Connecting Ethnicity, Agency and Ageing

2003 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 165-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Wray
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Ethnic Diversity ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Successful Ageing ◽  
Culturally Specific ◽  
Personal Power ◽  
Time Space ◽  
Sociological Approaches

The experience of growing older in Britain is ethnically and culturally differentiated. Yet, mainstream gerontological and sociological approaches to ageing have failed to examine, in any detail, the interconnections between agency, ageing and ethnic diversity. This means that theories of ageing often exclude experiences outside the ‘traditional’ domain. Here, traditional includes those theories of ageing that have relied on western (British/American) concepts to measure personal power and fulfillment in later life. Yet, the meanings attached to agency, empowerment, autonomy and independence vary in relation to the specificities of time, space and culture. Despite this, western culturally specific concepts tend to underpin the notion of ‘successful ageing’. This paper questions both the effect this has on how agency and empowerment are theorised and the extent to which some experiences are excluded by definition. It presents findings from an ESRC qualitative research project on womenís experiences of agency and dis/empowerment in later life across ethnic diversity. There were differences, for instance, in the timing of old age, what constituted control and agency and womenís relationship with their bodies, as they grew older. The paper considers the extent to which current gerontological and sociological theories and concepts of ageing adequately represent ethnic and cultural differences in what it means to grow older.

scholarly journals Understanding diversity in later life through images of old age

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike Enßle ◽  
Ilse Helbrecht
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Conceptual Debate ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
Images Of Old Age

Abstract This article aims to enhance the conceptual debate on diversity in old age by exploring the interplay of diversity in later life and images of old age. We argue that the analysis of images of old age on the micro-level is a fruitful methodology in order to unravel the meaning of diversity in later life. Drawing on findings from qualitative research in Berlin, we explore how new and diverse imaginations, experiences and lifestyles of old age emerge. The conceptual focus on images of old age enables us to investigate further what diversity in later life comprises and how it simultaneously fosters the genesis of new images of old age. The manifold new images we found in our research suggest that prevalent societal discourses about old age on the macro-level are rather deceptive and represent mostly stereotypes such as ‘active agers’ or ‘frail and dependent elders’. We offer three explanations why alternative images of old age are currently barely present in public discourse: (a) the actors transmitting images of age; (b) the institutionalisation of the images; and (c) the challenge to communicate complexity. We conclude by suggesting that images of old age are a promising starting point to explore and make visible both the diversity of social groups within the older generation as well as the heterogeneity of older individuals.

scholarly journals Revisiting Happiness and Well-Being in Later Life from Interdisciplinary Age-Studies Perspectives

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Ieva Stončikaitė
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Successful Ageing ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Demographic Shifts ◽  
Age Studies

Important demographic shifts and the so-called ‘longevity revolution’ have generated profound transformations in social interpretations of old age, an increased interest in age studies and new ideas on how to age well. The majority of current successful ageing models, however, represent rather a prevailing construct in Western societies. Physical and psychosocial well-being and the ability to adjust to the ideals of successful ageing are often seen as an integral part of a good quality in life. Those who do not or cannot follow these lines are often regarded as morally irresponsible and seem to be doomed to have a lonely, unhealthy and unhappy later life. This paper questions the current discourses of successful ageing in terms of healthy and happy living and calls for a reconsideration of more global, integrated and holistic understandings of the process of growing old.

Images of Aging in the Psychotherapeutic Context

GeroPsych ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva-Marie Kessler ◽  
Catherine E. Bowen
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Diagnostic Tests ◽  
Aging Process ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Mental Representations ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Psychotherapeutic Process ◽  
Images Of Aging ◽  
Client Communication

Both psychotherapists and their clients have mental representations of old age and the aging process. In this conceptual review, we draw on available research from gerontology, social and developmental psychology, and communication science to consider how these “images of aging” may affect the psychotherapeutic process with older clients. On the basis of selected empirical findings we hypothesize that such images may affect the pathways to psychotherapy in later life, therapist-client communication, client performance on diagnostic tests as well as how therapists select and apply a therapeutic method. We posit that interventions to help both older clients and therapists to reflect on their own images of aging may increase the likelihood of successful treatment. We conclude by making suggestions for future research.

Using crystallization to understand loneliness in later life: integrating social science and creative narratives in sensitive qualitative research

2021 ◽  
pp. 146879412110059
Author(s):  
Barbara Barbosa Neves ◽  
Josephine Wilson ◽  
Alexandra Sanders ◽  
Renata Kokanović
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Creative Writing ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Older People ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Social Phenomena

This article draws on crystallization, a qualitative framework developed by Laurel Richardson and Laura Ellingson, to show the potential of using sociological narratives and creative writing to better analyze and represent the lived experiences of loneliness among older people living in Australian care homes. Crystallization uses a multi-genre approach to study and present social phenomena. At its core is a concern for the ethics of representation, which is critical when engaging with vulnerable populations. We use two case studies from research on loneliness to illustrate an application of crystallization through different narrative types. To supplement our sociological narratives, we invited author Josephine Wilson to write creative narratives based on the case studies. Josephine was awarded the prestigious Miles Franklin Literary Award in 2017 for Extinctions, a novel exploring themes such as later life and loneliness. By contrasting the two approaches—sociological and creative narratives—we discuss the implications of crystallization for qualitative research.

Perceived Stress Predicts Subsequent Self-Reported Problems With Vision and Hearing: Longitudinal Findings From the German Ageing Survey

2021 ◽  
pp. 016402752110273
Author(s):  
Markus Wettstein ◽  
Hans-Werner Wahl ◽  
Vera Heyl
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Chronic Diseases ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Middle Adulthood ◽  
Self Rated Health ◽  
Demographic Indicators ◽  
German Ageing Survey

Although stress is a risk factor for various diseases in later life, its role for sensory abilities in the second half of life has rarely been empirically addressed. We examined if perceived stress at baseline predicts self-reported difficulties with vision and hearing 3 years later. We also explored whether chronological age is a moderator of associations between stress and sensory difficulties. Our sample was derived from the German Ageing Survey and consisted of n = 5,085 individuals aged 40–95 years ( M = 64.01 years, SD = 10.84 years). Controlling for baseline self-reported sensory functioning, socio-demographic indicators, self-rated health and chronic diseases, greater perceived stress at baseline predicted greater self-reported difficulties with vision and hearing 3 years later. The effect of stress did not vary by age. Our findings suggest that, from middle adulthood to advanced old age, stress is a risk factor for increases in self-perceived problems with vision and hearing.

scholarly journals ‘A sense of purpose’: Older prisoners’ experiences of successful ageing behind bars

2021 ◽  
pp. 147737082199514
Author(s):  
Hila Avieli
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Older Men ◽  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Successful Ageing ◽  
Older Prisoners ◽  
Unified Process ◽  
Self Discovery ◽  
Better Than

There is growing interest in ageing offenders and their lives in prison. However, this subject is often studied from a deprivation perspective, focusing on issues such as lack of medical care and proper environmental conditions. This article highlights experiences of wellbeing while ageing in confinement, using the conceptual framework of successful ageing. An interpretive phenomenological analysis perspective was used to analyse the narratives of 18 older prisoners. The narratives revealed four themes: ‘Like all other older men’: comparing ageing in prison with ageing within the community; ‘Better than what I have outside’: prison as an escape from a life of loneliness, poverty and delinquency; ‘Here I get some respect’: the older prisoner as a mentor; and ‘I feel accomplished’: experiences of growth and self-discovery as a means for successful ageing in prison. The findings suggest that ageing in prison may not be perceived as a single, unified process, but as a personal and individual phenomenon, and that old age may facilitate positive changes in the lives of ageing offenders in prison.

scholarly journals A new start? Negotiations of age and chrononormativity by older apprentices in England

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 1667-1692 ◽  
Author(s):  
PAULINE LEONARD ◽  
ALISON FULLER ◽  
LORNA UNWIN
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Vocational Training ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Policy Initiative ◽  
Older Worker ◽  
Training Schemes ◽  
The Right ◽  
Opening Up

ABSTRACTThe decision to start a new career might seem an unusual one to make in later life. However, England has seen a steady rise in numbers of workers undertaking an apprenticeship in their fifties and sixties, through a government-funded policy initiative opening up training to adults at all stages of the lifecourse. At the same time, in most Western contexts, the amalgamation of ‘older’ and ‘apprentice’ presents a challenge to normative understandings of the ‘right age’ to undertake vocational training. What is it like to make a new start as an older worker? This paper draws on new qualitative research conducted in England with older apprentices, exploring how they found the experience and management of training ‘out of step’. Inspired by Elizabeth Freeman's temporalities approach, our findings reveal how powerful norms of age-normativity routinely structure understandings, experiences and identities of older-age training for both organisations and apprentices. While these norms demand careful negotiation by both apprentices and trainers, if managed successfully older workers gain significant benefits from their training. These findings have resonance not only for England, but for other international contexts considering expanding vocational training into older age. The paper concludes that if adult training schemes are to succeed, some fundamental changes may need to be made to understandings of age and ageing within contemporary workplaces.

scholarly journals Successful ageing and multi-dimensional poverty: the case of Peru

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1690-1714 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAVIER OLIVERA ◽  
ISABELLE TOURNIER
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Mental Disability ◽  
Successful Ageing ◽  
Economic Literature ◽  
Public Intervention ◽  
Nutrition Quality ◽  
Counting Approach ◽  
Health Functioning

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the determinants of Successful Ageing (SA) in a sample of 4,151 Peruvians aged between 65 and 80 years and living in poverty. A key contribution of this study is to combine the conceptual appeal of SA to measure wellbeing in old age with the multi-dimensional poverty counting approach developed in the economic literature. This setting allows for moving beyond the dichotomy of successful and usual ageing to take advantage of the full distribution of success along a set of dimensions of wellbeing. The data are drawn from the Encuesta de Salud y Bienestar del Adulto Mayor (ESBAM) survey, which is the baseline to evaluate the non-contributory public pension programme Pension 65. Nine indicators of SA have been used to assess the dimensions of physical health, functioning, cognition, emotional health and life satisfaction. The variables associated with a higher number of satisfied indicators were male gender, younger old age, literate, employed, low food insecurity, good nutritional status, normal blood pressure, absence of disabilities, non-smoker, empowerment, good self-esteem, absence of mental disability and less frequent contact with a social network. From a policy perspective, the results of this study report a remarkably stable effect of three variables affecting SA that can be relatively easy to measure, monitor and influence by public intervention. These variables are food security, nutrition quality and self-esteem.

Doing Business Abroad: The Problem of Training for Cultural Differences in Communication

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-347
Author(s):  
John P. Daniels ◽  
Hugh M. Shane ◽  
Jerry L. Wall
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Effective Communication ◽  
Sociological Factors ◽  
Efficient Management ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
Foreign Culture ◽  
Time Space

Effective communication is essential for efficient management. Yet, the problem of communication is exacerbated when the manager is required to function in a foreign culture. Communication in a foreign country is often complicated by such cultural influences as the importance of time, space, relationships, and numerous other subtle psychological and sociological factors. Merely learning the language of a host country is not sufficient to effectively conduct business abroad. To be truly effective, a manager must not only understand the language of the host country but must also “have a feel” for its culture. The present article suggests that managers preparing for overseas assignments be familiarized not only with the language of the host country but also with the psychological and sociological norms inherent in that particular culture.

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