Old age, regardless of how it is specifically defined, is now being experienced by more people for a longer period of time than ever before.
Old age has increasingly significant political, medical, economic, social, and demographic consequences for all nations.
While the percentage of persons age 60 and over now ranges from about 13% to 20% in industrialized and 4% to 8% in nonindustrialized nations, these percentages or the actual numbers they represent are expected to increase dramatically in the next few decades. Indeed, it is predicted that the largest increase in the population of older people will occur in the industrializing nations of Latin America, Africa, and Asia and the Pacific–areas that may have the fewest resources. Because of the increase in the number of older persons, gerontologists–those who study older people–increasingly call the extremes of this population the “young-old” (age 60 or 65 to 70 or so) and the “old-age” (age 80 or 85 and above).
While every society appears to have a socially recognized category of “old person,” definitions of what old age is can vary depending on era, place, and culture. In the West, old age is increasingly determined by the reaching of a specific chronological age–usually 65, since this represents the common time of retirement from the work force and the age at which pensions, such as Social Security, usually commence.
In many traditional and nonindustrialized societies, old age is not defined chronologically but may be dependent on an array of “markers” such as physical change, loss of certain abilities, or change in social roles.
PROBLEMS OF THE ELDERLY
Although in theory the extension of the life span in old age provides for unprecedented possibilities in achievement–such as multiple careers and lengthy periods of creativity–in fact the problems that often face the elderly, both in the West and elsewhere, can be immense. In Western nations there has been growth in both the number and type of government-sponsored programs to aid the elderly. For example, as the result of income-assistance programs, the percentage of older persons living under the poverty line in the United States decreased from 22% in 1959 to 13% in 1980. Nonetheless, data indicate that poverty, poor health, and reduced opportunities continue to affect many elderly–especially women and ethnic minorities.
In developing nations, with few governmental or institutional resources and widespread poverty, the elderly may fare poorly. Although supportive treatment of the elderly is common, one study found nonsupportive treatment of some older persons in about one-third of the societies in the sample.
In the West, older people find fewer social roles available. This has been described either as role loss or role transformation. Thus, some roles, such as that of paid employee, may be lost forever. Others may be transformed: for example, being the 70-year-old parent of a 50-year-old child is quite different from being the 40-year-old parent of a 20-year old. And still other roles may be replaced or renewed, as through participating in the many volunteer activities available. Remarriage provides a role renewal for elders who have suffered the agonizing loss of a spouse.
Kick the can – Twilight zone
ATTITUDES AND MYTHS
There is little doubt that society negatively values old age. Job discrimination and an emphasis on youth in public culture are but two examples. Realities do affect attitudes. Retirement usually brings a significant reduction in income. As one ages the death of friends and peers occurs more frequently. About 9% of older Americans describe their health as “poor” in contrast to about 2% of other ages.
There are a number of common myths about the treatment of the elderly that should be dispelled. Most families, in fact, do not abandon their older members but rather go to extraordinary lengths to care for them. The treatment of the elderly in non-Western societies is by no means uniformly ideal. Whereas older Americans are often said to be lonely, loneliness is not widespread, in fact, among the aged. Contrary to a common impression, most elderly in the United States do not retire to the Sun Belt but remain where they have lived all their lives.
HELP FOR THE AGED
Despite government programs, old age is everywhere a family affair. Older person look to their families for help and support. Such care is often referred to as the informal support system. In the United States families are generally very diligent in trying to care for dependent elders at home. Only about 5% of the U.S. population of elderly are in institutions such as NURSING HOMES, and these represent both the sickest and those with fewest family resources. For community-resident elderly, there is considerable international variation in whether older people live with children or independently. In the United States, most older people maintain their own households, and about 30% of all older people live alone. In Japan, on the other hand, about 60% of all older people live with their children. Everywhere, however, children and other family members play an important role in the lives of older people.
There is little doubt that the SOCIAL SECURITY system established in the United States in 1935, and similar programs in other industrialized nations, greatly improved the lives of older people, providing a stable income and increasing their economic and social independence. More recently, MEDICARE (a federal medical and hospital insurance program) and MEDICAID (a federal-state program for those with low incomes) have provided for much of the medical care of the elderly. The far-reaching Older Americans Act (1965) set up state and area agencies on aging that serve as focal points for channeling federal funds into local projects such as senior centers and in-home service programs (which may provide visiting nurses, homemaker help, and meals-on-wheels for home-bound elderly). These and other programs provide a “formal support system” for the elderly. In the United States and elsewhere, the political and social influence of older persons is increasingly apparent through such organizations as the AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED PERSONS (AARP), the GRAY PANTHERS, and similar groups.
Robert L. Rubinstein
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Bibliography: Atchley, Robert C., Aging: Continuity and Change, 2d ed. (1987), and Social Forces and Aging, 5th ed. (1988); Binstock, Robert H., and Shanas, Ethel, eds., Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, 2d ed. (1985); Gutman, David, Reclaimed Powers (1987); Keith, Jennie, Old People as People: Social and Cultural Influences on Aging and Old Age (1982); Lawton, M. Powell, Environment and Aging (1980); Myerhoff, Barbara, Number Our Days (1979); Stub, Holger R., The Social Consequences of Long Life (1982); Thomae, H., and Maddox, George, eds., New Perspectives on Old Age (1982).