Primary Sociological Theories Of Aging

THEORIES OF AGING: enquiring into the evolution and theory of aging aims to explain why almost all living things weaken and die with age. Many theories have been proposed to explain the process of aging but none of them appears to be fully satisfactory. The psychodynamic theory of Erikson (1997) is a theory of human birth to maturation and old age, which includes the process of aging gradually and examines how it affects the psychological and social development of an individual. Erikson describes the task of aging as balancing the search for integrity and wholeness with a sense of despair. [7] psychosocial theories of aging attempts to explain human development and aging in terms of individual changes in cognitive functions, behaviors roles,

In some respects, sociological theories relate to various social adaptations in the lives of older adults. There are three primary sociological theories of aging:
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1. Dis-engagement Theory:
The disengagement theory of aging claims that it is natural and acceptable for older adults to withdraw from society and personal relationships as they age. Disengagement theory was the first theory of aging developed by social scientists.
This approach assumed that all societies must find ways for older people’s authority to give way to younger people. A society thus encourages its elderly to disengage from their previous roles and to make on roles more appropriate to their physical and mental decline. [12]
Because this theory assumes that social aging preserves a society’s stability and that a society needs to ensures that disengagement occurs, its often considered as functionalist explanation of aging process. A critical problem with this theory was that it assumed that older people are no longer capable of carrying out their previous roles adequately. This theory reduces social interaction of older citizens.

2. Activity

The successful resolution of conflict lead to a virtue in each stage of life. Erikson’s last psychosocial crisis integrity-versus-despair in concerned with the way a person faces the end of life. Old age is a time of reflection, of looking back on the events of life time. If older person reflects past events of his life as a series of missed opportunities and failures, the final years will be of despair and regret but if he leads a satisfactory life the virtue of integrity develops in him and he leads a satisfactory older life. [16]
2. Social Clock Work Theory:
The social psychologist Bernice Neugarten (1987), was one of the first to research and teach adult development. She proposed “The Social Clock Theory” in which there are age-graded expectations for life events. Being on-time or off-time from these major life events, such as beginning a first job, getting married, or retiring, can profoundly affect self-esteem.
Neugarten suggested that all societies have a social clock, a conscious or unconscious consensus that dictates when events should occur. If the events do not happen in this time frame, people feel stress for not living up to their family's or society's expectations. They judge themselves harshly when they see others achieving these milestones on