Buch, Englisch, 358 Seiten, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 584 g
A Sociological Study of Old People
Buch, Englisch, 358 Seiten, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 584 g
Reihe: Routledge Library Editions: Aging
ISBN: 978-1-032-70187-5
Verlag: Routledge
What is it like to be an isolated old widow, living alone on the bare old-age pension? In the 1960s, the question had become a standard refrain. Originally published in 1966, this was the first full-length study by a sociologist of isolation in old age.
Although the majority of old people were in no sense a problem group at the time, a substantial minority of the elderly were ‘alone’ in one or more ways. About 1.3 million people aged sixty-five and over in Britain lived alone; a large number admitted to feeling lonely, at least sometime. About a million were actually socially isolated in terms of low level and frequency of social contact. Mr Tunstall also uses a fourth category of aloneness – namely anomie (as developed by Durkheim, Merton, and Srole).
This report uses careful and statistical analysis of the four types of aloneness and of specially affected groups such as the single, the recently widowed, and the housebound. But it also includes details of interviews with ten highly individual old people from suburban Harrow, booming Northampton, industrial revolution Oldham, and rural South Norfolk.
The book contains a discussion of the problem of personality in isolation, and a commentary on the inadequacies of social theory about old age. Finally, the concluding chapter suggests a wide variety of policy measures which might help to alleviate social isolation in old age.
Zielgruppe
Adult education, General, and Postgraduate
Autoren/Hrsg.
Fachgebiete
Weitere Infos & Material
I. Introduction and Summary Part I: Forms of Being Alone II. Living Alone III. Social Isolation IV. Loneliness V. Anomie Part II: Groups at Risk VI. Single VII. Recently Widowed VIII. Housebound Part III: Private Pursuits and Public Provision IX. Use of Time X. Money XI. Social Services Part IV: Discussion XII. Personality XIII. Social Theory XIV. Social Policy. Selected Bibliography. Appendix 1: Method. Appendix 2: Questionnaires. Appendix 3: Scoring Social Isolation. Index.
