The Explorer: Journal of Social Sciences ISSN: 2411-0132, Vol-1, Issue (4):97-100 www.theexplorerpak.org
AGEING AND AGEING STEREOTYPES: PERCEPTION OF OLDER PERSONS’ OF RAWALPINDI Aftab Ahmed1, Dr. Abid Ghafoor Chaudhry2 Anthropologist, Pakistan Association of Anthropology Islamabad, 2Incharge Department of Anthropology, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi
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Corresponding Author: Aftab Ahmed Office-2, Lower Ground Faysal Bank Atta Arcade, Main PWD Road, Islamabad huda.aftab@gmail.com Abstract: Ageing is a global phenomenon with all its impacts and consequences as observed most of the developed countries along with developing countries. In Pakistan the issue of ageing is not given more importance as it required securing the future of our elder’s population. This study was focused to explore the perception of Older Persons (OPs) about old age. Structure questionnaire was implemented to collect the data of 384 OPs of Rawalpindi city. Data was entered and analyzed in SPSS. Data shows the participation of 70% male OPs and 30% belongs to female OPs of respective area. Most of the study respondents were having the age between age group 60-65 as recorded 53.9%. Among 384 respondents, 267 OPs perceived old age as illness & disease, 194 OPs were reported the name of stress & depression. Predominantly, 243 elders considered old age as full of social isolation & ignorance. Increased dependency, less social participation, and poor mental & physical health was also reported by study respondents. Study concludes that if we want to bring a happy and active ending then we must consider the efforts that promote the positive and productive perceptions and stereotypes among OPs of our society, and also to gain benefit from their valuable experiences.
Key Words: Old age, Ageing, Perception of OPs, Stereotypes, OPs INTRODUCTION The phenomenon of aging means quite different things to different people and different subject defines it differently. Most gerontologists would agree that aging is a process, or set of processes, of gradual development and then decline that characterize the life span of an organism. What most of us think of as aging, however, is the loss of teeth, hair, muscle strength, memory, and reproductive ability, as well as the accumulation of wrinkles, joint pain, and what are commonly called the infirmities of old age. Across the world, declining fertility and increased longevity have jointly resulted in higher numbers and proportions of older persons 60 years and above. This trend will continue as the estimated 737 million older persons in 2009 (Chaudhry, et al. 2014; Chaudhry, et al. 2014; Ahmed, et al. 2015). Self-perceived age represents a person’s selfperception with regards to age categories like “middle aged” or “old” (Blau 1956). Self-perception shows that commonly elders have a strong trend to see themselves as younger than their chronological age and that female reported old age inversely from their male counterparts (Barak and Schiffman 1981). Additionally, aged people who identify
themselves as younger are more likely to have a more positive, liberal, and less traditional outlook on life. Overviews are reliable with the outcomes of succeeding pragmatic researches on the association among subjective age and health, satisfaction with life, and quality of life (Bowling, et al. 2005). Christina explains that images of being aged exist at two steps—the individual level and the societal level. If someone wants to get a brief contextual knowledge of ageing then it requires accepting of its influence upon the self-image/perception of an individual. Additionally, it’s also required to know that how the broader societal population distinguishes the place of OPs and the relative status or stigma linked with old age. Christina further argues that we must take into consideration some of the more generally believed stereotypes about old age and study how these perception and views are shaped and disseminated. Stereotypes are significant components of the societal setting within which groups and individuals experience old age (Christina 2005). This study was focused to explore the existing stereotypes about ageing in different age groups of elder people especially in respective field area of Rawalpindi.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS Present study was focused to collect the data on perception of older persons about old age. Field was done in TMA Rawal Town and TMA Potohar Town. A sample of 384 respondents was randomly interviewed to collect the data on set objective of study. A structures data collection tool was developed which cover basic demographic information, economic and physical status information along with their perception about old age. Data was entered in EpiData and analyzed in SPSS. RESULTS In this study the participation of both genders was insured with getting the data from male and female elders of sample areas. Male participation was 70.0% and females were 29.9% of the total sample. As very much clear from the topic of the study that this research was focused on aged peoples of the respective targeted areas so to satisfy the requirement topic age of every individual started from 60 years to onwards. Among 384 respondents 53.9% were fall under the category of 60-65 years of age, participation from 66-70 years age group was 20.8%. Percentiles also depicts the 3.9% of the respondents were belongs to 80 and above years of age.
Table.1: How you define Old Age? Frequency (n=384) 267
Response Illness and disease Stress and depression
194
Social isolation and ignorance
243
Increased dependency
166
Less social participation
162
Poor physical and mental health
120
Above table describe the perception of elder respondents about the concept of old age. Among 384 participants 267 were of the view that old age is the name of illness and disease, 194 were reported old age as stress and depression phase of life, social isolation and ignorance against the concept of old age was reported 243 times (n=384), old age is defined as increased dependency with the passage of time was recorded in 166 cases (n=384), old age is defined as increased dependency with the passage of time was recorded in 166 cases (n=384), less social participation was observed in (n=384), less social participation was observed in 162 cases and decreased physical and mental health 120 times.
Table.2: Cross-tab Age and Perception about Old Age How you define old age? Age Distribution of the Respondents 60-65
Stress and depression 13.5%
Social isolation and ignorance 25.6%
Less social participation 12.1%
Decreased physical and mental health 8.2%
Increased dependency 7.7%
Total 100.0%
26.3%
17.5%
32.5%
12.5%
7.5%
3.8%
100.0%
71-75
31.4%
13.7%
23.5%
5.9%
21.6%
3.9%
100.0%
76-80
32.3%
29.0%
12.9%
12.9%
3.2%
9.7%
100.0%
80+ Total
33.3%
20.0%
20.0%
13.3%
13.3%
31.3%
15.9%
25.5%
9.1%
11.7%
Illness and disease 32.9%
66-70
Calculated p value is .282 Above table highlighted the cross-tabulated results among two responses belongs to study respondents, one is their age distribution and second is their perception about old age or how he defines older age. Age category of 60-65 years depicts that 32.9% of OPs consider old age as phase of illness and disease, 13.5% perceived elder age as the name of stress and depression 25.6% OPs were of the view social isolation and ignorance is belong to old age, 7.7% responses were recorded against increased dependency, in 12.1% cases less social participation was reported and 8.2% respondents were share their opinion in favor of decrease in
100.0% 6.5%
100.0%
physical and mental health. If we look at the other percentiles of the table illness and disease category is predominantly reported by all age groups. DISCUSSION Observing that self-perceived age provides a multidimensional view of the aging process and that it explains some behavioral phenomena better than chronological age, empirical literature has focused on exploring the determinants of this measure, i.e. using it as the dependent variable in econometric models (Barak and Stern 1986; Henderson, et al. 1995). In a sample of respondents aged 65 or above, as observed by (Bowling, et al. 2005) find
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that physical health and functional status are the main predictors of subjective age. Self-perceived age as a potential covariate of various health outcomes (Demakakos, et al. 2007). Another line of empirical evidence has shown that among older people, positive self-image and positive attitudes towards ageing are predictive of better memory and hearing performance (Levy, et al. 2006), lower the chances of suffering from cardiovascular diseases (Levy, et al. 2000), reduce symptoms of depression, and result in a stronger will to live and better survival over time among older people (Dong, et al. 2010; Hausdorf, et al. 1999; Lai, 2009; Levy, et al. 2000). While the positive image of older life in modern societies is declining, researchers have become increasingly interested in the concept of the image of ageing and consider this to be an important predictor of the well-being of older people (Tobin, 1999). Growing old is now described as “maintaining one’s identity in spite of the changes that come with aging and, embracing opposites— being changed and feeling being the same” (Fischer, et al. 2008). Indexes from 1960 through 1969 concluded that modernization in general had a negative, and even detrimental, impact on the status of older people (Palmore and Whittington 1971). Bengtson, et al. (1975), uses data from a comparative study of 5,450 young males in six developing nations, reported similar results that societal development was related to negative perceptions of ageing. But when examining employment, occupation, and education status separately, A J-shaped relationship between older people’s occupation and education status on one hand and modernization on the other (Palmore and Manton 1974). perceived traits associated with older people are associated with positive image older people in East Asian societies, including China, could no longer be taken for granted. Ironically, when American and Korean perceptions of older people were compared, Yun and Lachman (2006) even found that Koreans, supposed to have a strong Confucian tradition of respecting the old, reported higher levels of anxiety about ageing with a greater fear of older people. CONCLUSION Present study was focused to bring the thinking and perception of elder people with specific distinction of age groups. Study highlights show that in the age group of 60-65 years “Old Age” is perceived as alternate of illness and diseases, similar results were observed in very next age group under the
perception of social isolation and ignorance. We conclude this research in the light of existing knowledge that shows if positive stereotypes were exists among OPs then their phase of their life will spent active and healthy while on the other hand if feeling and perception existed in negative direction (whatever the background characteristics are or will be), then this life ending years will be not accepted and wished to be live long. REFERENCES Ahmed, Aftab, Abid Ghafoor Chaudhry, Seemab Khan 2015 Declining Age and Social Roles: A Gerontological Perspective of Older Persons of Rawalpindi. Sci.int.(Lahore),27(1):719721. Blau, Zena Smith 1956 Changes in Status and Identification. American Sociological Review 21 (2):198-203.
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