Attitude to ageing and age among Slovenian women

Staranje je vseživljenjski proces, značilen za vsa živa bitja. Že iz zgodovine poznamo poskuse zaustavitve staranja in odkrivanje rešitev za ohranjanje večne mladosti. Staranje poteka na biološki, psihološki in družbeni ravni. Izkušnja staranja je lahko pozitivna, lahko pa vzbuja strah in negotovost ter je negativna. Vsaka generacija se stara drugače. Mi se staramo drugače, kot so se starali naši predniki. Pomemben vpliv na dojemanje in odnos do staranja ima okolje in z njim povezani dejavniki – mediji, zvezdniki, družba, politika, globalizacija, stereotipi, gibanje proti staranju … Cilj pričujoče naloge je ugotoviti, kakšen odnos do staranja in starosti imajo slovenske ženske. Osredotočili smo se na slovenske ženske, starejše od 18 let. Raziskovalni vzorec je obsegal 497 anketirank iz območja Slovenije. Rezultati analize empiričnega dela raziskave so pokazali, da imajo slovenske ženske pretežno pozitiven odnos do staranja in starosti. Tudi spremembe, povezane s staranjem, jih pretirano ne skrbijo. Mlajšo starostno skupino nekoliko bolj skrbijo vidne telesne spremembe. Slovenske ženske (preventivno) uporabljajo nekatere ukrepe zoper staranja, ki jih lahko uvrstimo tudi v zdrav življenjski slog in aktivno (uspešno) staranje. Lahko pa si jih razlagamo tudi kot vpetost v globalne potrošniške vzorce vedenja. Odnos do staranja in starostnikov na ravni družbe in države na splošno dojemajo kot negativen. Dejavnika, ki imata po mnenju anketirank največji vpliv na dojemanje staranja kot negativnega, so mediji in družba oz. ljudje sami. Tako mladost kot starost vrednotijo kot pomembni življenjski obdobji, kljub temu je mladost v povprečju vrednotena nekoliko višje. Mladost višje vrednoti zlasti mlajša starostna skupina. S stereotipi v slovenski družbi se sooča 47,3 % anketirank, 52,7 % se jih redko oz. sploh ne. Pomembno je izpostaviti, da ima skupina, ki se sooča s stereotipi, v povprečju bolj negativen odnos do staranja in starosti. To skupino tudi bolj skrbijo vidne telesne spremembe, povezane s staranjem. Na osnovi teoretičnih in empiričnih spoznanj smo prišli do zaključka, da je staranje pomembno področje, ki zahteva pozornost tako na globalni, državni kot individualni ravni. Potrebni so programi, ki bodo razjasnili, da je staranje pomemben in naraven del vsakega življenja. Prizadevati si moramo, da je izkušnja staranja karseda kvalitetna, za kar je potreben pozitiven odnos tako s strani družbe kot posameznika samega.Aging is a lifelong process that is characteristic of all living beings. Already from history, we are familiar with attempts to stop aging and discover solutions to preserve eternal youth. Aging takes place on a biological, psychological and social level. The experience of aging can be positive, and it can also cause fear and insecurity, and is thus perceived as negative. Each generation ages differently. We age differently than our ancestors have. The environment and related factors - media, celebrities, society, politics, globalization, stereotypes, anti-aging movements, etc. all greatly influence our perception and attitude towards aging. The goal of this thesis is to determine what kind of attitude towards Slovenian women have towards aging and old age. We focused on Slovenian women over 18 years of age. The research sample comprised 497 respondents from Slovenia. The results of the analysis of the empirical part of the thesis showed that Slovenian women have a predominantly positive attitude towards aging and old age. They are not overly concerned with changes related to aging either. The younger age group is slightly more concerned with visible bodily changes. Slovenian women use certain preventive measures against aging which can be regarded as a part of a healthy lifestyle and active (successful) aging. However, we can also interpret them as being the result of global (consumer) patterns of behaviour. Generally, the attitude towards aging and the elderly at the level of society and the country in general is perceived as negative. According to the respondents, the factors that have the greatest impact on the perception of aging as negative are the media and society, that is people themselves. Both youth and age are valued as important periods of life, however, youth is, on average, evaluated as slightly higher. In particular, youth is more valued by the younger age group. 47.3% of respondents face stereotypes in Slovenian society, 52.7% say that they rarely do or do not at all. It is important to emphasize that the group that faces stereotypes has, on average, a more negative attitude towards aging and age. This group is also more concerned with the visible physical changes associated with aging. Based on theoretical and empirical findings, we came to the conclusion that aging is an important area that requires attention both at the global level and at the level of country and an individual level. Programs that clarify that aging is an important and natural part of life are needed. We must strive to ensure that the experience of aging is as good as possible which requires a positive attitude both from society as well as the individual