ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: to analyze the perceptions of nursing undergraduate students on their self-aging process. METHOD: qualitative study carried out between August and September, 2011 with 18 nursing undergraduate students of a public university in Salvador, Bahia. The interviews were analyzed by means of the Content Analysis method. RESULTS: the following thematic concept was apprehended: Perceptions of nursing undergraduates on their self-aging, which generated two subcategories: A) The "don't think about it" process; B) The context influencing the process. CONCLUSION: undergraduates reveal that the aging process is an intrinsic factor to human development. Family ties, spirituality and physical activity would be key mechanisms toward active aging. However, students also reported that their accelerated and stressed social lifestyles led to inadequate habits, such as the consumption of fast food and alcohol, which become negative influences in their aging process.
