Abstract: As the aging society continues to affect our lives, issues and theories regarding aging warrant critical attention. Aging or ageing is the process of becoming older. Growing old or subjective aging refers to how people experience during their aging process, including such as cognitive judgments, emotional reactions, and the like. It is a common knowledge that a human being is definitely growing old when his or her age continuously rises, whereas we seemingly barely know what kind of experiences and reactions we would have while we are aging. Hence, the current study is to investigate how the old respond to his or her own aging process. With this aim, a qualitative study was employed to explore the experience of growing old of older people. The study conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 older informants. The author interviewed the participants one by one at their own homes or in the nursing home for at least two 60~120 minutes sessions. Two of them were done for 3 sessions. All records were transcribed into texts and then were imported into Nvivo 10.0 where the texts were analyzed based on phenomenological analysis and grounded theory. 294 primary nodes and 794 references were generated by open coding and then were classified into 19 secondary nodes by axial coding; By selective coding, 18 secondary nodes, consisting of 287 primary nodes and 769 references, were finally selected and then were categorized into 5 tertiary nodes. In respondent validation, describable validity, interpretive validity and commentative validity were 5, 4.77, 4.38 respectively. Theory and reflexivity validation were as means of validating the results, as well. Results demonstrated that the process of the age accumulation is equal to the process of growing old, and during this process, four mental states of aging, including denial, acceptance, anxiety and sorrow, were constructed by the age. When cross the boundary of old age, in spite of physical and mental decline, the old fight against being aged by distinguishing chronological age and subjective age; While getting a little older, they cling to the inevitable senescence and thus accept their identity of a lagger and a retiree; At the onset of an acceleration of aging process and with the emergence of age-related diseases and chronic illnesses, the aged with a physical or mental disability worry the burden of care falling on their adult children; As approaching to the end of their life, fear of death and “duty to die” has been frustrating the aged who surely believe in eternal oblivion rather than the afterlife once the death happens. Results above lead to a conclusion which is that growing old is a progressive stagewise process based on age, consisting of denial, acceptance, anxiety and sorrow.

Key words: age, aging, growing old, social construction

摘要： 为考察年龄建构的老化心理，采用质化深度访谈法收集资料，结合现象学分析法和使用扎根理论资料分析法分析资料，结果发现，年龄建构了“增龄即老化”以及拒老、服老、怯老、终老等老化心理。老年人先以“不老之心”抵抗生理性老化；后屈服于并认可“落伍者”和退休者的老年身份；再因老年病的常态化对成为“累赘”和“负担”感到担忧；最后在恐惧和无奈中向人生告别。研究评估了结果的描述型、解释型和评价型效度作，分别为5、4.77、4.38分。

关键词: 年龄, 老化, 老化心理, 社会建构