Archana Kumaria*
KVK, Bihar Agricultural University, Manjhi, Gopalganj, Bihar
Received , 21th December, 2014; Revised: 27th January, 2015
Abstract :India is growing old! The stark reality of the ageing scenario in India is that there are 77 million older persons in India today, and the number is growing to grow to 177 million in another 25 years. With life expectancy having increased from 40 years in 1951 to 64 years today, a person today has 20 years more to live than he would have 50 years back.
However, this is not without problems. With this kind of an ageing scenario, there is pressure on all aspects of care for the older persons – be it financial, health or shelter. As the twenty first century arrives, the growing security of older persons in India is very visible. With older people living longer, the households are getting smaller and congested, causing stress in joint and extended families. Even where they are co residing marginalization, isolation and insecurity is felt among the older persons due to the generation gap and change in lifestyles. In this context a study was conducted to understand the feeling of elderly residing in the family setup in the Chapra district. The sample of elderly women was selected using the purposively” sampling” technique to select 100 elderl women from the family setup. Among the 100 women, 50elderly were widows of farmer and 50 elderly were widow of serviceman. The data was collected using a specially designed interview schedule and observation technique through a door to door survey for these residing in the families. Non working status of these women and above 60 years of age was criteria for sample selection. Results of the study revealed that most of the elderly felt the attitude of the younger generation unsatisfactory. In terms of getting respect, love and affection from the family members instead they were considered as burden for other. Women living in the families had negative attitude towards old age because they were neglected by off spring.
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