[Nomothetic and ideographic approaches in the development of the viability of an elderly person. Part 2.]

The science

Original title

[Nomothetic and ideographic approaches in the development of the viability of an elderly person. Part 2.].

Authors

Vasilyeva SN, Manuylov GV, Rylskaya EA

Journal

Advances in gerontology = Uspekhi gerontologii

Published

Oct 27, 2026

Study type

Study · in humans

PMID

42935335 ↗

DOI

10.34922/AE.2026.39.4.009 ↗

Abstract

The article describes the results of a narrative interview conducted as part of a formative experiment on the development of the vitality of an elderly person using nomothetic and ideographic methods of acquiring knowledge about the psychological phenomenon of human vitality. The total sample of the study consisted of 182 people aged 60-72. The first stage of the study involved psychological training on the development of the vitality of an elderly person (Group 1, n=112), while the second stage used the narrative interview method (Group 2, n=70). This article presents the results of the second stage of the experiment and their interpretation using cluster analysis. The article describes the results of cluster analysis of natural grouping based on a set of similar characteristics. The agglomerative clustering method allows for the construction of a dendrogram that demonstrates the combination of similar groups into three final clusters, which are used to develop three types of elderly person's vitality: adaptive-mobile, diffuse-stable, and rigid-helpless. The results obtained confirm the expediency of a comprehensive application of nomothetic and ideographic approaches in the study of the vitality of an elderly person.

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