Journal of Leisure Research

ISSN: 0022-2216 (Print) 2159-6417 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ujlr20

The Sociology of Retirement. By Robert C. Atchley

Eugene C. Bammel

To cite this article: Eugene C. Bammel (1978) The Sociology of Retirement. By Robert C. Atchley,
Journal of Leisure Research, 10:3, 233-234, DOI: 10.1080/00222216.1978.11969359

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00222216.1978.11969359

Published online: 13 Feb 2018.

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Book Reviews 233
she places them in the context of the later applications. The earlier chapters in
fact do read very much like a dissertation with all the verve and jollity that such
treatises usually convey.
Befitting the wholistic approach to the therapeutic recreation senice system,
Ms. Peterson asserts that its purpose is "to provide opportunities for individuals
with limitations to gain leisure skills and attitudes, and/or to exercise recreative
abilities within a framework of preventative, sustaining, or remedial services in
order to enable or encourage creative experience." This "access" model is
appealing. The unique contribution of therapeutic recreation service is asserted
while at the same time its associated thrusts are encompassed.
Finallf.'Ms. Peterson states several benefits to the profession that her work
portends. Among these, accountability, an increasingly important factor in
planning, is built into the systems analysis approach. Next, she feels that practi-
tioners have been troubled by their inability to establish unique professional
procedures; this would also be facilitated by systems analysis. Furthermore, this
approach could open the door to better research studies by increasing the likeli-
hood of the development of programs and services with comparable elements.
The value of systems analysis in therapeutic recreation program planning
rests solely in its utility. It rates a major try.

CAROLINE WEISS, Department of Recreation, Park and Leisure Studies,

University of Minnesota.

THE SOCIOLOGY OF RETIREMENT. By Robert C. Atchley.

New York: Schenkman Publishing Company, Inc., 1976,
158 pp., $12.50.

The challenges and problems associated with aging have become vogue
topics lately; this book is a helpful map to this much written about but little
understood country. The author had three explicit intentions: (1) to provide a
conceptual framework in terms of which to understand retirement; (2) to sum-
marize the research literature on retirement; (3) to identify conspicuous gaps in
our knowledge about retirement. The second and third intentions were well
fulfilled; the first, and perhaps most important intention, met limited success.
The review of literature as well as the presentation of available research
data were superbly well done; the reader never feels inundated by recondite
charts, graphs, or statistics, but the data is clearly presented and ably interpreted.
Atchley presented the grim data of retirement; of deficient incomes, of problems
adjusting to non-work, of failures of the family or community to understand the
needs of retirees. The book presents relevant general information for profes-
sionals dealing with problems of retirees, and to all of us who hope some day to
retire and would like to know how to plan wisely for what should be a very happy
stage of life, but clearly can turn out to be miserable for many people.
The problematic section, entitled "Adjustment to Retirement," deals with the
conceptual framework needed to understand retirement. After asserting that
about one-third of those who retire experience difficulties adjusting, Atchley
summarizes the conventional theories explaining the problems. Included for
234 Journal of Leisure Research
example are an "activity theory" -that one must find a substitute for whatever
personal goals the job used to achieve; and "continuity theory"-that older
people tend to stick to tried and true ways rather than experiment. The author
offers his own theory, entitled "Internal Compromise and Interpersonal
Negotiations," the point being that the retiree may have an opportunity to
question previous life goals and, by self-knowledge and conversation with
friends, arrive at a revised vision. Therefore, spiritual goals such as cheerfulness
and honesty prove to be more durable than the "materialistic" goals that seem to
engross many of us during our working lives. Instead of unpacking the very con-
siderable insights implicit here, the author briefly preaches about the deeper
value of spiritual goals, and then turns to other concerns.
Overall, the book is a good introduction to the sociology of retirement.
The author intimates that he is unnerved at the thought of his work being
attacked, but there is nothing in this book to attack. If there is any weakness
with the book it is that the author is not daring enough, for the solid presentation
of data deserved more extensive theoretical reflection. Included is a well-
developed enumeration of research needs (pp. 129-130) as well as a compre-
hensive summary of program demands. Recommendations were made for future
research that might be undertaken by leisure researchers, such as the degree
to which having well-developed leisure skills leads to a well-adjusted retirement.
Professionals and practitioners who have any interest in the social environment
and culture of those over sixty will find this book fills a gap in the available
literature and points out the need for a more theoretical framework.

EUGENE C. BAMMEL, College of Agriculture and Forestry, West Virginia

University.

RECREATION LEADERSHIP Third Edition. By Maryhelen

Vannier. Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger, 1977, 387 pp., $12.50.

Recreation Leadership is the third edition of a work previously published

under the title of Methods and Materials in Recreation Leadership. The author
suggests the current edition is useful for college students preparing to become
professional leaders, volunteer leaders wanting to increase their effectiveness,
and experienced leaders seeking new and better ways to guide and instruct
people. She further indicates that the book is intended as a text for . . . "such
college courses as Recreation Leadership, Introduction to Recreation, or Com-
munity Recreation."
Maryhelen Vannier is a physical educator who is currently a Professor and
Director of the Professional Preparation Department of Health and Physical
Education, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. The author's back-
ground as an educator is evident in her limited conception of a recreation leader
as a teacher of games and activities. Current conceptions of a recreation leader
as an enabler, facilitator, and counselor are not adequately treated.
The introductory chapter offers a cursory treatment of the philosophy and
role of leisure in today's society. Simplistic and moralistic statements of
causality are offered altogether too frequently in this chapter. For example,