Chapter 9

Age and Social

Inequality
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Myth or Fact?
The

exploitation of
child labor in the
U.S. is largely a
thing of the past.

Myth

Because

most people in the

U.S. today have retirement
plans where they work,
retirement income for the
elderly in the future will
not be a problem.

Myth
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The Functionalist Perspective

Functionalists

argue that the stages of the

life cycle are intimately related to the
social needs of a particular society.
The treatment of the young and the old
becomes a social problem when it is
inconsistent with their capabilities and
development, both biological and social.
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The Conflict Perspective

Conflict

theorists argue that the position of

the young and the old in society is related to
their access to social, political and economic
power.
Ageism

refers to an ideology or set of beliefs

holding that people in a particular age group are
inferior, have negative attributes, and can be
dominated and exploited because of their age.
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The Age Structure of Society

Demography

is the study of the size,

composition, and distribution of human
populations and how these factors change over
time.
The age structure of a society is the distribution
of people into various age categories.
A dependency ratio shows the relative size of the
group in society that is economically dependent
for support on others who are working.
Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Problems of the Young

Family
Instability

Economic
Exploitation

Child
Abuse

Dependency places
the young at
considerable risk of
being discriminated
against or
exploited.

Poverty

Sexual
Abuse
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Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Problems of the Elderly

Work and Retirement

People are likely to enjoy retirement if it is voluntary, if

ones health is good and if some preparation has occurred.

Poverty and Financial Problems

The poverty rate among people over 65 years of age in the

U.S. is slightly below that of people 18 to 64 years of age.
Reasons for economic difficulty include: The elderly are
more likely to be outside the workforce and some elderly
worked at jobs for years with no retirement pension plan.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Problems of The Elderly

Social Isolation

Domestic Violence

Older people maintain relatively extensive contacts and

involvements with friends and acquaintances.
People in advanced old age or with serious physical ailments
are most likely to suffer from social isolation.
Elders who are dependent on others for care face the potential
problem of physical and psychological abuse.

Health problems

Almost half of people older than sixty-five years in the U.S.

experience some limitations in the activities because of chronic
illness.
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Problems of the Elderly

Fear

of Crime

Older people commit relatively few crimes.

The elderly tend to be the victims of crime, or at least
many elderly fear that they will be.

Institutions

and Nursing Homes

Only 5% of older adults live in nursing homes or

extended care facilities.
Conditions in nursing homes are related to the tension
between the necessity of making a profit and the desire
to provide services to the residents, and the difficulty
of hiring and keeping qualified staff.

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Future Prospects
Efforts

to improve the status of the young

focus on finding more equitable
distribution of resources between the
young and the old.
Many policies have focused on reducing
the risks that youth may be exposed to such
problems as poverty, family violence,
sexual exploitation, and other forms of
discrimination and exploitation.
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Future Prospects
Efforts

to improve the status of the elderly

have focused on ensuring that more people
have
adequate access to financial resources including
retirement pensions, Social Security, and savings
and assets;
better health care; and
adequate living arrangements including alternative
arrangements such as age-integrated housing,
government subsidized housing and supported
living environments.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.