Purpose in life over a five-year period: a longitudinal study in a very old population
ABSTRACT Background: Few studies have specifically examined purpose in life among very old people, and we know of none that has used a prospective approach. The aim of this study was to examine changes in purpose in life over five years in very old men and women and to investigate whether depressed...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1041610210002279 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1041610210002279 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s1041610210002279 2024-05-12T08:08:56+00:00 Purpose in life over a five-year period: a longitudinal study in a very old population Hedberg, Pia Brulin, Christine Aléx, Lena Gustafson, Yngve 2010 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1041610210002279 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1041610210002279 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms International Psychogeriatrics volume 23, issue 5, page 806-813 ISSN 1041-6102 1741-203X Psychiatry and Mental health Geriatrics and Gerontology Gerontology Clinical Psychology journal-article 2010 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s1041610210002279 2024-04-18T06:54:37Z ABSTRACT Background: Few studies have specifically examined purpose in life among very old people, and we know of none that has used a prospective approach. The aim of this study was to examine changes in purpose in life over five years in very old men and women and to investigate whether depressed mood, malnutrition, inactivity in daily life, or cognitive impairment increased the risk for developing low purpose in life. Methods: The study includes data from 51 participants (42 women and 9 men) living in northern Sweden who completed the Purpose in Life (PIL) Test once at baseline and again five years later. Results: Purpose in life decreased over five years and the decrease was significantly associated with being a woman ( p < 0.001) and having depressed mood ( p = 0.009) or depression ( p = 0.002) at baseline. There were no differences in baseline PIL scores between depressed and not depressed, but those who had depression had significantly decreased PIL scores after five years ( p = 0.001). Conclusion: A strong purpose in life does not seem to prevent very old people from developing depression, and being depressed at baseline and living with depression over five years is associated with a loss of purpose in life. Article in Journal/Newspaper Northern Sweden Cambridge University Press International Psychogeriatrics 23 5 806 813 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
language |
English |
topic |
Psychiatry and Mental health Geriatrics and Gerontology Gerontology Clinical Psychology |
spellingShingle |
Psychiatry and Mental health Geriatrics and Gerontology Gerontology Clinical Psychology Hedberg, Pia Brulin, Christine Aléx, Lena Gustafson, Yngve Purpose in life over a five-year period: a longitudinal study in a very old population |
topic_facet |
Psychiatry and Mental health Geriatrics and Gerontology Gerontology Clinical Psychology |
description |
ABSTRACT Background: Few studies have specifically examined purpose in life among very old people, and we know of none that has used a prospective approach. The aim of this study was to examine changes in purpose in life over five years in very old men and women and to investigate whether depressed mood, malnutrition, inactivity in daily life, or cognitive impairment increased the risk for developing low purpose in life. Methods: The study includes data from 51 participants (42 women and 9 men) living in northern Sweden who completed the Purpose in Life (PIL) Test once at baseline and again five years later. Results: Purpose in life decreased over five years and the decrease was significantly associated with being a woman ( p < 0.001) and having depressed mood ( p = 0.009) or depression ( p = 0.002) at baseline. There were no differences in baseline PIL scores between depressed and not depressed, but those who had depression had significantly decreased PIL scores after five years ( p = 0.001). Conclusion: A strong purpose in life does not seem to prevent very old people from developing depression, and being depressed at baseline and living with depression over five years is associated with a loss of purpose in life. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hedberg, Pia Brulin, Christine Aléx, Lena Gustafson, Yngve |
author_facet |
Hedberg, Pia Brulin, Christine Aléx, Lena Gustafson, Yngve |
author_sort |
Hedberg, Pia |
title |
Purpose in life over a five-year period: a longitudinal study in a very old population |
title_short |
Purpose in life over a five-year period: a longitudinal study in a very old population |
title_full |
Purpose in life over a five-year period: a longitudinal study in a very old population |
title_fullStr |
Purpose in life over a five-year period: a longitudinal study in a very old population |
title_full_unstemmed |
Purpose in life over a five-year period: a longitudinal study in a very old population |
title_sort |
purpose in life over a five-year period: a longitudinal study in a very old population |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1041610210002279 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S1041610210002279 |
genre |
Northern Sweden |
genre_facet |
Northern Sweden |
op_source |
International Psychogeriatrics volume 23, issue 5, page 806-813 ISSN 1041-6102 1741-203X |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s1041610210002279 |
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International Psychogeriatrics |
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23 |
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5 |
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813 |
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