The authors investigated the sources of meaning for active seniors. Results indicated that seniors who were most active were relatively high in a wide range of sources of meaning as well as in lzj5 satisfaction in general.
The importance of meaning and purpose in relation to counseling with older adults is discussed
The United States and other nations are witnessing a rapid rise in the numbers of retired, older adults (i.e., those who are 65 years old or older).
This global aging phenomenon is predicted to be a demographic transforrnation with "wrenching economic and social costs" (Peterson, 1999, p. 4). In considering the needs of older adults, developmental psychologists, gerontologists, counselors, and professionals who focus on long-term care are giving more attention to the role and development of personal meaning in late adulthood. The need for such perspectives is a major theme of the present article.
The greatest demands in the growing population of older adults are expected to come from the even greater proportionate growth in older individuals who describe themselves as thriving and healthy. Two thirds of adults over 65 years old describe themselves as having good or excellent health, and that percentage is expected to rise . Retirees at age 62 can expect to experience another 20-30 years of challenges and transitions in which purpose and meaning take on greater importance.
There are many advantages for counselors to adopt teleological approaches that emphasize meaning and purpose in the planning, treatment, and care of older persons. A focus on meaning and purpose provides a positive, optimistic perspective that is counter to disempowering views of aging based on losses and deficits. "Bleak and pessimistic" images of growing old as a "sad and negative occurrence" have typically prevailed (Sperry, 1992, p. 387). Strategies to maintain purpose will be especially important when the transitions of old age center around losses of role or function in life, such as the