Sana Parkar
P4: describe two theories of ageing.
Disengagement theory – The disengagement theory, planned by Cumming and Henry in 1961, suggests that older people make a positive effort to withdraw from life as a response to their decrease physical, intellectual, emotional and social skills and abilities, diminishing interests and expectations of how they should behave. It suggests that they willingly retire from work; willingly withdraw from relationships and disengage from roles, preferring to follow inactive, solitary activities; and willingly give up their traditional, normal ways of behaving, becoming less and less friendly and companionable and sometimes hostile in their interactions. Cumming (1975) argued that older people would experience a reduction in social contact as they grew older and become increasingly ‘individual’ (less concerned with the expectations of others). He argued that it was appropriate and healthy for older people to withdraw from others – disengagement was a natural part of ageing.
