Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Vol 54, Issue 4 P205-P213, Copyright © 1999 by The Gerontological Society of America
Contribution of social arrangements to the attainment of successful aging--the experience of the israeli kibbutz
U Leviatan
Institute for Social Research of the Kibbutz, University of Haifa, Israel.
The aging populations of the Israeli Kibbutz communities demonstrate
characteristics of "successful aging" expressed in high life expectancy and
positive well-being. This article summarizes twenty years of focused
research about the elderly members of kibbutzim to show that their
demonstration of successful aging is mostly due to the social arrangements
and policies adopted by their communities in the domains of work, social
relations, stability in social roles, and surroundings. Further support for
the importance attached to social arrangement is illustrated by the
negative effects on well-being that result of structural changes,
experiences by some kibbutzim, in the direction of becoming more similar to
the rest of society. It is suggested that many of kibbutz principles of
social policies and arrangements could be emulated by the rest of
industrial societies to improve chances of "successful aging" among their
elderly populations.
