Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wzw2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-01T04:07:59.321Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

5 - Ageing and social class: towards a dynamic approach to class inequalities in old age

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2011

Alexandra Lopes
Affiliation:
University of Porto
Malcolm Sargeant
Affiliation:
Middlesex University, London
Get access

Summary

Introduction

The inclusion of social class based inequalities in a book about diversity and discrimination in old age is certainly no surprise. Social class understood as a system of social ranking and unbalanced distribution of opportunities, resources, prestige and power among social groups and among individuals is a building block of inequalities not only in old age but all along the life course. It is also a building block of sociological analysis and has been extensively explored in all corners of the world by a diversity of scholars interested in understanding the foundations of social organisation and social behaviour.

Type
Chapter
Information
Age Discrimination and Diversity
Multiple Discrimination from an Age Perspective
, pp. 89 - 110
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adamson, J. A.Ebrahim, S.Hunt, K. 2006 The psychosocial versus material hypothesis to explain observed inequality in disability among older adults: data from the West of Scotland Twenty-07 StudyJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health 60 974CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Adkins, L. 1995 Gendered Work: Sexuality, Family and the Labour MarketBristolOpen University PressGoogle Scholar
Anneli, A. 1996 European social care services: is it possible to identify models?Journal of European Social Policy 6 87Google Scholar
Baudrillard, J. 1983 In the Shadow of the Silent Majorities, or, The End of the Social Order and Other EssaysFoss, P.Johnston, J.Patton, P.New YorkSemiotexteGoogle Scholar
Beck, U.Giddens, A.Lash, S. 1994 Reflexive Modernization: Politics, Tradition and Aesthetics in the Modern Social OrderStanford University PressGoogle Scholar
Birkelund, G. E. 2002 A class analysis for the future? Comment on Grusky and Weeden: “Decomposition without Death: A Research Agenda for a New Class Analysis”Acta Sociologia 45 217Google Scholar
Blau, Z. 1961 Structural constraints on friendship in old ageAmerican Sociological Review 26 429CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blum, A. 1964 Social structure, social class and participation in primary relationshipsShostak, A.Gomberg, W.Blue Collar WorldEnglewood Cliffs, NJPrentice Hall145Google Scholar
Bourdieu, P. 1984 Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of TasteLondonRoutledgeGoogle Scholar
Breeze, E.Jones, D. A.Wilkinson, P.Bulpitt, C. J.Grundy, C.Latif, A. M.Fletcher, A. E. 2005 Area deprivation, social class, and quality of life among people aged 75 years and over in BritainInternational Journal of Epidemiology 34 276CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Castles, G.Ferrera, M. 1996 Home ownership and the welfare state: is Southern Europe different?South European Society and Politics 1 163CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chan, T. W.Goldthorpe, J. H. 2007 Class and status: the conceptual distinction and its empirical relevanceAmerican Sociological Review 72 512CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Costa, A. F.Mautitti, R.Martins, S. C.Machado, F. L.Almeida, J. F. 2000 Social classes in EuropeSociologia Problemas e Práticas 34 9Google Scholar
Crompton, R. 2008 Class and StratificationCambridgePolity PressGoogle Scholar
Dahrendorf, R. 1959 Class and Class Conflict in an Industrial SocietyLondonRoutledge and Kegan PaulGoogle Scholar
Dannefer, D. 2003 Cumulative advantage/disadvantage and life course: cross-fertilizing age and social science theoryJournal of Gerontology 58B 327CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Esping-Andersen, G. 1996 Welfare States in Transition: National Adaptation in Global EconomiesLondonSage PublicationsGoogle Scholar
Giddens, A. 1991 Modernity and Self-Identity: Self and Society in the Late Modern AgeStanford University PressGoogle Scholar
Goldthorpe, J. H. 1983 Women and class analysis: in defense of the conventional viewSociology 17 465CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldthorpe, J. H. 1996 Class analysis and the reorientation of class theory: the case of persisting differentials in educational attainmentBritish Journal of Sociology 47 481CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldthorpe, J. H.Marshall, G. 1992 The promising future of class analysis: a response to recent critiquesSociology 26 381CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gottdiener, M. 1985 The Social Production of Urban SpaceTucsonUniversity of Texas PressGoogle Scholar
Grundy, E.Holt, G. 2001 The socio-economic status of older adults: how should we measure it in studies of health inequalities?Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 55 895CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lowenthal, M.Robinson, B. 1976 Social networks and isolationBinstock, R.Shanas, E.Handbook of Ageing and the Social SciencesNew YorkVan Nostrand Rheinhold432Google Scholar
Lyotard, J. F. 1984 The Postmodern Condition: A Report on KnowledgeBennington, G.Massumi, B.MinneapolisUniversity of Minnesota PressGoogle Scholar
Matthews, R. J.Jagger, C.Hancock, R. M. 2006 Does socio-economic advantage lead to a longer, healthier old age?Social Science and Medicine 62 2489CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McMeekin, A.Tomlinson, M. 1998 Diffusion with distinction: the diffusion of household durables in the UKFutures 30 873CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McNiece, R.Azeem, M. 1999 Socioeconomic differences in general practice consultation rates in patients aged 65 and over: prospective cohort studyBritish Medical Journal 399 26CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merton, R. K. 1988 The Matthew effect in science, II: cumulative advantage and the symbolism of intellectual propertyISIS 79 606CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O’Reilly, D. 2002 Standard indicators of deprivation: do they disadvantage older people?Age and Ageing 31 197CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Parkin, F. 1979 Marxism and Class Theory: A Bourgeois CritiqueNew YorkColumbia University PressGoogle Scholar
Payne, G.Payne, J.Hyde, M. 1996 “Refuse of all classes”? Social indicators and social deprivationSociological Research Online 1 www.socresonline.org.uk/1/1/3.htmlCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scott, J. 2002 Social class and stratification in late modernityActa Sociologica 45 23CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shoeni, R. F.Martin, L. G.Andreski, P. M.Freedman, V. A. 2005 Persistent and growing socioeconomic disparities in disability among the elderly: 1982–2002American Journal of Public Health 95 2065CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, D. W. 1974 Econometric studies of household saving behaviour in developing countries: a surveyJournal of Development Studies 10 139CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tabassum, F.Verropoulou, G.Tsimbos, C.Gjonca, E.Breeze, E. 2009 Socio-economic inequalities in physical functioning: a comparative study of English and Greek elderly menAgeing and Society 29 1123CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, R.Ford, G. 1983 Inequalities in old age. An examination of age, sex and class differences in a sample of community elderlyAgeing and Society 3 183CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Titmuss, R. 1955 The social division of welfare: some reflections on the search for equityAlcock, P.Glennester, H.Oakley, A.Sinfield, A.Welfare and Wellbeing: Richard Titmuss’s Contribution to Social PolicyBristolPolicy Press59Google Scholar
Tomlinson, M. 2003 Lifestyle and social classEuropean Sociological Review 19 97CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Townsend, P. 1987 DeprivationJournal of Social Policy 16 125CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, A. 1980 The social creation of poverty and dependency in old ageJournal of Social Policy 9 49CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, A. 1981 Towards a political economy of old ageAgeing and Society 1 73CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weich, S.Lewis, G. 1998 Material standard of living, social class, and the prevalence of the common mental disorders in Great BritainJournal of Epidemiology and Community Health 52 8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wenger, G. C.Davies, R.Shahtahmasebi, S.Scott, A. 1996 Social isolation and loneliness in old age: review and model refinementAgeing and Society 16 333CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, E. O. 1994 Interrogating Inequality: Essays on Class Analysis, Socialism, and MarxismLondonVersoGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×