Threshold of old age: objective signs and subjective perception

Abstract

Population aging is a demographic trend characteristic of most world countries, it requires attention from various social institutions. The situation of the growing number of older people around the world increases the relevance of studying this issue. The article aggregates data from different sources that determine the boundaries of the onset of old age based on various theoretical and methodological approaches. It also shows the proportion of old people in the demographic structure of the Russian population in accordance with the chosen approaches. It is shown that the most popular age of the onset of old age, reflected in theoretical concepts, is within the range of 60–65 years. The article presents the results of the authors’ study, which covered 1198 respondents from more than 65 regions of the Russian Federation (organized by Lomonosov Moscow State University together with ISESP FCTAS RAS in 2022). During the analysis of the data obtained, some inconsistencies were found between the boundaries fixed in scientific discourse and the ideas of the study participants about the moment of the onset of old age. The results obtained showed the absence of significant differences in ideas about the moment of old age for men and women (69.4 and 68.0 years, respectively). There is a tendency to postpone the age of old age with an increase in the age of respondent. A correlation between the actual and psychological age of old age showed that “premature” aging (when a person recognizes himself as old, before he exceeds the age of old age he named) is found in more than half of the respondents who associate themselves with older people.