An Approach to the Measurement of Prestige Loss among the Aged

While it is often assumed that the aged are accorded low prestige status in the stratification systems of urban-industrial societies, direct empirical research demonstrating the existence and extent of prestige loss and delineating sources of variation has not been undertaken. Using a format similar to the NORC occupational prestige studies, an exploratory approach to this problem is made by asking a sample of older persons to evaluate the prestige of a series (“E”) of 9 general occupational titles and a matched series (“R”) of 9 occupational titles prefaced by the age-status designation “retired” (e.g., plumbers/retired plumbers). The hypothesis of low perceived prestige is supported as the summary prestige score for the R-series is significantly lower than the score for the E-series. Further analysis suggests the existence of an “order of presentation” effect: a greater difference between the summary prestige scores is found for those evaluating the R-series early in the interview and the E-series later in the interview than vice-versa. The methodological implications of this finding are considered as is the potential utility of the general method for more heterogeneous samples. Also considered is the use of the method to determine variation in perceptions of prestige loss among the aged along such dimensions as social integration, life satisfaction, age, socioeconomic status, and others.