disengagement theory

Also from Answers.com... COPD How COPD differs from asthma, and why it's important to not smoke.

A theory which proposes that society and the ageing individual mutually withdraw from one another for the benefit and satisfaction of both. Thus, as a person ages he or she should withdraw from their roles of middle age thereby allowing these roles to be filled by younger people, and releasing the aged person to pursue new leisure pursuits. The theory is not supported by many gerontologists.