What is the main question this study addresses? The paper uses a design to investigate whether the sense of purpose varies at the daily level in older adults and to what extent this variability is due to positive or negative social interactions throughout the day. What is the main finding of this study? About 40% of the variability in daily purpose occurs within the person, and that within-person variability is related to the quality of social interaction . In general, older adults who have better social interactions are more determined, and on days when they have better social interactions than usual, they also feel more determined than normal. This effect is particularly strong for older adults who no longer work. What is the meaning of the discovery? The within-person variability of daily purpose holds promise for future intervention efforts that may focus on short-term change, and improving social networks and connections may be one path to reinforcing the sense of purpose more broadly. These findings are particularly relevant to more vulnerable populations known to experience a decline in purpose, such as retirees. By improving the sense of purpose, older adults are more likely to experience the valuable cognitive and physical benefits that come with healthy aging. |
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Having positive social interactions is associated with older adults’ sense of purpose, which can fluctuate from day to day, according to research from the Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences in Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
And although these findings, published in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry , apply to both working and retired adults, the research found that, for better or worse, these interactions are more strongly correlated with grit in people retired.
“Specifically for our retired seniors, this is a construct that we should really be concerned about,” said Gabrielle Pfund, who led the study as a doctoral student in the lab of Patrick Hill, associate professor of psychology and brain sciences. Pfund graduated in June and is now at Northwestern University.
The research team worked with a group of about 100 adults with an average age of around 71 years. For 15 days, participants were asked three times a day about the quality of social interactions they had had that day. Each night they were asked to use a scale of one to five to answer the question: How much do you think you had a purpose in your life today?
After analyzing the responses, they found, relative to each person’s baseline, the more positive interactions a person had during the day, the more determined they felt at night. Other measures, including employment and marital status, did not predict a person’s sense of purpose.
What is a sense of purpose?
Having a sense of purpose is defined as the extent to which one feels that they have personally meaningful goals and directions that guide them throughout life. Importantly, Pfund said, the study also showed how dynamic a person’s own sense of purpose could be.
“Most research on sense of purpose focuses on the general orientation of someone who has a purpose versus someone who does not have a purpose,” he said. But it turns out that determination can be more dynamic. Although some people tend to be more or less single-minded overall, Pfund said, “We found that purpose can change from day to day. “Everyone was experiencing fluctuations relative to their own averages.”
The association was much stronger in retired people, the data showed: More positive social interactions showed a stronger association with a greater sense of purpose in life, while more negative interactions were more strongly linked to a lower sense of purpose. of purpose.
“For everyone, but specifically for our retired seniors, the people in their lives really matter,” Pfund said.
The research has its limitations , two of which are that the sample was taken from data collected in Zurich, Switzerland, and the respondents were generally in good health. These findings may look different in other countries or among older adults in poorer health.
Having a sense of purpose is more than just feeling good. Previous research has shown that adults with a greater sense of purpose lead longer, healthier, and happier lives. They have lower rates of Alzheimer’s disease and heart and cardiovascular problems.
“The people in your life are going to have a very, very big impact on that,” he said. “If you find yourself around people who bring you down… that will have an impact. “On the other hand, if you are surrounded by people who encourage you and infuse positivity into your life, that will also have an impact.” And that, she said, was good news. “If you feel like your life has no purpose, it won’t always be that way. That’s not your life. That can change.”
Conclusion
Positive social interactions can help older adults maintain determination and a sense of purpose in life, particularly after retirement.
