Positive Aging and Precarity Theory, Policy, and Social

Reality within a Comparative German Context

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Preface

The increase in longevity and the rise of aging populations have given rise to both
concern and joy. Facing the challenge of investing longer lives with meaning and
providing services for an increasing number of older individuals, researchers and
policy makers have joined forces to develop solutions. Positive aging theories
and active aging policies were formulated to design a framework for aging well.
However, globalization, the spread of neoliberal ideas, labor market reforms, and
the decline in social protection have altered the social context of aging and deter-
mined a rise in inequalities among older people (Grenier and Phillipson 2018;
Grenier et al. 2017; Biggs 2014). The new culture of risk labeled as precarity
(Grenier et al. 2017) makes positive aging less probable for certain social groups
such as precarious workers. Several studies have dealt with the issue of precarity
(Millar 2017; Standing 2011; Waite 2009; Butler 2004), and there is a growing
evidence base on the links between precarity and aging (Grenier et al. 2017; Grenier
and Phillipson 2018; Portacolone et al. 2018). The present book provides a novel
psychological perspective on the connections between precarity and aging. Namely,
it aims to understand what happens in the minds of precarious individuals and how
people deal with existing discrepancies between positive aging ideals and the reality
of precarious aging. The chapters are structured around questions such as “how
does precarity shape aging experiences (i.e., views on precarity, views on aging,
preparations for old age)?” and “is positive aging possible in precarious contexts?”.
The case studies that are used to illustrate the answers to these questions originate
from a qualitative study conducted with precarious and financially secure
middle-aged Germans. With its large aging population, adherence to active aging
policies contrasted by rising numbers of precarious workers and inequalities among
the elderly, Germany represents a fascinating case study. Nevertheless, since pre-
carious aging represents a global phenomenon, findings provide scope for com-
parison with countries that are both similar and different from Germany in terms of
welfare regimes and aging policies.

v
vi Preface

This book offers health psychologists, gerontologists, sociologists, social

workers, health professionals as well as students and aging individuals themselves
better insight into the meaning of precarious aging and builds confidence about
aging well despite precarity. This work is dedicated to all precarious workers who
find the courage to deal with life’s uncertainties in a positive way.

Berlin, Germany Irina Catrinel Crăciun

References

Biggs, S. (2014). Precarious ageing versus the policy of indifference: International trends and the
G20. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 33(4), 226–228.
Butler, J. (2004). Precarious life: The powers of mourning and violence. London: Verso.
Grenier, A., & Phillipson, C. (2018). Precarious aging: Insecurity and risk in late life. Hastings
Center Report, 48, S15–S18. https://doi.org/10.1002/hast.907.
Grenier, A., Phillipson, C., Laliberte Rudman, D., Hatzifilalithis, S., Kobayashi, K., & Marier,
P. (2017). Precarity in late life: Understanding new forms of risk and insecurity. Journal of
Aging Studies, 43, 9–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2017.08.002.
Millar, K. M. (2017). Toward a critical politics of precarity. Sociology Compass, 11(6), https://doi.
org/10.1111/soc4.12483.
Portacolone, E., Rubinstein, R. L., Covinsky, K. E., Halpern, J., & Johnson, J. K. (2018). The
precarity of older adults living alone with cognitive impairment. The Gerontologist. https://doi.
org/10.1093/geront/gnx193.
Standing, G. (2011). The precariat: The new dangerous class. London: Bloomsbury Press.
Waite, L. (2009). A place and space for a critical geography of precarity? Geography Compass,
3(1), 412–433. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-8198.2008.00184.x.
Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for awarding me a

post doc research fellowship. This enabled me to conduct a research project that
outlines the base of the present book. I am also thankful to Prof. Uwe Flick who
was the host professor during my stay in Germany and provided feedback on the
qualitative methodology of the study. My gratitude goes to all study participants.
Without their commitment and motivation, this project would not have been
possible.
A special thank you goes to Maria Crăciun for her timely and constructive
critiques that have made an idea develop into a book. I am also very grateful to
Silvia Făgărăşan and Hernan Biava for their valuable feedback and constant
encouragement.
Last but not least, I would like to recognize the guidance and support of Prof.
Chris Phillipson, the editors of the International Perspectives on Aging Series,
Jason Powell and Sheying Chen, as well as the editors at Springer.

vii
Contents

1 Introduction: Issues of Aging and Precarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Defining the Issue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Methods and Origins of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Summary of the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Part I
2 Positive Aging Theories and Views on Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
How Positive Aging Theory Shapes Views on Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Positive Aging—A Shift in the Research Paradigm . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The Successful Aging Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
How Views on Aging Affect Our Lives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Effects of Positive Views Versus Negative Views on Aging . . . . . . 21
Should We Think Differently About Aging? Critiques to Positive
Aging Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Life Course Perspective and Process Models Versus Outcomes . . . . 23
Success as a Controversial Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Missing Voices- Lay People Perspectives on Successful Aging . . . . 27
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3 The Politics of Positive Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Defining Active Aging Policy: Do Views on Aging Play a Role? . . . . 36
Policy Development and Views on Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
How Policy Ideas Are Reflected by Lay Peoples’ View
on Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 40
How Policy Is Changing Views on Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... 41
WHO and Changing Views on Aging at Individual Level . . . . .... 41

ix
x Contents

EU and Changing Views on Aging at Community Level . . . . ..... 42

Active Aging Policy Targeting Changes in Views on Aging:
The Case of Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 44
Critique of Active Aging Policy: Time for Formulating New
Views on Aging? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 46
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... 47
4 The Social Reality of Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Precarious Work and Vanishing Pensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Precarity and (ill) Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Precarity and Loneliness in Old Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
How Precarity Shapes Our Cognitions and Emotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Part II
5 Perceptions of the Precarious Life: The Middle-Aged Precariat
in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Introducing the Precariat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Who Are the Aging Precariat and Why Are They Important? . . . . . . . 68
The Aging Precariat in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Why Berlin and the Chosen Case Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
“Joining” the Precariat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
The Paradox of Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
The “Surprised” Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Who Survives Precarity? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
The Chameleon Self . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The Social Activist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
6 Views on Aging in Precarious and Financially Secure
Individuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Contexts that Trigger Thoughts About Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Fifty Is a Magic Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Self-definitions and Perceptions of Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Negative Views on Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
The Treacherous Aging Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Old Age Represented as an Illness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Chronological Age Is Obsolete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
No Image Is a Negative Image—“Being Wrapped up
in the Moment” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .......... 99
Contents xi

Positive Views on Aging Reality or Wishful Thinking? . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Hopes of an Active Old Age in Financially Secure Individuals . . . . 101
Hopes of Wisdom and Life Satisfaction in Precarious
Individuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
7 Preparing for Old Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
To Prepare or not to Prepare for Old Age? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Thinking Short-Term . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Fostering Positive Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Investing in Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Acquiring Work Skills for Later Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Developing Social Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Using Family Structures as a Resource for Old Age . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Barriers Toward a Positive Old Age Experienced by Precarious
Individuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
The Feeling of Lack of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
The Commodified Healthy Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Lacking Resources from the State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Planning Old Age Carefully: The Financially Secure Individuals . . . . . 120
Plan Timely for a Good Old Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Train the Aging Body and Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Secure Financial Independence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Leave the Big City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Be Socially Active to Give Meaning to Old Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Part III
8 Precarity and Views on Aging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Negative Views on Aging and Precarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Fear of Old Age as an Expression of Precarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
The Precarious Body and Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
The Precarization of Old Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Reinventing Positive Aging in a Precarious Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Reframing the Negative Characteristics of Views on Aging . . . . . . . 140
Adding New Components to Positive Aging Views ...... . . . . . . 141
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... . . . . . . 143
9 Precarity and Preparing for Old Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Precarity and the Accumulation of Health Inequalities . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
xii Contents

Ageism at Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Mental Barriers in Precarious Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Lack of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Lack of Confidence: The Precarious Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Reinventing Preparation for Old Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
10 Positive Aging in the Context of Precarity: Conclusions
and Implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Surviving Precarity and Aging Well . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Implications for Psychological Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Changes at Individual Level in Psychological Counselling . . . . . . . . 172
Use Flexibility as a Resource for Old Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Become an Expert in Time Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Change Negative Aging Stereotypes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Address the Threat to the Self-identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Foster Positive Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Develop Social Networks for Strengthening Social Support . . . . . . . 178
Implications for Active Aging Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Manage Age Discrimination on the Job Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Health Policy for All- a Dream or a Possibility? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Redesigning Old Age for Mass Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Conclusions: The Way Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
About the Author

Dr. Irina Catrinel Crăciun is Associate Professor in health psychology at the

Babeş-Bolyai University in Cluj, Romania, and has been Guest Professor of health
and gender at the Freie Universität Berlin. She also works as a health psychology
practitioner and is Vice-President of the Romanian Health Psychology Association.
She received her Ph.D. in health psychology at the Freie Universität Berlin (su-
pervised by Prof. Dr. Ralf Schwarzer) and subsequently held a postdoctoral research
grant on resources for positive aging, sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation. Several articles resulted from this project and were published in journals
such as The Gerontologist, Journal of Aging Studies, Journal of Health Psychology,
and Journal of Women and Aging. Her research interests include a wide range of
topics from health behavior change to health communication and exploring aging,
gender, and psychosocial health determinants. Her recent studies focus mainly on
aging and health perceptions in vulnerable populations such as aging precarious
individuals, and the prevention of gender and social inequalities in health.

xiii
Chapter 1
Introduction: Issues of Aging
and Precarity

Defining the Issue

Demographic changes are considered among the most relevant challenges of the
twenty-first century. Public health achievements have led to an increase of around
30 years in life expectancy (Phillipson 2013). As a consequence, at a global level most
industrialized countries can be described as aging societies, with rising percentages of
older citizens all over the world (Wolff et al. 2018; Phillipson 2013). At an individual
level, a longer life kindles the redefinition of old age to invest these later years with
meaning. On a societal level, an increasing older population triggers a series of
changes at cultural, institutional, and community levels. An aging population brings
forward issues such as health insurance, pension plans, security, and housing for
older persons. For example, new retirement policies have to be created to fit the
growing number of potential retirees. EU policies encourage older people to work
after their official retirement age, and strategies are devised to keep older people
at work (Oude Mulders et al. 2016). In order to meet the needs of a rising older
population and to foster policy change, a new way of thinking about old age was
required. Against this background, the active aging policy emerged (Lassen and
Moreira 2014; Walker 2009). The active aging policy goals include the following: to
foster health in older people so that they do not become a burden for health systems, to
keep older persons in employment, to reduce pension costs and to help seniors remain
engaged in society (Stenner et al. 2011). From this perspective, aging is considered
a lifelong process (Stowe and Cooney 2015), while “active” refers to continuing
participation in activities across several domains from the economic, to culture and
health (Walker 2006). Based on positive aging principles, the active aging policy
encourages a healthy lifestyle (WHO 2002) and institutional reforms at EU level
(Walker 2002, 2006, 2009; European Commission 1999, 2002, 2012). One way to
realize both types of goals is by promoting novel representations of old age (Lassen
and Moreira 2014; Stenner et al. 2011).
The active aging policy attempts to promote positive aging by changing views on
aging both at individual level (i.e., perceptions of one’s own aging) and at societal

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 1

I. C. Crăciun, Positive Aging and Precarity, International Perspectives
on Aging 21, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14255-1_1
2 1 Introduction: Issues of Aging and Precarity

level (i.e., perceptions of old people and old age). Positive views on aging were shown
to influence health and longevity (Levy 2009; Levy et al. 2002) as well as engagement
in health behavior (Wurm et al. 2010) and thus constitute a relevant resource for old
age. In contrast, negative views on aging were found to be associated with ill health
(Wurm et al. 2013) and disengagement in later life (Robertson and Kenny 2016).
Therefore, having more positive views on aging could help better prepare for old
age. However, positive views on aging may be more difficult to foster in a context of
material deprivation and consequently, inequalities might occur in old age (Breheny
and Stephens 2010).
All in all, with the decline of the welfare state and the widening inequalities among
older individuals (Biggs 2014), new forms of insecurity arise (Grenier and Phillipson
2018; Grenier et al. 2017a). The concept of precarity represents a feeling of intrinsic
uncertainty, resulting from coping with increasing pressures while trying to preserve
a sense of independence (Portacolone et al. 2018; Grenier et al. 2017b; Portacolone
2013). It represents a universal form of insecurity, vulnerability, and potential suf-
fering (Grenier et al. 2017a). The precariat was defined as a “class in the making”
(Standing 2011) where different people can belong no matter their age, ethnicity,
race, gender, or education level. Precarity implies new risks and responsibilities for
aging individuals, specifically for the precariat. These novel risks (e.g., uncertain job
contracts, temporary employment, no health insurance, etc.) and obligations (e.g.,
take responsibility for one’s own pension and health) are reflected in the societal and
individual views on aging (Craciun and Flick 2014; Craciun et al. 2015; Craciun
and Flick 2016). Furthermore, views on aging depend on the social context where
they emerge (Wolff et al. 2018). Apart from cultural differences (Fung 2013), social
disparities can impact views on aging (Breheny and Stephens 2010). However, up
till now, the research focus has been more on cultural variations (Löckenhoff et al.
2009) than on the social context related differences in views on aging. Exploring how
precarity shapes views on aging can help understand how views on aging develop in
a precarious social context as well as how to promote a positive old age by changing
how people perceive it. Moreover, precarity may affect how people prepare for old
age. By studying how precarity outlines the preparatory efforts, one can identify the
obstacles that precarious individuals encounter when preparing for old age as well
as the resources they may need in order to age well.
The positive aging policy with its emphasis on active engagement and planning
may not match with the reality of aging in precarious times (Grenier et al. 2017a).
Furthermore, previous research has shown that negative views on aging are prevalent
in western societies (Levy 2009), and these negative perceptions of aging may become
even more salient in precarious times (Craciun and Flick 2014). Thus, the evidence
base presents mixed results concerning views on aging. For example, in Germany,
there is an indication of an increase in positive views on aging (Beyer et al. 2017).
However, these studies do not take into account the precarious context and how
positive views on aging or preparations for old age may look like in precarious
contexts. Moreover, one cannot but ask oneself how positive aging policy principles
can become reality within the new culture of precarity (Grenier et al. 2017a).
Defining the Issue 3

Taking all the above into consideration, the present book aims to formulate some
potential answers to questions such as “how does precarity shape the aging expe-
rience, views on aging and preparation for old age?” and “is there such a thing as
positive aging in precarious times?”

Methods and Origins of the Book

The book is based on a research project on resources for positive aging, conducted by
the author in 2012–2014 with the help of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
The aim of the study was to identify what resources for aging well are used by
precarious individuals as compared to people with secure pension plans living in
Germany. Berlin was chosen as a venue for the research since there are several aging
precarious workers living in the capital (see Craciun and Flick 2014, 2016; Craciun
et al. 2015). Germany itself as a country represented a good opportunity for a case
study since it has a growing aging population (Mahne et al. 2017), a rising number of
precarious jobs (Broding et al. 2010) and supports an active aging policy to promote
positive views on aging (Tesch-Römer 2012).
Precarious work in Germany comprises temporary work, freelance activities, part-
time jobs, the so-called mini jobs (i.e., paid around 450 euro a month) as well as
temporary unemployment (Brady and Biegert 2017; Simonson et al. 2011). Among
middle-aged Germans, women and those with low education or an immigration
background are more likely to be part of the “working poor” (LaMontagne 2010;
Bylow and Vaillant 2014). Nevertheless, the present study sample also included
participants who are highly educated but are employed in precarious jobs. My aim
was to obtain a variety of cases to allow for the exploration and illustration of the
complex precarious reality.
Because views on aging are social cognitions, social representations, a good way
to study them is by using episodic interviews (Flick 2014; Craciun and Flick 2014).
This data collection method provides the opportunity to identify both semantic (e.g.,
knowledge about concepts or definition of relations between concepts) as well as
episodic knowledge (based on concrete life situations) that make out the views on
aging. For example, views on aging reflect an understanding of the concept of old
age as well as of the process of aging. Episodic knowledge refers to the narratives,
the contexts, and settings where this knowledge was acquired. Episodic knowledge
is closer to experience because it refers to concrete events and situations when one
thinks about aging or has experienced aging processes. For example, the setting
of precarity provides participants with specific experiences of aging, that may be
different from the positive aging scenarios disseminated by the active aging policy.
Earlier studies (Flick et al. 2003; Flick et al. 2016) illustrated how the episodic
interview is suitable for encouraging interviewees to talk about abstract definitions
and beliefs and their influences, and also for contextualizing their experiences in
real-life situations.
4 1 Introduction: Issues of Aging and Precarity

Concrete pointed questions were used in order to gather semantic information

(i.e., What does positive aging mean to you?) or abstract relations between concepts
(e.g., “In your opinion what is the relation between positive aging and health?”).
Open-ended questions were formulated in order to elicit the narrative information
or personal stories about aging (i.e., “Can you give me an example to illustrate
what you associate with aging?”). Thus, in addition to asking participants to define
positive aging (semantic knowledge), they were also asked to recount stories that
would explain further what positive aging meant to them (episodic knowledge). This
provided them with the opportunity to think about role models or situations when
they were compelled to contemplate or prepare for positive aging. The choice of
stories and their presentation (i.e., storytelling or argumentation) offered relevant
information for the aims of this analysis. Also, each story that is told (episodic
knowledge) is connected to a certain abstract concept (semantic knowledge). For
instance, stories about old people who are positive role models are connected to
general stereotypes of older people. All in all, the interview guide comprised eleven
questions concerning people’s perceptions of aging, representations of positive aging
and resources for a good old age. The questions targeting representations of aging
focused on people’s subjective definitions of aging: “How can you tell that someone
is old? Can you give me some examples?” and their perceptions of aging “What does
aging mean to you? What do you associate with aging?” Other questions referred to
contexts and situations when people think about aging “Is aging topic that you think
about? If yes, can you give me some examples of situations when you think about
aging?” as well as their concrete or desired preparations for old age.
For the present study, both participants with a secure pension plan (N = 20) and
with an insecure pension plan (N = 20) were interviewed. The sample included 20
men and 20 women aged 45 to 65 years. Participants with a secure pension had
a private or state pension plan or owned other financial assets in the form or real
estate, business investments, etc. Precarious individuals were considered those who
were freelancers, unemployed, or had a low-paid job and would have to rely on
social security in their old age. None of the participants was retired at the time of
the interviews. Participants were approached at their workplace (i.e., the participants
who managed a shop or coffee place) or at leisure centers (i.e., dance schools, adult
education centers, and community meeting centers) in Berlin neighborhoods which
were chosen as representative for what used to be Western and Eastern parts of the
city before the reunification of Germany. Other participants were recruited using
snowball referrals (i.e., some participants recommended friends). Demographic data
were gathered with a short questionnaire at the beginning of the interview. Interviews
were conducted between November 2012 and August 2013 and lasted between 40
and 90 mins. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim and reviewed
for quality of the transcription.
The process of analysis was conducted following the principles of case-specific
thematic coding (Flick 2014). This method was selected because it is recommended
for comparative studies where the research question defines the groups that will be
studied. The underlying assumption is that in different social groups, dissimilar views
can be found regarding the research topic. First, all interviews were analyzed as a
Defining the Issue 5

series of case studies. Each interview was described in terms of characteristics of

the interviewed person, summary of what was said and a motto that represented the
specific case. Starting from the analysis of one case, the thematic structure was for-
mulated to include several dimensions that would serve to compare the groups. The
comparison dimensions were as follows: definitions of aging, contexts of thinking
about aging, representations about aging (i.e., fears, hopes, expectations, beliefs).
Starting from these dimensions, all cases were analyzed and grouped together based
on their main characteristics. All cases within one group were further analyzed based
on their similarities. The analysis of cases between groups was focused on the dif-
ferences existing between the groups (i.e., secure versus insecure pensions and men
versus women). The resulting patterns were than analyzed and interpreted guided by
the research questions.
A series of case studies were selected to explore the research questions formulated
within the present book and illustrate the main arguments. These case studies will
be presented as part of the argument in Chaps. 5, 6, and 7.

Summary of the Book

The introduction describes the issues that inspired the book, the main research ques-
tions, study goals, and methodology. Apart from the introduction, the book has three
distinctive parts that are divided into three chapters each. Part I focuses on clarifying
the research context drawing on theories of positive aging, the active aging policy
recommendations, and social reality of precarious aging. Part II goes on to discuss the
study results. The findings are organized in three chapters according to the research
questions and explore what it means to be an aging precarious individual, what are
the views on aging and preparations for old age in case of middle-aged precarious
Germans. Part III examines the main discussions, conclusions, and implications for
practice and policy of the present research.
Part I defines the main theoretical viewpoints and concepts that constituted the
research background. It is structured around questions concerning the role of views
on aging when formulating critiques of the successful aging model (Chap. 2), the
link between active aging policy and views on aging (Chap. 3) and the connection
between precarity and views on aging (Chap. 4).
Chapter 2 explores how positive aging theories shape views on aging. The chapter
starts off with defining positive aging and goes on to provide an overview of the
successful aging theory (Rowe and Kahn 1987; Kahn and Rowe 1998) and its main
critiques. The key critical points are organized around the question of whether we
should think differently about aging? Since theory inspires different views on aging,
it is discussed how images of aging are modeled by theory and how they can be
changed in accordance to critiques brought to the successful aging model.
The first critique addresses the issue of the successful aging model being outcome
oriented. The point is made that images of aging, inspired by such a criteria-based
model, are static and should be replaced by more process-oriented views on aging.
6 1 Introduction: Issues of Aging and Precarity

The latter could be informed by the selection, optimization, compensation model

(SOC, Baltes and Baltes 1990), and the life course development approach (Joop and
Smith 2006). If successful aging is defined as a management of resources (Freund
2008) across the lifespan, then views on aging can be regarded as a resource for
positive aging that can be developed and used at different life stages.
A second critique concerns “success” as the core value of positive aging theories.
Success is criticized for representing a capitalistic value, associating positive aging
with a “busy ethic” that emphasizes activity and productivity in old age (Minkler and
Holstein 2008). Images of successful old people can be used to make individuals the
sole responsible for their old age and blame those who “fail” to age successfully in
a youth obsessed culture (Rozanova 2010). Ageism and ableism are hidden behind
such successful aging images of happy, healthy, active old people. Since successful
aging criteria are difficult to achieve, many old people risk discrimination. From this
critical viewpoint, cultural values (Torres 2006) provide different interpretations of
success that are ignored by the mainstream successful aging theory. For example, the
harmonious aging model is constructed as an alternative theory that takes cultural
differences into account (Liang and Luo 2012). Starting from the premises of harmo-
nious aging, culturally specific images of aging can be constructed as an alternative
to success-oriented views on aging.
A third line of critique addresses the issue of successful aging being mainly the-
ory driven and ignoring lay viewpoints of aging successfully. The “missing voices”
perspective argues for taking individual definitions of positive aging into account.
It is discussed how to use such lay perspectives of aging in order to promote novel
images of aging that express individual variability. It is argued that various images
of aging emerge not just in different cultures, but also diverse social contexts. One
of the theses of the book is formulated, namely that a precarious social context may
give rise to different positive and negative images of aging as compared to a social
context of financial stability. The concluding section of the second chapter addresses
the question of “how to think about aging?” The literature on positive and negative
views on aging is reviewed, and potential changes that need to be made in thinking
about aging are highlighted.
Chapter 3 examines the politics of positive aging. It starts off by defining active
aging policy and exploring how positive aging theories helped shape aging policy.
The chapter continues with an analysis of how active aging policy and images of
aging are interlinked. It is argued that images of aging are not just theoretical con-
structs but play a significant role for aging policy development and implementation.
Three examples are used to show how images of aging are used by policy: (1) the
strategy used by the World Health Organization to support positive aging by encour-
aging behavior change at individual level, (2) the EU strategies applied to endorse
institutional changes that can accommodate an increasing aging population, and (3)
Germanies’ active aging policy agenda that actively promotes positive aging images.
The fourth chapter discusses the social reality of aging, emphasizing the discrep-
ancy between positive aging discourse and the precarious aging reality. The chapter
starts out by depicting the characteristics of living in precarious times, referring to
Baumann’s (2007) ideas concerning “living in liquid times.” Precarity is defined