Aging
Gerontological Social Theories
Life Course: An ideal sequence of events and positions the average person is expected to experience as he/she matures & moves through life.
Gerontology: The scientific study of the processes and phenomena of aging and growing old.
Social Gerontology is the sociological sub field of gerontology which focuses on the nonphysical and social aspects of aging.
Ageism is the prejudice and discrimination against a person based on his/her chronological age.
The Disengagement Theory claims that as elderly people realize the inevitability of death and begin to systematically disengage from their previous youthful roles, society simultaneously prepares the pre-elderly and elderly to disengage from their roles.
The Activity Theory claims that the elderly benefit from high levels of activities, especially meaningful activities that help to replace lost life roles after retirement.
The Continuity Theory claims that older adults maintain patterns in their later years which they had in their younger years.
The Modernization Theory claims that industrialization and modernization have lowered the power and influence which the elderly once had and that this has lead to much exclusion of elderly from community roles.
Thanatology: The scientific study of death and dying. Thanatology informs those who provide support and counsel to the dying.
Kinship Care: care giving provided by grandparents, other relatives, or even friends, without the direct support of the child’s parents.
Grief is the feeling of loss we experience after a death, disappointment, or tragedy.
Bereavement is a name for the circumstances and conditions that accompany grief.
In our modern societies: the economy has grown to a state that has created new levels of prosperity for most; the new technologies have outpaced the ability of the elderly to understand and use them; and the elderly are living much longer and are not essential to the economic survival of the family as was the case for millennia.
As the life course progresses into later life, the oldest elderly begin to lose their independence as their health declines to the point that their resources lag behind the daily demands placed upon them.
