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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol.8, No.1
Publication Date: January 25, 2021
DOI:10.14738/assrj.81.9613.
Kosar, A., & Kasapoglu, A. (2021). Effects of the Covid -19 Pandemic on the Elderly: A Grounded Theory Study From Turkey. Advances
in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8 (1) 252- 266.
Effects Of The Covid -19 Pandemic on The Elderly: A Grounded
Theory Study From Turkey
Ahmet Koşar
Baskent University Institute of Social Sciences.
ORCID: http://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-5052-0739
Dr. Aytul Kasapoglu
Professor of Sociology, Baskent University Department of Sociology
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3456-2947
ABSTRACT
More than 95 percent of those who lost their lives as a result of the
spread of the Covid-19 virus to the world since the beginning of 2020
are over the age of 60 (WHO, 2020). The main purpose of this article is
to reveal the vital difficulties of the 65-75 age group in Turkey, who
were quarantined due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as a result of
deprivation of their former normal lives and how they overcame them.
The theoretical starting point of this study is the relational sociologist
H. White and his “uncertainty” classification. In the study, Grounded
Theory Methodology was chosen as one of the qualitative research
approaches and open, axial and selective codings were made as a
requirement of this. In this context, interviews were made with 12
individuals from the 65-75 age group and the data were presented in
figures. As a result of open, axial and selective coding, the core concept
of the study was determined as "solidarity". In accordance with the
grounded theory, at the end of the study, the "solidarity process" was
narrated using the "river" metaphor.
Keywords: Covid -19,elderly people, uncertainties, Grounded Theory,
solidarity,
INTRODUCTION
Etymologically, gereontology means "geron", that is "old man" in ancient Greek. This concept as a
sociological category was first used at the beginning of the last century (1903) by Ilyich
Mechinikov (cited in Coie et al. 2000). Sociologically, the importance of gereontology is that it
examines old age in a holistic way with its social, cultural, psychological and biological aspects.The
first book on aging is "Geriatrics" written by Nascherin (1914). The second work is Stanley Hall's
(1922) "Old Age: The Second Half of Life" (cited in Achenbaum, 1997). However, historically, a
unit dealing with old age was established much later in the USA in 1940. The National Institute
Aging was established quite recently in the USA (1974).
In Turkey first age-related work is a book written by Salah Birsel (1992): "Old Age Diary".
“Research Center for Older People’s Problems in Turkey” is established in 1998. Geriatrics
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Kosar, A., & Kasapoglu, A. (2021). Effects of the Covid -19 Pandemic on the Elderly: A Grounded Theory Study From Turkey. Advances in Social Sciences
Research Journal, 8 (1) 252- 266.
Foundation of Turkey started its operations in 2001 and important studies were carried out
immediately after (Ünal and Bilge, 2005).
As Pat Trane (2003) emphasized as a social historian, studies on aging were mostly conducted in
European countries such as England, Germany and France, and later in America and Canada. Lack
of studies from non-Western countries is a big deficiency. Aging studies have also changed
considerably over time. For example, firstly, studies were conducted that statistically examined
demographic characteristics such as age and sex, regional distribution, health-related problems,
and having social insurance rights such as retirement (Raphael, 1964; Rosenthal, 1996; Wrigley
and Schofield, 1989). In France, as well as demographic studies, representation of old age, in other
words how old age is constructed, has been researched. Studies in Germany, on the other hand,
have been inclusive of both (Pelling and Smith, 1991). However, much more studies than in
Europe were done in the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand in the following years
(Montigny, 1997).
On the other hand, as social historians have critically reported, until the 1960s and 1970s, studies
were about pension rights economically and more so on a class basis (Kohli et al. 1991). Later,
starting from the 1970s, gender, ethnicity, religion and old age were also among the subjects
studied, with importance. Thus, the meaning of age and old age in different societies and cultures
has started to be investigated by social sciences and humanities. Cultural turn studies have started
to be considered as important as the old demographic, economic and political history (Trane,
2003). The most important reason why gender awareness takes place quite late in aging studies is
that aging studies are carried out on men, considering that women have a shorter life span. The
erroneous basis of the view based on Georges Minois has been the high maternal mortality rate
due to births in women (cited in Schofield, 1986). Fortunately, these views were later found to be
inaccurate and women were included in aging studies.
Today, cultural factors as well as demographic and material characteristics are included in the
analysis, and aging experiences of women and men are studied through both quantitative and
qualitative studies. Extremely rich sources such as philosophical, literary and medical books,
pictures, films and diaries can be used in aging studies. In fact, as Trane (2003) points out, studies
on aging show us that the subject is at least a three-dimensional complex phenomenon beyond
being simple. It should be stated that these dimensions are also important as they allow us to
make three different age definitions. This triad classification, which rejects dichotomies from the
relational sociological point of view, also gains value (Trane, 2003):
a) Chronological age: Infancy, childhood, education / school, working / non-productive
retirement / dependency period etc.
b) Functional age: The person's inability to fulfil the expectations. For example, the inability
to move quickly or use a computer or a car.
c) Cultural age: It is the display of clothing, behaviour and movements with symbols and
signs according to the norms of the society. For example, veiling, praying, fatalism and
slow /calm life.
On the other hand, aging studies are a sub-branch of applied sociology. It is possible to conduct
research with all theoretical and methodological approaches in sociology. Using micro studies
such as Symbolic Interaction, how old age is constructed, the cost of old age care services to the
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national economy; Conflict Approach, job creation, and their contribution to the service sector can
be handled and analysed at a macro level with the Functionalist Approach (Kasapoglu,
2011).According to the famous British sociologist Anthony Giddens (1990), the world is in danger
in the period we live in, and the globalization process is responsible for this danger. Giddens
believes that individuals face global risks such as climate change, creating an increasingly "out of
control" world. Giddens (1990), stating that the risks increased in this period, which he called late
modernity, divides the risks into two: "External risk" originating from the outside (natural ways)
and "manufactured risk" created by the effect of our developing knowledge. According to Giddens,
individuals face new uncertainties and have to overcome new risks in the late modernity period.
On the other hand, the famous German sociologist Ulrick Beck in his book "Risk Society" (1992)
defines three basic characteristics of risk. First, global, irreparable risks, secondly, preventable
risks, and lastly, risks that are not bound by time and place and where events are unpredictable.
As a matter of fact, there are similarities between the characteristics of Beck's risk society and the
developments regarding the Covid-19 pandemic. In the risk society, features such as the global
risks encountered, the impact on the environment, nature and people, and the increase in
uncertainties as a result, correspond to the characteristics of the risk society described by Beck.
Another sociologist Slovaj Zizek (2020) conveys Beck's concepts of risk and uncertainty to the
present and states that the developments with Covid-19 are very uncertain and we have entered a
period where we do not know exactly what is going on. His main contribution is that he advocates
that this period can only be overcome based on global cooperation (cited in Kasapoğlu and Akbal,
2020).
Studying relational sociology in a similar framework, White et al. (2013) also mention two
concepts while examining first and second order relationships and ambiguities in meanings. These
are "ambage" (uncertainty in social relations) and the other "ambiquity" (culturally ambiguity in
meanings). According to White (2008), uncertainties that arise in the context of social relations
can be called “ambage” and this word means indirectly in etymological terms. We can cite the
concept of “ambage” as an example that we cannot realize our relations face-to-face and maintain
our relations indirectly (internet, new media technologies). According to White (2008), it also
describes the changes in our social roles, how relationships are implemented in this framework,
how they are produced and how they are terminated. In short, ambage appears as a concept used
to describe how our roles are transformed. Ambiquity, on the other hand, according to White
(2008), is an uncertainty that occurs in the "cultural framework". This ambiguity includes
uncertainties about rules as well as about meanings (cited in Kasapoğlu, 2016: 55-57; Akbal and
Kasapoglu, 2020). H.White actually talks about a third state of uncertainty and calls it
contingency. Unexpected uncertainties come from outside and affect social networks (cited in.
Kasapoğlu, 2019).
Uncertainties in many issues, such as how many days the quarantine should last, the duration of
the virus in the air, the transmission of the virus through droplets, the extent of the social distance,
how long the virus can stay on which surface, how to disinfect the products coming from outside,
which procedures the person would follow, the likelihood of those who survived the virus to catch
the virus again, the virus mutated, the way and duration of hand washing appeared. Anyone who
had a fever, sneezing, coughing, feeling weak, vomiting, or nausea suspected the possibility of