Identity Reconstruction under Institutional Living and its Impact on Life Satisfaction among Older Adults

Abstract

Life in a community is marked by a social fabric that gives meaning to one’s life. Older adults shifting to institutional living face the problem of an abrupt change in their social environment, often paired with a loss of social identity that had been constructed within the social fabric. In many Asian countries, including India, a considerable number of older adults shift to institutions for reasons other than the need for medical support. Traditional research on older adults living in institutions focuses on the role loss and psychological discomforts of institutional living. The current study is a counter-narrative on how the social fabric of the institutions serve as a platform in which older adults form ties and relationships to construct a new meaningful identity. The research has employed a mixed methodology approach and a sequential exploratory design, sampling 62 older adults from two randomly selected institutions for seniors in Ernakulam, Kerala. The findings suggest that older adults experience a role loss and identity crisis during the initial transfer to institutions, which is gradually compensated to an extent through networking and identifying oneself as a member of the institutional family. In-degree centrality from fellow residents and out-degree centrality towards fellow residents and professionals in the institution significantly impact the ‘Satisfaction with Life’ of the respondents. The findings suggest that institutionalised older adults rely on reciprocal ties and relationships to rediscover their roles and identity, which in turn help them age successfully.