Stratification by Age

When child faces to the new phenomenon he tries to explain it . This explanation can be primitive and give the awry picture of the reality Child can use this explanation during certain time but he can change his opinion later , when he will get new knowledge and old theory will be replaced by the new one . Scientists . They are children-like . New toys , new theories

In 1961 the new theory of aging , the disengagement theory , was introduced . The key postulate of the theory is a natural withdrawal of the seniors from the social

life . In other words , the followers of the disengagement theory (or functionalists ) use rocking chair ' approach to aging . They mean that old age is different than middle age and elderly is characterized by the decreased interaction with social environment . They think that growing old is easier for men than women The disengagement theory is centered on the society functions rather than on individuality . Functionalists tell us : Older adults do not need to be active . Don 't worry about it , c 'est la vie

Just some questions . OK , respected sirs and madams , senior people are disengaged by the society . Have you asked seniors before to draw this conclusion ? Of course , older people gradually disengage from social interaction as they grow older but it 's not true for such types of social activity as volunteer work , club activities , church attendance etc . I think that social activity is an important determinant of health and social well-being . Age stratification based on the disengagement theory has many weaknesses . There are class ' character of the stratification , the generation gap ' between experiences of different age strata and their role behaviour

Another approach was proposed by the interactionists . Their theory is theory of activity . The interactionists think that the isolation of the seniors is abnormal phenomenon . They see the base of social stratification of seniors not in their age but in social socio-economical and health issues . Widows , childless and single people disable persons , seniors with low income - they are candidates for the social failure . Successful aging is active aging . How to achieve it ? We can extend active life and develop programs of age-appropriate replacements for retired persons . So when we prefer the activity theory we get more chances to control the situation . That is the reason why this theory is better ...