TITLE:
Coping Strategies and Quality of Life in Elderly Population
AUTHORS:
Marco Marcelo León-Navarrete, María Elena Flores-Villavicencio, Neyda Mendoza-Ruvalcaba, Cecilia Colunga-Rodríguez, Martha Leticia Salazar-Garza, Luis Edmundo Sarabia-López, Guido Germán Albán-Pérez
KEYWORDS:
Elderly, Quality of Life, Coping Strategies
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.5 No.10,
October
27,
2017
ABSTRACT: The elderly represent a population group that requires a specific and integral
approach that promotes its wellbeing and health. There are contextual factors
experience during this life stage, such as the generation of diseases, which can
influence negatively central aspects of life. One of the constructs that could be
affected by these factors is the Quality of Life (QOL). The interaction between
the contextual variables and QOL is mediated by the Coping Strategies (CS)
that the individual applies to cope with the environmental challenges. The aim
of this research was to analyze the differences in Quality of Life levels of the
elderly, controlling for the type of Coping Strategies implemented. A transversal
study was conducted, including a sample of 100 senior adults of the
Metropolitan District of Quito, Ecuador. The participants signed a inform
consent form and answered the Inventario de Estrategias de Afrontamiento
(Survey of Coping Strategies) and the FUMAT Scale for the evaluation of
QOL. The mean age was 74.6 years (SD = 5.5), being 64% women. We observed
percentages lower than 50% in all QOL dimensions, being the material
wellbeing, the subscale with lower scores. The CS more frequently reported
were the problem resolution, the desiderative thinking and the self-criticism.
The participants that referred to use the emotional expression as a coping
strategy presented higher levels of QOL. The Quality of Life in the elderly is
influenced by contextual factors, being necessary to provide them with strategies
that can be used to cope with the life challenges in a more effective and
adaptive way.