Publications by authors named "Ruth E S Allen"
Purpose: Older people are seen as needing to receive support from other people as they age. But what are the experiences and expectations older people have of being "support receivers"?
Design And Methods: Community-dwelling childless elders (n = 38, aged 63-93) were interviewed about their experiences and expectations of support, as they comprise a group "at risk" of lack of support. Responses were analyzed within a narrative gerontology framework of positioning theory as to how receiving support was "positioned" and how it related to growing older.
Growing older is hard to make sense of. Opposing perspectives are presented on everything from individual to population ageing, and there is widespread ambivalence towards many aspects of ageing. Positioning theory is a research approach that can tolerate such ambiguity and provides a clear, useful framework to make sense of research data, while doing justice to its complexity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResilience is a concept of growing interest in relation to older people and within the context of population ageing. In this paper we explore older people's understandings and experiences of resilience, drawing on interviews and participant-led focus groups with 121 older people living in two case-study communities in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Close reading of extended conversations about what characterises resilience, such as positive attitude, counting blessings or keeping busy, reveal how all of these apparently internal or personal characteristics are deeply embedded in social and physical contexts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: This study illuminates the concept of "aging in place" in terms of functional, symbolic, and emotional attachments and meanings of homes, neighbourhoods, and communities. It investigates how older people understand the meaning of "aging in place," a term widely used in aging policy and research but underexplored with older people themselves.
Design And Methods: Older people (n = 121), ranging in age from 56 to 92 years, participated in focus groups and interviews in 2 case study communities of similar size in Aotearoa New Zealand, both with high ratings on deprivation indices.
Article Synopsis
- A sense of belonging to a place can enhance identity and well-being, particularly in older adults, who find security and meaning in their living environments.
- A study conducted in Auckland involved interviews with 83 older community members to explore their connections to their homes and neighborhoods, emphasizing the importance of attachment to place.
- Findings revealed that while participants had deep attachments to their homes and limited social interactions, they navigated both positive and negative changes in their social spaces, viewing them as meaningful rather than purely negative.