Continuity theory
psychosocial theory of aging
The continuity theory of normal aging states that older adults will usually maintain the same activities, behaviors, relationships as they did in their earlier years of life. According to this theory, older adults try to maintain this continuity of lifestyle by adapting strategies that are connected to their past experiences.
The continuity theory is one of three major psychosocial theories which describe how people develop in old age. The other two psychosocial theories are the disengagement theory, with which the continuity theory comes to odds, and the activity theory upon which the continuity theory modifies and elaborates. Unlike the other two theories, the continuity theory uses a life course perspective to define normal aging.
The continuity theory can be classified as a micro-level theory because it pertains to the individual, and more specifically it can be viewed from the functionalist perspective
History
The continuity theory originated in the observation that a large proportion of older adults show consistency in their activities, personalities, and relationships despite their changing physical, mental, and social status. In 1968, George L. Maddox gave an empirical description of the theory in a chapter of the book Middle Age and Aging: A Reader in Social Psychology called "Persistence of life style among the elderly: A longitudinal study of patterns of social activity in relation to life satisfaction". The continuity theory was formerly proposed in 1971 by Robert Atchley in his article "Retirement and Leisure Participation: Continuity or Crisis?" in the journal The Gerontologist. Later, in 1989, he published another article entitled "A Continuity Theory of Normal Aging", in The Gerontologist in which he substantially developed the theory. In this article, he expanded the continuity theory to explain the development of internal and external structures of continuity.
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