Usporedba biomedicinskoga i alternativnoga modela uspješnoga starenja

Jedan od najpoznatijih modela uspješnoga starenja (Rowe i Kahn, 1997) zasniva se na tri kriterija: odsutnosti bolesti, dobroga tjelesnog i kognitivnog funkcioniranja te aktivne uključenosti u život. Istraživanja pokazuju da se primjenom takva modela na vrlo starim osobama broj onih koji su uspješni jako smanjuje, pa se novija istraživanja usmjeravaju ka otkrivanju alternativnih kriterija kako bi se koncept uspješnoga starenja proširio i postao primjenjiv i na vrlo stare osobe. Uz pomoć podataka prikupljenih na uzorku od 479 starijih osoba od 60 do 95 godina usporedili smo biomedicinski i alternativni model uspješnoga starenja (prema kojem se u kriterije ubrajaju: dobro subjektivno zdravlje, percepcija dobroga ekonomskog statusa i visoka razina sreće). Kriterijima alternativnog udovoljava 19,4% starijih, dok je primjenom Rowe i Kahnova modela identificiran znatno niži postotak uspješnih (7,9 %) na istom uzorku. Utvrdili smo da između krajnjih skupina (uspješnih i neuspješnih osoba) nema značajnih dobnih i spolnih razlika, no uspješni postižu značajno više rezultate na skali samoprocjene uspješnoga starenja, optimizma i generativnosti. Rezultati upućuju na potrebu daljnjega razmatranja kriterija na kojima se temelji koncept uspješnoga starenja, kako bi se postigla bolja primjenjivost i upotrebljivost.
One of the most prominent models of successful aging (Rowe and Kahn, 1997) is based on three criteria: freedom from disease, high physical and cognitive functioning, and active engagement with life. Research has shown that the application of this model on very old people results in a substantially decreased number of successful agers. So recent studies are oriented toward finding alternative criteria in order to extend the concept of successful aging and make it more applicable on the very old. Using data collected on a sample of 479 older subjects, 60 to 95 years old, we compared two models of successful aging, namely the biomedical and the alternative model (the latter using the following criteria: good subjective health, perception of good financial status and high level of happiness). The criteria of the alternative model were met by 19.4 % of the older subjects, while the application of the criteria of Rowe and Kahn’s model resulted in a substantially lower percentage of successful agers (7.9 %) in the same sample. In the next step of the analysis, we compared two extreme groups (successful and unsuccessful agers), finding out that there were no significant age and sex differences 537 between them. Nevertheless, the successful group scored significantly higher on the self-rated successful aging, optimism, and generativity scales. The results of the study indicate the continued need to consider the criteria of successful aging in order to make this construct more applicable and utilizable.