To clarify the construct of social usefulness by merging several influential theoretical perspectives on the findings of a qualitative investigation of late life prosociality.
Design and Methods
In-depth interviews with 20 older adults probed the meaning and psychological significance of the socially useful relationships they maintained with people and organizations.
Results
Based on identity theory, the thematic analysis yielded nine classes and more than 100 distinct properties of social usefulness. Self-determination theory was employed to organize and interpret the findings in relation to older adults’ needs for relatedness, autonomy, and competence.
Implications
Also addressed are the study’s implications for multidimensional measurement of social usefulness in future epidemiological and psychosocial studies.
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