Gerontology: Towards a General Theory and a Research Strategy

Abstract

Man's course of life consists of several principal individual and social phases. The aging phase is characterized by a natural reduction in the individual and social functional capacity. A socio-political task is the prevention of a too early or unnecessarily rapid reduction in the functional capacity due to sickness or other causes. The elderly have fewer resources than the young and require an increasing degree of aid from others to meet their needs. Analytically, gerontological research can occur from three different points of view: from the elderly's point of view (the "I/we" perspective); from "the others' " points of view ("the others" perspective) and from the collective point of view ("us all" perspective). Research should determine to what degree society, technically and organisationally, is capable of satisfying everyone; also the elderly with their reduced functional capacity. The elderly will often be treated as an "outgroup", and not as fully integrated members of society. The elderly in our culture have little power, and must to a great degree adjust to the terms set by the younger generation. Research concerning integration can be organized according to Levy's ten "functional requisites": Provision for an adequate physiological relationship to the setting and for sexual recruitment; role differentiation and role assignment; communication; shared cognitive orientation; a shared articulated set of goals; regulation of the choice of means; regulation of affective expression; adequate socialization; effective control of disruptive forms of behavior; adequate institutionalization.