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Age and Society

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Aging and Society

• Age stratification varies from culture to culture– “Being old” is master status that

commonly overshadows all others in U.S.– All who live long enough will eventually

assume ascribed status of older person

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World’s “Oldest” CountriesVersus the United States, 2006

Source: Bureau of the Census 2005d (projected).

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Perspectives on Aging• Increase in life expectancy has led to

referring to people in their 60s as the “young old”– Those in their 80s and beyond are the “old

old”

• Gerontology: study of the sociological and psychological aspects of aging and problems of the aged

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Perspectives on Aging• Disengagement theory: society and aging

individuals mutually sever many of their relationships– Highlights significance of social order

• Activity theory: elderly persons who remain active and socially involved are best adjusted– Withdrawal viewed as harmful to both the elderly

and society

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Perspectives on Aging

• Ageism and Discrimination– Ageism: prejudice and discrimination

based on age– Critics argue that neither disengagement

nor activity theory considers impact of social structure and social class on patterns of aging

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Aging in the United States

• The Graying of America– In 1900, 4.1 percent of the U.S. population

was age 65 or older; by 2010 it will be 13 percent

– Highest proportions of older people are in Florida, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Iowa, West Virginia, and Arkansas

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Actual and Projected Growth of the Elderly Population in the United States

Source: Bureau of the Census2004a: 113; He et al. 2005: 9.

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Twenty-Eight Floridas by 2030

Source: Bureau of the Census 2005c.

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Aging in the United States• Wealth and Income

– Typical older person has standard of living higher than in the nation’s past; class differences remain

• Competition in the Labor Force– In 2007, 34 percent of men and 26 percent of

women aged 65 to 69 were in paid labor force– Older workers face discrimination in the labor

force

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Rising Labor Force Participation Rates Among the Elderly

Source: Gendell 2008: 47.

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Death and Dying• Death has been a taboo topic in U.S.• Kübler-Ross identified five stages of

dying• Kalish laid out issues people must face to

have “good death”• Hospice care: has goal of helping people die comfortably without pain

• Recent studies in U.S. suggest people are breaking through historic taboos about death