Attitudes of Middle-Aged Women to the Concept of Successful Aging
Research Article
How to Cite
Zelikova J.A. Attitudes of Middle-Aged Women to the Concept of Successful Aging. Interaction. Interview. Interpretation. 2025. Vol. 17. No. 2. P. 92-110. DOI: https://doi.org/10.19181/inter.2025.17.2.5 (in Russ.).
Abstract
The article is devoted to the study of the aging process in Russia, which takes place in the conditions of consumer society and ageism. These conditions affect the life opportunities of the elderly, leading to the loss of resources and privileges. The article considers the possibilities of the concept of successful aging to counteract ageism and improve the quality of life of the elderly. Successful aging is one of the main concepts of critical gerontology. The concept has been formulated to counter narratives of aging as a process of decline, dysfunction, lack of opportunities and lack of desires. However, the question arises to what extent this concept reduces the fear of aging and can counter negative attitudes towards the elderly. This is the main research question of this article. To answer it, the author conducts in-depth interviews with middle-aged informants from the urban educated class, with above-average income, practicing a healthy lifestyle (proper nutrition, sports, etc.), using anti-aging procedures to slow down the aging process (11 women aged 47 to 61). The results of the study show that the paradigm of successful aging does not reduce the fear of old age, nor does it reduce ageism toward older adults. Extending middle age is not a fight against ageism, but rather a capitulation to it.
Keywords:
successful aging, ageism, consumer society, middle age, anti-age, age relations
References
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Calasanti T. (2015) Combating Ageism: How Successful Is Successful Aging? The Gerontologist. Vol. 56. No. 6. P. 1093–1101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnv076
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Gibson D. (1998) Aged Care: Old Policies, New Problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Giles H., Reid S.A. (2005) Ageism across the Lifespan: Towards a Self-categorization Model of Ageing. Journal of Social Issues. Vol. 61. No. 2. P. 389–404. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2005.00412.x
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Hess T.M., Hinson J.T., Statham J.A. (2004) Explicit and Implicit Stereotype Activation Effects on Memory: Do Age and Awareness Moderate the Impact of Priming? Psychology and Aging. Vol. 19. No. 3. P. 495–505. DOI: https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0882-7974.19.3.495
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Kahn R.L. (2002) Guest Editorial: On “Successful Aging and Well-Being: Self-Rated Compared with Rowe and Kahn”. The Gerontologist. Vol. 42. No. 6. P. 725–726. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/42.6.725
Katz S., Calasanti T. (2015) Critical Perspectives on Successful Aging: Does It “Appeal More than It Illuminates”? The Gerontologist. Vol. 55. No. 1. P. 26–33. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnu027
Lamb S. (2014) Permanent Personhood or Meaningful Decline? Toward a Critical Anthropology of Successful Aging. Journal of Aging Studies. Vol. 29. P. 41–52. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2013.12.006
Laz C. (2003) Age Embodied. Journal of Aging Studies. Vol. 17. No. 4. P. 503–519. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0890-4065(03)00066-5
Lodge A.C., Umberson D. (2012) All Shook Up: Sexuality of Mid Later Life Married Couples. Journal of Marriage and Family. Vol. 74. No. 3. P. 428–443. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00969.x
Miles M.B., Huberman M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Quadagno J. (2014) Aging and the Life Course (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Rowe J.W. (1997) The New Gerontology. Science. Vol. 278. P. 367. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.278.5337.367
Rowe J.W., Kahn R.L. (1987) Human Aging: Usual and Successful. Science. Vol. 237. P. 143–149. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.3299702
Rowe J.W., Kahn R.L. (1997) Successful Aging. The Gerontologist. Vol. 37. No. 4. P. 433–440. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/37.4.433
Rowe J.W., Kahn R.L. (1998) Successful Aging. New York: Random House.
Sontag S. (1972) The Double Standard of Ageing. In: V. Carver, P. Liddiard (eds.) An Ageing Population. Milton Keynes: Open University. P. 72–80.
Strauss A.L. (1987) Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tomczyk L., Klimczuk A. (2019) Between Successful and Unsuccessful Ageing: Selected Aspects and Contexts. Crakow: Pedagogical University of Cracow. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24917/9788395373718
Calasanti T. (2003) Theorizing Age Relations. In: S. Biggs, A. Lowenstein, J. Hendricks (eds.) The Need for Theory: Critical Approaches to Social Gerontology for the 21st Century. Amityville: Baywood. P. 199–218.
Calasanti T. (2015) Combating Ageism: How Successful Is Successful Aging? The Gerontologist. Vol. 56. No. 6. P. 1093–1101. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnv076
Dillaway H.E., Byrnes M. (2009) Reconsidering Successful Aging: A Call for Renewed and Expanded Academic Critiques and Conceptualizations. Journal of Applied Gerontology. Vol. 28. No. 6. P. 702–722. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464809333882
Fagerström J., Aarsten M. (2013) Successful Ageing and Its Relationship to Contemporary Norms: A Critical Look at the Call to “Age Well”. Recherches Sociologiques et Anthropologiques. Vol. 44. P. 51–73. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/rsa.918
Ferraro K.F., Schafer M.H. (2008) Gerontology’s Greatest Hits. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. Vol. 63. No. 1. P. 3–6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/63.1.S3
Gibson D. (1998) Aged Care: Old Policies, New Problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Giles H., Reid S.A. (2005) Ageism across the Lifespan: Towards a Self-categorization Model of Ageing. Journal of Social Issues. Vol. 61. No. 2. P. 389–404. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.2005.00412.x
Gilleard C. (2013) Renaissance Treatises on “Successful Aging”. Ageing & Society. Vol. 33. No. 2. P. 189–215. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X11001127
Havighurst R.J. (1961) Successful Aging. The Gerontologist. Vol. 1. No. 1. P. 8–13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/1.1.8
Hess T.M., Hinson J.T., Statham J.A. (2004) Explicit and Implicit Stereotype Activation Effects on Memory: Do Age and Awareness Moderate the Impact of Priming? Psychology and Aging. Vol. 19. No. 3. P. 495–505. DOI: https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0882-7974.19.3.495
Holstein M.B., Minkler M. (2003) Self, Society, and the “New Gerontology”. The Gerontologist. Vol. 43. No. 6. P. 787–796. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/43.6.787
Homan K.J., Boyatzis C.J. (2009) Body Image in Older Adults: Links with Religion and Gender. Journal of Adult Development. Vol. 16. No. 4. P. 230–238. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10804-009-9069-8
Hurd C.L. (2011) Facing Age: Women Growing Older in Antiaging Culture. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield
Kahn R.L. (2002) Guest Editorial: On “Successful Aging and Well-Being: Self-Rated Compared with Rowe and Kahn”. The Gerontologist. Vol. 42. No. 6. P. 725–726. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/42.6.725
Katz S., Calasanti T. (2015) Critical Perspectives on Successful Aging: Does It “Appeal More than It Illuminates”? The Gerontologist. Vol. 55. No. 1. P. 26–33. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnu027
Lamb S. (2014) Permanent Personhood or Meaningful Decline? Toward a Critical Anthropology of Successful Aging. Journal of Aging Studies. Vol. 29. P. 41–52. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2013.12.006
Laz C. (2003) Age Embodied. Journal of Aging Studies. Vol. 17. No. 4. P. 503–519. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0890-4065(03)00066-5
Lodge A.C., Umberson D. (2012) All Shook Up: Sexuality of Mid Later Life Married Couples. Journal of Marriage and Family. Vol. 74. No. 3. P. 428–443. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00969.x
Miles M.B., Huberman M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: An Expanded Sourcebook. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Quadagno J. (2014) Aging and the Life Course (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Rowe J.W. (1997) The New Gerontology. Science. Vol. 278. P. 367. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.278.5337.367
Rowe J.W., Kahn R.L. (1987) Human Aging: Usual and Successful. Science. Vol. 237. P. 143–149. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.3299702
Rowe J.W., Kahn R.L. (1997) Successful Aging. The Gerontologist. Vol. 37. No. 4. P. 433–440. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/37.4.433
Rowe J.W., Kahn R.L. (1998) Successful Aging. New York: Random House.
Sontag S. (1972) The Double Standard of Ageing. In: V. Carver, P. Liddiard (eds.) An Ageing Population. Milton Keynes: Open University. P. 72–80.
Strauss A.L. (1987) Qualitative Analysis for Social Scientists. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tomczyk L., Klimczuk A. (2019) Between Successful and Unsuccessful Ageing: Selected Aspects and Contexts. Crakow: Pedagogical University of Cracow. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24917/9788395373718
Article
Received: 10.12.2024
Accepted: 30.06.2025
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APA
Zelikova, J. A. (2025). Attitudes of Middle-Aged Women to the Concept of Successful Aging. Interaction. Interview. Interpretation, 17(2), 92-110. https://doi.org/10.19181/inter.2025.17.2.5
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Field work research
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