
To discuss the various ways different
societies cope with ageing.

Social Construction of Ageing
› Tiwi tribe: “covering up”
 Extreme way to cope
› Abkhasians: respect
 Longest-lived people on earth
 Many factors account for their long lives
 Elderly continue to contribute to the group
 Not a burden to anyone

Effects of Industrialization
› Higher standard of living
› More food
› Better public health measures
› Effective ways to fight diseases
› More people reach older ages

The Graying of America
› Life expectancy
› Has risen from 50 years old to 80
› Graying of America
› Life span
 At least 122 years old

Labeling and the Onset of Old Age
› People who are older than you seem “old”
› This label gradually recedes further from the
self
› At some point, a person must apply the label
of “old” to him or herself
› People are used to gradual changes they
see in the mirror
› Shocked to see friends who have aged

What makes someone
“old”?
› Biology
 Physical signs of aging
› Personal history
 Accident that limits
mobility
 Generations

What makes someone “old”?
› Gender age
 Relative value that a culture places on the
age of men and women
 Mature vs. old
› Timetables
 Signals societies use to inform their members
that they are old
 Particular birthdays

How parts of society work together
› Age cohort
 If age cohort is large, more jobs open
 If age cohort is small, less jobs open
 When elderly retire, adjustments must occur in
society

Disengagement theory
› Society prevents disruption when elderly
leave positions of responsibility
› Pensions
 Mutual benefit
› Smooth transition between generations

Activity theory
› The more activities they are involved in, the
happier they are
› Research is mixed
 Some elderly are content with not doing a lot
 Some are content only when they’re actively
involved in something
 Relationships with friends
 working

Competition, disequilibrium, change
› Social Security Conflict
 Cause conflict between elderly and young
 Complaints that elderly are getting more than
their fair share of resources
 The graying of the U.S. leaves proportionately
fewer working people to pay for social security
 Dependence ratio
 Medical costs have soared

Isolation, nursing homes, abuse, poverty
› Isolation and Gender
 Women generally live longer
 Become widows in old age

Nursing homes
› Some residents return home after a few
›
›
›
›
weeks or months
Some die after a short stay
Many are widowed or have never been
married
Memory loss is common
Nursing homes are thought to neglect, beat,
mistreat elderly

Nursing Homes(cont’d)
› In reality, most nursing homes are relatively
decent
› Most provide aides who take care of the
patients
› A study of a well-run middle class nursing
home showed
 70% of residents who were parents grew closer
to their family
 30% were still alienated from their children

Nursing Homes(cont’d)
› Nursing Home Reform Amendments passed
in 1987
 Provided a bill of rights for nursing home
residents
› Technology in Nursing Homes
 Email
 Reduces depression, loneliness, and boredom
 Keep in contact with relatives
 Actual email message

Elder abuse
› In interviews with random nursing home staff,
 40% admitted to psychologically abusing
patients
 10% admitted to physically abusing patients
› Most abuse actually takes place at home
 Family members, spouses
 Due to impatience and stress

The Elderly Poor
 Fear of poverty
› Gender and poverty
 Women have lower income than men
 This follows women into old age
› Race and poverty
 Whites are least likely to be poor
 African American and Latinos almost three
times as likely to be poor
 Culture shapes the way people experience
death

Industrialization and the New Technology
› Preindustrialized Societies
 Sick were taken care of at home
 Died at home
 Life was short

Industrialized Societies
› Dying is managed by professionals in
hospitals
› Takes place behind closed doors
 Isolated, disconnected, remote
 Institutional death
› Dying is now strange to us
› Developed new ways to refer to death
› As people grow older, the reality of death is
more real

Death as a Process
› Denial
 Cannot believe they are going to die
 Avoid topic of death
› Anger
 Think their death is unjust
 Others are more deserving
› Negotiation
 Bargain with God, fate, or the disease

Death as a Process(cont’d)
› Depression
 Grieve because the end is near
 No power to change it
› Acceptance
 Come to terms with death
 Make wills
 Pay bills
 Christians talk about hope of salvation
 Desire to be with Jesus





Henslin, James. Sociology: A Down-To-Earth
Approach. 5. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001. Print.
www.elderlysoftware.com/images/elderly.html
www.tsadvantage.com
Perkins, Tony. "Growth of the U.S. Older Adult
Population." Demographics of the Elderly Population.
15 Dec 1999. Indiana University. 15 May 2009
<http://iucar.iu.edu/geninfo/demo/growth.html>.
Duneir, Mitchell, and Appelbaum. Intorduction To
Sociology. 5. W.W. Norton & Company, 2005. Digital
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gxTxHp57
WU
 www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTnIHA70f
wE&feature=related
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0&feature=related
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