Population aging occurs when a society is experiencing a growth in the proportion of its people who are older, typically 65+
Canadians aged 85+ are the fastest growing portion of our population
The average life expectancy of women born in 2003 is just over 82 years, men 77
Geriatrics and gerontology focus on aging
Geriatrics: the study of the physiological aspects of aging and the unique health concerns of older persons
Gerontology: an interdisciplinary study of aging that involves the physical, psychological and social processes related to growing older and being an older person
FOCUS on the Social aspects of aging
Aging: A personal Matter Personalizing Aging
65 is a social marker of later life, the conventional retirement age and age of entitlement to economic benefits in most Western countries
Stereotypes of old age
“Life is trouble. Only death is not.” – Zobra the Greek
One traditional scale of stressful life events, starting with the 10th
Retirement
Martial reconciliation
Being fired from work
Marriage
Personal injury or illness
Death of a close family member
Jail term
Marital separation
Divorce
Death of a spouse
Negative view of aging is reflect in stereotypes: sick, isolated, ignored and lonely
Positive stereotypes also deny some of the harsher realities of aging, like illness, loss of a spouse, financial worries, impeding the development of creative and effective coping strategies by individuals and by society
The study of aging
Aging is a process, or as the study of older persons
An interest in older persons as a group is often accompanied by an interest in comparing older people with other age groups. Second, when looked at as a process, researchers are interested in examining the changes that are a result of aging, what some have termed age effects (changes that are a direct function of aging ) and others maturation
Third, confounding such examinations is the need to determine whether any observed changes are a direct function of aging or of period effects
Period effects: outcomes that result from having been a certain age at a certain point in time and capture the impact of an historical time period
The only study of age differences can be accomplished using cross-sectional data, but the study of age change requires longitudinal data
Micro-level analysis of the individual aging asks such questions as : what is it like to be an older person in Canada? How does one plan for retirement and how do they cope with increasing health problems? What is family life like in older age? macro-level approach asks questions about things like the impact of population aging on society, how social structure shapes the experience of aging through such organizing features of social life as gender, the role of society in providing support for older persons, and social policy questions concerning the distribution of benefits based on age
Theoretical Approaches usually adopts an interpretive view of aging, one that sees social structure as socially constructed and therefore, subject to change and emphasizes individual agency in negotiations of social life symbolic interactionist approach differs from the normative approach, which tends to portray social structure in quite static terms and individuals as fairly as passive followers of society’s norms and rules as Durkheim might have argued disengagement theory: view that the withdrawal of older persons from active social life is functional for both the individual and the larger society activity theory: view that the best prescription for a successful old age is to remain active and to take on new activities in later life to supplant those that have been left behind cannot treat elders as a homogenous group age-stratification perspective: a macro level approach focused primary on two key concepts: a stratified age structure that favours young people and middle aged adults, and an age cohort, individuals who share the same age group age-graded: system of
