Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
European Journal of Ageing
Published in: European Journal of Ageing 3/2006

Open Access 01-09-2006 | Original Investigation

Comparative ageing research: a flourishing field in need of theoretical cultivation

Authors: Clemens Tesch-Römer, Hans-Joachim von Kondratowitz

Published in: European Journal of Ageing | Issue 3/2006

Login to get access

Abstract

Comparative ageing research is a flourishing field, partly because of European funding in this area. Comparing different societies and cultures seems especially fruitful for the analysis of societal and cultural factors in development over the life course. From a nomothetic perspective, the aim of comparisons is the search for similarities and communalities in different societies and cultures; from an idiographic perspective, researchers are looking for societal and cultural specificity and distinctiveness. However, the potentials of comparative ageing research are not fully realized for the time being. In many cases, there is little theorizing as to whether there should be differences (or similarities) in ageing processes across countries, societies, or cultures. This paper discusses theoretical aims and ambitions of comparative ageing research in general. Comparative theories are sketched which could serve as a basis for comparative ageing research, and ageing theories are discussed which could be modified to be used in comparative research. The rationale of comparative ageing research is described and illustrated through empirical examples. Epistemological and methodological pitfalls (problems of conceptual, operational, functional, and measurement equivalence) are a substantial obstacle to comparative ageing research. Hence, merits and limitations of comparative designs and sampling procedures are considered.
Literature
Attias-Donfut C, Ogg J, Wolff FC (2005) European patterns of intergenerational financial and time transfer. Eur J Ageing 2:161–173CrossRef
Baltes PB (1987) Theoretical propositions of life-span developmental psychology. On the dynamics between growth and decline. Dev Psychol 23:611–626CrossRef
Baltes PB (1997) On the incomplete architecture of human ontogenesis: Selection, optimization, and compensation as foundation of developmental theory. Am Psychol 52:366–381CrossRef
Bengtson VL, Schaie KW (eds) (1999) Handbook of theories of aging. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Bengtson VL, Rice CJ, Johnson ML (1999) Are theories of aging important? Models and explanations in gerontology at the turn of the century. In: Bengtson VL, Schaie KW (eds) Handbook of theories of aging. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 3–20
Ben-Shlomo Y, Kuh D (2002) A life course approach to chronic disease epidemiology: conceptual models, empirical challenges and interdisciplinary perspectives. Int J Epidemiol 31:285–293CrossRef
Berry JW (2000) Culture. In: Kazdin AE (ed) Encyclopedia of psychology. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 392–400
Bingenheimer J, Raudenbush SW (2004) Statistical and substantive inferences in public health: issues in the application of multilevel models. Ann Rev Public Health 25:53–77CrossRef
Blakely T, Woodward A (2000) Ecological effects in multi-level studies. J Epidemiol Community Health 54:367–374CrossRef
Börsch-Supan A, Hank K, Jürges H (2005) A new comprehensive and international view on aging: introducing the “survey of health, ageing, and retirement in Europe”. Eur J Ageing 2:245–253CrossRef
Braam AW, Delespaul P, Breekman ATF, Deeg DJH, Pérès K, Dewey M et al (2004) National context of healthcare, economy, and religion, and the association between disability and depressive symptoms in older Europeans: results from the EURODEP concerted action. Eur J Ageing 1:26–36CrossRef
Brandtstädter J (1998) Action perspectives on human development. In: Lerner RM (ed) Handbook of child psychology: theoretical models of human development, vol 1, 5th edn. Wiley, New York, pp 807–863
Brandtstädter J, Rothermund K (2002) The life-course dynamics of goal pursuit and goal adjustment: a two-process framework. Dev Rev 22:117–150CrossRef
Bronfenbrenner U (1970) Two worlds of childhood: U.S. and U.S.S.R. Russell Sage Foundation, New York, NY
Bronfenbrenner U (1979) The ecology of human development. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MS
Bronfenbrenner U (1999) Environments in developmental perspective: theoretical and operational models. In: Friedman S, Wachs TD (eds) Measuring environment across the life span: emerging methods and concepts. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, pp 3–28
Bronfenbrenner U (2000) Ecological systems theory. In: Kazdin AE (ed) Encyclopedia of psychology. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, pp 129–133
Bronfenbrenner U, Morris PA (1998) The ecology of developmental processes. In: Damon W (ed) Handbook of child psychology, vol 1 theory, 5th edn. Wiley, New York, pp 993–1028
Bronfenbrenner U, McClelland P, Wetherington E, Moen P, Ceci SJ (1996) The state of Americans: this generation and the next. Free Press, New York
Carstensen LL (1995) Evidence for a life-span theory of socioemotional selectivity. Curr Dir Psychol Sci 5:151–156CrossRef
Carstensen LL, Mikels JA, Mather M (2006) Aging and the intersection of cognition, motivation, and emotion. In: Birren JE, Schaie KW (eds) Handbook of the psychology of aging, 6 edn. Elsevier Academic, Amsterdam pp 343–362
Chamberlayne P, Cooper A, Freeman R, Rustin M (eds) (1999) Welfare and culture in Europe: towards a new paradigm in social policy. Jessica Kingsley Publ, London
Cumming E, Henry, WE (1961) Growing old: the process of disengagement. Basic, New York
Daatland SO, Herlofson K (2003) “Lost solidarity” or “changed solidarity”. A comparative European view of normative family solidarity. Ageing Soc 23(5):537–560CrossRef
Daatland SO, Motel-Klingebiel A (2006) Separating the local and the general in cross-cultural ageing research. In: Wahl HW, Tesch-Römer C, Hoff A (eds) Emergence of new person-environment dynamics in old age. A multidisciplinary exploration. Baywood, Amityville, NY (in press)
Dannefer D (1999) Paths of the life course: a typology. In: Bengtson VL, Schaie KW (eds) Handbook of theories of aging. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 306–326
Ebbinghaus B (2005) When less is more. Selection problems in large-N and small-N cross-national comparisons. Int Sociol 20(2):133–152CrossRef
Eckensberger L, Plath I (2003) Möglichkeiten und Grenzen des “variablenorientierten” Kulturvergleichs. Von der Kulturvergleichenden Psychologie zur Kulturpsychologie. In: Kaelble H, Schriewer J (eds) Vergleich und Transfer. Komparatistik in den Sozial-, Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften. Campus, Frankfurt, pp 55–99
Esping-Andersen G (1990) The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Polity Press, Cambridge
Esping-Andersen G (2000) Three worlds of welfare capitalism. In: Pierson C, Castles FG (eds) The welfare state. Malden, MA, pp 154–169
Ferring D, Balducci C, Burholt V, Wenger C, Thissen F, Weber G et al (2004) Life satisfaction of older people in six European countries: findings from the European study on adult well-being. Eur J Ageing 1:15–25CrossRef
Fry C (1988) Theories of age and culture. In: Birren JE, Bengtson VL (eds) Emergent theories of aging. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 447–481
Fry CL (1996) Comparative and cross-cultural studies. In: Birren JE (ed) Encyclopedia of gerontology, vol I, A–K. Academic, San Diego, pp 311–318
Fry CL (1999) Anthropological theories of aging. In: Bengtson VL, Schaie KW (eds) Handbook of theories of aging. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York, pp 306–326
Fry CL (2006) The social construction of age and the experience of aging in the late twentieth century. In: Wahl HW, Tesch-Römer C, Hoff A (eds) New dynamics in old age: individual, environmental and societal perspectives. Baywood, Amityville, NY
Fung HH, Lai P, Ng R (2001) Age differences in social preferences among Taiwanese and Mainland Chinese: the role of perceived time. Psychol Aging 16:351–356CrossRef
Headland T, Pike, KL, Harris M (eds) (1990) Emics and etics: the insider/outsider debate. Sage, Newbury Park
Helfrich H (1999) Beyond the dilemma of cross-cultural psychology: resolving the tension between etic and emic approaches. Cult Psychol 5:131–153CrossRef
Helfrich H (2003) Methodologie kulturvergleichender psychologischer Forschung. In: Thomas A (ed), Kulturvergleichende Psychologie, 2nd edn. Hogrefe, Göttingen, pp 111–139
Hofstede G (2001) Culture’s consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations, 2nd edn. Sage, Beverly Hills, CA
Hui H, Triandis HC (1985) Measurement in cross-cultural psychology: a review and comparison of strategies. J Cross-Cult Psychol 16:131–152CrossRef
Kondratowitz HJv (2003) Comparing welfare states. In: Lowenstein A, Ogg J (eds) Old age and autonomy: the role of service systems and intergenerational family solidarity, Haifa University, Haifa, pp 25–62
Kuh D, Ben-Shlomo Y, Lynch J, Hallqvist J, Power C (2003) Life course epidemiology. J Epidemiol Community Health 57:778–783CrossRef
Lessenich S, Ostner I (eds) (1998) Welten des Wohlfahrtskapitalismus. Campus, Frankfurt
Minicuci N, Noale M, Pluijm SMF, Zunzunegui MV, Blumstein T, Deeg DJH et al (2004) Disability-free life expectancy: a cross-national comparison of six longitudinal studies on aging. The CLESA project. Eur J Ageing 1:7–44CrossRef
Mollenkopf H, Marcellini F, Ruoppila I, Széman Z, Tacken M, Wahl HW (2004) Social and behavioural science perspectives on out-of-home mobility in later life: findings from the European project MOBILATE. Eur J Ageing 1:45–53CrossRef
Mortimer JT, Shanahan MJ (eds) (2003) Handbook of the life course. Kluwer/Plenum, New York
Motel-Klingebiel A, Tesch-Römer C, Kondratowitz HJv (2003) The quantitative survey. In: Lowenstein A, Ogg J (eds) Old age and autonomy: the role of service systems and intergenerational family solidarity. Haifa University, Haifa, pp 63–101
Motel-Klingebiel A, Kondratowitz, HJv, Tesch-Römer C (2004) Social inequality in old age—comparative views on quality of life of older people. EurJ Ageing 1:6–14CrossRef
Motel-Klingebiel A, Tesch-Römer C, Kondratowitz, HJv (2005) Welfare states do not crowd out the family: evidence for mixed responsibility from comparative analyses. Ageing Soc 25:863–882CrossRef
Murdock GP, White DR (1969) Standard cross-cultural sample. Ethnology 8:329–369CrossRef
Pike KL (1954) Language in relation to a unified theory of the structure of human behavior. Summer Institute of Linguistics, Glendale, CA
Poortinga YH (1992) Towards a conceptualization of culture for psychology. In: Iwawaki S, Kashima Y, Leung K (eds) Innovations in cross-cultural psychology, Swets & Zeitlinger, Amsterdam, pp 3–17
Przeworski A, Teune H (1970) The logic of comparative social inquiry. Krieger, Malabar
Ragin CC (1987) The comparative method: moving beyond qualitative and quantitative strategies. University of California Press, Berkeley
Raudenbush SW (1999) Hierarchical models. In: Kotz S (ed) Encyclopedia of statistical sciences, vol 3. Wiley, New York, pp 318–323
Riley MW, Foner A, Riley JWJ (1999) The aging and society paradigm. In: Bengtson VL, Schaie KW (eds) Handbook of theories of aging. Springer, New York, pp 327–343
Salthouse TA (2006) Theoretical issues in the psychology of aging. In: Birren JE, Schaie WK (eds) Handbook of the psychology of aging. Elsevier Academic, Amsterdam pp 3–13CrossRef
Sapir E (1921) Language: an introduction to the study of speech. Hartcourt, Brace, New York
Settersten RAJ (2006) Aging and the life course. In: Binstock RH, Gerorge LK (eds) Handbook of aging and the social sciences, 6th edn. Elsevier Academic, Amsterdam, pp 3–19
Simmons L (1945) The role of the aged in primitive society. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT
Tesch-Römer C (2005) Universal accommodation? Cross-cultural notes on Brandtstädter’s developmental theory of action. In: Greve W, Rothermund K, Wentura D (eds) The adaptive self: personal continuity and intentional self-development. Hogrefe, Göttingen, pp 285–297
Thomas A (2003) Psychologie interkulturellen Lernens und Handelns. In: Thomas A (ed) Kulturvergleichende Psychologie, 2nd edn. Hogrefe, Göttingen, pp 433–485
Triandis HC (1989) The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts. Psychol Rev 96:506–520CrossRef
Triandis HC (1994) Culture and social behavior. McGraw-Hill, New York
Triandis HC (1996) The psychological measurement of cultural syndromes. Am Psychol 51:407–415CrossRef
Triandis HC, Marin G (1983) Etic plus emic versus pseudoetic: a test of a basic assumption of contemporary cross-cultural psychology. J Cross-Cult Psychol 14:489–500CrossRef
Triandis HC, Suh EM (2002) Cultural influences on personality. Annu Rev Psychol 53:133–160CrossRef
Triandis HC, Trafimow D (2001) Cross-national prevalence of collectivism. In: Brewer MB, Sedikides C (eds) Individual self, relational self, collective self. Psychology Press Philadelphia, PA, pp 259–276
Trommsdorff G (1978) Möglichkeiten und Probleme des Kulturvergleichs am Beispiel einer Aggressionsstudie. Kölner Z Soz Sozialpsychol 13:361–381
Walker A (2005) Towards an international political economy of ageing. Ageing Soc 25:815–839CrossRef
Whorf BL (1956) Language, thought and reality. Wiley, New York
Metadata
Title
Comparative ageing research: a flourishing field in need of theoretical cultivation
Authors
Clemens Tesch-Römer
Hans-Joachim von Kondratowitz
Publication date
01-09-2006
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
European Journal of Ageing / Issue 3/2006
Print ISSN: 1613-9372
Electronic ISSN: 1613-9380
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-006-0034-0