Envelhecimento ativo e redes de suporte em idosos portugueses

Abstract

The aging population is one of the hardest demographic phenomena of modern societies century. One of the salient features currently in Portuguese society is the tendency for the growth of the elderly population (Paul, and Fonseca, 2005). Portugal, currently facing a reality that is characterized by low birth rates and mortality, with a significant increase in the number of elderly in the total population (Paul, and Fonseca, 2005). Moreover, with increasing life expectancy and improving health, social participation and social support networks are topics that have drawn attention. The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze the importance of social support networks, depending on age, education and sex in the elderly Portuguese has "active aging," according to the model of active aging World Health (2005) and elderly people without this condition. An empirical study sample consists of 83 subjects (N = 83), of which 41 have some form of social participation voluntary professional activity, and the remaining 42 did not have any kind of social participation. The instrument used for data collection was the Scale of Social Support Network (ERAS) (Lubben, 1988), which measures the level of support received by the subject provided by family, friends and Trusts. The analysis of the data collected have shown that there are significant differences in the social support network, with respect to their contribution to active aging. This study has reinforced the idea that it is necessary to implement some recommendations that can contribute to a reflection of society and policy makers, so that in this way, you can promote and encourage social participation of older people.

Date of Award	2013
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	António Manuel Fonseca (Supervisor)