Protestant Sweden as a Cradle of Lars Tornstam’s Gerotrascendence Theory. Origin, General Brief and Critical Analysis of the Conception

Paweł Brudek

Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, Wydział Nauk Społecznych

Abstract

In terms of adaptation to old age, older people are not homogeneous. It is emphasized in psychological literature that optimal adaptation is most often accompanied by the sustenance and/or increase in satisfaction with life as well as the positive realization of late adulthood development tasks. There are many theories explaining the process of adaptation to old age. One of them, still little understood and developed in the circle of Polish psychologists, is the concept of gerotranscendancy coined by Lars Tornstam. This concept has been enjoying great interest among researchers from Scandinavian countries and is a cognitively valuable and inspirational approach to positive aging. It also allows to reconsider the process of aging as well as the seniors themselves. This article presents the origins of the gerotranscendence theory, its theoretical foundations and main assumptions, as well as its critical analysis (the strengths and weaknesses of theory).