A família institucional

: mito ou realidade

Abstract

In this time of constant mutations, thinking about new forms of society, is necessarily, thinking of new forms of social relations. Currently the society model generates stratifications associated with the age factor with reflections on the concept of old age and social and institutional interactions. On the other hand the post-modern society encourages active aging looking to produce old age qualified as 4th age. Those who deal directly with the elderly, also realize the making of affectional bonds between the aged and the staff of institutions, often producing a alternative substitution effect of the family in favor of those who constitute the work teams of institutions. The present work aims to understand the underlying issues of the elderly and their biological family, in order to understand why, in some situations the elderly transfer (affective) emotional relationships toward the professionals working in the area of the 3rd Sector. Introducing himself as the only social support that the elderly finds, as a refuge to develop his self-esteem and engage with life and his surroundings. Specifying the cut, rupture mechanisms between the elderly and their families, constitutes an alternative, based on the demand for reorganization of their ways of interacting with others and with the environment, creating new ways of thinking of acting and of socialize.

Date of Award	13 Oct 2011
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Maria Ester Vaz da Silva (Supervisor)