Home alone : the lived experience of social isloation among women over eighty
Date
1999
Authors
Guthrie Longenecker, Deirdre Mahalah
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
This study investigated, from a phenomenological point of view, the experience of social isolation among women over the age of eighty. The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of social isolation in older women through the stories they told. These stories were then used to create a description of the lived world of elderly women. Three isolated women over the age of eighty were interviewed for this study.
These interviews were then transcribed verbatim and analyzed. Reoccurring themes were found within the individual accounts as well as in the three women's stories combined. Major reoccurring themes included relationships, loss of personhood, becoming and becoming confident, coping with adversity, fearing, developing mastery, remembering and reminiscing, and centering.
The concluding chapter of this thesis discussed relationships between present findings and the literature, application of the present findings for nurses, implications for policy, and recommendations for further research.