TOWARD A CLASSIFICATION OF AGING BEHAVIORS

A theoretical model of social aging is constructed based upon social functioning components and types of legitimacy characterizing behavior of persons of advanced years. These criteria are seen as defining this behavior as actually or potentially deviant. The implications are discussed in terms of prediction of behavior of the elderly and/or their caretakers, and the social context of perceptions. The resulting classification leads to the identification of 18 distinct varieties of social deviance associated with the behavior of elderly persons. © 1979 Oxford University Press.