The burden of aging: a theoretical framework for understanding the shifting balance of caregiving and care receiving as cohorts age

Author:
UHLENBERG Peter
Journal article citation:
Gerontologist, 36(6), December 1996, pp.761-767.
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Unless changes occur in the way cohorts age, the future aging of the population will make the burden of caring for older persons an increasingly salient political issue in American society. There is no reason, however, why aging in the future should replicate the pattern of aging that currently exists. A helpful step toward understanding what social changes would reduce the burden that aging cohorts place on society is the development of aging theory. This article develops a theoretical framework that explicates factors determining the level of care given and care received by cohorts moving through different stages of later life.

Subject terms:
older people, social networks, ageing, dependency;
Location(s):
United States
Link:
Journal home page
ISSN online:
0016-9013
ISSN print:
0016-9013

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