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Four major social theories of aging-activity, disengagement, continuity, and social exchange-are summarized and their relevance for nursing is explored. The Activity Theory proposes that successful aging depends on maintaining a high level of activity and that life satisfaction is related to involvement in life. I contrast, disengagement theory contends that withdrawal from such active roles is conducive to satisfaction in old age, as well as being beneficial for society. The Continuity Theory asserts that the individual remains essentially the same despite life changes. And the Social Exchange Theory holds that social behavior involves doing what is valued and rewarded by society. From this perspective, lesser access to power resources is the underlying cause of elderly persons' declining status, rather than their desire to disengage or their inability to remain active in roles characteristic of middle age. Social theory of aging adequately explains social aging, and describes different aspects of older people's roles in our society. But, none of these theoretical perspectives fully accounts for the wide variation of multiple dimensions in aging experiences. Because of the tentative nature and the lack of conclusive support for each of these theories, nurses should be careful not to borrow any one of them as the basis for nursing practice. Yet the growth of these theoretical models has laid the framework for future research directions. In nursing practice, these various social theories of aging help give direction to areas to be assesed. These theories also provide guidelines for assessing an older adult's adjustment to aging and can help identify health promotion needs. And, social theories of aging allow consistent nursing approaches and offer rationales for specific interventions. Older adults are continuing to be active, engaging or disengaging as they wish, and continuing to be valued members of the population.
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