Social Work Theories for Working with the Aging Population
Like any social work theory, theories on aging attempt to help clinicians better understand human behavior at this specific time of life with respect to micro, meso, and macro social environments. It is important to recognize when a theory helps or hurts your understanding of your client.
A theory can help a clinician understand behavior and serve as a guide for collaboration and change. A theory can also hurt a client by, for example, generalizing the aging experience, or assuming all individuals experience aging the same way.
Consider the theories below to be roadmaps containing different routes to reach your final destination.
Queer Theory
Gender is an important organizing factor in the aging experience. Consider whether traditional aging services are prepared to adequately support individuals who are members of the LGBTQ population. To learn more click here.
Role Theory
A theory to explain how older adults adjust to aging and negotiate from one set of roles to the next. For example, conflict can arise when one shifts from working full-time to retirement because one's role (and identity) has changed. To learn more click here.
Individuals continue to adapt and continue their interaction patterns as they age. For example, an individual during middle age was considered a loner so we cannot expect them to change because they are getting older. Consider older adults to be more of what they always were (Mcinnis-Dittrich, 2020). To learn more, click here.
Continuity Theory
Disengagement
Theory
Originally put forth by researchers Cumming and Henry (1961), disengagement theory intended to explain the inevitable social withdrawal adults demonstrated as they age. One may argue today that this is no longer true, and in fact that society as a whole disengages with older adults. To learn more about the evolution of disengagement theory, click here.
Life Course Perspective
Aging is a dynamic and lifelong process. It is important to recognize the ways past adverse experiences influence future aging experiences. To learn more, click here.
Social Construction Theory
Realities and social meanings change across the lifespan, person to person. For example, retirement may signal a time for an older individual to focus on pleasures that do not relate to their work, or may illicit feelings of worthlessness because they may feel unproductive. To learn more click here.
Social Exchange Theory
Resources and social exchanges change as individuals age. It was once thought that older adults continue to lose exchanges, however today's older adult population is changing this perspective (Antonucci & Han, 2016). To learn more, click here.
Sometimes our clients surprise us and flip the script
Consider this!
Narrative Gerontology
Narrative gerontology is a research method that encourages us to pay attention to “counter stories,” ones that differ from the dominant narratives on aging that society and earlier research have committed to (de Medieros, 2016, p.63). It is an approach to working with an older client that can help remind us that one size does not fit all!