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Week 9 – Assignment: Conduct Interviews on Positive Aging

Recruit two participants that you can interview for this assignment. Both participants must be at least 50 years of age. Ideally the participants would be in different decades (e.g. perhaps one of your participants might be 55 and the other 75).

Using the research that you have conducted on positive aging create 5-10 questions designed to assess whether your participants are aging in a positive manner (e.g. mental health, physical health, cognitively, socially, economically, etc.). Include the following in your overview:

• Transcripts of the interviews
• Based on your research discuss what constitutes positive aging.
• Based on your research assess whether your participants seem to be aging in a positive fashion.
• Make suggestions and recommendations for your participants to increase their positive aging.

Use at least 3 scholarly sources.

Your transcripts and overview should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect graduate-level writing and APA standards.

Aging is met with feelings of trepidation for some as they are concerned about potential deterioration in physical, cognitive, social, and psychological functioning. However, others are able to stay engaged in life as they age, view aging in a positive fashion, and take steps to maintain mental and physical health. This type of positive attitude towards aging is called positive aging. Research suggests that people who think positively about aging are more likely to live longer.

There are several strategies that people can employ to encourage positive aging, such as maintaining good nutrition, managing stress, keeping the brain active, etc. Positive aging has societal benefits in addition to improving quality of life for individuals on a physical and psychological scale.