Chapter Objectives

CHAPTER 5: INEQUALITY BASED ON AGE

By the end of this chapter students will be able to:

• Define ageism and why it qualifies as a social problem.
• List and discuss the stages in the life course.
• Differentiate between the various categories of old age with their respective characteristics.
• Discuss the three widely known frameworks for explaining how people cope with the process of dying.
• Identify and discuss the social problems associated with aging.
• Discuss retirement trends, how they have hanged over the years and how they differ for men and women and among different racial and ethnic groups.
• Discuss the role long-term care facilities play in the care of the elderly.
• Dispel the myths associated with the elderly.
• Discuss the major points of how the three sociological perspectives address aging and social inequality.
• Offer suggestions on how age-based inequality can be reduced.