Social gerontology is a subfield of gerontology that focuses on the social as opposed to the physical or biological aspects of aging.
Deeper Dive
Social aging — one of the four dimensions of aging — refers to the changing experiences that individuals will encounter in their roles and relationships with other people and as members of larger groups as they go through the life course. Social gerontology has traditionally concentrated on the social, demographic and economic characteristics of older people and an aging population; that definition has recently expanded to include health, technology and overall lifestyle, according to Judith Phillips and Kristine Ajrouch, authors of Key Concepts in Social Gerontology. Various theoretical frameworks have been used to study aging from a social science perspective.
Social position and experiences of older people vary across cultures. Not surprisingly, the greatest differences in the status of older adults are between traditional societies and the modern world, with its rapidly changing values, norms, and lifestyles. Examining the different ways that other societies have addressed issues affecting their elders can shed light on how we age in our own society. Researchers look at what aspects of aging are universal or biological and which factors are largely shaped by a society’s sociocultural system.
Understanding how aging in contemporary American society differs from that experienced elsewhere and which factors are socioculturally determined can also suggest strategies for improving environments in which to grow old.