Soc- Chapter 9

Front 1

age grades

Back 1

"Groups of people who share a common social status because of their age."

Front 2

life cycle

Back 2

"A series of passengers between the social roles expected of people in different age grades."

Front 3

rites of passage

Back 3

"Rituals that mark the transistion from one stage of life to another."

Front 4

childhood

Back 4

"The earliest age grade, lasting from birth to the onset of puberty."

Front 5

adolecence

Back 5

"The age grade of persons who have reached puberty but have not been given full status as adults."

Front 6

adulthood

Back 6

"The age grade of persons who are considered to have reached full social and physical maturity."

Front 7

old age

Back 7

"The last age grade, usually considered to start around age 65."

Front 8

midlife crisis

Back 8

"A psychological predicament commonly experienced by persons in their middle years when they face the passing of their youth and the limitations on their future."

Front 9

erosion of childhood

Back 9

"The deterioration of the specially protected status accorded our children."

Front 10

identity crisis

Back 10

"The personal crisis, typical of adolescence, in which people try to define who they are and how they fit into society."

Front 11

youth culture

Back 11

"The distinctive subculture created by adolescents in industrial society."

Front 12

ageism

Back 12

"Prejudice and discrimination directed at older people."

Front 13

elder abuse

Back 13

"The physical or psychological mistreatment of the elderly."

Front 14

retirement communities

Back 14

"Planned communities for elderly people."

Front 15

baby boom generation

Back 15

"The large generation of Americans born after World War 2."

Front 16

activity theory

Back 16

"A theory of aging which holds that older people are happiest when they continue to be actively involved in social life."

Front 17

disengagement theory

Back 17

"A theory of aging which holds that older people are best off when they slowly disengage from social activities as they age."

Front 18

The Functionalist Perspective- Old/Young

Back 18

-See much confusion in the institutions and agencies that are supposed to meet the special needs of the young, the middle-aged, and the elderly.
-It is nessacary to recognize the social institutions that traditionally cared for the young and the elderly or to develop new agencies that can do so more effectively.
-The government has done some work to develop programs to care for the elderly and the young.
-However, these programs are often cumbersome and inefficient, and they spend far to much on administrative costs; but the most serious problem is that these agencies often do not have enough money to meet the needs of the people they serve.
-Our efforts to deal with the sterotypes regarding the elderly have been somewhat successful.
-Those same efforts regarding the young have been less successful.

Front 19

The Conflict Perspective- Old/Young

Back 19

-The governments seeming indifference to the social problems of the old and young is a product of class conflict. The wealthy do not need government services, so they do not care to pay for them.
-Value conflict- our ideals about the importance of competition, self-reliance, and personal responsibility clash with the effort to care for people who are not economically productive.
-The most effective response to the problems of the life cycle is political action. Elderly have achieved this; children have not.

Front 20

The Feminist Perspective- Old/Young

Back 20

-Points directly to the critical role women play in the problems facing the young and the old.
-First off, women live longer than men. So, most of the elderly care is needed for elderly women.
-Secondly, women share more responsibility for the care of the young and the old.
-There are two solutions.
-They would like to see men pitch in and provide more help in child rearing and the care of elderly relatives.
-They also realize that the government needs to lend a bigger financial helping hand.
-Financially, the government could increase welfare support for poor families with dependent children and provide tax breaks for those caring for children or the elderly.
-Also, the government needs to provided institutional structures for the care of the young and the elderly, thus eliminating some pressure from the family.

Front 21

The Interactionist Perspective- Old/Young

Back 21

-Concerned with the social process of aging and with the ways the social definitions we hold for people of different ages shape their attitudes and their behavior.
-Help intergrate them into supportive social groups that offer a constructive role to play in society.
-Activity theory
-Disengagement theory