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Week8_AgingandAgeism.pptxAging and Ageism
Week 8
Learning Objectives
Define and explain social gerontology
Distinguish between the different types of aging
Understand and describe the major assumptions of disengagement, activity, and conflict theories of aging, and critically assess them
Describe differences in life expectancy around the world
List the potential problems associated with the growing proportion of older individuals in poor nations
Explain evidence for inequality in US life expectancy
Discuss the several problems experienced by the US elderly
The concept and experience of aging
Identify traits, characteristics, and/or behaviors that would alert you to an individual being elder.
Dimensions of Aging
Social gerontology: the study of the social aspects of aging
Chronological aging: the number of years since someone was born
Biological aging: physical changes that tend to slow us down as we get older
Psychological aging: changes in mental functioning and personality
Social Aging: changes in roles and relationships within families, friend groups, and formal organizations
Perspectives on Aging
| Theoretical perspectives | Major assumptions |
| Disengagement Theory | To enable younger people to assume important roles, a society must encourage its older people to disengage from their previous roles and to take on roles more appropriate to their physical and mental decline. This theory is considered a functionalist explanation of the aging process. |
| Activity Theory | Older people benefit themselves and their society if they continue to be active. Their positive perceptions of the aging process are crucial to their ability to remain active. This theory is considered an interactionist perspective of the aging process. |
| Conflict Theory | Older people experience age-based prejudice and discrimination. Inequalities among the aged exist along lines of gender, race/ethnicity, and social class. This theory falls into the more general conflict theory of society. |
Perspectives on Aging
Critique of Disengagement Theory
Assumes older people are no longer capable of adequately performing their previous roles
Many elders cannot afford to disengage from their previous roles; if they leave their jobs, they are also leaving needed sources of income
Critique of Activity Theory
Overestimates the ability of the elderly to maintain their level of activity
Too much of an individualistic approach, as it overlooks the barriers many societies place on successful aging.
Some elders are less able to remain active because of their poverty, gender, and social class, as these and other structural conditions may adversely affect their physical and mental health.
Critique of Conflict Theory
Blames ageism on modern, capitalist economies. However, negative views of the elderly also exist to some extent in modern, socialist societies and in preindustrial societies
Perspectives on Aging
Looking at your own cultural background, which theory of aging—disengagement, activity, or conflict theory, best explains how your culture views older people? Why?
Life Expectancy and the “Graying of Society”
Differences in life expectancy globally varies drastically
Potential problems with growing proportion of older adults in poor nations
Health care costs
Changing family patterns and weakening older adults’ influence
Average Life Expectancy Across the Globe (Years)
Life Expectancy and the Graying of Society
Major factors: wealth and/or poverty of a nation
Wealthier nations have much longer life expectancies than the poorest ones
Low-income nations often suffer from hunger, AIDS, and other deadly/more severe diseases; they often lack indoor plumbing and other modern conveniences found in almost every home in the wealthiest nations
Despite international disparities, life expectancy has been increasing worldwide.
Avg. was 46 worldwide in the early 1950s but was 69 in 2009
Expected to reach 75 by 2050
Inequality in US Life Expectancy
Biological and Psychological Aspects of Aging
Biological changes associated with aging
External changes are easy to identify
Internal changes are more consequential and more difficult to identify
Achieving successful aging
Exercise, good nutrition, stress reduction
Informal, personal networks
Religious involvement
Problems Facing Older Adults in the US
Sociodemographic profile
65 – 74 years of age, more than half are female, 80% are white, 8.6% are black or African-American, 7% are Latinx.
Problems experienced by older adults in the US
Poverty, mental health issues, physical health decline, limited access to adequate care, lessened financial security, workplace ageism, social isolation, elder abuse
Of all people aged 65 or older not living in a nursing home or other institution
50% have arthritis
56% have high blood pressure
32% have heart disease
35% have hearing loss
18% have vision problems
19% have diabetes
Problems Facing Older Adults in the US
Older adults also suffer from dementia, including Alzheimer’s, which affects almost 13% of people 65 or older
15% of people 65+ suffer from depression
2/3 of people 65+ or older need help with at least one “daily living” activity, such as preparing a meal
Problems Facing Older Adults in the US
Financial security and employment
If social security did not exist, the poverty rate among elderly US residents would be 45%, or 5 times higher than the actual rate (Kerby 2012)
Once they become poor, older people are more likely than younger people to stay poor
Older women are more likely than older men to live in poverty
Older people of color are much more likely than older whites to live in poverty
Social Security benefits are tied to people’s earnings before retirement; the higher the earnings, the higher the monthly benefit
What are the implications of this?
Nursing Home Care (as of 2016)
About 15,600 nursing homes, 1.3 million residents
69.3% of nursing homes are for-profit
Cost prohibitive (~ $100,000 per year)
Issues with quality of care
Workplace Ageism
Many workplaces do not permit part-time working arrangements that many older adults favor
The rise in high-tech jobs means that older workers would need to be retrained for many of today’s jobs, and few training programs exist
Federal law prohibits age discrimination, but it still exists
Some employers do not think older people “up to” the job, even though evidence indicates they are good, productive workers
More than half of older workers have experienced or observed age discrimination in the workplace and more than 80% of older workers have experiences or observed jokes, disrespect, or other prejudicial comments about old age
Earnings above a certain level reduce Social Security benefits before full retirement age, leading some older people to avoid working at all or to at least limit their hours
Bereavement and Social Isolation
Women are more likely to live alone, because they tend to live longer than men and most older adults in the US are/were in heterosexual relationships
As baby boomers begin reaching their older years, more of them will have no children because they were more likely than previous generations to not marry and/or to not have children if they did marry
The grief that usually follows bereavement can last several years and, if it becomes extreme, can involve anxiety, depression, guilt, loneliness, and other problems
Elder Abuse
Some seniors are abused by their own relatives
Physical or sexual violence
Psychological or emotional abuse
Neglect of care
Financial exploitation
At least 10% of older adults in the US have suffered at least one form of abuse, amounting to hundreds of thousands of cases annually (National Center on Elder Abuse 2010)
Reducing Ageism and Helping Older Adults in the US
Difficulty in predicting the future
Programs and policies
Discussion:
Will we run out of Social Security?
Can we rely on social security for our retirement?
What do you think is the most important action the United States should take to help older adults?
Reducing Ageism and Helping Older Adults in the US
A sociological understanding of aging and ageism reminds us that many of the problems that older adults in the US face are ultimately rooted not in their chronological age but rather in the stereotypes about them and in the lack of adequate social programs like those found throughout other Western nations.
With this understanding, it becomes clear that efforts to improve the lives of older adults in the US must focus on providing them with more numerous and more extensive social services and programming of many kinds and on reducing the stereotypes and prejudicial attitudes that many US residents hold of older people.
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