Um olhar qualitativo sobre a percepção de finitude na terceira idade

Abstract

Getting old brings countless physical changes, psychological and social consequences for the persons who exceed this process; one of them is the proximity of death. This can be shown with different meanings, arousing feelings varied, ranging from the most disparaging as disintegration and suffering until a fascination and the idea of rest. Objective: understand how the male and female elders give meaning to death, highlighting the similarities and differences between the two groups. Method: 10 elders were the participants, 5 females and 5 males, with a mean age of 81.5 years, ranging from 60 - 90 years. The participants answered a semi-structured interview. The data were analyzed according to Bardin’s Content Analysis. Results and Discussion: based on the Content Analysis two thematic classes were revealed, 7 categories and 15 subcategories: in the first thematic classes named contextualization of way of life, emerged 4 categories: 1 - Activities performed in the past (agricultural and other) 2 - activities performed in the present (absence and presence); 3 - Coexistence (with family, living alone and living with others) and 4 – Health problems. In the second thematic class, named death, emerged three categories: 1-psychological distress; 2 - Experiences and 3 - Cognitive elaborations (finiteness, positive point of view, negative point of view, life changing, rest, undefined, naturalization and religiosity). Conclusion: The studied participants indicated an understanding of death associated to naturalization, the idea of finitude and religiosity, besides of being a phenomenon that causes much psychological distress. The suffering and the other subcategories were justified by an intense experience with the phenomenon of death faced by the seniors. The variable gender was also relevant. This study may support programs that promote better elaborated conceptions on the theme “death” promoting to the elders a healthier experience, psychologically speaking, with the idea of death.