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Sociology: Demography - Ageing Population

This is a quiz based on Ageing Population regarding the AQA A-Level Demography subtopic in the Families and Households topic in Sociology. Below are the words which need to be matched to their definitions: Dependency Ratio Differences 18.6% Marxism Postmodernism Couples & Gender Roles Childhood Family Structure Public Services & Policies Extended Families Extended Ties & Residential Proximity Economic Consequences Interactionism
Quiz by billyn
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Last updated: January 30, 2024
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First submittedJanuary 30, 2024
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Public Services & Policies
The ageing population has an effect on this:
-Dependency ratio impact.
-Changing pension policy - retirement age increased - impacts 'grandparenting'.
-Impact on town planning and allocation of resources - for example, more care homes than housing for young people.
-Less maternity provision - more geriatric provision.
Postmodernism
This theoretical perspective argues that the fixed structures have broken down and individuals have more choice, including about old age; consumption not production is key to our identity and there is a growing consumer market targeted at older people.
Economic Consequences
Population ageing means that there will be greater numbers of elderly dependents in the future but fewer numbers of workers to support them, consequently there is an increase in the 'burden of dependency':
-The State Pension system currently being funded on a 'pay as you go' basis means contributions of the current workforce pay for state pensions.
-This means that there is likely to be greater pressure on the NHS and home capacity, as well as a greater tax burden on a shrinking number of future workers to pay for pensions of a fast-growing number of future elderly people.
Marxism
This theoretical perspective argues our role in society is defined by our usefulness to capitalism - therefore old people are no longer 'useful' and instead a burden.
Extended Ties & Residential Proximity
Victor et al. (2005) found that 77% of older people saw their relatives on a weekly basis, while only 1 in 10 saw their relatives in less than once a year:
-This could be caused by an increasing number of elderly people using communication technologies to keep in contact with extended kin - although this is unlikely to be the only factor.
-This can create inequality among the sexes - economically and socially, as it is often women caring for elderly relatives and this can create financial hardship for them.
-Interactionists also say this can create social conflict - as the elderly are prioritised over the upbringing of children.
18.6%
This is the percentage of the population which is aged 65+:
-It is not a homogenous group - huge differences across age, sex, social class, location, family.
-However, society often treats old people as the same and as a 'burden'.
Childhood
The ageing population has an effect on this:
-Grandparenting - children are more likely to know their grandparents, be looked after by them or even be brought up by them.
-Economic Impact - family pressure to care for elderly relatives may impact on child-centredness.
Dependency Ratio
This is:

Number of Dependents or Non-Working Age Group
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Population aged between 15 to 64 years
Interactionism
This theoretical perspective notes that the elderly are now more connected to the rest of the family than ever before:
-This can create social conflict, which can lead to parents becoming less child-centred.
-This can also lead the elderly to live with relatives, altering the quality of family relationships.
Differences
There are still class, gender and regional differences in life expectancy:
-Women generally live longer than men.
-There are regional differences - the south has higher life expectancy than the north, for example.
-The better off live longer than the poorer.
Extended Families
These types of families, according to Victor (2010), decreased from 40% of the elderly being taken in by relatives in the 1950s, to 5% in the 1990s, yet by 2010, this had increased, to 10%:
-Likely caused by economic pressures - parents and their adult children may not have the economic resources to pay for private residential care homes.
-Living alone can also be dangerous for the elderly.
Couples & Gender Roles
The ageing population has an effect on this:
1. Couples who survive into their 70s, will mean health problems are more likely to appear, but such couples are more likely to stay at home:
-Only 3.7% of the elderly lived in sheltered housing or residential houses in 2011.
-This has been caused by the ageing population, and statistics show that married/cohabiting spouses have increased over time, from 52.6% in 2001 to 56.8% in 2011.
-When ill health and disability become a problem for one member of the couple, the other is likely to become the primary carer (with support).
2. Elderly women end up in single-person households - Deborah Chambers calls this 'the feminisation of later life'.
3. 'pivot generation' (also known as 'sandwich generation') - women end up caring for elderly relatives and their own children at the same time.
Family Structure
The ageing population has an effect on this:
1. Beanpole families - more generations alive at the same but fewer children:
-Beanpole families have been on the rise in the last 20 years, typically families have become 4 generational
-This has likely been caused by the ageing of the population, as well as an increasing tendency of women to pursue both higher education and a career, plus a consequent decline in fertility and availability of divorce.

2. More dual-earner families are being supported by grandparents providing childcare:
-RIAS (2012) estimated that 5.8 million grandparents currently look after their grandchildren regularly for an average of 10 hours per week and that 47% of the nation's grandparents are aged over 50.
-This is because grandparents today live longer, living more healthy and active lifestyles compared with previous generations.
-Grandparents make a significant contribution to parenting and the socialisation process - biggest example being providing childcare.
-According to Galim & Slim (2013), grandmothers are putting in a greater number of informal childcare hours than grandfathers.

3. More single-person households - 3 times as many elderly women than men:
-68% of women make up this household type aged 65 and above, largely as women tend to live longer than men and marry men who are older.
-This has led to high levels of geographic mobility, smaller families, a lower birth rate, and same-sex couples.
-All of these factors mean there may be less family support for these households in the future.
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