Transitions and opportunities: Considering purpose in the context of healthy aging

Abstract

The current chapter provides a foundation for considering purpose as it pertains to older adults and, in so doing, explores the implications of promoting sense of purpose for healthy aging. First, we describe what it means to have a purpose, or feel a sense of purpose, as well as the normative developmental trends for the construct during adulthood. Second, we describe the benefits associated with having a sense of purpose during older adulthood, in order to speak to the value of purpose in the context of older adults. And finally, we consider how promoting sense of purpose may be worked into the areas of role-transitions that older adults often experience such as changes in employment, living situation, health, and cognition. We conclude with future directions for exploring these considerations more fully in order to inform directives for promoting purposefulness among older adults.