Mike Parson - Successful Aging Discovering The Factors Which Old People Regard As Essential To Optimal Old Age

SUCCESSFUL AGING

Discovering The Factors

Which Old People Regard As

Essential To Optimal Old Age

by

Mike Parson

INTRODUCTION

T he demographics of the growth of the world's population of older people has been well-publicized. Frequently this is linked to concerns about growing demands for social services. In liberal western nations, this rise in the proportion of elderly people is .occurring at a period of history when governments are attempting to contain state spending on health and welfare services. Within this context, the gerontological concept of 'successful aging', which encourages productivity and self-reliance among older people, has emerged.

The term ' successful aging' was coined by R. J. Havighurst in 1961 and developed into a gerontological concept by Rowe and Kahn in 1 998. Rowe and Kahn's search to identify the factors "that conspire to put one octogenarian on cross-country skis and another in a wheelchair" led them to put forward the view that 'successfully' aged old people are those who remain healthy and socially engaged. The concept of 'successful aging' is widely regarded as promoting well-being in old age. As a result, it has become highly influential in the fields of nursing, social work, and social care. However, the concept has also attracted criticism, mainly for praising the fortunate and privileged elders who manage to prolong healthy middle age; whilst labeling unwell, disabled, and lonely old people as unsuccessful.

CHAPTER 1

CHANGES AND FLUCTUATIONS IN WESTERN THEORIES OF AGEING

T his chapter examines a range of theories of aging which have emerged during the past fifty years. It links these theories to some of the changing economic policies and demographics during the same period. By this means, it identifies two types of theories. The first are those theories that attempt to prescribe a model for old age that fits with the current economic orthodoxy of their time. For example, theories that promote 'active' and ' productive' aging have emerged at a time when the costs of old pensions have been highlighted as a major concern.' Second are theories that seek to understand what factors promote (or detract from) well-being in old age. These are somewhat less prone to fluctuate over time.

Before industrialization, working people did not 'go out' to work. Most people, including women, children, and the aged, worked at home. Individuals did not 'exit' the workforce. Even in old age, individuals were expected to be productive and useful. In the early twentieth century, this situation is said to have changed when the invention of conveyer belt-based assembly lines made the speed of young workers more valuable than the creative skills of slower-moving, older workers. This was the era into which retirement was introduced. Presented to workers as a reward for long years in the workforce, retirement was a means of replacing older with younger workers, thereby lowering production costs and increasing profitability. For men, retirement became the formal end to decades of workforce participation, and the point of entry into old age, a fixed rite of passage. Old age pensions granted the right to withdraw from work with a secure if small, income. However, this did not guarantee a rise in the status of older people.