The meaning of engagement.

A distinction should be made between disengagement as a means of conceptualizing and as a means of explaining changes that take place with aging. The author is critical of those aspects of Disengagement Theory that emphasize inevitability, determinism, the separation of the individual from society, and the "crucial phase" model of development. An alternative viewpoint is sketched from the interactional analysis approach. Attention is given to the constant reinterpretation of self and situation, with consequent modification of actions. The facts of Disengagement Theory as seen from this perspective take on new meaning. Age-related changes are the outcome of the social circumstances within which they take place, along with the cultural values operating in that context.