Social aspects of ageing Flashcards
What does ageing encompass?
biological: organic maturation and decay
Sociological: the way that processes are understood and their importance for members of societies. The latter will differ across different cultures.
How does the social dimension of human ageing inform health care?
when clinically assessing a patient, there should never be the notion of “this is normal for a 80-year old” type of assumptions
What are the social trends in ageing?
1951- 2037
increase in life expectancy (actual and predicted) with a high pensionable age
2037 - predicted increase of 40% >65 within population
How do the social ageing trends affect age structure in the UK? How is this kind of info plotted?
pyramid diagram - shows age structure. Population in millions (x-axis) and Age (y-axis)
comparison of 2012 - 2037
higher proportion of people are at >65 category so there is a perceived shifting up of the pyramid diagram shape
What is the parameter which reflects a larger proportion of the population >65?
= old age dependency ratio (number of persons >65 expressed as % of number of people aged 15-64)
Note that these are projected values, not bases on actual numbers
Where is the analytical emphasis placed in sociology of ageing?
particular and changing social context in which ageing takes place
therefore, older people are not a homogenous group
What affects how older people perceive ageing?
social differences: marked by gender, socio-economic class, income and wealth, ethnicity
What are the common cohort effects in ageing?
ageist attitudes - lead to age discrimination and social stigma
political and economic implications of ageing population (e.g. widening dependency ratio, pension funding, rising NHS demands)
social psychological consequences - e.g. social isolation
What is the overall dependency ratio?
= number of individuals >65 and <18 (e.g. non-working population) as a percentage of those aged 19-64 (assumed to be working)
given as a %
Why is ageing considered a largely ambiguous concept?
‘ageing’ often used as synonym for study of old age (which is actually gerontology
What are the 2 separate notions to consider when looking at the sociology of ageing?
biographical: personal account of someone’s life (usually recounted by that individual). therefore a subjective account of ageing process.
historical: impact of cohort effects upon the individual experience of ageing
Give an example of cohort effects in terms of historical dimension of ageing?
1) impact of war-time Britain: first generation of children growing up since foundation of British Welfare state are now in the >65 age category
War: has a COHORT effect on their individual experience of ageing process
2) Peak in smoking trends: likely to have impact on lung cancer incidence rate ~30-40 years late, but can be tracked to a particular birth group retrospectively
How did the ‘Life Course Perspective’ come about?
confluence of several theoretical approaches
e.g. social scientific and biological
What is the ‘Life Course Perspective?’
reflects a shift towards dynamic understanding of ageing
contrast to life cycle construct: static representation of the ageing process based almost entirely on the biological processes
What is the ‘Life Cycle model’?
Predictable and universal biological stages through which people must inevitably pass through
e.g. childhood, adulthood, old age
What is the main caveat with the Life Cycle model of human ageing?
considered to be too deterministic
= all human action is ultimately determined by processes that are external to human will
i.e. we as individuals have no input or control
How does the Life course model address the main caveat of Life cycle model?
Main caveat of life cycle model: too deterministic
Life course model: more fluid concept
Life stages are not standardised or fixed points in time.
They can be subject to historical change, cultural diversity and individual diversity
What are the advantages of conceptualising ageing? (in life course perspective)
enables variations and continuities in social status
that individuals will experience as they mature
these factors are given emphasis in this model
What is the main structural unit in life course model, through which the ageing process traverses?
= LIFE DOMAINS
individual participation passes through these domains from birth to death
this defines that person’s individual ageing process (and is thus dynamic between space, time and people)
What do Life domains (Life course model) encompass?
school years entry into job market employment interruption due to children (not fixed stage) retirement death
What ‘traditional’ life course patterns derive from participation in the Life domains set out in the life course model?
childhood growing up in a family leaving parental home Partnership formation Parenthood pursuing a career
What does the life course perspective emphasise?
dynamics of social roles played by individuals over a lifetime
What are TRAJECTORIES in the life course model?
changing level of individual participation within social structures
e.g. school, work, marriage, parenthood
What are TRANSITIONS in the life course model?
mark start and end of a given trajectory, adding a form and meaning to them
e.g. transition from child to adult or employment to retirement
What is the purpose of trajectories and transitions in the life course model?
contextualises the ways in which social roles change and develop over a lifetime
Note: transitions are typically shorter in duration than trajectories
In practice, what is the nature of trajectories to represent the dynamics of life course in actual terms?
trajectories tend to be multi-role in nature
makes sense, as usually there are multiple trajectories at play at any one given time
this also makes sense given the participation of an individual at multiple levels in society
What is the central idea characteristic of the life course model?
Blurring of relationship between chronological age and identifiable life stages
(esp. in relation to older age)
It would seek to ID historical and cultural processes that led to emergence of the conception of ‘old age’ as a specific life stage
How has Industrialisation in the West affected the concept of ‘old age’ as a life stage?
pre-industrialised: most people were self-sufficient as they worked for most of their adult lives => less distinction between working life and old age
post-industrialised: old age was more associated with retirement age period as working life could finish ~65yr and then people could enjoy freedom from employment
Since the pensionable age was 65yo this correlated with coining of ‘old age’ as a life stage
How does family size affect the economic, social and familial power that is perceived as part of ‘old age?’
pre-industrialisation: families were larger than today and more closely engaged with one another
Therefore the older members were seen to be the ones with the most power (in terms of wealth, wisdom etc)
Today: there is increasing social isolation as families are smaller and parents/older members no longer live with the rest of the family
Different perceptions of ‘old age’ and what this life stage brings to the rest of the family
Older people lost their high social status
Latter time associated older people with a sense of dependency (and burden) on the rest of the working family
What was the consequence of industrialisation of older people in terms of economic and social inclusion?
Social and economical segregation
Due to mandatory work retirement and social security dependence
How is individual agency included in the life course model?
Allows the interplay and dynamic relationship for it
and between private lives and public events
What is the ‘third age’ notion?
demonstrates increased opportunities for ‘active ageing’
-> down to better pensions, early retirement practices and increase in life expectancy (and that this is largely disability free)
more of a positive outlook on old age
Debatable whether this perspective has actually entered social thinking and how we perceive older people
