Journal
GERONTOLOGIST
Volume 49, Issue 3, Pages 333-343Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnp034
Keywords
Theory; Cumulative disadvantage; Life course; Stress; Psychosomatic processes
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Funding
- NIA NIH HHS [K07 AG001055, K07 AG001055-05] Funding Source: Medline
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Purpose: This article draws from cumulative disadvantage and life course theories to develop a new theory for the social scientific study of aging. Design and Methods: Five axioms of cumulative inequality (CI) theory are articulated to identify how life course trajectories are influenced by early and accumulated inequalities but can be modified by available resources, perceived trajectories, and human agency. Results: Although the concept of Cl has attracted considerable attention among social scientists, it holds promise for integrating additional disciplinary approaches to the study of aging including, but not limited to, biology, epidemiology, and immunology. The applicability of Cl theory to gerontology is illustrated in research on the early origins of adult health. Implications: Primary contributions of the theory to gerontology include greater attention to family lineage as a source of inequality; genes, gestation, and childhood as critical to early and enduring inequalities; the onset, duration, and magnitude of exposures to risk and opportunity; and constraints on generalizations arising from cohort-centric studies.
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