Quality Of Life

The last two approaches are commonly used in developing measures of quality of life. This process of measurement has replaced the individuality, which Mill (2001) considered as an essential constituent of well-being, with a multi-dimensional approach: objective (e.g. consumption behavior), subjective (e.g. leisure activities) and collective (e.g. governmental policy) dimensions. One of the influential conceptualization of quality of life is that of Lawton (1991) who described it as ‘the multidimensional evaluation, by both intrapersonal and social-normative criteria, of the person environment system of an individual in time past, current and anticipated’.The dimensions were arranged in a continuum of objective (objective environment, behavioral

In a survey of individuals aged 65 years or more, the respondents were familiar with the term quality of life and talked about it in both positive and negative terms. Almost two-thirds of the whole sample described their quality of life as positive or very positive. They evaluated their quality of life positively on the basis of comparison with others, social contacts especially with family and children, health, material circumstances and activities.In making negative evaluations, they stressed on dependency and functional limitations, unhappiness and reduced social contacts through death of friends and family

However, well-being is often incorporated into the concept of successful ageing and ageing well adds to the quality of life. It might also be possible that there are definitions of health which are akin to that of quality of life, for example, health as going and doing something meaningful.
2.5.2 Quality of life in the Third Age The influence of age on quality of life can be due to a direct effect of ageing and indirectly through the effect of ageing on factors that influence quality of life. The question, ‘all things remaining constant across the lifespan what is the effect of ageing on quality of life?’ has gained relevance as the nature of ageing itself is changing. From being marginal and dependent, the older person has become active and flourishing as a new life course periodie, the third age, the period between exit from labor force and the beginning of physical dependency has emerged. A recent development is a new measure of quality of life, which was developed with a strong underpinning theory relevant to the Third Age, distinguishing it from many other measures of quality of