Active ageing in the life practices of the Vologda oblast population

The importance of methodological support for active ageing policy actualizes the research on improving the methodology of behavioral factors assessment and the identification of individual strategies. The purpose of the study is to examine the commitment of the population to active ageing, in particular the significance of its individual components (health, employment, social bonds, leisure, continuing education and self-development), attitudes to ageing and their motives, implementation barriers, as well as the prevalence of particular practices of active ageing. The information base is the data of the sociological survey “Active ageing and its drivers”, conducted in 2021 among the adult population of the Vologda Oblast. The project team developed an approach to assessing the ratio of internal and external drivers of active ageing, measured using the index methodology. We have established that the most significant component of active ageing for the population is health. Lifespan expectations show a significant gap between desired and expected life expectancy (8 years). The main stimuli for a long and active life are family-oriented factors, and the most significant barriers to longevity are health and the experience of losing loved ones. Every fifth respondent does not take any measures to maintain a long and active life. At the same time, the most common practices of active ageing were actions related to maintaining social bonds. The index of internal drivers of active ageing indicates that among the population orientation towards long life, motivation and practices of active ageing prevail over attitudes toward relatively short life expectancy, lack of motivation and refusal of any action in maintaining health, social, labor and creative activity. The main contradiction lies in the fact that the relatively more pronounced motivation and attitudes toward active ageing among residents of the oblast rarely find embodiment in concrete practices.