Socio-psychological understanding of the phenomenon of old age

Somova N. G.

The article is devoted to the analysis of socio-psychological characteristics and main problems of the elderly and senile age. The world's population is aging, and these new realities challenge researchers in various fields. But the problem of population aging is connected not only with the fact that life expectancy has increased, but also with the fact that the birth rate has decreased. The deterioration of the demographic situation was already observed in the RSFSR, starting from 1939, and in the post-Soviet period in Russia the situation worsened even more. Human aging includes physiological and psychological components. From the point of view of physiology, the destruction of living cells occurs, but the psychological state, the presence of meanings and, in general, the attitude towards life play an important role. An analysis of biological theories has shown that all theories intersect, but there is no single theory of aging. A comparison of life expectancy and pensions for the elderly in the context of foreign and national indicators shows that our pensioners are much less well off and the consumer basket is very scarce and monotonous. The problems of the elderly are conditionally divided into three groups: health problems; socio-economic; psychological problems. About 80% of older people have chronic diseases that significantly impair the quality of life. The general characteristics of mental illnesses that are included in gerontological psychiatry are schizophrenia, manic-depressive behavior, epilepsy, symptomatic and organic psychoses. The socio-economic problems of Russian pensioners can be considered low pensions and poor medical care, especially in the periphery. Compared to European countries, pensioners simply survive. Psychological problems of old age are despair, feelings of loneliness, depression, passing into the past, accusations towards society and relatives, etc. As well as dysfunctional old age, when an elderly person is completely dependent on relatives, on his well-being, and on living conditions in general, then he completely loses responsibility for himself and his life.

Keywords:phenomenon of old age; socio-psychological characteristics; problems of the elderly; biological theories of aging.