Chapter 12: Aging

Table of Contents

1. The Social Significance Of Age
2. Age And The Life Course In Contemporary Society
3. Inequalities Related To Aging
4. Sociological Perspectives On Aging
5. Living Arrangements For Adults
6. Death And Dying
7. Aging In The Future

I. The Social Significance Of Age

1. Chronological age is a person's age based on date of birth; functional age is observable physical attributes (physical appearance, mobility, etc.) that are used to assign people to age categories. We often use the latter in characterizing people's age when we don't know their birth date.
   
   
2. Trends in Aging
   1. The number of persons over age 65 is increasing. Life expectancy-the average length of time a group of individuals of the same age will live-is increasing. A group of people born within a specified period of time (usually on the basis of 1-, 5-, or 10-year intervals) is referred to as a cohort.

2. There are significant racial/ethnic and sex differences in life expectancy. On average, females live longer than males. Due to poverty, inadequate health care, and greater exposure to environmental risk factors, people from ethnic minorities have a shorter life expectancy than do Caucasians.
   
   
3. As a result of population trends, research on aging (gerontology is the study of aging and older people) has increased in the past 50 years; social gerontology is the study of the social (non-physical) aspects of aging.
   
   
3. Age in Historical Perspective
   1. Just 200 years ago, childhood was a very short period of time-young persons were considered little adults and were expected to do adult work so that the family could survive.

2. Older persons were expected to continue to be productive for as long as they were physically able and they were respected because they were needed (and there were so few of them).

II. Age And The Life Course In Contemporary Society

1. Age in Contemporary Society
   1. Today, the skills necessary for many roles are more complex and the number of unskilled positions is more limited. Young people are expected to attend school to obtain those skills; older persons are expected to retire so that younger people can take their places. The result is age stratification-the inequalities, differences, segregation, or conflict between age groups.
      
      
   2. Adolescence spans roughly the teenage years and is a period when the individual is treated neither as a child nor an adult. Adolescents are expected to continue their education and perhaps hold a part-time job.
      
      
   3. Young adulthood follows adolescence and lasts to about age 39. During this time people are expected to get married, have children, and get a job.

4. Middle adulthood is between ages 40 and 65. Women undergo menopause-cessation of the menstrual cycle caused by a gradual decrease in the production of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. Men undergo a climacteric when production of the male hormone testosterone decreases. Nonetheless, during this period people have the highest levels of income and prestige.
5. Late adulthood begins at age 65-the normal retirement age.
   1. During this period of time, people become shorter, more brittle, and more prone to arthritis; they have increased chances of heart attacks, strokes, and cancer.
   2. With the physical changes come changes in the roles that older people are expected to perform. All of this and the realization that death is growing closer can cause stress.

6. Retirement is a recent invention. It is the institutionalized separation of an individual from an occupational position, but with continuation of income in the form of a pension.

III. Inequalities Related To Aging

1. Ageism is prejudice and discrimination against people on the basis of age, particularly when they are older persons. It is reinforced by stereotypes of older persons as cranky, sickly, and lacking in social value. The media contribute to these images by portraying older persons as doddering and laughable. Stereotypes contribute to the view that women are old 10 or 15 years sooner than men.
   
   
2. If we compare wealth (all economic resources of value) with income (available money or its purchasing power), we find that older people tend to have more wealth but less income than younger people. For example, older people are more likely to own a home that has increased substantially in value, but may not have available money to pay taxes and buy insurance on that home.
   
   
3. Feminization of poverty refers to the fact that gender also is a significant determinant of poverty in the elderly. Many women who now are aged 65 or older spent their early lives as financial dependents of husbands or in jobs that paid lower wages. Pensions are a form of income replacement, and the lower a person's wages were during their working years, the smaller the pension is.

4. Elder abuse refers to physical abuse, psychological abuse, financial exploitation, and medical abuse or neglect of people aged 65 or over. More than 1.5 million people annually are victims of elder abuse. Studies have shown that it is most common when the victim is over age 75 and when the abuser is dependent on the victim for housing and financial assistance.

IV. Sociological Perspectives On Aging

1. Functionalists examine how older persons adjust to their changing roles. According to disengagement theory, older persons make a normal and healthy adjustment to aging when they detach themselves from their social roles and prepare for their eventual death. Disengagement can be functional for both the individual and society. For example, withdrawal from the work force provides employment opportunities for younger people.
   
   
2. Interactionist perspectives examine the connection between personal satisfaction in later years and a high level of activity. Activity theory states that people tend to shift gears in later life and find substitutes for previous statuses, roles, and activities.

3. Conflict theorists note that, as people grow older, their power tends to diminish unless they are able to maintain their wealth. Consequently, those who have been disadvantaged in their younger years become even more so in late adulthood. Thus, capitalism devalues older persons, especially women.

V. Living Arrangements For Adults

1. Many frail, older people live alone or in a family setting where care is provided informally by family or friends. Relatives provide most of the care. Recently the responsibilities of informal caregivers have become more complex.
   
   
2. Support services and daycare help older individuals cope with the problems in their day-to-day care. They can be costly, but are far less expensive than institutional care. Most of us rely on informal support networks to help us through difficult times. When our needs become greater or our informal supports weaken, we need to find formal support networks to replace them.

3. Nursing homes are the most restrictive environment for older persons and persons of all ages with a disability. Many nursing home residents have major physical and/or cognitive problems that prevent them from living in any other setting or do not have available caregivers in the family.

VI. Death And Dying

1. In contemporary industrial societies, death is looked on as unnatural because it has been removed from everyday life: most deaths occur among older persons and in institutionalized settings.
   
   
2. In the past, explanations for death and dying were rooted in custom or religious beliefs; today, they have been replaced by medical and legal explanations and definitions. In some instances, advanced life support systems may make it unclear whether death actually has occurred. A living will is a document that a person executes to state that person's wish to be able to die with dignity in the event the person's life can be sustained only by life support systems.
   
   
3. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross proposed that people cope with dying in five stages:
   1. denial ("Not me!");
   2. anger ("Why me?");
   3. bargaining ("Yes me, but...");
   4. depression and sense of loss; and
   5. acceptance.

4. A hospice is a homelike facility that provides supportive care for patients with terminal illnesses. The hospice philosophy asserts that people should participate in their own care and have control over as many decisions pertaining to their life as possible. Pain and suffering should be minimized, but artificial measures should not be used to sustain life.

VII. Aging In The Future

1. By the year 2031, there will be approximately 8 million persons aged 65 and over, as compared with 3.2 million today. More people will survive to age 85 or even 95 and more.

2. Some have suggested that unless steps are taken to address the health care needs of millions of additional older people, our society will face a monumental health care crisis in the next century. However, others have suggested that these changes will occur gradually, which will allow for the health care system to adjust to the increasing demands in the next century.

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