Physical changes and psychological perspectives in relation to aging

UNIT 4: DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE LIFE STAGES Adisa Nicholson

Physical changes and psychological perspectives in relation to aging

Aging is a part of life, so it's only natural that sociologists are going to study it.

Assessment Activity 4.4

p4: describe two theories of aging

Disengagement theory
Engagement means being involved with people or activities. Disengagement means
withdrawing from social involvement. In 1961, two authors called Cumming and Henry
put forward the Disengagement theory that people would naturally tend t withdraw from
social involvement when they get older.

There are several reasons why this would happen, such as ill health which makes going
outside hard, moving away from your family and friends or them moving away from you
so they're not seen as often, retirement so colleagues are not seen so much, ill health of
friends or relatives so they have less social contact with elderly people, no access to
travel and no access to technology; some people have no access to a car, internet or
mobile phone.

Disengagement theory suggests that losing contact with people is an inevitable

consequence of being old and cannot be changed or stopped. People will agree with this
as for some old people it is not the case. This theory has been discredited by people
including (Maddox, 1964) who says that there are many kinds of disengagement and that
people disengage at different rates.

Activity theory

The activity theory argues that older people need to stay mentally and socially active in
order to limit the risks associated with disengagement. Bromley wrote in 1966 that they
needed to remain active in order to prevent disengagement.

He argues that it's not sufficient to provide facilities or elderly people, but also to be
educated to make use of them and encouraged to abandon apathetic attitudes and fixed
habits. I think he means advertising. Advertising places like Gala Bingo. He adds that it's
important to remain mentally active, maintain an interest in life and enjoy the company of
others. Too much disengagement would lead to stagnation and a loss of mental and
physical skills.

People can do things like crosswords, go to bingo and phone up their relatives if they
wish to remain active in the future.
Physical changes and psychological perspectives in relation to aging
UNIT 4: DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE LIFE STAGES Adisa Nicholson

m3: use examples to compare two major theories of ageing.

Compare two old people's behavior so I can compare disengagement

I know an old person who has arthritis and has a carrier bag filled with medication she
has to take. She only leaves the house to sit in the sun and gossip with her friend. She
finds it hard to cope with loud noise. Her disengagement is entirely due to being ill. She
still regularly sees her family. If she was in her normal condition, she would be living a
more social life. She likes to gossip all the time with her friend, and she does not have
positive outlook on life.

I know another old person who likes to drink and smoke. He drives a car and in the
summertime he goes gardening for hours for people, most of which are friends, and he
gets to go into their houses and get a cooked meal. He has a woman, children and still
manages to have affairs with numerous women. He has a flat and in it are precious
sentimental things such as trophies, and an OBE he got from the queen. He has a positive
outlook on life.

The difference between both people is that one is ill, and one is not.

d2: Evaluate the influence of two major theories of ageing on health and social care
provision

Both theories have not really influenced the NHS as the NHS is concerned about getting
people back to health. When it comes to being a social care, disengagement becomes
more an issue. A social carer getting on with their client is considered important as old
people may not have a lot of people to talk to.

When old people get ill, the NHS has to pay. When old people don’t have sufficient
money, the government has to pay them a pension when they reach 65. It used to be 60,
but nowadays the UK is more populated, and has people living for longer. This means
that people won’t be receiving a full pension. The people who are uneducated will
struggle for money, may be in a nursing home, homeless, or destitute.

References

http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/lrdisengage.html