WHAT DO WE CALL OURSELVES? TERMINOLOGY FOR THE OVER-65 SET

Associated with the concept of identity is the question of terminology used when discussing the group of people 65 years of age and older. I don’t think there is a single “right” answer for what to call this age cohort. Many terms have been used; this post offers some resources you may find useful in exploring terminology pertaining to the over-65 set.

Thesaurus of Aging Terminology
AARP
http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/general/thesaurus.pdf


The Thesaurus of Aging Terminology, as described in its Introduction, “ is a controlled vocabulary of subject terms used to index journal articles, books, book chapters, videos, and dissertations cited in the AgeLine Database. AgeLine is an online, bibliographic database produced by AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) that focuses on the subject of aging and middle-aged and older adults, particularly addressing the social, psychological, economic, policy, and health care aspects of aging. “

This publication is arguably the most complete inventories of terms used to describe older persons.

Guide to Library Research on Aging topics
University of North Carolina Institute on Aging
http://www.aging.unc.edu/infocenter/tutorials/researchaging.html

This Web site contains much valuable information about terminology used in conducting research about aging. In particular, the site has a section called “Getting started: Aging terminology,” which lists a number of encyclopedia and handbook articles that that explore (as the name implies) aging terminology.

Glossary of terms associated with aging, disability, or long-term care
United States Department of Health and Human Services
http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/diction.shtml

This site contains a relatively comprehensive index or glossary of terms associated with aging.

Guide to Resources in gerontology
State University of New York, University at Albany
http://library.albany.edu/dewey/gerontology.html

This site contains an inventory of print resources pertaining to gerontology. Among these resources are several which focus on terminology pertaining to aging, the University Library at Albany describes these resources as follows:

• Dictionary of Gerontology
Dewey Reference HQ 1061 H338 1988
Identifies the specialized terms used in gerontology and provides bibliographic references to help clarify their meanings.
• International Glossary of Social Gerontology
Dewey Reference HQ 1061 I5348 1985
Created by the UN Assembly on Aging, this work includes terminology in English, Spanish, French, and German.
• Older Americans Almanac
Dewey Reference HQ 1064 U5 O416 1994
This book provides many facts and statistics on a broad range of topics including elder care, the aged and relationships, mental disorders, finance, history of aging in America, employment and retirement, and political and legal issues.

These are but a few of the resources that contain descriptions of terms that describe various aspects of the lives of people over 65.

As for me: I tend to the use of the phrase “people over 65” to generically name or label the cohort of people about which I am concerned in this Blog. In doing so, I recognize the claims of the movement to use “age-irrelevant” terminology, and, indeed, to make age an irrelevant criterion in any discussion of any group of people. It could be argued that age 65 no longer has any “marking” relevance in today’s society. But in the reading I have done thus far, for better or worse, age 65 continues to be a demarcation in much public dialogue. I’m willing to use the over-65 descriptor, not as an indicator of positive or negative judgment, but merely as a descriptor of fact: people do become 65!