.png){kind=icon}
Aging and the Life Course
Click on each question to check your answer.
1. What is ageism?
Answer: Many Canadians openly practice ageism. This is direct or indirect discrimination against another person because they are of a certain age. Within ageism is the exclusion of willing and able candidates due to pre-existing stereotypes of their age, be it, young or old.
2. How does sociology define and understand the concept of the life course?
Answer: The idea of the life course is a patterned sequence of individual age-linked experiences over time, entrenched in social institutions and historical influences. Within each society or social grouping, there is an idea of an expected life course that fits with the generally experienced life course. No two life courses are identical. And it is that gap between the life course that we expect and the one that we lead that contributes to stress.
3. What is an age pyramid and what is the shape of the age pyramid of Canada’s population?
Answer: An age pyramid is a graphic representation of the age composition of any given demographic. It is broken down by age and sex. The representation takes on a pyramid shape if the birth rate is high. The shape is more of a rectangle when the birth rate is lower. In Canada, the age pyramid is shaped like a diamond—which is indicative of slowing birth rates.
4. What is the difference between activity theory and disengagement theory?
Answer: Activity theory is supported by symbolic interactionists. It sees aging as a process where people take on new roles and identities as they age. In this way, they remain an intact part of the community and keep their sense of self-worth. By contrast, functionalists look at aging through disengagement theory, which suggests that as people get older, they are voluntarily inclined to remove themselves from activities and social contacts.
5. What are some examples of home care issues?
Answer: More adult children in their fifties are divorced which makes caring for an aging parent even more challenging. The sandwich generation describes middle-aged adults who are taking care of both their own children and their aging parents. As more cuts are made to health care budgets, Canada’s health system for seniors may slide into the “non-system” that the US has. In the process, senior care would be a strictly private issue.