The sociology of aging studies sociological, psychological, economic, and medical aspects related to old age and aging. Gerontology, the term introduced by Élie Metchnikoff (1845–1916), refers to the science related to the sociology of aging, but it usually puts more attention to the medical and biological aspects of aging. Charlotte Gilman was among the first sociologists to do gerontological research. Early research in the sociology of aging (Burgess: 1960) focused on topics like poverty, discrimination the marginal status of the elderly population, and the negative effects of institutionalization. Matilda White Riley (1911–2004) in the United States and Peter Laslett (1915–2001) from the United Kingdom are considered major figures in the development of the sociology of aging. In the book Aging and Society (1968–1972), Riley developed the “aging and society paradigm” which treats age as a part of the social structure. Laslett, who wrote The World We Have Lost (1965), introduced a new viewpoint on topics of demography, gerontology, and family. He also founded the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure.

The sociology of aging studies aging on multiple levels – macro, meso, and micro. On a macro level, the biggest issue for most of the developed countries is the demographic transition, i.e. aging of the population and relations between different age groups. The micro level of investigation focuses on the health and well-being of individuals of old age. Sociology of aging uses a variety of methods in its empirical research:  demographic statistics and projections, surveys, ethnography, and observational studies.

  Demographic Transition in the Developed Countries

The theory of demographic transition focuses on the relationships between economic and social development - industrialization, urbanization, development of technology and infrastructure, medical advances - and the changes in the age structure in different countries. Theory proposes that there are three stages, at the first stage development is low, but both mortality and fertility levels are very high. In the second stage, during the process of development and modernization, mortality rates decline faster than fertility rates, which results in the rise of the total population, although the young population rises the fastest. Earlier versions of the theory of demographic transition postulated that in the third stage, when countries achieve a high level of socio-economic development, both levels of mortality and fertility would stabilize and that ratio between the size of different generations will stay the same. Evidence from most developed countries showed that in the later part of the twentieth century, fertility rates dropped below rates of mortality, which resulted in increased aging of the population. Both the average age of life expectancy rose and the size of the people of old age as a share of the total population. The demographic transition had and will continue to have negative effects on various areas: health care, the size labor force, welfare and social security, insurance, taxation, pensions, and housing availability.  

                     Intergenerational Conflict and Ageism

Demographic transition has also influenced intergenerational conflict.  Ageism refers to the discrimination of the elderly population. Some of the negative stereotypes attributed to the elderly are that they are senile, dependent, and parasitic and that they have conservative attitudes.

                                       Cohort Studies

.The concept of cohort refers to individuals born approximately at the same time. Cohort studies research various cohort effects, of which there are three most important. The first effect stems from historical factors, due to people in the same cohort sharing the experience of the same historical events and processes. People in one cohort share different collective experiences from those in earlier and later cohorts. Adolescent and young adult cohorts are impacted more by historical events and social changes than younger and older cohorts. The second type of cohort effect arises from differences in size and composition. Large cohorts usually experience greater competition for socio-economic resources and opportunities, than smaller cohorts. The third type of cohort effect relates to the speed of the social changes, because as social change occurs more rapidly, the greater the differentiation across cohorts will be.

                                Aging and Well-Being

The sociology of aging focuses a lot of attention on the well-being of the aging population. The well-being includes social and economic resources, life satisfaction and subjective well-being, longevity, physical and mental health, and disability. Socioeconomic indicators, like race, gender, religion, class, and status, are significant predictors of well-being in the elderly population.

                            Aging and the Life Course

Life-course perspectives represent a new approach to aging. It researches how events that some individuals faces earlier in life (in family life, work, and health) influence the status and well-being of that individual in late life. The life-course perspectives also research the intersection of personal biography and wider historical events.

                               Age Stratification Theory

Matilda Riley introduced the age stratification theory. This theory posits that society is divided into several age groups and those groups create a type of social stratification, as they have different holds over socio-economic resources. Members of these age groups share the same consciousness, social value, and norms,  and have strong identification with their age group.  Older age groups are on the top of the stratification ladder, and they employ collective efforts, in the form of voting and lobbying, to enact policy solutions that will protect or increase their share of socio-economic resources.

In the books Western Attitudes towards Death (1974) and The Hour of Our Death (1981, in French 1977) social historian Philippe Ariès studied how our relationship to death has changed throughout history. While in pre-modern times death was seen as something familiar and omnipresent, preparation for which came gradually over time, in modern times death started to be seen as a forbidden topic, an enemy to has to be fought and scorned. 

Books:

Ariès, Philippe Western Attitudes Towards Death 

  -    (1974) and The Hour of Our Death (1981, in French 1977)

Bourgeois-Pichat, J. „The Demographic Transition: Aging of Population”, in Population Science in the Service of Mankind. (1979);

Burgess. Aging in Western Societies (1960).

Cowdry, E. V., (ed.) Problems of Ageing: Biological and Medical Aspects (1939);

Harris, Diana. Sociology of Aging (2007);

Laslett, Peter. The World We Have Lost (1965);

Riley, Matilda White, Marilyn E. Johnson, and Anne Foner, (eds.) Aging and Society: A Sociology of Age Stratification (1968–1972);

 Settersten, Richard. Handbook of Sociology of Aging (2011).