Toshikatsu ODA

Research Center for Human Sciences

E-mail:oda@【続けて「kobe-u.ac.jp」を入力してください】

ABSTRACT

　　Most of studies on successful aging or on later life seem to have not payed attention to the diversity of employment-retirement patterns. Researchers who have put themselves into such sudies have regarded later life as a life after retirement. In other words, retirement have been tacitly considered between the researchers as a life event which tells the biginning of later life. Although there have been many studies on employment-retirement patterns, the outcomes of such studies have not been reflected in the studies on retirement or successful aging in the field of social gerontology. However, recently, there are some attempts to incorporate the diversity of employment-retirement pattern into aging studies. Key concept in such studies is "the third age". This paper describes recent employment-retirement patterns and existing studies about that, and then works is consisted of the following cahpters and sections; Introduction/ 1. Retirement and Roles of the Elderly, 1-1. Ocupational Role of the Adult and Roleless-role of the Elderly, 1-2. Social Roles of the Elderly of Today/ 2. Retirement Institution and Diversity of Retirement Pattern, 2-1. Changes in Retirement Institution, 2-2. Progress of Population Aging and Diversification of employment-retirement patterns/ 3. The Concept of the Third Age and Life skills, 3-1. Diversity of employment-retirement pattern and the Concept of the Third Age, 3-2. Life Tasks in the Third Age and Life skills/ Discussion.