A Study of Factors Influencing Social Exclusion of the Elderly in Varamin City

 Introduction  With the growing trend of ageing in countries such as Iran, the issue of old population and its implications have become of prominent importance. Ageing coefficient of Iranian population in the year 2011 was 24.35 percent, which has increased nearly 14% compared to 1998. Increase in the countryâs population today is much more noticeable than any time before. Since the problems of the elderly have become a global concern, United Nations has named the year 1999 as âInternational Year of the Elderlyâ. One of the most important topics with regard to the elderly is their social exclusion. Exclusion of the elderly exposes them at risk of mental and physical problems. These people are vulnerable to many problems such as financial shortfalls, disability, illness, especially when the decline of pensions and social activities undermines their morale. Responding to needs of the elderly is very important at this stage of their lives in order to avoid experiencing social exclusion. Ageing of the population, especially the elderly, for countries seeking to provide the security and welfare of older people are a real challenge. On the other hand, costs of increasing elderly population and ignorance of this group for society makes the need for this research. In this research, we study effective factors on social exclusion among Varaminâs elderly. To provide a theoretical framework for the research, various sociological theories, ageing theories and theories of social exclusion were reviewed. Finally, a multilevel analysis model of social exclusion was devised based on a combination of the relevant theories.   Materials & Methods  The study was conducted using the survey method. Number of respondents, according to Cochran formula, is 378 persons, selected by using stratified random sampling. Data were collected through a questionnaire constructed by the researcher. For data analysis, SPSS program, descriptive and inferential statistics were used. To assess the validity and reliability of the research, content validity and Cronbachâs alpha coefficient were used. Cronbachâs alpha for the social exclusion variable was 0.80 and 0.94 for value orientation.   Discussion of Results & Conclusions  Descriptive analysis of the respondentsâ profile showed that most of them were illiterate followed by those with a higher school diploma. The monthly income of 33% of the elderly was between 600 and 800 thousand Tomans. In terms of cultural capital and socio-economic status, approximately 60% of the elderly were belonging to a low-level category. The majority of respondents tended to hold fatalistic value orientation, with women showing more fatalism than men.  In terms of social exclusion, it was the case for 10% of Varaminâs elderly to experience a relatively high level of social exclusion. The majority of them (nearly 74%) experienced a medium level of exclusion while 16% were not excluded at all. Generally, women experienced more exclusion than men.  The results of inferential statistics indicate that gender, cultural capital, socio-economic status, and value orientation are associated with social exclusion. In other words, the social exclusion of women are more than men and elderly with higher cultural capital, socio-economic status and value orientation face fewer social exclusion. According to Bourdieu, cultural capital is accumulated during the socialization of the individual. Those who fail to make use of cultural goods, has no ability to prove their permanent interests. Weber completed the Marx theory, outlined the concept of socio-economic status and believed that a personâs social prestige will be determined in this way. Here, too, the elderly with higher socio-economic status have less social exclusion. Finally the results showed that greatest variance of social exclusion is explained by socio-economic status and cultural capital.    Â