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UNIT 4 - D2
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health and social care complete essay
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Shona ThomasD2 – Critically compare the value of aging theories to individuals in differing Health
and Social Care setting
The disengagement theory was “created by two social scientists Elaine Cumming and
William Earle Henry. It was presented in the book Growing Old which was published
in 1961.” 1This theory was inspired by the functionalist theory and it presents a social
organised discussion of the aging process and the evolution of the social lives of
elderly people. Therefore, the disengagement theory encourages the elderly to take
a role of being less active in our society.
As soon as the theory of disengagement was published it caused controversy. Some
critics pointed out that this was a flawed social science theory because Cummings
and Henry assume that the process is natural, and it happens to everyone no matter
what the circumstances. Therefore they believed it to be a thing which was fixed and
everyone had to go through it so it was not voluntary. Also people say that as the
theory was made over 50 years ago, it is outdated due to the changes we have
experienced in our society. Some pointed out that the theory completely ignores the
role of class in shaping the experience of aging, this is because all people age
differently and this theory is based on a small group of people in a small area. It is
also based on the minority who happen to be in the same Health and Social care
setting, so it doesn’t take into account what each individual has previously
experienced or currently experiencing in the Health and social care setting that they
happen to be in. Others critiqued the assumption that the elderly people compliant
tools of the social system, so they aren’t useful anymore so they have to give up their
role in society. Others said that they think the theory of disengagement fails to
capture the complex and the social lives of the elderly, as well as the many forms of
engagement that follow retirement. They believed all the things that this theory
supported could make the elderly more likely to develop a psychological disorder due
to feeling alone and isolated, they may also feel like their only thing to happen to
them is death as they could feel like there is nothing in their life worth looking
forward to. Some also say that “there is a growing number of elderly people who
have behaviour which cannot be described as withdrawal”2. The theory claims to be
1 http://sociology.about.com/od/D_Index/g/Disengagement-Theory.htm
2 https://prezi.com/zfl2rinqiivt/comparing-disengagement-and-continuity-theories/
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