Re-engagement among white retired urban and rural men

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Heidi Marthia Setz (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
E. Rallings

Abstract: This study was concerned with re-engagement--an increase in social interaction after retirement--as one possible adjustment to aging. Fifty-eight white retired men of three classes (upper-middle, middle-middle, and lower-middle) and two geographical locations (rural and urban) were interviewed to determine their social interaction in the year prior to retirement (pre-retirement), the year subsequent to retirement (post-retirement), and in the year interviewed (current). The theoretical background came from Cumming and Henry's disengagement theory which proposes decreasing social involvement as one ages. Retirement for men, and widowhood for women are seen as the initial social impetus for disengagement. No statistically significant class or location differences were found, using the role count means as the general measure of re-engagement. Increased interaction occurred in the post-retirement period among the urban, upper-middle class, and lower-middle class subsamples. This increased interaction was due to more socializing with relatives, neighbors, and specific people, e.g., sales clerks.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Language: English
Date: 1977
Subjects
Retirement $x Social aspects
White men $x Social conditions

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