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Chapter 14
Age and Aging
Chapter Outline
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The Social Construction of Aging
A Society Grows Old
Growing Up/Growing Old: Aging and the
Life Course
Age, Diversity, and Inequality
Dementia
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Term used to describe a variety of diseases that
involve some permanent damage to the brain.
Involves an impaired awareness of one’s self
and surroundings, memory loss, and
tendencies toward delusions and hallucinations.
Alzheimer’s disease occurs among
approximately 10% of the population over age
65 and half of the population over age 85.
Social Factors in the Aging
Process
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What it means to grow older and how
people age are social phenomena.
The influence of social definitions on
aging are illustrated by the distinction in
cognitive and chronological age.
 Cognitive age is how old one thinks of
oneself as being.
 Chronological age is one’s actual age.
Age Stereotypes
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Preconceived judgments about the
characteristics of different age groups.
Common stereotypes of the elderly include that
they are: forgetful, set in their ways,
meddlesome, conservative, inactive,
unproductive, lonely, mentally dim, and
uninterested in sex.
Studies find women are viewed as old as much
as a decade sooner than men.
The Aged: Myths and
Realities
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Myth: Most old people have no interest or
capacity for sex.
 Although there is some decline in sexual
activity as people age, there is less decline in
interest than in activity.
 Even after age 65, people report an average
of sex 2.5 times a month, compared to 7.1
times for those 18 to 65.
The Aged: Myths and
Realities
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Old people are usually senile.
 Only a small minority of the elderly can be
considered senile; about 10% suffer from
Alzheimer’s disease.
Most old people end up in nursing homes
and other institutions.
 Less than 5% of the elderly are in a nursing
home or other institution at any particular
time.
Age Norms
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Explicit and implicit rules that spell out the
expectations society has for different ages.
They define what you should or should not do
according to your age.
 Young people are not supposed to be
sexually active and are supposed to stay in
school.
 The elderly are expected to retire from their
jobs and be less active and publicly visible
than those supposedly in their prime.
A Society Grows Old
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America’s older population will double by
2030, reaching some 70 million.
The most rapid growth among the older
population is among those who are 85
years and over.
In 1900, only 4% of the population was
over age 65; by the end of the century, it
was 12%; and by 2025, it will be 18%.
Contract Between Generations
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The expectation that the first generation will
grow up and raise the second generation who
in turn produce a third generation.
Each generation cares for the next, and the
second or third generation will care for the first
when they become old.
Parents care for children who in turn care for
their children.
Social Security
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First established in 1935 as Old Age, Survivors’,
and Disability Insurance.
It works through a payroll tax placed on the
earnings of current workers, employers, and
self-employed people.
The money is placed in a federal trust fund and
drawn on from those currently receiving Social
Security.
How much you receive depends on your
lifetime earnings.
Social Security
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Social Security expenditures are 1/4 of
the federal budget for human, physical,
and defense resources.
In 1945, Social Security had 35 people
paying into the fund for every recipient
drawing upon it.
By the late 1990s, the ratio was 3.2 to 1.
Socialization Across the Life
Cycle
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Childhood - establish identity and values.
Adolescence - form a consistent identity.
Adulthood and Old Age - learn new roles
and expectations in adult life.
Slowing the Transition to
Adulthood
1980
% age 20 to 21 in school 31.0%
Median age at first marriage
2002
45.5
Women 21.8
Men 23.6
% aged 16 to 19 in labor force
25.3
26.9
Women 52.9%
Men 60.5%
56.3
69.7
Age, Race and Poverty
Growing Population of
Minority Youth
Where the Aged Live
Polling Question
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Medical and health insurance premiums
should not be based on age of the recipient.
A.) Strongly agree
B.) Agree somewhat
C.) Unsure
D.) Disagree somewhat
E.) Strongly disagree
Nursing Homes
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The average annual cost of a nursing home is
now about $57,000 per person per year.
The median income for all elderly is just over
$23,000.
Medicare and Medicaid are federal programs
that assist the elderly.
 Medicare was established in the 1960s to
provide health services for older Americans.
 Medicaid provides health care assistance for
the poor, including the elderly.
Elder Abuse
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The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates
that there are between 820,000 and 1,860,000
abused elders in the United States
Elder abuse is often hidden in the privacy of
families or behind institutional doors, and
victims are reluctant to talk about their
situations.
Reports of elder abuse have increased since
the mid-1980s.
Euthanasia
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Killing a severely ill person or allowing the
person to die as an act of mercy such as
in physician-assisted suicide.
The public is divided in its support for
euthanasia:
 49% say physician-assisted suicide is
morally wrong
 45% say it is morally acceptable
Age Prejudice and
Discrimination
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Age prejudice is a negative attitude about an
age group generalized to all people in that
group.
Age discrimination is the different and unequal
treatment of people based solely on their age.
Age prejudice is a covert attitude, age
discrimination involves actual behavior.
The Age Discrimination Employment Act,
passed in 1967, protects people from age
discrimination in employment.
Polling Question
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I don't value older people in our society
as much as younger people.
A.) Strongly agree
B.) Agree somewhat
C.) Unsure
D.) Disagree somewhat
E.) Strongly disagree
Quadruple Jeopardy
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The simultaneous effects of being old, minority,
female, and poor.
 The status of old is lower than that of adult.
 The status of minority is lower than that of
White.
 The status of women is lower than that of
men.
 The status of poor is lower than that of
middle-class.
The Changing Global Age
Structure
The World’s Oldest-Old
Functionalist Theory of Aging
Age
differentiation
Age
groups
Each group has varying
utility levels in society
Valued according to
usefulness in society
Age stratification Results from the functional
value of different age cohorts
Conflict Theory of Aging
Age
differentiation
Results from different
economic status and power
of age cohorts
Age groups
Compete for resources in
society resulting in inequities
and conflict
Age stratification Intertwines with inequalities
of class, race, and gender
Symbolic Interaction
Theory of Aging
Age
differentiation
Social value placed on
different age groups varies
across cultures
Age groups
Stereotyped according to
perceived value of different
groups
Age stratification Promotes ageism
Quick Quiz
1. ________ is the term used to describe a
variety of diseases that involve some
permanent damage to the brain.
a. Dementia
b. Senescence
c. Madness
d. Senility
Answer: A
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Dementia is the term used to describe a
variety of diseases that involve some
permanent damage to the brain.
2. Life expectancy is defined as the:
a. number of average years a particular
group is likely to live
b. average number of years the baby
boomers will live
c. total number of years that a
particular group will live
d. quality of life a particular group is
likely to have
Answer: a
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Life expectancy is defined as the number
of average years a particular group is
likely to live.
3. Which of the following statements about
aging is incorrect?
a. Age stereotypes differ for different
groups.
b. Age stereotypes are reinforced
through popular culture.
c. Gender is not a factor in age
stereotypes.
d. Perceptions of aging are socially
constructed.
Answer: c
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The statement, gender is not a factor in
age stereotypes, is incorrect.
4. Like class, race, and gender, age is a
source of:
a. racial differentiation
b. social stratification
c. age discrimination
d. gender segregation
Answer: b
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Like class, race, and gender, age is a
source of social stratification.
5. The term used by sociologists to
describe the institutionalized practice of
age prejudice and discrimination is:
a. age stereotypes
b. age prejudice
c. ageism
d. age discrimination
Answer: c
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The term used by sociologists to describe
the institutionalized practice of age
prejudice and discrimination is ageism.