MODERN APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING OLDER PEOPLE AS A PECULIAR SOCIAL GROUP

Abstract

Global aging trends, which are characteristic of Ukraine as well, lead to an understanding of the specific characteristics of older people. Based on the analysis of modern Ukrainian and international literature, this paper systematizes modern scientific views on the elderly as a special social group.Demographic, psycho-physiological, and sociological concepts related to ideas about old age, aging, and age limits of older people are characterized. In demography, older people are persons aged 60 years and older. At the same time, current documents of EU and other international organization stress that it is impossible to determine the fixed beginning of old age, because it depends on the individual characteristics of a person and many external factors that can slow down this process.From the point of view of physiology, older persons are characterized by involutive aging processes, which lead to a reduction in the functioning of the body and a higher need for external assistance (dependency on assistance). Psychological representations are based on the fact that elderly people are at the last stage of life, which is characterized by the search for the meaning of their life and reevaluation of achievements, who need self-affirmation and who self-identify with old age. Sociological ideas about the elderly are focused on singling out these people as a separate social group, which are characterized by a reduced social status, certain sociocultural roles and which require adjustments for communication with other groups in society.It was determined that an integrative definition of old age derived from socio-age status and identity is essential for social work. Social workers have to appreciate that individuals who usually experience a change in their own social environment have the same rights as other people and at the same time need respect for their choices, quality care and support