Interview Analysis
Abstract
This paper is delves into life in the perspective of an aging Filipina woman. It explores the psychological, cultural, interpersonal, and biological aspects of aging from the viewpoint of a Filipina woman. This interview sheds light on the idea of aging which affects all people, save those who die young, and the difference in facing these changes depending on the culture and upbringing of a person.
Introduction
The person who was the focus of the interview for this paper is Filipe. She is an 88 year old Filipina. Filipe was born in Satang in Bicol, the Philippines. She spent her first twelve years with her mother and three brothers. At thirteen, she was married to Albino, who was 8 years her senior. After giving birth to 18 children, she finally had the chance to go to the United States. In 1973, she lived with her children in Brooklyn, New York where she still resides now. She was an acquaintance of my mother so when she came to sell some viand (a common business venture in the Philippines), I immediately took the chance to give her an interview.
Summary of the Interview
Filipe was an 81 year old Filipina who migrated to the United States in 1973. In the interview conducted, it was very evident from her manner of speaking and her gestures that she was indeed a very strong woman. In her perspective, aging was not impairment. While most people retire or just simply succumb to aging, she readily stands up to do more work in order to earn more money to send to the children she left in the Philippines. Being born in a life where hard work was not something to be scared about, she finds her life in the United States boring and uneventful. “Becoming old has really weakened my body, but I cannot, in any way, rest until I am sure that my children and grandchildren in the Philippines are well taken cared of. “, says Filipe. Being a Filipina, Filipe took on the role of really taking care of her children from the time that they were born up to the time that they have all married and had children. It is dictated in the Filipino culture that the parents need to take care of their family even until they have grown well into adulthood, even if they do have children of their own. Filipe continues to hold on t the position of breadwinner, a role she’s taken since her husband died in 1961, even if all of her children have become accomplished adults and could well support themselves. She continually sends packages containing the basic needs of people, though some of the things she puts into the boxes are deemed useless by others. Being part of a large family, it is not unusual to have many generations present at one time, but it doesn’t also mean that there are lesser representatives for each generation. In Filipe’s case, she has numerous children and even more numerous grandchildren. She still possesses the old Filipino family characteristic of having many children. The rationale behind this characteristic is that in the olden times, one of the major livelihood existing in the Philippines was farming, so having numerous children would mean many hands to help in the farm, which in turn would mean easier, faster and more profitable harvest. In the context of Kluickholn dominant and variant value orientations, responses which are elicited from Filipe and her family are in answer to the social orientation. I sincerely believe that Filipe was a born-leader as she continues to lead her family to a better life. As the leader, she owns to the number of responsibility that comes with being the head of the family.
Interpersonal relationships between family members, especially in Asian countries take the tone of respect. Occasional bickering are common in siblings, whether Asian or not, as well as sibling rivalry. Filipe, being the head of the family tries to maintain neutrality between her treatments of all her children. According to her, as she ages, she finds it even more difficult to take hold of the matters between her children. But all in all, she says that she does maintain a healthy relationship with all her children. They still do cower when she gets angry, as they did when they were young. Here is a clear evidence of the difference in the family structure of Asian and most Western family structure. Even as people age, in the context of Asian countries, they still continue to recognize the authority held by the parents and elder siblings over them (Busts, 1996). All decisions, whether important or not, are never made without the consent of the most senior and most authoritative member of the family.
According to Hummer et al. (2001), successful and happy aging occurs when,” healthy aging—healthy body, healthy mind, and healthy relationships.” In Filipe’s case, she was not in a sound condition, but a great condition, nevertheless, considering her age and her contemporaries. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2000, probably due to the fact that she gave birth to 18 children, and to her “overuse & abuse” of her body. Of course, she had no other choice but to push the limits of her physical capability since she had 18 mouths to feed at the same time excluding hers, and considering her meager earnings as a peanut vendor, there really was no other option. But still, she never allows herself to be put down by her illness; she continues to do her little business ventures- baby sitting, selling viands to Filipina nurses- to be able to earn enough money to send to her children in the Philippines without asking from her children in the US. According to Filipe, she had always been the own to be fast and sharp, but lately she’s been slow and had difficulty keeping up with the children she was taking care of. Also, she was starting to get bent with age. She said she didn’t look that crooked before. According to her, signs of aging have been catching up with her. Of course, never being daunted with anything, she dons a cane to help her walk faster and continues to take supplementary vitamins in order to at least keep fit for someone at 88. But all in all, she did age well, according to my observation.
Analysis
Various theorists have attempted to describe the complex biophysical and mental process of aging. Although many theories have been developed, there is no single universally accepted theory that predicts and explains the complexities of the aging process. In one approach to the explanation of the biological changes of the aging process, Sloane (1992), suggests a “rule of thirds” in which functional decline due to diseases , inactivity or disuse, and aging itself each contribute one third to the complex process that we call aging. In psychosocial theories of aging, theories attempt to explain changes in behavior, roles and relationships that come with aging. The three classic theories of aging in psychosocial aspects are disengagement theory, activity theory and continuity theory (Eversible and Hess, 1998). Disengagement theory, the oldest psychosocial theory states that aging individuals withdraw from customary roles and engage in more introspective, self-focused activities (Cummings and Henry, 1961). The activity theory, unlike the disengagement theory, considers the continuation of activities performed during middle age as necessary for successful aging (Lemon, Benson and Peterson, 1972). Continuity theory, states that personality remains the same and behavior becomes more predictable as people age (Negatron, 1964).
Though many people succumb to aging and are defeated by it, my subject successfully overcame all its obstacles and continues to successfully age.
The Process of Aging
Introduction
The paper is about talks about the life and the aging of a certain Sino-Hispanic man we may refer through as “Coro”. He is a 78 year-old war-veteran living with a relative in Ohio. I came to know this person because of his close relationship with my grandfather who was also a war veteran. The interview conducted intends to closely examine all the aspects of aging its effects on the person in question. Also, it also examines the likeliness of feeling different things as a person reaches the age of 78.
Interview Proper
Coro was born in Cuba to a Hispanic mother and a Chinese immigrant father. Having lost his father at an early age due to bouts of pneumonia and tuberculosis, as the eldest, he was always depended on as the breadwinner of the family. His, mother, seeing that she had no future if she stayed in Cuba, left for the United States when Coro was only 11. When the war broke out in the early forties, Coro enlisted and was taken to Pearl Harbor. He was never able to set foot in Cube again. Now Coro is an aged man living with relatives from his mother’s side (his mother remarried).
With aging comes a different dilemma affects all people’s functioning ability. Aging brings with it the deterioration of the mind and body, probable effects of years of constant use. But many people can achieve “successful aging” (Khan and Rowe, 1998). According to them, components of successful aging are: “low risk of disease and disease-related disability; high mental and physical function; and active engagement with life” (p. 38). Also, the physical aspect of the human body is not the only area that is affected by aging. Mental, psychological and social aspects of a person are also affected by aging.
In the case of Coro, he is an example of a person that greatly lacks the care from people around him. As the interview went on, it was clearly evident that he was neglected, save from the fact that he was being given food and was regularly kept clean. Coro was immobile due to an accident that occurred during the war. He did not possess the bonds necessary from the family in order for him to achieve successful aging. As he was immobile and virtually made no contribution to the family income, he was viewed as a nuisance and a burden. This further contributed to his ill state and his fast aging. He is very often referred to as the “old garbage”, thinking that he wasn’t able to hear them. This deeply affects and upsets him and gives no sense of respect or belonging at all. As he is always ignored, he learned to become indifferent towards many people, often acting dumb or playing deaf.
His physical condition continues to deteriorate as days pass. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the summer of 1997 but was not given the proper treatment. He constantly writhes in pain every time symptoms of the illness set in. His family chose to give him pain killers, rather than take him to the hospital since that would cost much more than a bottle of aspirin.
Being as he was, the ties that bound him to his “family” were severed. He is suffering what is called “unsuccessful aging”. Though generally, Coro is still mentally fit, his physical being is in the process of deterioration. He has become almost blind due to a cataract and his hearing has become quite unclear.
Analysis
Age is one of the factors that affect the demand. Older people generally need more attention on their state of health. Older people are more prone to cancers, strokes, organ failures and other old-age related diseases. The body degenerates with age causing the organs do not perform well, making old people weak. Those that are much older require assistance in performing their daily tasks. A person’s demand for health care rises along with age
Perception of well-being can define the quality of life. Understanding the older adult’s perceptions about health status is essential for accurate assessment and development of clinically relevant interventions.
A common misconception of aging is that cognitive impairments are widespread among older adults. Because of this misconception, older adults feel that they are, or sooner will be, cognitively impaired. Younger adults often assume that older adults are confused and no longer able to handle their affairs. Structural and physiological changes in the brain, such as reduction in the number of cells are seen in older adults. Symptoms of cognitive impairment such as disorientation, loss of language skills, loss of the ability to calculate, and poor judgment are not normal aging changes.
In Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, the crisis that the elderly often go through is integrity vs. despair. In this crisis, the elderly are faced with challenges that characterize their age the crisis that the elderly often go through is integrity vs. despair. In this crisis, the elderly are faced with challenges that characterize their age the crisis that the elderly often go through is integrity vs. despair. In this crisis, the elderly are faced with challenges that characterize their age the crisis that the elderly often go through is integrity vs. despair. In this crisis, the elderly are faced with challenges that characterize their age. There are two types of challenges that develop during these years: Positive and negative. The positive challenge includes the acceptance of one’s life, realization of the inevitability of death, and the feeling of dignity and the meaning of existence. The negative challenge is characterized by the disappointment with one’s life and the desperate fear of death. In this stage, a person comes to terms with the temporal limits of his life. It is the fulfillment and culmination of psychosocial development of the previous stages. In Erikson’s view, it is the achievement of a sense of integrity resulting from identification with mankind. If a person, however, develop an attitude of regret and fear of the end of life, then sense of despair emerges instead.
Coro is caught somewhere in the middle of those crises. Coro is very regretful of the life that he head as a human being. He was not able to establish a family of his own and wasn’t even able to be educated properly. He had never experienced the joy of a true and complete family, thus, he approaches the ebb of his life with misery and pain. But he really wishes to die. He wants to leave the world to be able to rest and mourn for his fate throughout eternity. Being in a disintegrated state, Coro continues to wish that in the netherworld, he may be given back his former self. He wishes that a family could be given to him by God above.
In the light of the fore mentioned facts, younger people should try to gain better perspective and views of aging and should try to give better the utmost care for the elderly.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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