Family or Old Age Home–Which is Appropriate for Happiness of Elderly at Post Retirement Life in India? : A Reflection from a Study

The family is culturally the best place for the elderly at their post retirement life in India. They prefer their living arrangement with children and grandchildren which is significant for happiness. But globalization and urbanization have brought changes in this cultural system with an effect of socio-economy and political condition. The elderly population ceases to be functional, they are considered as a ‘burden’ upon the family and ending up in old age home [1]. Joint family system turns into a nuclear family (a family group consisting of a pair of adults and their children), and the family contents only parents, son/daughter and grandchild (ren). There is limited living space of the elderly in this type of family in urban or rural India. Consequently, they shift to old age home where they only count their end days of life [2]. In their old age home, they suffer from various psychosocial and environmental problems including feeling of neglect, loss of importance in the family, loneliness and feeling of unwantedness in family as well as society, feeling of inadequacy and obsolescence of skills, education, and expertise [3].