Dimensions of aging in Iranian women: A phenomenological study

Numerous studies have been performed on the elderly. But research that has identified the dimensions of aging transcendence in older women has been neglected.

The aim of this study was to investigate the lived experiences of elderly Iranian women from the dimensions of aging transcendence. 

The research was a qualitative study with phenomenological method. The statistical population was all the elderly over 60 years old in Tehran in 1398.. Targeted sampling and sample size after theoretical saturation was 6 people.. The tools of the present study were: in-depth and semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was performed using Colaizzi method.

60 sub-themes and 15 main themes were extracted, which eventually led to the identification of 4 dimensions or components of the concept of aging. The dimensions of the aging of this research are: the dimension of communication excellence, the dimension of self excellence, the dimension of worldview excellence and the dimension of experience balance.

The concept of aging and its dimensions in Iranian society is different from the concept of aging and its dimensions in other societies and Iranian elderly women who have reached old age, refer to the developed characteristics that with What has been proposed in theories of aging as self-fulfillment or the transcendence of old age is different. These different dimensions include the balance of experience and excellence in worldview. The results of this study can provide the basis for indigenous theorizing in the field of psychosocial aging