Exploring ego-integrity in old adults: a Q-methodology study.

BACKGROUND: Achieving ego-integrity involves fully accepting oneself and is important in quality of later life, but the concept of ego-integrity in old adults has not yet been well articulated in nursing practice. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to elucidate the concept of ego-integrity in late adulthood in terms of the range of meanings this concept embraces within contemporary Korean society. DESIGN: Q-methodology was applied, which represents a method for measuring subjectivity. SETTINGS: The study was performed in a community setting in the Republic of Korea. PARTICIPANTS: The participants were 26 old adults, aged 65-70 years, living in the community in Korea. Two inclusion criteria were applied: (1) the participants had to be literate and competent to ensure that they were able to sort the cards stating the Q-samples in a forced distributive manner, and (2) the participants were regarded by researchers as having achieved ego-integrity in late adulthood as described in the literature. METHODS: Data obtained from June 2004 to December 2004 from a sample of 26 older adults were analyzed by PCQ software (a factor analysis program for the Q-technique) to delineate the factors of ego-integrity in late adulthood. RESULTS: A four-factor solutions for the study subjects indicates that there were differences in the frames of reference in achieving ego-integrity in late adulthood. The frames of reference of the four factors were: (1) a satisfactory connection between the generations, (2) enjoying a peaceful life, (3) peace through acceptance, and (4) achieving a praiseworthy life in spite of adversity. CONCLUSION: The projected property of ego-integrity in late adulthood is closely related to cultural and psycho-social environmental influences throughout the life span. Culturally sensitive life-reviews methods need to be developed to intervene in the specific ways that individual older adults achieve their own ego-integrity throughout their life experiences.

[Development of a scale to measure Korean ego-integrity in older adults].

PURPOSE: Ego-integrity in older adults is the central concept related to quality of life in later life. Therefore, for effective interventions to enhance the quality of later life, a scale to measure ego-integrity in older adults is necessary. This study was carried out to develop a scale to measure ego-integrity in older adults. METHODS: This study utilized cronbach's alpha in analyzing the reliability of the collected data and expert group, and factor analysis and item analysis to analyze validity. RESULTS: Seventeen items were selected from a total of 21 items. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for internal consistency was .88 for the 17 items of ego-integrity in the older adults scale. Three factors evolved by factor analysis, which explained 50.71% of the total variance. CONCLUSIONS: The scale for measuring ego-integrity in Korean older adults in this study was evaluated as a tool with a high degree of reliability and validity.

[The concept analysis of ego-integrity in the elderly].

PURPOSE: Ego-integrity in Erikson's stage theory is used frequently among health team members related to the care of the elderly and has specific meanings within the context of quality of life in later life. However, the concept of ego-integrity in the elderly has not been well articulated in the literature. This study was conducted clarify and conceptualize the phenomena of ego-integrity in the elderly. METHOD: A Hybrid Model of concept development was applied to develop a concept of ego-integrity, which included a field study carried out in Seoul, South Korea using in-depth interviews with old adults who were admitted as a right person for research subject according to attributes of ego-integrity analysed in the theoretical phase. RESULTS: The concept of ego-integrity emerged as a complex phenomenon having meanings in several different dimensions which encompassed several attributes. CONCLUSIONS: Ego-integrity is a concept having needs that should be treated in a specific way and it is possible to enrich the meaning and methods to manage ego-integrity in nursing interventions for promoting quality of life so that its application may have effects that have positive impacts on the elderly's well being.