Here we explore cross-culturally respect for the elderly in relation to theories of disengagement and activity. We assume that respect
is related to the social value of the elderly's activities and the structural
characteristics of a society which affect the availability of valued activities. We coded data from the Human Relations Area Files concerning respect for the elderly and socially valued activities in 135
preindustrial societies. Precoded societal factors of family organization,
religion and slavery were used as control variables. Cross-tabulation
between the five traits revealed a statistically significant association
between respect for the elderly and their activities. This association
remained significant in the presence of independent family organiza
slavery, but became spurious in the presence of extended family organization, monotheism,
and slavery.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Arensberg, Conrad and Solon Kimball 1 1940Family and Community in IrelandCambridge: Harvard University Press.
2.
Barton, Roy Franklin1919Ifugao LawBerkley: University of California Press.
3.
1946The Religion of the IfugaosMenasha, Wisc. : American Anthropological Assn.
4.
Batchelor, John1927Ainu Life and LoreTokyo: Kyobunkwan.
5.
Belo, Jane1935A Study of Customs Pertaining to Twins in BaliTijdschrift voor Indische Taal-Land-en Volkenkunde75: 484-549.
6.
1949Bali: Rangda and BarongNew York: Augustin.
7.
Bogoras, Waldemar1904The Chukchee 2 Vols. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
8.
Cooper, James Montgomery1956The Gros Ventres of Montana: Pt. 2, Religion and RitualWashington D.C.: Catholic University of America.
9.
Cowgill, Donald 0.1972Aging in American Society In Aging and Modernization. Donald 0. Cowgill and Lowell Holmes, eds. pp. 243-262. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
10.
Cumming, Elaine and William E. Henry1961Growing Old: The Process of DisengagementNew York: Basic Books.
11.
Downes, Roger Meaden1933The Tiv TribeKaduna: Government Printer.
12.
Eisenstadt, S.N.1956From Generation to GenerationNew York: Free Press.
13.
Evans-Pritchard, Edward Evan1940The Nuer: A Description of the Modes of Livelihood and Political Institutions of a Nilotic PeopleOxford : Clarendon Press.
14.
Firth, Raymond1959Economics of the New Zealand MaoriWellington: R. E. Owen.
15.
Fortes, Meyer1949The Web of Kinship among the TallensiLondon: Oxford University Press.
16.
Friedl, Ernestine1963Vasilika: A Village in Modern GreeceNew York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
17.
Glacken, Clarence1953Studies of Okinawan Village LifeWashington, D. C.: National Research Council.
18.
Gorer, Goeffrey1938Himalayan Village: An Account of the LepchaLondon: M. Joseph.
19.
Gourou, Pierre1936The Peasants of the Tonken Delta: A Study of Human GeographyParis: Les Editions d' Art et d' Histoire.
20.
Halpern, Joel Martin1958A Serbian VillageNew York: Columbia University Press.
21.
Hart, Charles and Arnold Pelling1960The Tiwi of Northern AustraliaNew York: Henry Holt.
22.
Havighurst, Robert J., Bernice L. Neugarten and Sheldon S. Tobin1968Disengagement and Patterns of Aging In Middle Age and Aging. Bernice L. Neugarten, ed. pp. 161-172. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
23.
Hawes, Charles H.1903In the Uttermost EastNew York : Harper.
24.
Henry, Joseph1910The Soul of an African People. The Bambara, Their Psychic, Ethical, Religious and Social LifeMünster: Aschendorff.
25.
Hoebel, Edward Adamson1940The Political Organization and Law-Ways of the Comanche IndiansMenasha, Wisc.: American Anthropological Association.
26.
Hollis, Alfred Claud1905The Masai: Their Language and FolkloreOxford: Clarendon Press.
27.
Holmberg, Allan R.1950Nomads of the Long Bow: The Siriono of Eastern BoliviaWashington, D. C.: Government Printing Office.
28.
Huntingford, G.W.B.1951The Social Institutions of the DoroboAnthropos49: 123-148.
Krämer, Augustin and Hans Nevermann1938Ralik-Ratak (Marshall Islands)Hamburg: Friedericksen, de Gruyter.
31.
Krige, Eileen Jensen and J.D. Krige1943The Realm of a Rainqueen: A Study of the Pattern of Lovedu SocietyLondon: Oxford University Press.
32.
Lambrecht, Francis1932- The Mayawyaw Ritual, parts 1-5Washington, D. C.: 1941 Catholic Anthropological Conference.
33.
Lloyd, Peter C.1965The Yoruba of Nigeria In People of Africa. James L. Gibbs, ed. pp. 547-582. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
34.
Loeb, Edwin Meyer1926Pomo FolkwaysBerkeley: University of California Press.
35.
Luzbetak, Louis J.1951Marriage and the Family in CaucasiaVienna-Mödling: St. Gabriel's Mission Press.
36.
Makal, Mahmut1954A Village in Anatolia. Sir Wyndham Deedes, transLondon: Vallentine, Mitchell.
37.
Marriott, McKim1955Village India: Studies in the Little CommunityChicago: University of Chicago Press.
38.
Marsh, Robert M.1967Comparative SociologyNew York : Harcourt Brace.
39.
Maxwell, Robert J. and Phillip Silverman1970Information and Esteem: Cultural Consideration in Treatment of the AgedAging and Human Development1: 361-392.
40.
Mead, Margaret1928Coming of Age in SamoaNew York : Morrow.
1967Ethnographic AtlasPittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
47.
Murdock, George P. et al. 1971Outline of Cultural Materials4threv. ed. New Haven: Human Relations Area Files.
48.
Naroll, Raoul, Gary L. Michik and Frada Naroll1974Hologeistic Theory Testing In Comparative Studies by Harold E. Driver and Essays in His Honor. Joseph G. Jorgensen, ed. pp. 121-148. New Haven: HRAF Press.
49.
Neugarten, Bernice1974New Thoughts on the Theory of Disengagement In New Thoughts on Old Age. R. Kastenbaum, ed. pp. 3-18. New York: Springer.
50.
Oberg, Kalvero1962The Social Economy of the Tlingit Indians. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Chicago.
51.
Owen, W.E.1933Food Production and Kindred Matters among the LuoEast Africa and Uganda Natural History Society Journal49-50: 235-249.
52.
Palau Marti, Montserrat1957The DogonParis: Presses Universitaires de France.
53.
Palmore, Erdman1975The Honorable Elders: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Aging in JapanDurham, N.C.: Duke University Press.
54.
Paulme, Denise1940Social Organization of the Dogon: French SudanParis: F. Loviton.
55.
Pehrson, Robert Neil1957The Bilateral Network of Social Relations in Kokama Lapp DistrictBloomington: Indiana University Press.
56.
Pospisil, Leopold1963Kapauku EconomyNew Haven: Yale University Press.
57.
Rattray, Robert Sutherland1927Religion and Art in AshantiOxford: Clarendon Press.
58.
Rose, Arnold M.1965The Sub-Culture of Aging: A Framework for Research in Social Gerontology In Older People and Their Social Worlds. Arnold M. Rose and Warren A. Patterson, eds. pp. 3-18. Philadelphia : F. A. Davis.
59.
Silverman, Philip and Robert J. Maxwell1978How Do I Respect Thee? Let Me Count the Ways: Deference toward Elderly Men and WomenBehavior Science Research13: 91-108.
60.
Simmons, Leo1945The Role of the Aged in Primitive SocietyNew Haven: Yale University Press.
61.
1960Aging in Preindustrial Societies In Handbook of Social Gerontology. Clark Tibbits, ed. pp. 62-91. Chicago : University of Chicago Press.
62.
Stevenson, Matilda Coxe1901The Zuni Indians: Their Mythology, Esoteric Fraternities, and CeremoniesU.S. Bureau of American Ethnology, 23: 1-634.
63.
Stirling, A. Paul1965Turkish Village: London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
64.
Strehlow, Theodor G. H.1947Aranda TraditionsMelbourne: Melbourne University Press.
65.
Sussman, Marvin B.1976The Family Life of Old People In Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. Robert H. Binstock and Ethel Shanas, eds. pp. 218-244. New York: Van Nostrand.
66.
Sussman, Marvin B. and Lee Burchinal1968Kin Family Network: Unheralded Structure in Current Conceptualizations of Family Functioning In Middle Age and Aging. Bernice L. Neugarten, ed. pp. 247-254. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
67.
Swanson, Guy E.1960The Birth of the GodsAnn Arbor : University of Michigan Press.
68.
Swanton, John Reed1924Social Organization and Social Usages of the Indians of the Creek ConfederacyU.S. Bureau of American Ethnology Annual Report42: 23-472, 859-900.
69.
Whiting, John W. M.1941Becoming a Kwoma: Teaching and Learning in a New Guinea TribeNew Haven: Yale University Press.
70.
Williams, Francis E.1928Orakaiva MagicLondon: Oxford University Press.
71.
Wilson, Monica1959Communal Rituals of the NyakyusaLondon: Oxford University Press.
