Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly, OAPs, seniors, senior citizens, older adults, and the elders.
Gerontology is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Greek γέρων, geron, "old man" and -λογία, -logia, "study of". The field is distinguished from geriatrics, which is the branch of medicine that specializes in the treatment of existing disease in older adults. Gerontologists include researchers and practitioners in the fields of biology, nursing, medicine, criminology, dentistry, social work, physical and occupational therapy, psychology, psychiatry, sociology, economics, political science, architecture, geography, pharmacy, public health, housing, and anthropology.
Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, as articulated in the second half of the 20th century by Erik Erikson in collaboration with Joan Erikson, is a comprehensive psychoanalytic theory that identifies a series of eight stages that a healthy developing individual should pass through from infancy to late adulthood. According to Erikson’s theory the results from each stage, whether positive or negative, influences the results of succeeding stages. Erikson published a book called Childhood and Society around the 1950s that made his research well known on the eight stages of psychosocial development. Erikson was originally influenced by Sigmund Freud’s psychosexual stages of development. He began by working with Freud's theories specifically, but as he began to dive deeper into biopsychosocial development and how other environmental factors affect human development, he soon progressed past Freud’s theories and developed his own ideas.
The disengagement theory of ageing states that "aging is an inevitable, mutual withdrawal or disengagement, resulting in decreased interaction between the aging person and others in the social system he belongs to". The theory claims that it is natural and acceptable for older adults to withdraw from society. There are multiple variations on disengagement theory, such as moral disengagement.
Eileen M. Crimmins is the AARP Chair in Gerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology of the University of Southern California. Her work focuses on the connections between socioeconomic factors and life expectancy and other health outcomes.
Financial gerontology is a multidisciplinary field of study encompassing both academic and professional education, that integrates research on aging and human development with the concerns of finance and business. Following from its roots in social gerontology, Financial gerontology is not simply the study of old people but emphasizes the multiple processes of aging. In particular, research and teaching in financial gerontology draws upon four kinds of aging or "'four lenses" through which aging and finance can be viewed: population aging, individual aging, family aging, and generational aging. While it is problematic that "demography is destiny," demographic concepts, issues, and data play a substantial role in understanding the dynamics of financial gerontology. For example, through the lens of population aging, demography identifies the number of persons of different ages in cities and countries—and at multiple points in time. Through the lens of individual aging, demography also notes changes in the length of time—number of years lived in older age, typically measured by increases in life expectancy. From in its founding years in the beginning of the 21st century, one primary interest of Financial Gerontology has been on baby boomers and their relationships with their parents. The impact of these two kinds of aging on finance are reasonably apparent. The large and increasing number of older persons [population aging] in a society, no matter how "old age" is defined, and the longer each of these persons lives [individual aging], the greater the impact on a society's pattern of retirement, public and private pension systems, health, health care, and the personal and societal financing of health care. The focus on boomers illustrates also the other two lenses or "kinds" of aging. How boomers deal with the social, emotional, and financial aspects of their parents' aging is a central aspect of family aging. And how boomers may differ from their parents born and raised twenty to forty years earlier, and differ from their Generation X and Millennial children and grandchildren, are substantial aspects of generational aging.
Adult development encompasses the changes that occur in biological and psychological domains of human life from the end of adolescence until the end of one's life. These changes may be gradual or rapid and can reflect positive, negative, or no change from previous levels of functioning. Changes occur at the cellular level and are partially explained by biological theories of adult development and aging. Biological changes influence psychological and interpersonal/social developmental changes, which are often described by stage theories of human development. Stage theories typically focus on "age-appropriate" developmental tasks to be achieved at each stage. Erik Erikson and Carl Jung proposed stage theories of human development that encompass the entire life span, and emphasized the potential for positive change very late in life.
Reminiscence therapy is used to counsel and support older people, and is an intervention technique with brain-injured patients and those who appear to have "Alzheimer's and other forms of cognitive disease."
Ageing or aging is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. Furthermore, ageing connotes a biological and social construct. It is usually associated with dynamic changes in the biological, psychological, physiological, environmental, behavioral and social processes. In the broader sense, aging can refer to single cells within an organism which have ceased dividing or to the population of a species.
The activity theory, also known as the implicit theory of aging, normal theory of aging, and lay theory of aging, proposes that successful ageing occurs when older adults stay active and maintain social interactions. It takes the view that the aging process is delayed and the quality of life is enhanced when old people remain socially active. The activity theory rose in opposing response to the disengagement theory. The activity theory and the disengagement theory were the two major theories that outlined successful aging in the early 1960s. The theory was developed by Robert J. Havighurst in 1961. In 1964, Bernice Neugarten asserted that satisfaction in old age depended on active maintenance of personal relationships and endeavors.
Becca R. Levy is a Professor of Epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health and Professor of Psychology at Yale University. She is a leading researcher in the fields of social gerontology and psychology of aging. She is credited with creating the field of how age stereotypes, which are assimilated from the culture, impact the health of older individuals. The Dean of Columbia School of Public Health describes Levy as "a pioneer" in the "growing body of impressive research showing that our attitudes toward aging affect our health, our resilience in the face of adversity, and our very survival."
Clark Tibbitts (1903-1985) was a gerontologist who helped bring attention to the topic of aging and establish programs for aging populations in the United States. He held a variety of positions within gerontology and was an contributing author of many articles that examined aging. He has been described as "an architect of the field of gerontological education-an academic who spent most of his career in the federal government as an advocate for the development of aging education, training, and research programs in institutions of higher education."
Ursula M. Staudinger is a German psychologist and researcher of aging. She is the rector of the Technical University of Dresden (TUD). She was Professor of Sociomedical Sciences and Professor of Psychology at the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at Columbia University. Between 2013 and 2017 Staudinger was the founding director of the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center and president of the affiliated International Longevity Center.
Cumulative inequality theory or Cumulative Disadvantage Theory is the systematic explanation of how inequalities develop. The theory was initially developed by Merton (1988), who studied the sciences and prestige. He believed that recognition from peers, and from published research in the scientific field created cumulative advantage that led to the receipt of resources that facilitated research projects. The theory expanded in four decades to include the idea that some people have more disadvantages than advantages which influence the quality of life of societies, cohorts, and individuals. The theory is principally a social scientific explanation of phenomena but with links to biological and health factors, personal adjustment, and well-being. A central premise is that “social systems generate inequality, which is manifested over the life course via demographic and developmental processes.”
Narrativity has previously been applied as a method of research and form of therapy. Narrative gerontology applies narratives to explore the metaphor of “life as story” and is intended as a “heuristic for the study of aging”. Thus, narrative gerontology can be understood as a method to view ageing and what it entails and it encompasses the view that people can add value to their lives by creating and maintaining a personal narrative.
Food preferences in older adults and seniors takes into consideration how people's experiences change with aging, that is how change taste, diet (nutrition) and food choice. Primarily, this occurs when most people approach the age of 70 or older. Influencing variables can include: social and cultural environment, male or female sex and personal habits as well as physical and mental health. Scientific studies attempting to explain why people like or dislike certain foods have been performed to further our understanding of these issues.
Aging has a significant impact on society. People of different ages and gender tend to differ in many aspects, such as legal and social responsibilities, outlooks on life, and self-perceptions. Young people tend to have fewer legal privileges, they are more likely to push for political and social change, to develop and adopt new technologies, and to need education. Older people have different requirements from society and government, and frequently have differing values as well, such as for property and pension rights. Older people are also more likely to vote, and in many countries the young are forbidden from voting. Thus, the aged have comparatively more, or at least different, political influence.
Mary Margaret Clark (1925–2003) was an American medical anthropologist who is credited with founding the sub-discipline of medical anthropology.
Karl Andrew Pillemer is an American sociologist and gerontologist who is the Hazel E. Reed Professor of Human Development at Cornell University, director of the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, and Professor of Gerontology in Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. His research focuses on intergenerational relations in later life, long-term care for frail and disabled older persons, and social engagement and involvement of older persons. Pillemer is the founder of the Cornell Legacy Project, which since 2004 has collected accounts of the life wisdom of over 2,000 older Americans.
Dov Shmotkin is Professor Emeritus in the School of Psychological Sciences and Head of the Herczeg Institute on Aging at Tel Aviv University.
