums, such as clinically or colloquially. Our study explo... more The word “depression” is used in many forums, such as clinically or colloquially. Our study explored how the word is used culturally and experientially in a particular group of individuals. In this article, we examine the meaning of depression to a sample of 60 African-American men and women with varying levels of health and functional status. We presented the word
The International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 2007
In this article, the case study of an elderly woman shows how bodily pain and suffering meld in h... more In this article, the case study of an elderly woman shows how bodily pain and suffering meld in her narrative, not as the subjective and objective sides of the same event, but as distinct experiences in which both constructs emerge separately or come together based on the meaning she imputes to the event. The case study shows the clear methodological fit of qualitative narrative research with the lived experiences of pain and suffering. The narrator recalled the "tremendous" pain she experienced almost 60 years previously as both suffering and not-suffering, depending on the outcome of the circumstances that surrounded her pain. This case shows how a significant aspect of the aging experience-suffering-is medicalized, yet remains resistant to both categorization and medicine.
The authors explored a sample of families&amp... more The authors explored a sample of families' beliefs concerning creation of meaning in the recent death of the elderly husband and father and his existence in an afterlife. Data were collected through qualitative inquiry. Family members from 34 families were asked about their reaction to their loved one's death. Three themes emerged from participants' responses (a) the significance of context in the father and husband's life and death; (b) family members' folk beliefs; and (c) recalling the after-death ritual. The themes interpenetrate at the point where family members, although doubtful, hoped their loved one continues in an afterlife.
OBJECTIVE: This article focuses on the lived experience of depression in 20 elderly African Ameri... more OBJECTIVE: This article focuses on the lived experience of depression in 20 elderly African American women. METHODS: Data on depression emerged from research that qualitatively explored experiences of depression, sadness, and suffering in 120 community-dwelling persons aged 80 and older, stratified by gender, ethnicity, and self-reported health. RESULTS: We placed women's narratives under three general themes: Depression was (a) linked with diminishment of personal strength, (b) related to sadness and suffering, and (c) preventable or resolvable through personal responsibility. Brief accounts illustrate how themes emerged in women's discussion of depression. DISCUSSION: African American women created a language for depression that was rooted in their personal and cultural history and presented in vivid vignettes through their life stories. Their belief systems and the language they used to describe depression are integral aspects of the lived experience of depression.
This article is based on ethnographic research that explored experiences of suffering in late lif... more This article is based on ethnographic research that explored experiences of suffering in late life. From a group of 60 oldest-old (age 80 and above) male participants, four were primary, at-home caregivers for wives with dementia. Men’s narratives showed the inter-relation between masculinities, a sense of personal control, and experiences of suffering within caregiving. Three the- matic “tools” of control emerged as strategies men used to mediate their suf- fering: 1) the power of the little; 2) preserving self-identity and marriage-identity and, 3) finding purpose in the role of caregiver. We offer in- sight into the world of the oldest-old male caregiver through men’s accounts of suffering, their daily tasks, thoughts about themselves as caregivers, and the manner in which they embody their masculinity in caregiving.
We examined the concepts of aging, time, spirituality, and future care needs in four randomly sel... more We examined the concepts of aging, time, spirituality, and future care needs in four randomly selected informants from a group of 54 never-married childless older women. Using data from the Generativity and Lifestyles of OlderWomen (GLOW) study, we questioned how women’s perceptions of these concepts came together in current older age. We employed cultural theory, (our theoretical
framework), ethnography, (our methodological framework),
and phenomenology, (our philosophical foundation) to produce a portrait of each woman interviewed. Through a three-session interview process, we elicited the women’s life stories, reasons for childlessness, and topics that emerged as significant to the women, including aging, a sense of time remaining, and spirituality. A key finding was that the context of each woman’s life, both biographical and historical, transpired as a foundation for these concepts. That is, a woman’s “place in time” shaped their experiences of aging, as well as her reasons for childlessness and perceptions of finitude.
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framework), ethnography, (our methodological framework),
and phenomenology, (our philosophical foundation) to produce a portrait of each woman interviewed. Through a three-session interview process, we elicited the women’s life stories, reasons for childlessness, and topics that emerged as significant to the women, including aging, a sense of time remaining, and spirituality. A key finding was that the context of each woman’s life, both biographical and historical, transpired as a foundation for these concepts. That is, a woman’s “place in time” shaped their experiences of aging, as well as her reasons for childlessness and perceptions of finitude.
framework), ethnography, (our methodological framework),
and phenomenology, (our philosophical foundation) to produce a portrait of each woman interviewed. Through a three-session interview process, we elicited the women’s life stories, reasons for childlessness, and topics that emerged as significant to the women, including aging, a sense of time remaining, and spirituality. A key finding was that the context of each woman’s life, both biographical and historical, transpired as a foundation for these concepts. That is, a woman’s “place in time” shaped their experiences of aging, as well as her reasons for childlessness and perceptions of finitude.