Coping Strategies of the Elderly in the face of Biological, Psychological and Social changes: A qualitative study

Elderly people are experiencing major changes in their personal and social life structure due to biological, psychological and social changes associated with age during the aging process. In the absence of planning for this stage of life, the elderly and the community will be more or less confronted with the problem.The present study is a qualitative research which has been conducted with the aim of studying the coping strategies of the elderly in dealing with the changes occurring to them. In this regard, we have studied the strategies of coping in 19 elderly men and women aged between 60 and 90 years by applying the Grounded Theory and the technique of deep interviewing. The results of the study show that the transition from old age and trying to survive is most important issue and subjectivity meaning between elderly to cope with changes in their age.The basic premise for the elderly in this area is the adaptation or self-regulation of a person at the biological, psychological and social levels by employing coping strategies such as rethinking interaction with conditions and self-control and choosing a healthy lifestyle to meet the constraints of old age life, weak supporting network and mental burnout.