Question

An older woman retires and completely changes her life. She is no longer raising children or working. However, she joins the YWCA to swim every day. She serves on the Friends of the Library board. She is part of a neighborhood group that plays Bunco on Saturday nights. Her situation most closely illustrates the ______ theory.
activity
continuity
disengagement
gerotranscendence

Answer 1

The correct answer is A. Activity

Explanation:

In sociology, there are different theoretical perspectives that aim at explaining the role of elderly people in society. In the case of activity theory, this theory states as people grew older their roles and activities change and elderly people need to replace old roles and activities with new ones to be actively involved in societies and be happy. Indeed this theory proposes older adults can age successfully if they preserve social interactions. This theory can be seen in the case presented as once the older woman retires she replaces old activities and roles for new ones just as swimming every day and serving on the Friends of the Library board that suggest this woman is aging successfully as she stays active and preserves social interactions although these are different from the ones he had before.