Ageing Theories
Explain two theories of ageing
Activity theory And Social Disengagement Theory
In 1961, this theory was constructed by two authors called Cumming and Henry. According to them "Ageing is an state which is inevitable, mutual withdrawal resulting in decreased interaction between the ageing person and others in the social system where he belongs to." The theory claims that as people grow older, they tend to withdraw form society and society withdraws from them. As people grow older, they become very fragile and their social circles decreases as they start to pull away and are hardly involved in activities. It is said that disengagement often is a cause of something not because they want to become a part of it. It can be a reason that they have a health problems or disease that is preventing from communicating with people like hearing impairment or mobility etc. Retiring, as they are ageing they may stop working completely because they will not be able to work productively. This means that they will have less chances to contact their friends.
Activity Theory
This theory was developed by Robert J. Havighurst in 1961 and was originally created as a response to the disengagement theory. This theory suggest that older people are happiest when they are active and maintain social interaction ,and more in touch to know whats going around them. This helps to limit the risk associated with disengagement like having low-esteem. The activities should be something that is meaningful to them as it helps to replace lost life roles after retirement. The theory assumes positive relationship between activity and life satisfaction. The person level of activity actually influence how a person view him or her, so more they engage in activity they feel self-worthy and increase in happiness and satisfied in older age.