EXISTENTIAL SITUATION OF PRE-ELDERLY PEOPLE AND CURRENT TASKS OF GERONTOPSYCHOLOGICAL EDUCATION

Abstract

This article focuses on the specifics of the existential situation of family caregivers in the pre-elderly age group of 55–64 years old (the “sandwich generation”) within the context of current challenges in gerontopsychological education. It reveals the phenomenology of their experiences, caused by the dual pressure of objective circumstances: on the one hand, the need to help the younger generation of descendants – children and grandchildren – and on the other hand, to care for their aging parents, whose health and independence are steadily declining. Based on the application of theoretical-hermeneutic procedures for processing domestic and foreign publications, international, national, and personal experience in preparing for an adequate perception of their caregiving role, and methods for preventing “caregiver stress syndrome,” emotional burnout, depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, insomnia, and feelings of hyper-responsibility and guilt, a number of tasks have been identified to improve gerontopsychological education for specialists in psychological-pedagogical and medical fields. These include: introducing an interactive and practice-oriented gerontopsychology course in relevant higher education institutions, expanding the range of psychological services for family caregivers (psychogeriatric counseling, psychotherapy, life optimization training, support groups, learning in third-age universities, etc.), preparing popular science publications with specific methodological recommendations for self-help to alleviate critical existential situations and preserve the mental health of caregivers. In the future, it is advisable to develop a system of measures for the legislative protection of the family status of elderly caregivers within the framework of long-term social policy and to allocate financial resources for this purpose.