A qualitative study of friendships in old age: The case of a nursing home in Turkey
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A qualitative study of friendships in old age: The case of a nursing home in Turkey Çiğdem Yavuz Güler 1
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Ilgın Çakmak 2
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Yunus Ayyıldız 2
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract This study aims to understand, discuss, and describe the unique friendship dynamics of the elderly. A qualitative methodphenomenological design was adopted to obtain in-depth information. The study group comprised nursing home residents (n = 17), with nine female and eight male residents over the age of 65. The data collected through two focus group interviews were analyzed using MAXQDA 2018-Version 2018. According to the data analysis, sub-codes for the definitions of friendship by the elderly could be separated into five generic categories: behavioral processes (assistance, sharing, boundaries, altruism, and graciousness); cognitive processes (trust, respect, commitment and fidelity, compatibility, and morality); affective processes (intimacy and requirement); structural characteristics (openness, vigilance, reciprocity, and support during good times and bad); and distinctive features (despair, references to the past, health competence, and caregiver as a friend). Although it has been recognized that the elderly offer similar statements as other age groups with regard to the emotional, behavioral and cognitive definitions of friendship, it has been observed that they often refer to the past when they are expressing their friendships and that establishing and maintaining friendships depend on their health status and capabilities. Establishing a friendship with the caregiver is a remarkable characteristic of this period. The results of this research, which aimed to examine the friendship dynamics of the elderly, can be a resource for researchers who discuss the theory of friendship and aging and can be used as a source for the development of elderly care, social support services, and preventive mental health programs for the elderly. Keywords Old age . Nursing home . Friendship . Qualitative method . Focus group
Introduction Old Age and Social Relations Considering the various attitudes toward age and societal competencies, the clear and absolute lines between the stages of life are hard to draw. However, adults aged 65
* Çiğdem Yavuz Güler [email protected] Ilgın Çakmak [email protected] Yunus Ayyıldız [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Uskudar University, Altunizade, Haluk Turksoy St. No: 14 34662, Uskudar-Istanbul, Turkey
2
Social Sciences Institute, Clinical Psychology, Uskudar University, İstanbul, Turkey
and older, the age at which retirement and priorities in accessing health services become available, are considered as the elderly. Aging is the natural result of the physiological changes in the human body. Aging signifies a concept that should be addressed as a whole, including its biological, psychological, and social dimensions. It is still questioned whether aging represents a stage of decline and de
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