Editorial note

     It is a generally accepted view that old age comes up with a person at the moment of retiring, Before that all age-related changes could be attributed to an illness or fatigue, but with the end of productive activities they come out to the forefront. At the same time retirement causes the qualitative change of life not only due to the natural limitation of physical abilities caused by aging, but also due to other reasons. First of all, the majority of pensioners are not able to keep up to the living standard they got used to. Second, a retired person loses his social connections to his work group, while these connections were crucial for the attention of the society and its taking part in a man’s life. At last, after a person’s retirement it is no longer necessary to fulfill his everyday obligations, do all the purposeful work he used to do for so many years. A man finds himself all alone. This new situation requires changing one’s basic living principles which is usually associated with soul-searching, and the common dilemma is: should a person keep his old social ties or try and form new ones, or maybe it is better to start leading solitary life? As shown by researches, both ways guarantee adjustment to the old age, but they lead to different quality of life and even different life span.
      It cannot be doubted that the choice of one of these ways mostly depends on a man’s personality. But one should not underestimate the power of social influence. Both young and elderly people are dependent in the economic and social senses as they do not take part in productive activities, but use various social services and get social help thanks to the taxpayers. At the same time if one can view the money spent for young people as investments in the prospective manpower, the elderly can be considered a burden. Such an attitude makes the majority of retirees chose the strategy of isolation and individual survival. As noted by psychologists, these old people tend to withdraw into themselves, and that shows in declining interest to the outside world, egocentrism, weakening of emotional control and aggravation of some negative features of character.
      Due to functional limitations and maladies this period of life is always painful. But even in the advanced age one can still be compliant with oneself and feel zest for life; social environment can be very helpful in it.
      To attract the governments’ attention to problems of the elderly, make the global community think over the situation of the world-wide tendency of aging of the humankind, create the system of collecting statistical data on all areas of life of the elderly and give help to those in need, UN has announced 1999 the Year of Elderly People under the slogan «On the way to the society for all ages». It is supposed to hold a number of actions guided by governments and non-state organizations with the partaking of interested persons and organizations responsible for the situation of the most vulnerable groups of the elderly. They should be held on the levels of local communities, families and single persons; business sector; schools and universities; mass media.
      The editorial board of «Woman Plus...» would also like to join in the International Year of Elderly People and dedicates this issue to the people of senior age.