Theories of Aging
Development through the life stages
Sociological / Psychological
Social Disengagement
ILL- Health
Some individuals may struggle with their mobility, hearing or vision. This can cause difficulty to interact with others for example someone with hearing impairments, may not join in with activities as they can't hear as much as others.
Geographical mobility
When people retire, they tend to move away from their friends and families. Family members can move away from the elderly in order to get a better chance with employment and housing. This can mean that if they need assistance and care from informal carer this can be more of a struggle.
Retirement
Retiring from work can result in less social interaction and result in the individual staying at home more. Colleagues that they used to work with can start to lose contact therefore the individual will not tend to leave the house as much as what they did when they were working.
ILL-Health of friends and relatives
If friends and family members are decreasing in their health such as mobility or other disabilities can reduce the amount of social interaction that the individual has.
Travel and technology
Some elderly people may not be able to drive or have a car, the internet or have a mobile phone. This can prevent the amount of opportunities that the individual can have such as meeting with friends or family members for lunch.
Activity theory
Continuing theory
Biological
Gender Differences
Disposable Soma theory
How do the theories relate to ageing?
What controls the lifespan is unknown. Many theories fall into two main sectors, programmed and error theories.These both explain the process of ageing however neither of the two seem to be fully satisfying.All of the theories can interlock with each other but at the same time they can also effect one another. Changes to genes can depend on how the individual can repair and defend. Each theory relates to ageing in a different way. For example the disengagement theory suggests that as people start to get older then this can mean that they do not have a high social status compared to what they used to have and they can start to lose contact with those who they may have spoken to every day.