The Dynamics of Political Participation Among the Urban Elderly

Jirovec, Ronald L.; Erich, John

doi:10.1177/073346489201100207

Cited by 14 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Binstock 2000;Cheung et al 2001;Strate et al 1989), or on a combination of a few kinds of political activity, such as voting, attending meetings, signing petitions, demonstrating, or contacting politicians (Jirovec and Erich 1992;Melo and Stockemer 2014;Nygard and Jakobsson 2013a, b). So far there has been little discussion of other types of participatory acts, such as older people's participation in political organizations.…”

Section: Aging and Political Participationmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Older people's participation in political organizations has usually been studied as a whole, without distinguishing between types of organization (e.g., Jirovec and Erich 1992;Kam et al 1999). Differentiating between them, however, may be relevant to the definition of certain characteristics of political participation.…”

Section: The Motivations Of Older People For Participating In Politicsmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Older People’s Motivations to Engage in Political Organizations: Evidence from a Catalan Study

Serrat

Villar

2016

Voluntas

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This study explored the motivations of Catalan older people to engage in political organizations. The sample consisted of 192 people aged 65 and over who were active members of three types of political organizations: neighborhood associations, political parties/trade unions, and single-issue organizations. Their answers to an open-ended question were content analyzed, and a series of Chi-square tests were run to assess the association of the resulting categories with the type of organization in which participants were active. The results show that the motives for engaging in political organizations were mainly focused on introducing changes in the community, although the scope of the changes desired tended to vary. While some participants expressed idealistic motivations, others stated that they become involved in order to stand up for a cause in which they believed. One in six participants was motivated by self-interest, either related to personal growth or to self-protective needs. Motives for participating were related to the type of organization in which participants were active, suggesting that organizations should consider the influence of their own particular context and characteristics in developing recruitment and retention strategies.Résumé Cette étude a porté sur les motivations des personnes âgées catalanes pour s'engager dans des organisations politiques. Le panel était composé de 192 personnes âgées d'au moins 65 ans qui étaient des membres actifs de trois types d'organisations politiques : associations de quartier, partis ou syndicats politiques et organisations à vocation unique. Leurs réponses à une question ouverte ont fait l'objet d'une analyse de contenu et une série de tests du khi-deux a été effectuée pour évaluer l'association entre les catégories qui en résultent et le type & Rodrigo Serrat d'organisation dans laquelle les participants étaient actifs. Les résultats montrent que les motivations pour s'engager dans des organisations politiques étaient principalement axées sur l'introduction de changements dans la société, bien que l'ampleur des changements souhaités ait tendance à varier. Si certains participants ont exprimé des motivations idéalistes, d'autres ont déclaré qu'ils s'impliquaient pour défendre une cause en laquelle ils croyaient. Un participant sur six était motivé par son intérêt personnel, lié au développement personnel ou à des besoins d'autoprotection. Les motivations pour participer étaient liées au type d'organisation dans laquelle les participants étaient actifs, ce qui indique que les organisations devraient examiner l'influence de leur contexte particulier et leurs caractéristiques pour élaborer leurs stratégies de recrutement et de fidélisation.Zusammenfassung Diese Studie untersuchte die Motivationen älterer Menschen in Katalonien, sich in politischen Organisationen zu engagieren. Die Stichprobe umfasste 192 Personen, die mindestens 65 Jahre alt und aktive Mitglieder in drei Arten politischer Organisationen waren: Nachbarschaftsvereinigungen, politische Parteien/Gew...

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Section: Aging and Political Participationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: The Motivations Of Older People For Participating In Politicsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Older People’s Motivations to Engage in Political Organizations: Evidence from a Catalan Study

Serrat

Villar

2016

Voluntas

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“…However, various studies have found that those older people who are more affluent, healthy, educated, and male are more politically active than those who are poor, handicapped, chronically ill, less educated, and female. In other words, older people who possess more personal and social resources tend to be more politically active and influential than their counterparts (Bazargan, Barbre, & Torres-Gil, 1972;Jirovec, Erich, & Sanders, 1989;Jirovec & Erich, 1992).…”

Section: Journal Of Aging and Social Policymentioning

confidence: 94%

“…First, pressure has to be exerted on the major parties to allocate places for pensioners' representatives, as is currently done for several minority and other disadvantaged sectors, in order to influence the parties' agendas. This could reduce intergenerational conflict and legitimize their use of political pressure from inside the parties (Jirovec & Erich, 1992). The personal and social resources possessed by younger cohorts of pensioners qualify them well to integrate into existing political frameworks.…”

Section: Perspectives For the Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

Pensioners' Political Parties in Israel

Iecovich

2001

Journal of Aging & Social Policy

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Involvement and participation of older persons in politics and political systems reflect the extent to which they are integrated into their society. During the last two decades, political parties of pensioners have emerged in a number of countries, including Israel, and have run candidates in national elections. If only 10% of those aged 65 and older had voted for pensioners' parties in Israel, they would have qualified for two "pensioners" seats in the Knesset (Israel's parliament). However, they suffered complete defeat, as has been the case in most other countries. This article first describes the phenomenon of pensioners' political parties in Israel, examines the circumstances around their emergence, and presents their goals. Second, it identifies and analyzes the causes for their political defeat. Third, it discusses alternatives to political parties to promote the interests of the older population. Finally, implications for further research are raised.

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“…Most studies have concluded that older women participate less than older men in voting or other forms of political activity (Conway, 1985;Hudson & Gonyea, 1990;Hudson & Strate, 1985;Sigelman, Roeder, Jewell, & Baer, 1985). Jirovec and Erich (1992), for example, found that older women participated less than men in political campaign activities. But the findings in this segment of the research have been inconsistent.…”

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confidence: 99%

Gray Power or Power Outage?

Jirovec

Acsw²

1995

Journal of Women & Aging

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The purpose of this paper was to examine the extent and nature of the political activity that can be observed among very old women Towards this end, three political research questions were investigated among a sample of adults 85 years of age and older drawn from the caseload of a large metropolitan human service agency. Descriptive and inferential data analyses revealed a substantial decline in political participation, and identified several demographic variables that influence political involvement among women in advanced old age. For service providers, the data implied that advocacy efforts, leadership programming, and outreach services were urgently needed to combat the political "power outage" that occurs among women in advanced old age.As we approach the 21st century, the political power of older people has become a controversial issue. Many people now believe that the aged are an unduly favored group that poses a powerful threat to the welfare of younger generations. This fear has spawned several organizations committed to securing what they perceive as a more equitable distribution of resources for the young and rniddleaged. Similarly, media coverage of the elderly has evolved from a Ronald L. Jirovec is affiliated with Wayne State University School of Social Work, Detroit, MI 48202. John A. Erich is affiliated with Community Services of Oakland, 345 East Nine Mile Road, Ferndale, M148220.

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The Dynamics of Political Participation Among the Urban Elderly

Cited by 14 publications

References 12 publications

Older People’s Motivations to Engage in Political Organizations: Evidence from a Catalan Study

Older People’s Motivations to Engage in Political Organizations: Evidence from a Catalan Study

Pensioners' Political Parties in Israel

Gray Power or Power Outage?

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