Attitude toward elderly people in everyday life: Conceptual outlines of the explanation model

Resumo

The paper deals with problems related to old age in contemporary Russia. The materials were collected from unstructured students interviews (n = 53) in Saratov and Moscow in 2007–2014. It is shown that the lack of respectful behavior, regardless of its reasons, is often labeled as “disrespect”; as a result, the concept of a “neutral attitude” is devoid of practical implementation. In reality, a “good attitude” toward old age often turns out to be unmanifested because of the actions of elderly people themselves, as these actions are incompatible with respect practices. In particular, these include the asymmetrical reactions of elderly people in situations of intergenerational contact and nonstatus behavior, which disqualifies them as a potential object of respect, etc.