its a very interesting thought Lluc Nevot-Caldentey that needs resource collection brain storming and combined conclusion i guess.

Hello,

It takes me time to find a proper answer to your question, there are many aspects to consider in your investigation, but I think that It's a great topic and helpful research. I show 3 points that I hope they could help to give an answer. (I want to be clear that right now I'm doing my thesis about Autonomy Support but in relation to Parenting, for that reason, I'm going to speak about it).

I'm a qualitative, critical, community-engaged social work researcher in aging, a position from which I cannot necessarily answer your direct question but perhaps come at it from a different perspective, if that could be helpful. I am quite familiar with the issue of autonomy for older adults.

I wondered about your definition of "autonomy". Often this term is used to refer to a person's ability to age in place and perform their ADLs. It is located in a more medical model, with research dominated by nurses, physio/rehab, doctors, public health, and health policy researchers. Losing one’s autonomy has a wide range of consequences and this body of research provides many different tools for looking at the diverse concerns underlying loss of physical autonomy. In terms of social autonomy, there is also a great concern with social isolation, which is a risk factor for many negative outcomes, and study on the social networks of older adults. Both these are very broad fields of inquiry and it may be helpful to narrow down what you are hoping to “get at” with this question. Autonomy seems to be shaped by a wide variety of factors with varying impacts on different people.

I was also curious as to the purpose of your question. Is it to help reduce health-care costs, reduce chronic illness and disability, shape social and health policy? Or is it perhaps focused on the wellness and well-being of older adults?

While all of these purposes are important, my own interest is more in the latter area. I am currently conducting community-engaged with diverse groups of older rural men to learn from them what is most important to support them in navigating their later life changes (including changes in health and mobility). By conducting qualitative, photo voice research with the older men, we also hope to inform the work of policy makers. As social work researchers, we believe that starting with older men’s lived experiences is important to better understand their notions of wellness and well-being — social and otherwise — at this stage of their lives.

My apologies if this answer is not helpful. I know it is not directly answering your question, but sometimes it is helpful to have a different perspective on a question as well. Good luck with your research!

Silvia Straka , thank you very much for sharing your consideration and extensive experience. Far from being useless, it has helped me to think about the distinction in the purposes of our research. I am also a social worker and due to my experience in the field of older people as a professional, when I worked in the field, and as a researcher, through this research, I've been able to think about the design of measurement instruments and the resources for personal autonomy designed by the policie. I think it's possible there might be like a dissociation between the conceptualization of personal autonomy and the policies related to this concept. The resources for dependency in the frame of personal autonomy has been focused almost exclusively on the signals of the medical approach -the physical symptoms that make everyone require over the years or due to ailment, the support of third parties-. Therefore, our research has been directed to investigate the influence of relationships on individual well-being -based on previous research too- in order to propose policies that will be able to cover the needs of personal autonomy of all individuals. To do this, we designed the Family Competence Program-Auto, in order to work on the variables of relationship with oneself and with the environment; autonomy, self-esteem, self-control, autonomous decision-making, identification of substitutive care to replace it for streghthening care (among other influential concepts according to previous research), in order to help the individual and society will be able to differentiate between the need for support for certain ADLs (dependence) on personal autonomy rights, in favor of maintaining the second concept and to be able to promote it. I hope my answer has been appropriate for you and to count on your experience in future discussions in this field!

Felipe Ramírez Cortázar I’m very grateful for your complete response; it has undoubtedly served me to ask myself questions in conceptual areas of autonomy in which I hadn’t deepened. Reading about autonomy and sociotropy, I’ve been able to understand autonomy as cognitive and social strength, self-efficacy, positive meta-perspective, meta-identity and self-identity, ability to cope positive / adaptive or absence of psychological vulnerability. In simple words, based on the recommended readings, I have been able to understand autonomy as the ability to regulate oneself, to keep their own well-being through their own self-evaluation. Also, as the low level of influenceability on their homeostasis or balance. In the Spanish law (Law 39/2006 of 14th December, on the Promotion of Personal Autonomy and Care for Dependent Persons. Approved by the Congress of Deputies on November 30, 2006, published in BOE No. 299 of 12-15-2005), personal autonomy is defined as “the ability to control, confront and make, on their own initiative, personal decisions about how to live according to their own rules and preferences as well as to carry out the basic activities of daily life" In this way and in the field of older people, personal autonomy is conceptualized as the right of each person to make the decisions that affect their personal life; especially to be able to live where you want and with the people you consider. Perhaps the difference between social autonomy and personal autonomy has to do with focus; While social autonomy seems to focus on the diathesis characteristics of the individual, perhaps personal autonomy seems to focus on the characteristics of stress caused by the support of people in the environment on the rights and capacities of the individual. Thank you very much again for your contributions; They have been very enriching for me. Greetings from Mallorca.