Increasing studies document the discrepancy between scholarly criteria of successful ageing versus subjective perceptions of successful ageing among older adults. To address this gap, this study aims to examine the lay perceptions of successful ageing among elderly Chinese in Honolulu, Hawai’i. Qualitative data were collected from two focus groups to examine respondents’ perceptions of successful ageing. Many interesting themes relevant to successful ageing emerged from the focus group discussions, including but not limited to: (a) “laughter” and the related concepts of happiness and joy; (b) social engagement; (c) good eating habits; (d) the dependence and independence dilemma; and (e) Hawai’i’s natural environment. Findings suggest that elderly Chinese in Hawai’i have unique perceptions of successful ageing that go beyond the traditional biomedical dimension to include more psychosocial, resilient and environmental components. This indicates a cultural variation of successful ageing.

越來越多的研究指出學界所定義的成功老齡化與老年人本身的認知存在一定的差異。以此為契機，本研究基於兩個焦點小組訪談獲得的質性資料，目的在於探討和分析生活在夏威夷檀香山的中國老年人對成功老齡化的認知和理解。我們歸納並總結了以下焦點小組訪談中所獲取的幾個與成功老齡化相關的主題：（a）“歡笑” 及其他與幸福和歡樂相關的概念；（b）社會參與；（c）良好的飲食習慣；（d）在獨立自主和依靠家人朋友中找到平衡點；（e）夏威夷獨特的自然環境。研究結果表明夏威夷的華人老年人對成功老齡化有自己獨到的見解。他們對成功老齡化的理解加入了社會心理、抗逆力和環境因素，使這一概念超越了傳統的生物醫學範疇的定義。這也說明對成功老齡化的理解存在一定的文化差異。

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