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Becoming a grandparent can be an important life course transition.
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Disengagement theory grew out of an extensive body of research known as the Kansas City Study of Adult Life, which was a 10-year longitudinal study of the transition from middle age to old age (Williams & Wirths, 1965). The idea of disengagement presented itself not only as an empirical account based on those findings but also as a theory to explain observations about modern societies; for example, why has the practice of retirement spread? But gerontologists have criticized disengagement theory (Hochschild, 1975); some have pointed out that the theory evolved during the 1950s and reflected social conditions quite different from those of today as well as distinctions between different societies.
Although the original disengagement theory is no longer often accepted, the pattern of disengagement does describe some behavior of some older people—for example, the seductiveness of the idea of early retirement. But there are growing numbers of older people whose behavior cannot be well described as withdrawal or disengagement from society. Disengagement as a global pattern of behavior can hardly be called natural or inevitable.
Another problem arises when we describe disengagement as “functional,” which is a synonym for “useful.” The same process that might be functional or useful for an organization—for instance, compulsory retirement at a predictable age—may not be at all useful for individuals, who might prefer flexible retirement or need to continue working because of economic necessity. In fact, it was widespread resentment at being forced to retire at a fixed age that led Congress to end mandatory retirement for most jobs in 1986.
There is also a lack of clarity about what behavior is actually being described by the concept of disengagement. For example, individuals might partially withdraw from one set of activities, such as those in the workplace, to spend more time on other activities, such as family and leisure pursuits; total withdrawal is quite uncommon. Although advancing age at some point is usually accompanied by losses in health, physical ability, and social networks, those who age most “successfully” adjust to and compensate for these losses by putting the changes of later life into a wider perspective, an attitude sometimes described as “wisdom.” Later life today, at least for those who are able to adapt to changes that come with aging, is often filled with a rich range of activities. The Kansas City Study investigators also found that with advancing age, there is, in fact, a trend toward greater interiority, meaning increased attention to the inner psychological world (Neugarten, 1964). Individuals appear to reach a peak of interest in activity and achievement in their middle years. As they anticipate later life, they may become more detached, more inclined toward “ego transcendence,” as if in anticipation of predictable role losses in later life (Tornstam, 2005).
Understood in this way, disengagement need not necessarily describe the outward behavior of individuals, but may refer to an inner attitude toward life. Furthermore, there is no reason to assume that all older people are inclined toward even a psychological stance of disengagement; some may have ambivalence about their own activities and attachments. Perhaps the greatest example in literature of that ambivalence is the tragic fate of Shakespeare’s King Lear, who tries to give up his role as king but is not quite able to withdraw from power and prestige. As a result, he brings disaster on his family and himself. King Lear’s example suggests that disengagement depends on having some sense of personal meaning that is distinct from the office one holds. The ability to achieve some degree of detachment, at any age, is a matter of wide individual difference. In later life, disengagement is the preferred style for some, whereas continued activity remains attractive for others.
Activity and Continuity Theories of Aging
At the opposite pole from the disengagement theory is the activity theory of aging, which argues that the more active people are, the more likely they are to be satisfied with life. Activity theory assumes that how we think of ourselves is based on the roles or activities in which we engage: We are what we do, it might be said. The activity theory recognizes that most people in later life continue with the roles and activities established earlier because they continue to have the same needs and values.
The continuity theory of aging makes a similar point, noting that as people grow older they are inclined to maintain as much as they can the same habits, personality, and style of life they developed in earlier years (McCrae & Costa, 1990). According to both the activity theory and the continuity theory, any decreases in social interaction are explained better by poor health or disability than by some functional need of society to disengage older people from their previous roles (Havighurst, Neugarten, & Tobin, 1968).
A large body of research seems to support some aspects of activity theory. Continued exercise, social engagement, and productive roles all seem to contribute to mental health and life satisfaction. But other studies indicate that informal activity or even merely perceived social integration may be more important in promoting subjective well-being. In other words, our attitudes and expectations about activity or detachment may be more important than our formal participation patterns (Longino & Kart, 1982). In fact, what counts as activity depends partly on how we look at the meaning of things, not on external behavior alone. This point is emphasized by those who adopt a phenomenological approach to the interpretation of aging, foregrounding and appreciating individuals’ lived experiences as legitimate sources of knowledge.
If retirement or age limitations make actual participation impossible, activity theory suggests that people will find substitutes for roles or activities they have to give up (Atchley, 1985). A great many social activities encouraged by senior centers or long-term-care facilities are inspired by an assumption that if older people are active and involved, then all will be well (Katz, 2000). This “busy ethic” and its hostility to retirement and social engagement is expressed in similar terms, and the sentiment seems widely shared (Ekerdt, 1986). For instance, former Cosmopolitan magazine editor Helen Gurley Brown (1993), in a self-help book for older women (The Late Show), wrote that work is “our chloroform … our life … our freedom from pain … supplier of esteem.” Along the same lines, essayist Malcolm Cowley (1980), in his book The View From 80, expressed the ideal of the activity theory of aging when he wrote: “Perhaps in the future our active lives may be lengthened almost to the end of our days on earth; that is the most we can hope for.”
But such active involvement may be more feasible for the young-old than for the old-old, and certainly there are differences between individuals as well. Biological limitations cannot easily be overcome by individual will and effort alone. The ideal of active aging seems more like a prolongation of the values of middle age than something special or positive about the last stage of life. Finally, despite progress in recent years, society still places many obstacles to social engagement in old age. For example, remarriage is more difficult for older women than for older men because the proportion of older women is larger than the proportion of older men in the population at every age after 65, and in the labor market, age discrimination is a real barrier preventing middle-aged and older people from taking up a new career. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, anyone over age 40 is officially an “older worker.”
Influences on the Life Course
Every theory of aging has its limits: None of them fully explains the variety of ways in which individuals experience old age, and many theories seem to reflect the social values during particular historical times in uncritical ways—for example, by holding up either activity or disengagement as the ideal goal or social norm for later life. The advantage of thinking in terms of age transitions throughout the life course is that we can see adult development as more open ended than people have tended to see it in the past. As a result, the meaning of
