Prerequisites of an Adequate Theory of Aging: A Critique and Reconceptualization

Abstract

Over the last thirty years a number of theories have purported to give gerontological researchers a special insight into the aging experience by emphasizing several key issues around which to conduct research and interpret the status of the elderly. Each of these theories has focused on one or two key elements thought to profoundly affect the aging experience. The purpose of this essay is to analyze these theoretical developments for their specific contributions and identify the theoretical prerequisites of an adequate theory of aging. In so doing, I advance three contentions. First, a special theory of aging is unnecessary and, perhaps, undesirable;' Second, no single theory of aging yet proposed provides an adequate account of the aging process, although existing theoretical developments have identified important elements that need to be integrated into a unified theoretical orientation. Finally, I maintain that a synthesis and elaboration of elements drawn from existing theories does provide an adequate framework for the direction and interpretation of research. Prior to my purposefully selective review of the theoretical literature in which I analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the competing theories, I will describe and assess the importance of the four elements that emerge from previous theoretical formulations as necessary components of an adequate theoretical approach to the aging process.