Older people and self-esteem

Older people and self-esteem

We live in an increasingly ageing society, where the increase in life expectancy coupled with the high birth rate of the so-called “baby boom” period has led to an ever-increasing proportion of people over 65.

These data suggest that it may be difficult to meet the care needs of this population due to the shortage of health personnel and increasing public expenditure on health care. Thus, a perspective on how to help and enhance the well-being of this group becomes relevant.

Self-knowledge, personal maturity, and the experiences and experiences that are added up over the course of life are essential elements to strengthen the self-esteem of older people. One might think that over the years, and taking into account the factors mentioned above, self-esteem increases steadily and linearly, but in most cases, this is not the case. It is common to find a decay in well-being and self-esteem in older people.

• What are the causes of this decay?

It is true that there is a decrease in physical, energetic and mobility capacities that prevent us from maintaining the same pace of life, but there is also a social outlook that increases even more the lack of self-confidence. The self-belief of a physical disability or cognitive impairment leads elderly people to have low self-esteem and lower motivation. This self-belief is fostered by the stereotypes we tend to have about older people. We all use stereotypes on a daily basis, they help us simplify reality, the problem is that, by categorizing, we generalize and we can fall into misperceptions. The stereotype of an elderly person carries with it the prejudice of lack of competence and poor physical performance, among others. Stereotypes were therefore often useful, but that did not mean that their use was not prejudicial.

• How can we help?

When we offer help to someone, especially if they haven’t asked for it, we have to be careful how we do it. Nedler and Fisher speak of a “self-esteem threat model”, in which they develop the danger of helping without a prior request. It is true that helping makes us feel better about ourselves, but if one helps unnecessarily, the recipient may perceive it as a threat. There are several aggravating factors to this situation that make the threat even worse. In the society in which we live, personal independence and autonomy are very valuable. When you help, you take away part of that independence and make the recipient feel like someone not enough. In the case of older adults this is recurrent. Many times, we offer help to cross the street, to shop, to cook, when in fact we have not been asked for it. Damaging self-esteem can become a problem when the older person begins to feel inferior, incapable, and may even worsen their actions in all of their life’s habits, physical and mental, as they end up believing themselves that they are incapable.

Therefore: helping when they request it, giving responsibilities within their possibilities such as taking care of their grandchildren, letting them know that they are able to contribute usefulness, asking them for advice, listening to their stories and valuing their opinions, talking to them from adult to adult without treating them as if they were children, are just some of the many things we can do to improve the self-esteem of the elderly.

Bibliography:

Fisher, J. D., Nadler, A., & Whitcher-Alagna, S. (1982). Recipient reactions to aid. Psychological Bulletin, 91(1), 27.

Xavi Ponseti 

Col. Nº B-03138