The Influence of External and Internal Factors on the Formation of Self-Preservation Behavior of Older People (Regional Aspect)

Abstract

Health has been one of the components of vertical social mobility since ancient times; it also contributes to the preservation of human life in front of the "forces of nature". On the territory of the Russian Federation, annual monitoring is carried out to assess the standard of living in the regions of the country, which takes into account not only economic, political indicators, but also social, including the health of the population. It should be noted that in the process of life, the health of an individual is influenced not only by the socioeconomic, environmental situation in a particular region of the country, but also by the actions performed by the individual in relation to health, which may be aimed at its preservation or at its deterioration. Within the framework of sociological thought, "self-preservation behavior" refers to the actions of individuals or social groups aimed at prolonging and preserving longevity. Taking into account the socio-economic transformations (pension reform (2019), the epidemiological situation caused by COVID-19 (2020) that occurred in Russian society, the author of the article formulated the task of analyzing the influence of internal and external factors on the self-preservation behavior of older people. To solve this problem, the author conducted a sociological study using the methods of questionnaires and in-depth interviews, consisting of two stages (stage 1 (from 2016 to 2017), n = 500 people, of which 38.2% are men, 61.8% are women, stage 2 (from November 2020 to March 2021), n = 400 people, of which 33% are men, 67% are women. Both studies used a multi-stage sampling (the first stage included the method of quoting respondents by gender and age, the second stage of the survey used the method of the available case). As a result, it was revealed that older people in the process of preserving and maintaining longevity listen to family members and doctors' prescriptions. According to the results of the questionnaire survey, it was revealed that older people often spend their free time watching TV, but at the same time, the level of trust in the information provided in television broadcasts regarding health is low among older people.