Connection and autonomy in the lives of elderly male celibates: Degrees of disengagement

Journal/Book: J Aging Stud. 1997; 11: 55 Old Post RD-#2, PO Box 1678, Greenwich, CT 06836-1678. Jai Press Inc. 115-130.

Abstract: Theories of aging emphasize connection and autonomy to varying degrees. Disengagement Theory (Cummings and Henry 1961) emphasizes an elder's natural movement toward greater isolation. The Psychosocial Withdrawal Models postulate that society marginalizes its elders, reducing the scope of relationships and activities. Gero-transcendence (Tornstam 1994) views the elderly as selectively investing in some relationships over others, rather than as a comprehensive withdrawal. The three perspectives on aging predict patterns of connection and autonomy in the transition to old age. Analysis of life narratives offers one method to test the empirical grounding of each set of predictions. Do elders view themselves as withdrawing from relations, as marginalized, or as growing selective in activities and relationships? The current study examines the narratives of elderly, celibate men living in a religious community. The religious order to which the subjects belong espouses a philosophy of self-reflection, providing a population particularly well suited to the gathering of life histories. While a highly selective subpopulation, a group of men having lived in community from four to seven decades will have encountered the challenges of connection and autonomy. The way in which they have struggled with these dialectics may further aid the understanding of dyadic and group patterns found in the elderly. The study seeks to understand how the subjects experience the balance between connection-autonomy over the life span. Of the three predicted patterns of connection and autonomy, which receives empirical support from the subjects' life narratives? The study makes use of a quantitative methodology to address dialectics found in life histories.

Note: Article Quinnan EJ, Loyola Univ, Dept Counseling Psychol, Mallinckrodt Campus, 1041 Ridge Rd, Wilmette,IL 60091 USA

Keyword(s): LIFE

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