Cultural Variations in Approaches to Aging - Research Paper Example

Cultural Variations in Approaches to Aging Affiliation: The Yoruba are a people living in Nigeria, Africa. Nigeria is not highly urbanized as only 48% of its population lives in urban areas and this means more than half of the population lives in rural areas and follows traditional practices and traditional religions. Japan is a highly industrialized country with an aging population and strong distinct culture. Japan has a population crisis with about 23% of its population comprising of people above 65 years of age.

The way these two cultures approach aging differently.First, traditional Yoruba integrate the elderly in their community as they are seen as a preserve of wisdom and the customs of the culture (Falola and Heaton, 2008). The Japanese on the other hand see the elderly as somewhat of a liability (Giles et. al., 2003). This difference comes out due to the different social values and economic activities that the two cultures rely on; the Yoruba being more agrarian and the Japanese being more industrial.

The Japanese view the elderly as an essentially different part of society, a group to be treated in a special way; senior citizens (Harwood et. al., 2001). The Yoruba on the other hand do not have a clear demarcation designating people as old and as an essentially different group in society; the elderly are integrated into society (Falola and Heaton, 2008).At the same time, both cultures have respect for the elderly. By the essence of being old, one commands respect from the younger ones. There is an ingrained respect for the elderly in both cultures and thus they are treated with respect.

Another similarity in how both cultures approach aging is that they regard age with authority. An elderly person for example has more say in traditional matters dealing with customs and religion than does a young person. ReferencesFalola, T., and Heaton, M. M., (2008). A history of Nigeria. Cambridge: CambridgeUniversity Press.Giles, H., Noels, K.A., Williams, A., Ota, H., Lim, T.-S., Ng, S.H. et al. (2003). “Intergenerational communication across cultures: Young people’s perceptions of conversations with family elders, non-family elders and same-age peers.

” Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 18, 1-32.Harwood, J., Giles, H., McCann, R.M., Cai, D., Somera, L.P., Ng, S.H. et al. (2001). “Older adults’ trait ratings of three age-groups around the Pacific rim.” Journal of Cross Cultural Gerontology, 16, 157-171.