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Consumer Research and Programs for the Elderly—The Forgotten Dimension
Author(s) -
WADDELL FREDERICK E.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
journal of consumer affairs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.582
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1745-6606
pISSN - 0022-0078
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6606.1975.tb00560.x
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , poverty , consumer education , dimension (graph theory) , meaning (existential) , action (physics) , psychology , marketing , public relations , social psychology , economic growth , business , economics , political science , mathematics , quantum mechanics , physics , pure mathematics , psychotherapist
Older Americans are the most victimized and disadvantaged group in the marketplace, yet few consumer research, education, and action programs have focused on their needs and concerns. This study, by attempting to summarize existing knowledge of the consumer problems and needs of older persons, reveals the lack of reliable data and research. The study also suggests that inflation has a far worse impact upon the elderly than previously thought, affecting not only their retirement financial condition but also their psychological and social condition. The study concludes that traditional consumer education programs focusing only upon persons' poverty of means will be ineffective unless they include an additional focus on the poverty of meaning in the lives of older consumers.