Centre for Policy on Ageing



Independence in old age — the route to social exclusion?
Author(s)	Debbie Plath
Journal title	British Journal of Social Work, vol 38, no 6, October 2008
Pages	pp 1353-1369
Source	http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org
Keywords	Independence ; Isolation ; Social interaction ; Participation ; Attitudes to the old of general public ; Qualitative Studies ; Australia.
Annotation	The promotion of independence is a dominant theme in policy on old age and is also a principle used to guide social work practice with older people. This qualitative study of older people's experiences of independence reveals that independence is a complex notion with a variety of meanings. In-depth interviews with older Australians elicited five main discourses on independence: doing things alone; making one's own decisions; physical and mental capacity; having resources; and social standing and self-esteem. Whilst the goal of independence was strongly upheld by the older people, negative experiences associated with independence were also revealed. Based on the experiences of these older people, the findings of this study offer insights for social workers prepared to move beyond individualistic interpretations of independence and to promote socially inclusive independence. (KJ/RH).
Accession Number	CPA-081217216 A
Classmark	C3: TP: TMA: TMB: TOB: 3DP: 7YA
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.