Abstract
With the growing concern of the impact of an ageing population by 2025, a large number of studies have examined the effect of ageing on the older adult’s life satisfaction and well-being, however, little attention has been paid to understanding successful ageing from the older adult’s perspectives. Using a qualitative approach, this study aims to gain insight into how Malaysian older adults view successful ageing. Twelve older adults in the age range of 60 to 80 from three major ethnic groups, Malay, Chinese and Indian were recruited and interviewed individually. Five major themes emerged: being healthy, family relationships, financial independence, social connectedness, and being positive. Overall, the older adults agreed that keeping healthy, family relationships, and a supportive social environment are essential criteria for successful ageing. The findings of this study revealed that health, family, finance, and social connectedness dimensions are influencing factors for successful ageing. Efforts to enhance the quality of life of older adults should incorporate an integrative approach of family, social connectedness, and the improvement of health care services. Future studies are recommended to complement the study of the individual level of successful ageing with the societal environment and cultural changes which might bring challenges to the older adults.
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Data Availability (data transparency)
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to participants’ confidentiality but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Code Availability (software application or custom code)
Not applicable.
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The authors thank Tee Xiang Yi and Wong Wen Ping for recruiting respondents and transcribing the verbatim.
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The project is funded by Universiti Tunku Abdu Rahman Strategic Fund (Vote No: 6274–006) awarded to the second author.
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Low, S.K., Cheng, M.Y. & Pheh, K.S. A thematic analysis of older adult’s perspective of successful ageing. Curr Psychol 42, 10999–11008 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02371-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-02371-6