Redes sociais significativas formadas pelos egressos de uma Universidade Aberta da Terceira Idade

Abstract

Old age represents a stage in the cycle of life in which the elderly person's significant social networks can represent fundamental elements for the outline of a healthy and active aging process. The focus is on health and the challenge of forming a social network in order to overcome the main stigmas that surround the social role of the elderly, so that their relational vulnerabilities are transformed into possibilities, in all the systems to which they belong. In the educational contexts attended by the senior citizens, in which they try to bypass their conditions of isolation, it is necessary to understand the formation of their significant social networks, with the intent of guaranteeing their participation and social integration, as well as the overall well-being. The general objective of this qualitative, transversal, descriptive and exploratory study, based on the referential framework of the New Paradigm Systems Thinking, was to analyze the significant social networks formed by the graduates of an Open University of the Third Age. The investigation was conducted by the means of semistructured interviews with eight elderly female graduates, aged between 65 and 87, along with the use of Social Network Map, a graphic instrument developed by Sluzki (1997). A qualitative analysis of the data obtained through the Content Analysis was carried out. This research pursued the following specific objectives; first, to understand if the aspects of the educational context of an Open University for the Third Age favor the formation of social networks among its participants. Second, to describe the significant social networks of the University’s alumni, regarding the structural and functional elements of the bonds that constitute them, and finally, to identify how the significant social networks of these alumni impact their lifestyle in the old age. The main results found were that the context of an Open University of the Third Age contributes to the formation of significant social networks among its participants, since the first moments of approximation and interaction between them in the program. Furthermore, the significant social networks of participants in the University can vary in size, with their distribution mixed by the proximity levels, but with a tendency to have a greater number of people at the highest level of proximity. In addition, the network considerably improves through companionship and emotional support among its members. The physical distance between them, as well as the existence of cultural and socioeconomic differences, does not prevent them from forming face-to-face social interaction networks on a weekly, monthly or occasional basis, or even daily virtual interaction, in order to maintain this significant social network formed through their experiences in an Open University of the Third Age. It can be said that these networks contribute to the development of an active aging process for the elderly.