Search

Access to economic resources influences the material conditions of life for older people, as well as the freedoms and capacities of older people to achieve the kind of lives they value. Security is one aspect of later life valued by older people. Ontological security provides a sense of order and continuity and needs to be understood in terms of the situated life experiences and circumstances of older people. The study reported in this paper analysed 145 qualitative interviews with New Zealanders aged 63–93 in order to explore how participants understand ontological security. Varying levels of access to economic resources were associated with differing abilities of participants to manage the unpredictability of everyday life. Among the wealthy, security was strongly connected to the freedoms provided by ample financial resources. Contrary to what might be expected, those with the lowest levels of economic resources did not express higher levels of insecurity, but instead drew upon life experiences of managing and making do to construct a trajectory of security. Those with mid-range levels of economic resources expressed most insecurity, including anxiety over changing economic conditions and concerns over their ability to manage reductions in economic resources. In discussing the implications of this, the paper highlights the need to recognise ways in which access to economic resources intersect with life circumstances, past experiences and future social expectations to provide opportunities for all older people to pursue security as they strive to age well. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The impact of disparities in socio-economic status on the health of older people is an important issue for policy makers in the context of population ageing. As older people live in different types of economic circumstances and because, as people age, their desires and needs are different to those of younger generations, measures of living standards need to be appropriate for older people. This paper reports on the validation of a measure of living standards for older people based on Sen's Capability Approach. Using this approach, living standards are conceptualised as varying from constraint to freedom rather than from hardship to comfort. Using the New Zealand Longitudinal Study of Ageing omnibus survey of 3,923 adults aged 50–87 years, the validity of the measure was assessed. The results indicate that this measure assesses what older people are able to achieve. In addition, this measure discriminates better at the higher end of the living standards spectrum than an existing measure that assesses living standards from hardship to comfort in terms of what people possess. From this, a short form of the measure has been developed which offers a conceptually based and valid measure useful for survey research with older people. This measure of living standards provides future avenues for improved understandings of socio-economic position in later life. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study investigated transition, or school leaving, as experienced by young adults living in Aotearoa New Zealand who had significant intellectual and developmental disabilities. To investigate these typically unheard perspectives, qualitative methods were adapted to individual communication preferences. Personal and contextual intersections were critically analysed using the theoretical framework of the capability approach. The capability approach emphasises individuality and one's freedom of choice to construct a good life of dignity. Timetables - schedules of daily activities - were examined using artefactual analysis to make sense of and explain important insights about transition through this pivotal support anchor. Yet, the utility of these artefacts, found to communicate personal capabilities, was underrecognised by those supporting transitions from school. This article reports fresh insights into supporting this critical life stage increasing the potential for a transition with dignity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition from school involves different perspectives. Those most silenced in the process are transitioning students with significant disability, and similarly, they are alienated from the conduct of research. In this empirical project, three young men with complex autism conditions in Aotearoa New Zealand reclaimed their position as experts on their own transitions, and moreover, their contributions to research on the subject. Over a six-month ethnography, unique methodological adaptions were used to access personal insights and capabilities throughemancipatory partnerships. The research forged collaborations that have the potential to be mirrored in future practices applicable to a transition with dignity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A policy focus on healthy ageing has been critiqued for homogenising, oppressing and neglecting the physical realities of older age. Current healthy ageing discourse places responsibility on individuals for achieving good physical health and ignores their broader circumstances. Sen’s capability approach provides a basis for including the physical changes of ageing and the social environment by focusing on what older people themselves value in regards to healthy ageing. Accounts of desired living standards in 145 interviews with people aged 63–93 years in New Zealand were subjected to a thematic analysis which revealed six commonly valued ‘functionings’: physical comfort, social integration, contribution, security, autonomy and enjoyment. The capability to achieve the valued functionings was of high importance regardless of physical health status while this capability was often limited by social and material circumstances. The importance of an environment supportive of valued functionings provides a framework for understanding health for older adults, whatever their present physical abilities. We suggest that health psychology is in a good position to reflect critically on the impact of discourses promoting healthy ageing in the lives of older adults, and consider broader models that include understandings of resilience and capability. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]