Table of Contents
Definition of Age Stratification Theory
(noun) Stratification between age cohorts due to an unequal distribution of resources (e.g., wealth, power, and privilege) across the life course.
Examples of Age Stratification Theory
- Differing levels of political power based on age.
- Minimum age requirements to drinking alcohol, driving a vehicle, or joining the military.
Age Stratification Theory Pronunciation
Syllabification: age strat·i·fi·ca·tion the·o·ry
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /AYj strat-uh-fuh-kAY-shuhn thEE-uhr-ree/
- British English – /AYj strat-i-fi-kAY-shuhn thIUH-ree/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English: /ˈeɪdʒ ˌstɹætəfəˈkeɪʃən ˈθiɚɹɪ/
- British English: /ˈeɪdʒ ˌstɹætɪfɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n ˈθɪ(ə)ɹɪ/
Usage Notes
- Plural: age stratification theories
- Ageism leads to age stratification.
- Society is similarly stratified by class, ethnicity, and gender.
- Variant spelling: age-stratification theory
Related Videos
Additional Information
- Word origin of “age” and “stratification” and “theory” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Fineman, Stephen. 2011. Organizing Age. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Laslett, Peter. 1989. A Fresh Map of Life. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Related Terms
- age
- age cohort
- age norm
- ageism
- baby boomer
- class
- generation
- gerontology
- life course
- inequality
- theory
Works Consulted
Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Brym, Robert J., and John Lie. 2007. Sociology: Your Compass for a New World. 3rd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.
Macionis, John. 2012. Sociology. 14th ed. Boston: Pearson.
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Random House Webster’s College Dictionary. 1997. New York: Random House.
Scott, John, and Gordon Marshall. 2005. A Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Age Stratification Theory
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “age stratification theory.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 20, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/age-stratification-theory/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
age stratification theory. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/age-stratification-theory/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “age stratification theory.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 20, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/age-stratification-theory/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“age stratification theory.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/age-stratification-theory/>.