This book explores the unique group of elders, age 55 and older, who practice some form of consensual non-monogamy. It covers both the joys and challenges of multiple relationships for elders. Poly elders have the complexities of juggling multiple relationships, as well as managing all the issues of aging: managing medical conditions and disabilities (their own and/or their partners'), caregiving responsibilities for aging relatives, grieving the deaths of parents, siblings, and partners, retiring from careers and starting new lives, and/or moving into some form of senior living. Elders appear to be the fastest-growing segment of the polyamorous community. About one-fifth of Americans have been in a polyamorous relationship at some point, and around 5% currently are practicing it. Many elders have practiced polyamory for over 40 years, and are currently in stable, very long-term relationships. The book provides anecdotes from poly elders' lives, including the constellation of relationships surrounding each individual, couple, or triad. It explores how their relationships develop and evolve. Many of the issues that face older poly folks are issues directly related to aging, but they usually have a uniquely poly "spin" to them that can make them more complex and challenging.

Despite evidence of a more sexually active 'third age', ageing and later life (50+) are still commonly represented as a process of desexualisation. Challenging this assumption and ageist stereotypes, this interdisciplinary volume investigates the experiential and theoretical landscapes of older people's sexual intimacies, practices and pleasures. Contributors explore the impact of desexualisation in various contexts and across different identities, orientations, relationships and practices. This enlightening text, reflecting international scholarship, considers how we can distinguish the real challenges faced by older people from the prejudices imposed on them.

Men, Masculinities, and Aging introduces readers to the gendered nature of aging men's lives. Edward H. Thompson, noted for his work on men and aging, explores the intersections of ethnicities, class, geographies, generations, and masculinities. The book offers a fresh perspective on men's experiences with bodily aging, growing older in an ageist society, and navigating the virtual absence of cultural guidelines for being an aging man. The book also provides a sociological theory framework on how men navigate their social aging as they experience later life and very late life. Turning points such as grandfathering, the changeover from work to retirement, and the onset of health problems or becoming a career are discussed at length as Thompson frames these natural occurrences as now ordinary experiences as aging masculinities are no longer rarities. The book will provide educators, students, researchers, and practitioners a means to question standard assumptions about aging men and discuss what underlies most later-life masculinities.

Men Still at Work explores the reasons why many men are continuing to work well beyond the traditional retirement age. In today's challenging economy, they are the second-fastest growing group of workers (just behind older women). Filled with profiles of older working men, as well as dynamic interview quotes, Men Still at Work explores thorny issues such as masculinity and the "need to provide," as well as economic issues, job satisfaction, and more.

Population ageing and the globalisation of international migration are challenging the research agendas of social scientists around the world, and posing numerous challenges for policy makers and practitioners whose goal is to formulate and design high-quality and user-friendly policies and services. Both of these phenomena have brought, for example, attention to the fact that more and more people around the world are ageing in countries other than those where they were born. The fact that elderly care sectors around the world need to recruit staff if they are to handle the growing number of older people that will need their services is also something that has been discussed when population ageing and the globalisation of international migration have been debated. The elderly care sector's reliance on people with migrant backgrounds has namely increased as a result of these phenomena. This collection is therefore situated at the intersection of ageing and migration studies and takes into account the various issues with which this intersection is concerned. The chapters in this volume are written by established researchers in the field of ageing and migration around the world. The collection explores these issues in three sections: Elderly care regimes and migration regimes: national perspectives Ageing in contexts of migration: a multifaceted phenomenon Elderly care and migration. The expert contributions in this volume address the array of issues associated with the study of ageing, old age and elderly care in contexts of migration.

Attention to social class is a major issue confronting the study of ageing in the 21st century, yet it has been significantly overlooked to date. Social class in later life provides the most up-to-date collection of new and emerging research relevant to contemporary debates on the relationship between class, culture, and later life It explores the interface between class dynamics and later life, whilst acting as a critical guide to the ways in which age and class relations 'interlock' and 'intersect' with each other, whilst examining the emergence of new forms of inequalities alongside the interrogation of more traditional divisions. Social class in later life brings together a range of international high profile scholars to develop a more sophisticated, analytical and empirical understanding of class dynamics in later life. It will be of major interest to students and researchers examining the implications of global ageing, and will appeal to scholars concerned with the development of a more critical and engaged gerontology.

This unique book sheds new light on the most invisible members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Hidden from view by a combination of prevailing cultural assumptions and their own unwillingness to be seen, older lesbians have been consistently under-represented in both popular culture and research. This ground-breaking study, based on an unprecedentedly large research sample of nearly four hundred lesbian-identified women between the ages of 60 and 90, offers a fascinating insight into the lives of older lesbians in the UK. Drawing on data from a comprehensive questionnaire survey and illustrated with vivid personal testimonies, it explores both the diversity and the distinct collective identity of the older lesbian community, arguing that understanding their past experience is crucial to providing for their needs in the future. It is essential reading for scholars in the fields of women's studies and genders and sexualities, and will also appeal to sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, social and cultural historians, and experts in ageing, gerontology, nursing and social work.

The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) is the sponsor of this eighth volume in the Play & Culture Studies series. TASP is a professional group of researchers who study play. The focus of this eighth volume of the Play & Culture Studies series is on how play takes many forms as it cuts across species, ages, and cultures. The articles in this volume present current theoretical and empirical research on play and culture from a variety of disciplines including psychology, education, animal studies, and sociology. Applications to practice and policy implications are presented as well. Volume 8 continues the tradition of the Play & Culture series by presenting a view of play that is broad in scope both in terms of the subjects of study and the ways in which researchers approach the study of these diverse forms of play.

Ageing, meaning and social structure is a unique book advancing critical discourse in gerontology and makes a major contribution to understanding key social and ethical dilemmas facing ageing societies. It confronts and integrates approaches that have been relatively isolated from each other, and interrelates two major streams of thought within critical gerontology: analyses of structural issues in the context of political economy and humanistic perspectives on issues of existential meaning. The chapters, from a wide range of contributors, focus on major issues in ageing such as autonomy, agency, frailty, lifestyle, social isolation, dementia and professional challenges in social work and participatory research. This volume should be valuable reading for scholars and graduate students in gerontology and humanistic studies, as well as for policy makers and practitioners working in the field of ageing.

This book explores the unique group of elders, age 55 and older, who practice some form of consensual non-monogamy. It covers both the joys and challenges of multiple relationships for elders. Poly elders have the complexities of juggling multiple relationships, as well as managing all the issues of aging: managing medical conditions and disabilities (their own and/or their partners'), caregiving responsibilities for aging relatives, grieving the deaths of parents, siblings, and partners, retiring from careers and starting new lives, and/or moving into some form of senior living. Elders appear to be the fastest-growing segment of the polyamorous community. About one-fifth of Americans have been in a polyamorous relationship at some point, and around 5% currently are practicing it. Many elders have practiced polyamory for over 40 years, and are currently in stable, very long-term relationships. The book provides anecdotes from poly elders' lives, including the constellation of relationships surrounding each individual, couple, or triad. It explores how their relationships develop and evolve. Many of the issues that face older poly folks are issues directly related to aging, but they usually have a uniquely poly "spin" to them that can make them more complex and challenging.

The 41st volume of Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics, "Black Older Adults in the Era of Black Lives Matter," reflects an important moment in the continuing development and maturation of research and scholarship on the lives of older Black Americans. The volume includes literature reviews and empirical analyses on a broad range of topics, including physical and mental health status, psychosocial factors and health, biomarkers, cognitive health, social networks and relationships, social isolation and loneliness, marriage and romantic relationships, discrimination, and cancer caregiving within the family context. In addition, it examines issues familiar to gerontology, such as relationships with family, intimate partners, and fictive kin. The collected works in this volume of the Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics greatly enrich the understanding of the diversity of life experiences of older Black adults.Key Topics: Racial Discrimination and discrimination-related coping Stress Processes and mental health Physical functioning and genomics Marital and romantic relationship satisfaction Psychosocial resources and mental health

The ageing of the world's populations, particularly in Western developed countries, is a well-documented phenomenon; and despite many positive images of later life, in the media and public discourse later life is frequently depicted as a time of inevitable physical and cognitive decline. Against this background, Heinrichsmeier presents the results of her two-year sociolinguistic study examining how a group of older women of different ages negotiated their way through their own and others' expectations of ageing and constructed different kinds of older - and other - identities for themselves. Through vivid and nuanced analysis of their chat and practices in a small village hair salon, Heinrichsmeier reveals these women's subtle and skilful manipulation of stereotypes of ageing and the impact of the evolving talk on their identity constructions. Her study, which provides numerous short extracts of talk in both the hair salon and interview along with more detailed case studies, highlights the importance of such apparently 'trivial' sites - for both studying older people's identity work and as loci for positive identity constructions and well-being in later life. This book will be of particular interest to graduate students and scholars working in sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, conversation analysis, and gerontological studies, as well as those interested in approaches integrating ethnography and language.

The Classic Edition of this foundational text includes a new preface from Holly A. Tuokko, examining how the field of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) has developed since first publication. Bringing together research from multiple studies and perspectives from various countries, the volume identifies MCI as an important clinical transition between normal aging and the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The up-to-date preface highlights the expansion in research, examining the benefits of various pharmacological, cognitive and behavioral approaches to intervention. Influenced by recent findings in neuroplasticity across the lifespan, the book recognizes the importance of intervention at the earliest stages of the decline trajectory. It revisits the contested diagnostic approaches for MCI as well as the varying prevalence of MCI internationally, yet points to the need for further longitudinal studies to fully understand the condition. Mild Cognitive Impairment continues to provide a comprehensive resource for clinicians, researchers and students involved in the study, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of people with MCI.

The Classic Edition of this foundational text includes a new preface from Holly A. Tuokko, examining how the field of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) has developed since first publication. Bringing together research from multiple studies and perspectives from various countries, the volume identifies MCI as an important clinical transition between normal aging and the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The up-to-date preface highlights the expansion in research, examining the benefits of various pharmacological, cognitive and behavioral approaches to intervention. Influenced by recent findings in neuroplasticity across the lifespan, the book recognizes the importance of intervention at the earliest stages of the decline trajectory. It revisits the contested diagnostic approaches for MCI as well as the varying prevalence of MCI internationally, yet points to the need for further longitudinal studies to fully understand the condition. Mild Cognitive Impairment continues to provide a comprehensive resource for clinicians, researchers and students involved in the study, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of people with MCI.

Population aging is a matter of global concern. It often occurs in tandem with changes in the health profile of the population. In Africa, many countries are already facing a high burden of communicable diseases. However, as more and more children survive childhood and move on to adult years and old age they are also more likely to experience health problems associated with the aging process. Population aging in Africa is occurring in the context of high levels of poverty, changing family structures, an immense disease burden, fragile health systems and weak or poorly managed government institutions. This book shows that aging is likely to lead to increased social and economic demands for the continent. However, most national governments in Africa have not begun to address the issue of how to respond effectively to the needs of the older population. This will require a better understanding of the socio-economic and demographic situation of the older population in Africa. This book fills the gaps that exist by exploring the social realities of population aging in Africa. It also focuses on the policy and programmatic responses, gaps and future challenges related to aging across the continent.

This book examines the transformations in home lives arising in later life and resulting from global migrations. It provides insight into the ways in which contemporary demographic processes of aging and migration shape the meaning, experience and making of home for those in older age. Chapters explore how home is negotiated in relation to possibilities for return to the "homeland," family networks, aging and health, care cultures and belonging. The book deliberately crosses emerging sub-fields in transnationalism studies by offering case studies on aging labour migrants, retirement migrants, and return migrants, as well as older people affected by the movement of others including family members and migrant care workers. The diversity of people's experiences of home in later life is fully explored and the impact of social class, gender, and nationality, as well as the corporeal dimensions of older age, are all in evidence.

With rapid economic progress and increasing life expectancy in East Asian societies, more attention is being paid by their governments, the media and the academy to mental illness and dementia. While clinical research on mental illness and dementia in Chinese societies acknowledges the importance of culture in shaping people's experiences of these illnesses, how Chinese culture shapes people's understandings of and responses to mental illness and dementia has yet to be interrogated to any depth. Mental Illness, Dementia and Family in China breaks new ground in exploring how Chinese culture, namely, the understandings, norms, values and scripts that people acquire through being members of a Chinese community, shapes contemporary stories of mental illness, dementia and family care-giving. This book is innovative in examining and comparing stories which have been drawn from both real life ('life stories'), as well as from film and television productions ('filmic stories'). These two forms effectively complement each other, with life stories generally presenting an 'insider's' account and filmic stories generally presenting an 'outsider's' account. What remains unvoiced in one kind of story may be voiced in the other kind. Drawing on the perspectives and analytic approaches of narrative analysis and cultural studies, Guy Ramsay uncovers culturally-shaped continuities and departures in representations of time, identity and cause of illness as well as in the language employed in contemporary stories of mental illness, dementia and family care-giving in China. This book will be invaluable to students and scholars working on Chinese cultural studies and Asian social policy, as well as those interested in psychiatry, mental health and disability studies more broadly.

Current estimates indicate that approximately 2.2 million people are incarcerated in federal, state, and local correctional facilities across the United States. There are another 5 million under community correctional supervision. Many of these individuals fall into the classification of special needs or special populations (e.g., women, juveniles, substance abusers, mentally ill, aging, chronically or terminally ill offenders). Medical care and treatment costs represent the largest portion of correctional budgets, and estimates suggest that these costs will continue to rise. In the community, probation and parole officers are responsible for helping special needs offenders find appropriate treatment resources. Therefore, it is important to understand the needs of these special populations and how to effectively care for and address their individual concerns. The Routledge Handbook of Offenders with Special Needs is an in-depth examination of offenders with special needs, such as those who are learning-challenged, developmentally disabled, and mentally ill, as well as substance abusers, sex offenders, women, juveniles, and chronically and terminally ill offenders. Areas that previously have been unexamined (or examined in a limited way) are explored. For example, this text carefully examines the treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender offenders, and racial and gender disparities in health care delivery, as well as pregnancy and parenthood behind bars, homelessness, and the incarceration of veterans and immigrants. In addition, the book presents legal and management issues related to the treatment and rehabilitation of special populations in prisons/jails and the community, including police-citizen interactions, diversion through specialty courts, obstacles and challenges related to reentry and reintegration, and the need for the development and implementation of evidence-based criminal justice policies and practices. This is a key collection for students taking courses in prisons, penology, criminal justice, criminology, and related areas of study, and an essential resource for academics and practitioners working with offenders with special needs.

Evidence of widening inequalities in later life raises concerns about the ways in which older adults might experience forms of social exclusion. Such concerns are evident in all societies as they seek to come to terms with the unprecedented ageing of their populations. Taking a broad international perspective, this highly topical book casts light on patterns and processes that either place groups of older adults at risk of exclusion or are conducive to their inclusion. Leading international experts challenge traditional understandings of exclusion in relation to ageing in From Exclusion to Inclusion in Old Age. They also present new evidence of the interplay between social institutions, policy processes, personal resources and the contexts within which ageing individuals live to show how this shapes inclusion or exclusion in later life. Dealing with topics such as globalisation, age discrimination and human rights, intergenerational relationships, poverty, and migration, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in ageing issues.

Social Welfare, Aging and Social Theory explores how we can understand the changing relationship between social welfare and human aging. The book begins by reviewing how historical changes in society impacted on shaping emergence of scientific approaches to understand and problematize and bio-medicalize aging as akin to an illness and disease. The discussion moves to trace how particular social science theories were developed to reinforce negative perceptions of aging. The book also develops its own reflexive approach with in-depth examples of social welfare in national, international and global contexts in how aging is theorized in the postmodern world were alternative possibilities can be encountered.

Pathways of Human Development uses theoretical perspectives from developmental, social, and behavioral sciences to examine the many ways that individuals, families, and communities intersect and interface. Focusing on the impact of change on human development, including its antecedents, processes, and consequences, the chapters examine a range of topics such as health and adaptation; social anxiety disorder; protective factors and risk behaviors; parent-child relationships; adolescent sexuality; intergenerational relationships; family stress and adaptation; and community resilience. By extending human development theorizing across these pivotal life-changing issues, this volume offers a comprehensive map of the trajectories of development among individuals, families, and communities.

In the context of global ageing societies, there are few challenges to the underlying assumption that policies should promote functional health and independence in older people and contain the costs of care. This important book provides such a challenge. It offers a critical analysis of the limitations of contemporary policies and calls for a fuller understanding of the relationship between health and care throughout the life-course. Located within the tradition of the feminist ethic of care, the book provides a fresh insight into global policy debates and the impact that these have on people's experiences of ageing. Including international evidence on health inequalities, health promotion and health care, this book will be of interest to a range of social scientists, particularly specialists in gerontology and social policy.

Silvia Bermudez's fascinating study reveals how Spanish popular music, produced between 1980 and 2013, was the first cultural site to engage in critical debate about ethnicity and race in relation to the immigration patterns that have been changing the social landscape of Spanish society since the late 1970s. In Rocking the Boat, Bermudez examines the lyrics of songs by both renowned and up and coming artists to illuminate how these new migrants challenged Spain's notions of homogeneity, boundaries, accommodation, and incorporation. Bermudez observes that immigration has had such a significant influence on Spanish society that the tattered boats, seen to this day on the shores of Spain and throughout the Mediterranean Sea, have become inverted emblems of the ships that were once symbols of great power and economic development. Rocking the Boat is a nuanced account of how popular urban music shaped the discourse on immigration, transnational migrants, and racialization in Spain's new social landscape.

The first book in the new series Diversity and Aging, Laura Hurd Clarke's Facing Age examines the relationship between aging and women in a culture obsessed with youthfulness. From weight gain, to wrinkles, to sagging skin, to gray hair, the book explores older women's complex and often contradictory feelings about their bodies and the physical realities of growing older. Although the women in the book express discontent about their aging visage, they also emphasize the importance of functional abilities and suggest that appearance becomes less central in later life. Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted over a ten year period, Hurd Clarke brings alive feminist theories about aging, beauty work, femininity, and the body. The book also discusses medicine and the aging appearance, with interviews from medical providers and women about treatments such as Botox injections and injectable fillers. This book makes an important and timely contribution to the discussion of gendered ageism and older women's experiences of growing older in a youth-obsessed culture.