SOCIOLOGY OF THE AGED (original) (raw)
PROBLEMS OF THE AGED – A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
A man’s life is normally divided into five main stages namely : infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. In each of these stages an individual has to find himself in different situations and face different problems. Infancy and childhood are periods of dependence. One is normally at the mercy of one’s parents. In the later stage of childhood and during the period of adolescence how circumstances make a few of them delinquents, have already been examined. It is during the adulthood that an individual has to bear the main brunt of life. Old age is comparatively less, from the stand point of the individual problems which are not less significant. In old age physical strength deteriorates, mental stability diminishes, money power becomes bleak and eye sight suffers a setback. It is only for a blessed few, old age may prove to be a stage of contentment and satisfaction. The traditional norms and values of Indian society laid stress on showing respect and providing care for the elderly. Consequently, the older members of the family were normally taken care of in the family itself. The family, commonly the joint family type, and social networks provided an appropriate environment in which the elderly spent their lives. The advent of modernization, industrialization, urbanization, occupational differentiation, education, and growth of individual philosophy has eroded the traditional values that vested authority with elderly. These have led to defiance and decline of respect for elders among members of younger generation. Although family support and care of the elderly are unlikely to disappear in the near future, family care of the elderly seems likely to decrease as the nation develop economically -and modernize in other respects. For a developing country like India, the rapid growth in the number of older population presents issues, barely perceived as yet, that must be addressed if social and economic development is to proceed effectively. Unlike in the western countries, where there is dominant negative effect of modernization and urbanization of family, the situation in the developing countries like India is in favour of continuing the family as a unit for performing various activities (Siva Raju, 2000,2002, 2004). In spite of several economic and social problems, the younger generation generally looks after their elderly relatives. Though the young generation takes care of their elders in traditional societies, it is their living conditions and the quality of care, which widely differs from society to society.
Problems of Elderly and Their Care
Journal of Human Ecology, 2011
The process of rapid urbanisation, mobility of the younger generation, employment of women, etc. are some of the factors which influence both the family and social life of an individual. In addition to this, an individual has to face deteriorating health condition due to age related biological decline. This brings about a limitation in carrying on their social and family roles. The aged in these circumstances have to face a number of conflicting situations with which they find difficult to cope. The paper looks into their living arrangements, their self-reported problems and their activity status. It also tries to assess the availability of care provider and fulfilment of expectations by their children. Family type is changing and as such the elderly have to at times deal with their declining abilities by themselves. Children provide care to their ageing parents but the satisfaction level is found to be lower than expected.
The aims: The movement of societies toward elderliness has today created a big challenge for the countries. Aging of population in Iran is one of the major challenges of social security system so that by population aging, its finance burden will be increased on these systems and a serious measure should be taken for it because social and psychological problems are of the most important challenges of aging. Materials and methods: This study is a descriptive qualitative research. The statistical population which is studied is the elderly of Tehran 5th district in which a sample of 286 people have been selected and investigated through distributing questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha related to the sample has been obtained as 0.76 which shows relatively good reliability of sample. Findings: Social and psychological problems of the elderly were statistically and analytically described through sampling 286 elderlies living in Tehran 5th district. The data were analyzed using SPSS software and the significance of relationships among variables was checked in each section. Conclusion: Through obtained results of statistical analysis, the elderlies’ age in this district ranges from 66 to 70 years old and most of them are men. They were dissatisfied more in the field of social and psychological problems, trust and respecting to the elderly as well as independency and low rate of social supports and social relationships (friends and colleagues) bother them
Bio-psycho-social concept of ageing
Zbornik radova Filozofskog fakulteta u Pri�tini, 2014
The paper focuses thematically on one of the essential issues of human existence, a complex and a mysterious phenomenon of ageing. The old people with their biological and psychological features, with their social position and other aspects, are the inexhaustible source of professional research of doctors and sociologists. As opposed to the usual pessimistic attitude of ageing and the old age, the paper points, within the humanist and social work frame, to man's awareness of overcoming the transience of human existence by cultivating a sense and a beauty of life. By elaborating on the concept of ageing, the authors stress the length and the quality of life, which could be advanced by the interaction of three groups of factors: social engagement and participation, the reduction of illness and the improvement of the high level of psychological and mental functions.
THE CURRENT PROBLEMS OF ELDERLY PEOPLE
Elderly people represent a category of population with specific interests and needs. As a result of the growth in number of the elderly population, due to different social and economic changes, senior people have to deal with many problems which need more and more attention and help from the part of social assistants. These problems that I would like to insist upon are: the consequences of the ageing process, the decrease of the social web, and elderly people related prejudice.
isara solutions, 2016
The obvious needs of elderly persons are related to income, housing, access to service and medical aid. Other needs which characterize the elderly are social protection. prevention of diseases and psycho-social support. They also have higher order needs like self-esteem. a sense of identity. recognition and respect from the young ones. Complete health of an elder, therefore, includes physical, social and mental being.. Religious practices play an important part in supporting the aged. The centers, therefore, make provisions for prayer meetings, satsanga, meditation, yoga practices, bhajans and kirtans. As one ages, one turns sensitive and emotional in approach and expects the people around to respect him/her for the accumulated experience. The aging of population is a process whereby the proportions of children in the population decrease and the proportions of old persons increase. Aging and longevity of life are relatively new phenomena experienced by the developed countries. Due to scientific and technological progress and consequent success of health care measures, the reduction in fertility rate, a relative rise in the economic level and contact with the developed world, the demographic pattern in developing countries is undergoing change. It has already lead to significant increase in life expectancy, and in the proportion and absolute number of the elderly population. This potential for aging exerts influence not only on economic, but also on the family, the community and the state-the three major supporting institutions. Although families continue to remain strong and exert major influences on the behavior of individuals and groups, the effectiveness of family as the most important institution in delivering care is fast reducing. particularly in urban areas where the traditional extended family is slowly disintegrating. The increasing participation of women in the work and preference of young people for nuclear family have further reduced the availability of family support. The gradual breakdown of the extended family system has been creating negative psychological effects such as alienation, loneliness and other emotional stress. What we may be facing is the disintegration of the family as an effective, spontaneous and rich support system and its replacement by a weaker substitute. With the population getting older, the leading support role of the family acquires added significance, even more so because the aged population itself is getting older. With radical changes in family composition and interrelation among members, sharing of problems of ageing with the family and community is difficult. Thus, for elderly, the problems of ageing are increasingly to become an individual affair. Previously family and public sharing helped to defuse the "Private terror" which posed problems to the individual. The psychological consequence of this for the old are obvious.
The Socioeconomic Status of the Elderly
2015
Actuality of the study is to extend knowledge on the key issues facing older people. The purpose of the research is to establish the socio-economic position of the elderly, level of respect of their rights in various areas and their vulnerability. The study methodology includes a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. First, by using the method of social survey based on questionnaire on two target-groups samples (one for people aged 60 and over (1096 respondents) and another for employable people aged 20-55 (500 respondents)). Second, by conducting individual 10 in-depth interviews with experts and three focus group with elderly (aged 60 and over) that live in their own household/housing (38 elderly). The study allowed identifying the main problems faced by older people in various social areas, to identify cases of discrimination, as well as to develop a series of recommendations to improve the situation.
ROLE OF THE FAMILY AND OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES IN ELDERLY PERSONS’ LIFE
The structure of the ego, the manner in which there are exercised the person’s needs and impulsions in his/her relations with the environment, meets, once with the retirement, a new psychological context. This way, the retired person enters a crisis of the interests and of the professional capacities trained up to the retirement, to which there adds the prestige crisis. This paper brings in the forefront the elderly person’s identity, which may be maintained or modified by the persons whom the former interacts with.
The perspective of different age groups regarding old age and aging in highly aged contexts
The Social Science Journal, 2020
The increase in longevity and population aging are the greatest conquest and social challenge that we face in this century, especially in the most developed countries. Spain is, currently, one of the oldest countries in the European Union and it is expected that in 2050 it will be the oldest country in the world, second only to Japan, with the region of Galicia (located in the northwest of this country) being one of the most highly aged contexts, with a rate of people over 65 years old well over 24%. In the light of this demographic transition, which some see as a threat to the general wellbeing of society, it becomes particularly urgent to study the social representations of aging. Thus, the main goal of this paper is to assess the attributions, attitudes and knowledge around aging that circulate in highly aged contexts. With this purpose in mind, 445 adults were selected, stratified by age (young people, middle-aged people and older adults) and provided with a selection of tools to assess their knowledge, stereotypes and attributions regarding aging and old age. The results indicate that attitudes towards aging itself are negative, becoming more negative as we age. In a similar way when analyzing attitudinal biases towards aging, a mostly negative tendency is observed. Besides, the level of knowledge about aging is very low in all participants, especially in younger groups. The findings imply that these result could be used to design, implementation and evaluation of anti-ageist programs.