Perché non amiamo gli anziani. Quattro tesi e un’ipotesi

Although literature is extensive, the elderly population does not seemed to have received real interest by scholars, nor has there been a truly convinced desire to approach and solve the inevitable problems that characterize this age (retirement, illness, solitude, imminence of death, etc.). But what is worse, the elderly do not seem to be «object of love» for their children or close family either. Two scenarios have been explored. The first relates to the privileged familiarity, developed in time, with the elder who should be cared for, and whose presence in one’s own emotional life is often ambiguous. The second refers to a new phenomenon: the present generation of fifty/sixty year olds who find themselves again in the role of children whose parents are eighty or older. The combination or clash of these older generations can make the loving care of an elder parent a hard task, easier to delegate to others (retirement homes o care takers).

Rita Cavallaro, Perché non amiamo gli anziani. Quattro tesi e un’ipotesi in "SOCIOLOGIA E RICERCA SOCIALE " 94/2011, pp 111-128, DOI: 10.3280/SR2011-094004