A Study to Explore Areas of Anxiety Regarding Physical & Psychological Needs (Both Felt and Perceived) Among the Third Ager

There is little doubt that history will record the emergence of the elderly as one of the most important sociological phenomena of our times. The proportion of older people in the population of both the developed and the developing countries has been steadily increasing. These increases were accompanied by a vast complex of technological and socio-economic changes which came with equal rapidity and over the same time period. The two factors of population and technological & socio-economic change operating together resulted in separating large numbers of older people from the social roles traditionally assigned to adults and in raising them almost to the status of a problem group.;It is also for the first time that the great majority of people are now living beyond the period of procreation and nurture of children, and are able to enjoy increasing amounts of leisure in the second half of life, culminating in a lengthening period of total retirement from their work careers. In a real sense, the onset of old age is being pushed backward, and extended periods of middle age and later maturity are being introduced into the human life cycle. The implications both for the individual and for society are enormous. The outlook for both can be positive or negative, depending, in considerable part, upon the adjustments we make in our personal and social value systems and in the conditions & opportunities of living.;Today, senior citizens are regarded as a consumer group which is rapidly increasing in size, political power, economic clout and attractiveness. The status of the elderly in society has metamorphosed into that of an active group which is richer. healthier and better educated than in the past. In spite of this, compared to the almost obsessive focus on youth, there has been very little attempt to get to grips with the meaning of the second half of life, or to explore the psychological processes that inform older people. It can be confusing to investigate the lives of older people because they are much more individual than the relatively predictable age cohorts that go before. This makes the task of understanding them far more complex and less certain.;A wealth of evidence exists to substantiate the claim that the elderly are in need of specialized attention. Their unique social concerns and health related needs have frequently remained unfulfilled by marketing, leaving them prey to victimization. The group's special needs arise from several different quarters: some have lower than average median incomes, others have an intense need for security and friendship stepping from a lack of social interaction and mobility. Many senior citizens suffer from poor health and perceived susceptibility to crime, both of which result in unabating fear.;The raison d'etre of such a study is perhaps best reflected in the changing socioeconomic milieu of urban and semi-urban India. Joint families are giving way to nuclear ones, consequently, more emphasis is being given on the future quality of life. There is also the growing realization of the inevitability of fending for oneself (financially and emotionally) in the twilight years, in the face of crumbling traditional family support systems.