Table of Contents
Definition of Disengagement Theory
(noun) Theory asserting that an individual will gradually withdraw from society and social relationships as they get older.
Disengagement Theory Pronunciation
Syllabification: dis·en·gage·ment the·o·ry
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /dis-n-gAYj-muhnt thEE-uhr-ree/
- British English – /dis-in-gAYj-muhnt thIUH-ree/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /dɪsɪnˈgeɪʤmənt ˈθiəri/
- British English – /ˌdɪsɪnˈgeɪʤmənt ˈθɪəri/
Usage Notes
- Plural: disengagement theories
- Disengagement theory is compared and contrasted to activity theory and continuity theory as a functionalist theory of social gerontology.
Additional Information
- Aging and Social Gerontology Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Death and Dying Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Role Theory Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “disengagement” and “theory” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Cumming, Elaine, and William E. Henry. 1961. Growing Old: The Process of Disengagement. New York: Basic Books.
- Quadagno, Jill S. 2014. Aging and the Life Course: An Introduction to Social Gerontology. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Bruce, Steve, and Steven Yearley. 2006. The SAGE Dictionary of Sociology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
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Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
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Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Cite the Definition of Disengagement Theory
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “disengagement theory.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 26, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/disengagement-theory/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
disengagement theory. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/disengagement-theory/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “disengagement theory.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 26, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/disengagement-theory/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“disengagement theory.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/disengagement-theory/>.