Pagtanda at Matanda Na: Metro Manila Home for the Aged Residents Narratives on the Meanings of Aging
Kate Ashlyn N. Dayag-Nonay
Discipline: social sciences (non-specific)
Abstract:
All people age, but not everyone is mindful of what it means to age. Meanings
of aging vary based on individual experiences, which include changes in mental,
physical, environmental, relational, and even the sense of identity. This exploratory
study described and analyzed how 11 lolos and lolas from four (4) private homes
for the aged within Metro Manila constructed the meaning of aging. Using the
Symbolic Interactionism perspective, this research identified and explained the
role of identity and interaction in the participants’ understanding of aging. The
participants reminisced about significant life moments through storytelling
before they engaged in conversations about their identities and relationships
with people around them. The study found that the definitions of aging were
signposted during two stages: Pagtanda (before living in the home for the aged)
and Matanda Na (living in the home for the aged). Some of the words they used
to define the meaning of aging are (1) kuntento, (2) positibo, (3) nalimitahan, (4)
prosesong hindi maiiwasan, (5) and (6) pag-iba (pagbabago). All these definitions
were affected by constructs, such as marriage, health, money, interaction, and
environment. In analyzing the various definitions, the repeating constructs, and
the role of identity and interaction in aging, selected residents of homes for the
aged within Metro Manila are arguably content but not satisfied.
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