Interview of Older Age Adults - Essay Example

They had a lot to say in answer to each question or topic and would digress to relating something else if the interviewer did not insist on keeping them on track. It seems that as each one talks about a certain aspect of the past, a recollection of a related experience is triggered. The interviewee then becomes eager to relate such related event, thereby making the conversations overly long. Moreover, when all the questions have been answered, it seemed that the subjects did not want the interview to end.

It was as if it would take a long time again when the subject would have somebody who will have a long conversation with him or her. The interview process resulted in the following findings, generalizations or conclusions. Older age adults past seventy years old are already well-adjusted in their status. They have already spent more than ten years as "retired" individuals and seem to have come to terms with their changed status in life, especially with regards their relationships with immediate family.

They have also accepted their physical conditions, how they are no longer as strong and fit for various types of activities. Those who said that they felt a lot younger than their age are the ones who have best succeeded in coming to terms with their level of physical fitness and the limited type of activities they can pursue. One lady said she felt a lot older and that was because she was worried about her different ailments which she doesn't seem to address appropriately. Older age adults who have adjusted have also accepted how younger people are treating them, whether they feel this is different from their norms during their times or not.

They learn to accept and live with the kind of people surrounding them and learn to understand their attitudes. Another finding from the interview process is that although the subjects interviewed were quite adjusted to their old age status and able to maintain a level of happiness or contentment, they are most wanting in people to talk to. The situation of the subjects interviewed were all as part of their own families, where relatives, if there were, were of different ages. In the case of the husband and wife, they were living by themselves and only had each other.

The interview brought a new person into their life for a few hours. In the case of the others, the subjects were living with family members all of younger age. They didn't really have anybody to chat with as a matter of course. They feel that their relatives only converse with them out of duty or courtesy. It also seemed to the interviewer that these subjects were being taken for granted by their immediate families. This was a sad situation for the older age adults and although it wasn't directly verbalized, somehow it could be felt during the interview.

Another finding from the interview process is the matter of dreams and their fulfillment. All the subjects interviewed could not seem to recall any life-long dream from the past that they wanted to achieve as a burning desire. They mentioned dreams that were either achieved or not achieved but are no longer dreams at the present time. It may be part of the acceptance or resignation process that they seemed to have gone through as they were getting older or adjusting to their old age, as a sort of defense mechanism to keep one