Jens Aldrich L. Reyes
BA Development Studies
Theory and Illustration
Disengagement Theory - the idea that society
functions in an orderly
way by
removing people from positions
of responsibility as they
reach old age.
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DS 199.1
GRAY HAPPINESS
Major Assumptions
Views aging only as a
process of physical
and mental decline.
Disengagement is a
natural, acceptable,
and universal process
because of aging and is
done by gradually
transferring statuses
and roles from the old
to the young so that
tasks are performed
with
minimal
interruption.
It
encourages
its
elderly to disengage
from their previous
roles and to take on
roles more appropriate
to their physical and
mental decline that has
the ability to can
disrupt society.
Social Theories of Aging
Application
- Implementation of mandatory
retirement
- Migrating
to
another country to
stay at a retirement
village
- Placing
elderly
relatives at homes
for the aged
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Strengths
Preserves
social
equilibrium
by removing
aging people
from
productive
roles before
they are no
longer able to
perform them.
Makes way for
younger
workers that
have the most
up-to-date
skills
and
training.
Promotes selfreflection for
the
elders
who are freed
from societal
roles
and
receive
less
pressure to
conform to
social norms.
More freedom
to pursue the
wants.
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Limitations
Assumes that the elderly are no
longer capable of performing
their previous roles.
Assumes that the process of
aging is the same for everyone.
Fails to see that the majority of
the elderly are poor and
cannot afford to lose their
work as a source of income.
Imposed withdrawal may be
harmful to society since it
would lead to loss wisdom,
insight, and institutional
memory.
Increase in dependency ratio.
Most
elderlies
find
satisfaction in work and
disengagement may lead to
loss of friends and social
prestige.
Outdated because of the
advances
in
medical
technology.
Rigid system of disengagement
doesn’t take account of the
widely differing abilities of the
elderly.
Jens Aldrich L. Reyes
BA Development Studies
Continuity Theory – believes that the elderly
make specific choices
to maintain consistency
in internal and external
structures, remaining active and involved
throughout their elder
years.
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DS 199.1
GRAY HAPPINESS
Past coping strategies recur as older adults
adjust to the challenges
of aging and facing
death.
Patterns developed
over
a
lifetime
determine behavior,
traditions, and beliefs Personality, values,
morals, preferences,
role activity, and
basic patterns of
behavior
are
consistent throughout the life span, regardless
of the life changes one
encounters.
Successful methods
used throughout life
for
adjusting
to
situational
and
maturational stressors
are repeated.
The latter part of life
is
simply
a
continuation of the
earlier part of life, a
component of the
entire life cycle.
Traits such as being physically active,
avid reading,
dancing, singing,
etc., will be
maintained in
individuals, despite their age.
An extroverted 20year old will most
likely remain a
social
butterfly
upon reaching old
age.
If given a choice between
going
abroad and staying
at her childhood
home, an elderly
woman would still
choose
her
childhood home/
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Acknowledges the influence
of
social institutions in
shaping
the elderly.
Aspects
of
aging
are
studied
in
regard
to
their relation
to
other
aspects
of
human life.
Encourages
young people
to
consider
that
their
current
behaviors are
laying
the
foundation
for their own
future.
Preserves
social
equilibrium
by
making
future
decisions on
the basis of
developed
social roles.
Does not consider the impact
of social issues to the elderly.
Implies minimal change in the
life course of the elderly.
Subscribes to the concept of
“normal” aging which doesn’t
account the elderly that face
different conditions like those
with health complications.
Jens Aldrich L. Reyes
BA Development Studies
Conflict Theory - based
on the idea that
opportunities and social
resources are unequally
distributed
among
people in different age
categories
and
emphasizes the impact
of ageism, or negative
views about old age and
prejudice
and
discrimination against
the elderly.
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DS 199.1
GRAY HAPPINESS
Age is a dimension of
social stratification.
Growing old is a
process shaped by the
complex forces of
social inequality that
affect people at every
stage of the life course.
Industrial-capitalist
economy creates an
age-based hierarchy.
Middle-aged people
enjoy the greatest
power and the most
opportunities
and
privileges.
Primary cause of the
elderly losing power
and
influence
in
society are the parallel
forces
of
industrialization and
modernization.
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Affluent
people
entering old age are
generally
wellprepared for the
rising costs of
health
care
compared to the
working-class
entering old age.
Employers replace
senior workers with
younger men and
women in order to
keep wages low.
Elderly
women
wearing bikinis are
looked down on
because they are not
“acting their own
age”.
Older workers are
looked down on
because they are
viewed
as
economically
unproductive.
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Biased
towards
the masses.
Draws
attention
to additional
dimensions of
social
inequality
within
the
elderly
population
such as race,
gender,
and
class
Emphasizes
inequality
among
the
aged
along
gender, race,
and
social
class.
Puts into light
several social
issues
concerning
the elderly.
Biased towards the masses.
Fails to explain negative views
towards the elderly during preindustrial periods.
Focused on macro-forces that
influence the elderly.