How have different ideas of ageing attempted to approach the elderly and their circumstances? Consult with mention of at least two ideas.
This essay can look at how two specific theories of ageing methodology older people and their circumstances. The two theories, one of which from an operating personality and one from a conflict persona will be utilized to explore who developed ideas, the context the theories were developed in and the methods those theories got.
First you will see an overview of the history of the sociological ideas of ageing, then the essay will go on to describe each theory subsequently, there will be a brief contrast of the two theories, which will then lead onto the conclusions that I have drawn.
Theories are being used to help us to comprehend processes that arise throughout the life span course, it is an help to understanding and interpretation. Ideas often condition the actions and interventions that are being used to get over the processes that are recognized within theories. Approaches, interpretation and context can often mean that theories change or experience critique, and for that reason can evolve very differently to one another. They often relate with different levels of world, whether that be at the; macro level, how society's social processes and political forces relate to the elderly, or at the micro level, the individuals activities and modification to the ageing process.
Gerontological theory has seen to possess advanced through three individuals; Functional, where people have a job to ensure that modern culture functions. Conflict, ideas often have an focus on disagreements and differences within world, and Culture and Identification, based on self-created identity and life chances.
The two ideas that will be explored are; Disengagement theory and Organized Dependency theory. I'll go on to conclude that both these theories, although they deal with older people differently, do have a location in explaining the procedure of ageing.
Overview of the history of the sociological ideas of ageing
The three stages of ageing theories, as detailed above, have advanced from around 1900 onwards. They may have often been formed by the political, economic and social situation that the Lady locates itself in.
Functionalism originated when life span was low. There was a requirement of stableness, function and order for contemporary society to run well. Citizens of world were a device to keep the smooth jogging of society, and ageing was very much a concern of the average person. As we transferred towards the 1950's ageing became to be perceived as a problem. Individuals were living much longer and posed a threat or burden to population. This was highlighted by the creation of the welfare condition in the united kingdom. Ageing as problems was to see resurgence in the 1970's and 1980's. Theories were strongly predicated on the individual needing to adjust to contemporary society, and successfully managed to separate older generations from the rest of society.
As we migrated towards a modern culture dominated by austerity, unemployment and early on retirement living in the overdue 1970's to 1980's, ideas of conflict commenced to emerge which are usually associated with capitalist societies and the tensions that they create. Ageing was seen to be always a social construct, which insurance policy change was needed, not modification of the old. Turmoil theories were in opposition to functionalist perspectives, and were based on competition of organizations within society fighting for gain. Life course approaches became important along with critical gerontology.
Globalisation and internationalisation has also had a job to try out in the introduction of ageing not being homogenous and that it's affected by culture and identity, and that folks create their own circumstances and paths along which they age. Ideas developed, to understand if we take place in ageing because society would like us to? Ageing is now of global concern; as global guidelines, cultural differences and the fighting of the elderly are highlighted throughout the world.
This essay will now go on to discuss the Disengagement theory in detail to help understand how it approached the elderly and their circumstances.
Disengagement theory
This functionalist theory was proposed by Cumming and Henry in 1961, in 'Growing old: The procedure of disengagement'. It mainly approaches the elderly from the micro-level, but does attract on some factors at the macro-level. The theory suggests that; older people get excited about a mutual withdrawal from society, and therefore they have got less conversation with the contemporary society that they belong to. The procedure is regarded as gradual but unavoidable.
In the 1960's the analysis of personality changes at later ages was groundbreaking, and Disengagement theory was seen to be revolutionary as it explored later life as its' own solo focus. It had been main distinct ideas of ageing from a methodical point of view, and it was main theories to move away from only focussing on the average person, but also how the individuals ageing process impacted upon the functions of the cultural system.
The functionalist affect for the theory is highlighted in the proposition that disengagement is mutually good for both the individual and culture. Order is retained as workers retire, and more radiant generations undertake their jobs, and culture is less impacted upon by the deaths of the aged generations as they have already detached themselves from modern culture. The procedure is thought to be natural and desirable. The heavy concentrate of the theory was the withdrawal from the labour market of older people, which would allow the seamless modification in modern culture, as more radiant people moved into their roles.
The theory continues on to claim that an activity known as 'two times withdrawal' occurs. This presents the influences of the micro-level factors; which is the individuals activities to disengage with culture, as well as the macro-level factors; which is contemporary society allowing the given individual to disengage for its' own gain. (Hochschild, A. 1975, Pg 553) The individual disengages by "reducing the number of roles he takes on, lessening all of the roles and interactions and weakening the level of those that stay. " (Hochschild, A. 1975, Pg 553) Contemporary society provides the individual with authorization to withdraw. Cumming and Henry also suggested that the disengagement process is irreversible, and universal, though it was recognized that the procedure may vary due to factors such as; physiology, life situation and personality of the average person.
"A key assumption made in this approach is that 'ego energy' declines with time and that, as the ageing process develops, individuals become ever more self-absorbed and less attentive to normative controls. " (Phillipson, C. and Baars, J. In Connection, J et al, 2007, Pg 71) This advised that the elderly would not respond to contemporary society or their tasks in contemporary society at older age range, and that life would become more centred around the average person rather than contemporary society. This is influenced by the proposition that the average person maintains morale in later years due to the withdrawal from associations. This morale remains greater than if they tried to maintain their social relationships. The amount of happiness that you experience in old age depends upon how you disengage.
As we era, we disengage from our major tasks in life, these jobs are critical to the maintenance of the cultural system, so disengagement functions as a mechanism in which to keep carefully the equilibrium of world. Disengagement can be measured by attitudinal changes in older people, involvement in public activities and investment in ego, but ultimately death is the main element disengagement from society, which is prepared for throughout the more aged ages. In the event that you neglect to disengage from contemporary society, you inevitably end up being the burden of population.
Disengagement theory approaches older people, by explaining the way the individual adjusts to the ageing process and exactly how disengagement must appear in order to keep the equilibrium of society. It realizes that both modern culture and the average person have a job to experiment with. Disengagement theory was subject to criticism some of which will be handled on below.
Hochschild (1975) outlined three key imperfections in the idea; 'The break free clause problem'; this recommended that because the procedure of disengagement was general and inevitable, but the form and timing of disengagement can vary greatly, some parts of the idea are constant while others are variable. The idea also included numerous 'back door' explanations as to the reasons people don't disengage, they might be; 'unsuccessful' disengagers, off 'timing', or biologically top notch. This all added to the evidence that the theory was unfalsifiable. (Hochschild, A. 1975, Pg 554)
Hochschild (1975) also continued to discuss that the utilization of the parameters age and disengagement were flawed. These can be referred to as 'umbrella' variables, which is often inspired by many intervening variables. She also highlighted the inability of Cummings and Henry to explore the individuals own concept of the ageing process.
Disengagement theory was thought to strengthen ageing as a public problem; "growing old represented a significant amount of discontinuity from prior life happenings and encounters. " "Physical and mental changes were seen to bring procedures of decrease and mental inflexibility" (Phillipson, C. and Baars, J. In Connection, J et al. 2007, Pg 72)
It also fails to consider the impact of societies' buildings in influencing the lives of the elderly.
In contrast I am going to now continue to look at Structured Dependency theory in more detail.
Structured Dependency theory
"Retirement life, poverty, institutionalism and limitation of home and community roles are the experience that help to explain how the dependency of older people had become artificially set up or deepened. " (Townsend, P. Pg 31 in Bernard, M. and Scharf, T. 2007)
Structured dependency, as suggested by Peter Townsend in 1980, is often seen to cross with Political current economic climate in the literature. The theory comes from a conflict perspective, which tries to address the role that older people have been 'required' into and explores what results in isolation and depression, as created by the functions of Disengagement theory. It has a sociological backdrop and provides information that ageing is of communal construction. Social framework is of great importance in describing the basis for how this theory originated, and why it largely originates from a Macro-level perspective. It focuses on the role and action of the state of hawaii and contemporary society in setting up a dependent older society, through retirement living, pensions and personal treatment. The government's activities influence where the elderly stand in world, and the public perception of ageing.
I will now continue to describe how retirement, pensions and domestic care create set up dependency, dropping light about how Townsend approached the elderly and their circumstances.
Retirement
Townsend explains how "the development of the overall economy, the state and sociable inequality has been overlooked, and the implications of the tendencies for people as they become elderly neglected. "(1981, Pg 6) Retirement is one of those evolutions. The decreasing numbers of folks aged 65 and over at work in the 1970's, was facilitated by the changing employee requirements of companies, the move of multi-national companies to LEDC's, and the changing nature of work. The enforced old age of modern culture was viewed as an achievement, as the workers had earned an escape, but "(M)any who've retired deeply regret their inactivity or loss of status. " (Townsend, P. 1981, Pg 10) People may have decided to retirement as this is what they sensed is expected of these. Society was considered to have accepted that the value of employees past a certain years decreases, and started out to overvalue the education and skills of younger employees. Retirement was to be associated with illness and incapacity, and at the time when Townsend was writing, high unemployment supposed that it was "convenient to governments to shift some of the full total unemployed in to the group of the retired, " (Townsend, P. 1981, Pg 11), often reducing the retirement age further. It really is clear from the books that Townsend was recommending that actions of the government, the market and modern culture often led to people having to leave the workforce to meet societal norms. This is very context specific to the monetary situation in the 1970's.
Pensions
Townsend (1981, Pg 12) recognised a craze toward poverty in more aged ages, and attributed this to "low levels of resources, and constrained access to resources, in accordance with youthful people. " This often contributes to the limitation of new styles of living for the more aged ages. Express pensions and benefits, paid with an imposed time of retirement, tend to be of lower value to the income that could be earned.
Pensions that were organized around subsistence needs, that didn't follow inflation, and available from their state, were taken to be a societal norm but often resulted in the elderly losing their position throughout the market.
Townsend also went on to claim that the loss of family members and friends through retirement living, along with the decline in towns and towns would lead to deprivation of access to resources and may lead to additional cost. (1981, Pg 13)
Structured Dependency theory performed acknowledge that in contrast to the low position in which the elderly were placed in society, individuals held them at a higher status, and that retirement life from the family is a lot more flexible. The family can act as a means of get away from from societal norms and dependencies that are manufactured by the state of hawaii.
The theory shows how pensions and resources that are restricted for the elderly can lead them to have a lower position in contemporary society and into poverty. Therefore means they may become more reliant on their families and their state.
Residential care
". . . organizations have been, and are, providing major functions other than those for which formally they were and are supposed to are present. " (Townsend, P. 1981, Pg 14) The usage of good care homes as general public cover and services have helped to instil general population ideas as to the amount of attention a family should provide. Townsend recommended that the common practice of not specialising care in homes, rather than tailoring to specific needs has led us to truly have a dependent older society.
Three types of dependency were discovered by Townsend; physical, mental and cultural. In many cases, as recognized through surveys, older people in homes or in the receipt of attention are often able literally and emotionally to look after themselves, and frequently only require improve specific tasks, this means that the amount of care that they certainly receive creates dependency. Townsend went on to describe the social determinants of the occupants and the care and attention homes where they found themselves. Less family sites often mean good care homes replacement for families, and the loss of property often brings about the admission of the elderly into homes.
Poor health and nutrition can often be combated through health care homes, this means improved position and wellbeing of the elderly, but then they often stay in the homes acquiring treatment that they no more need. Townsend identified that folks who continued to be in care over a long-term basis were often restricted by; the power of staff and the restricted usage of their own income.
Staff in homes are seen to be performing upon the ideology of care, , nor encourage self help. Townsend also suggested that attention homes often implemented a class system, signifying the entrapment of the lower classes into residential care. Policy also is important in ensuring that long stay medical center patients move into residential care; this is within combination with an evergrowing elderly human population.
"Older people are usually viewed as the grateful and passive recipients of services administered by an enlightened public authority. This can but reinforce their dependency both in their own sight and that of the public. " (Townsend, P. 1981, Pg 22)
Structured Dependency theory requires a sociological strategy towards the elderly. It will try to explain the method in which world patterns them as a populace, and therefore identifies their located in modern culture, emphasising the political, material and sociable inequalities that they experience. Townsend is often sympathetic towards the elderly, holding society to be blamed for their low position. Townsend approaches three different circumstances of the elderly, as defined above. Within these circumstances he makes some assumptions which are critiqued below.
Although Structured Dependency theory has shifted pondering from a negative individual view towards an "focus on the structural factors which work against elderly people, " (Wilson, G. 1997, Pg3 41) it does not look at variety, personal views and feelings. It views the elderly as a homogenous group, failing to acknowledge different circumstances, for example with money, pensions and treatment, and that some groupings in society may choose to retire. The theory is seen as generalist.
"The idea therefore allowed for a view of the elderly which was not wholly based on age, although introduction of elder misuse as an insurance plan concern casts question on family esteem as a general condition. " (Wilson, G. 1997, Pg 343) This acknowledges that Townsend's assumption that people hold older people at a higher status, cannot be applied to all old people's situations.
Gail Wilson (1997, Pg 347) suggests that if we were to speak to the elderly to acquire qualitative data it could actually pose problems for the idea, suggesting a great number of older people don't actually feel dependent.
Most essentially "the ageism which informs organised dependency theory" can result in the "propensity to see older people as marginal to society. . . " (Wilson, G. 1997, Pg 348)
Conclusion; Compare in approaches
After exploring both theories separately it is obvious to see that the solutions that each theory took are very different. Although both are sociological ideas of ageing, they can be each shaped by the framework within which they were proposed. Disengagement theory comes much sooner than Organised Dependency theory. It comes from the micro level, in mixture with a functionalist point of view. This provides us with a theory that; explores the individuals' modification to ageing, but also concentrates about how this impacts after the functioning of the sociable system.
Structured dependency theory is molded by social context and a capitalist environment. It comes from the macro level, with affects from issue theory. It provides us with proof how the sociable system pertains to the elderly in society, which older people are often competing for benefit against other tiers of society. Structured dependency theory may be observed to try to describe what disengagement theory neglected. Both ideas assumed that the European style of ageing put on all cultures across the world.
I have selected two ideas of ageing that work towards each other. They both show how different theories of ageing way the elderly from different levels and perspectives. It shows how ideas of ageing can be shaped by context and the critiques of prior theories. Ideas of ageing evolve throughout time and are grouped by their common methods to ageing. It is clear to see that theories conform in line with the changes in the wider world around them, and can continue steadily to do in order we move towards a far more global society. I hope that this will expose how different civilizations experience ageing.
Although both theories which i selected approach older people and their circumstances in very different ways, they both have a major part to learn, alongside all the other ideas of ageing, in helping us to comprehend the ageing process. No single theory could clarify the process of ageing from every angle and perspective, and so it is combination of all theories that people can create a full and complete picture of ageing.
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