Almost all families will at some time have to make difficult decisions concerning aging family members, involving institutionalization, moving from medical interventions to palliative care, and even physician-assisted death. Yet, the historical transition from traditional to post-traditional society means that these decisions are no longer determined by strict rules and norms, and the growing role of the welfare state has been accompanied by changes in the nature of family and social solidarity. Advances in medical technology and greatly expanded life spans further complicate the decision-making process. Family, Intergenerational Solidarity, and Post-Traditional Society examines a range of difficult issues that families commonly face during the family life course within these contexts. The book explores both practical and ethical questions regarding filial responsibility and the roles of the state and adult children in providing financial and instrumental support to dependent parents. The book follows the experiences and deliberations of a fictional family through a series of vignettes in which its members must make difficult decisions about the treatment of a seriously ill parent. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students in family studies, gerontology/aging, sociology, social work, health and social care, and nursing will find this essential reading.

Teen Spirit offers a novel and provocative perspective on how we came to be living in an age of political immaturity and social turmoil. Award-winning author Paul Howe argues it's because a teenage mentality has slowly gripped the adult world. Howe contends that many features of how we live today-some regrettable, others beneficial-can be traced to the emergence of a more defined adolescent stage of life in the early twentieth century, when young people started spending their formative, developmental years with peers, particularly in formal school settings. He shows how adolescent qualities have slowly seeped upward, where they have gradually reshaped the norms and habits of adulthood. The effects over the long haul, Howe contends, have been profound, in both the private realm and in the public arena of political, economic, and social interaction. Our teenage traits remain part of us as we move into adulthood, so much so that some now need instruction manuals for adulting. Teen Spirit challenges our assumptions about the boundaries between adolescence and adulthood. Yet despite a cultural system that seems to be built on the ethos of Generation Me, it's not all bad. In fact, there has been an equally impressive rise in creativity, diversity, and tolerance within society: all traits stemming from core components of the adolescent character. Howe's bold and suggestive approach to analyzing the teen in all of us helps make sense of the impulsivity driving society and encourages us to think anew about civic reengagement.

The psychology of aging usually focuses upon cognitive changes, with a particular focus on dementia and other forms of cognitive decline. But getting older is about more than simply changes to the brain and related health issues. Changes to our social and emotional lives are also hugely significant as we adapt across our lifespan. The second edition of Aging and Development is the only textbook available that responds to the growing interest in social, personal and emotional development in older age. Ideally suited to complement texts on cognitive change, the book provides a holistic developmental perspective on aging. It highlights a range of issues, including the development of personal meaning and spirituality, improvements in emotional control, uses of reminiscence and life review, the importance of healthy attitudes to aging, as well as the maintenance of close personal relationships. It does not avoid the difficult issues of late life decline, but illustrates how even in circumstances of physical and mental frailty a positive sense of self can be created and enhanced. Fully updated to provide the most cutting-edge overview on this burgeoning topic of interest, Aging and Development includes a glossary and list of useful websites both on the study of gerontology and the psychology of aging. It will be essential reading for all students of developmental psychology, as well as anyone either training to work or already working with older people.

A negative effect of the ageing population is that more individuals are experiencing cognitive decline and some form of neurodegenerative disease. With the number of people experiencing dementia likely to double in the next 20 years, this change in society presents one of greatest challenges facing public health personnel in the 21st century. The aim of this volume is to describe research that is in progress, and the major findings that have been obtained in the scientific study of dementia. The chapters in the first section of the book focus upon early signs of dementia, and consider several approaches to finding early cognitive signs and biological markers of dementia. The second section considers whether dementia is inevitable for people who become very old, and features chapters on risk factors and proactive influences, cognitive reserve and intervention. Each chapter in the final section describes phenomena which are related to differences in function between memory systems, including anterograde memory in fronto-temporal dementia, and the role semantic memory and semantic cognition may play in developing an understanding of the development of the degenerative processes in dementia. With contributions from world-class researchers in this area, the volume offers a concise overview of key findings in recent research on dementia and memory. It will be of great interest to researchers and advanced students of cognitive psychology, and to those working in related fields, such as gerontology, rehabilitation sciences, and allied health.

America's rapidly expanding population of older citizens is becoming the dominant political and policy issue of the new century. Thorny issues are driving decisions made in Washington, D.C. and state capitols, in corporations, and around the family dining table, such as:
-- The future of Social Security
-- Eldercare
-- The cost of Medicare and drugs
-- Retirement and pensions.

Aging in America A to Z is an encyclopedic roadmap to the challenging questions and potential answers facing today's seniors and their children. Important to both seniors and younger Americans who must care directly for parents or share indirectly in the economic and social costs of an aging population, Aging in America A to Z is a fundamental resource for all public and high school libraries.

Older people who would prefer to stay in their homes and states whose funds are being depleted by the rising costs of Medicaid payments to nursing homes find the current system of long-term care unsatisfactory. From Nursing Homes to Home Care arms educators, policymakers, public health professionals, gerontologists, and advocacy groups with the information they need to participate knowledgeably in the debate about aging and long-term care needs. The book shows readers where things are, where they are going, and where they need to be in changing the system of long-term care. From Nursing Homes to Home Care evaluates future needs for long-term care by analyzing on-going systems and assessing key features of proposed long term programs in the context of population aging. Readers gain a thoughtful analysis of the complex dimensions of making future long-term care policy and program decisions as they read about: patterns of demographic aging, disability, and health needs intersections of formal and informal care including intergenerational equity issues long-term care services needs and accessibility planning for funding, quality assurance, and range of services implications of shifts from the current system to a system of home and community-based services Chapters in From Nursing Homes to Home Care express the collective thinking of leaders in long-term care policy and research. Contributors address implications for changing the current system in relation to the emerging needs of the aging population and use this as a basis for examining alternative decisions. Information in the book helps readers determine how to best blend formal and informal services, how to assure quality of care and quality of life in long-term care policy, how to finance devised programs, which health needs to address, and whether to use regulatory or competitive approaches. Professionals, educators and students, and policymakers at all levels learn about factors to consider in policy planning and decision making, including features of aging baby boomers; trends in the growth of the aged population; newly emerging trends in morbidity, disability, and mortality and their effect on the demand for long-term care in the short and long term; access issues from the perspective of the historical evolution of publicly funded long-term care services, the distribution of formal and informal systems of care; utilization patterns of the minority and poor; how to pay for care, how to design an appropriate mix of services, how to maintain quality with efficiency, and how to mesh services with social and family values. From Nursing Homes to Home Care is an invaluable resource in evaluating and advocating policy changes and decisions for an improved long-term care system.

At a time, when the section of the older population is increasing in all western societies, more and more attention needs to be paid to the growing number of people who live with and die of drawn-out terminal illnesses, cancer being one of the most common ones. This study focuses on terminally ill people in a German hospice and addresses the question how meaningful experience is constructed for these patients in an attempt to preserve their dignity as persons. It is based on detailed and sometimes moving material from diary texts and active participation of the author in the role of a nurse, which allowed him to watch closely the behaviour of patients and nurses in routine situations and to look at the underlying emotions, values, and assumptions within such interaction. This book goes well beyond this particular case and reaches conclusions about death narratives that are significant for the social sciences more generally.

What if the world population consisted of a single generation that lived forever? Or what if each successive generation came into being all at once and then perished before the next generation came into existence? How would the absence of many different generations sharing pieces of the same time-line alter how we think about the linked processes of aging and social change? In this book, editor Melissa Hardy presents a collection of strategies for conceptualizing and analyzing the connections between intra-vidual and societal change. Studying Aging and Social Change questions the boundaries between self and society and change and stability. The book includes classic treatments on generations and cohorts by Karl Mannheim and Norman Ryder and presents a new theoretical contribution that explores the meaning of aging as a social process. Each of the six new essays develops a central theoretical concept, linking that concept to issues of research design and analysis. By reexamining the assumptions that underlie our approaches to the study of change, this volume provides key insights into how we can understand fundamental social processes such as human development and socialization, the formation of public opinion and political identity, and the shaping of collective action and group behavior. This enlightening volume will be a valuable resource for academics and students in the fields of social work, gerontology, sociology, and family studies.

Invitation to the Life Course: Toward New Understandings of Later Life discusses in depth the challenges of age, time, and social contexts for the study of aging and later life. Understanding aging (as a process) and later life (as a period) must be accompanied by serious attention to the life course. This brings significant challenges related to time, as gerontologists must describe and explain life patterns over many decades. It also brings significant challenges related to place, as gerontologists must examine how social contexts structure pathways into and through later life, and how those contexts affect the nature and meaning of experiences along the way. This book is a natural extension of the editor's previous work, ""Lives in Time and Place: The Problems and Promises of Developmental Science"" (Baywood, 1999).

People react very differently to the process of ageing. Some people shy away from old age for as long as they can and eventually spend it reflecting on times when they were physically and mentally stronger and more independent. For others old age is embraced as a new adventure and something to look forward to.

In this book psychoanalyst Danielle Quinodoz highlights the value of old age and the fact that although many elderly people have suffered losses, either of their own good health or through bereavement, most have managed to retain the most important thing their sense of self. Quinodoz argues that growing old provides us with the opportunity to learn more about ourselves and instead of facing it with dread, it should be celebrated. Divided into accessible chapters this book covers topics including:

• the internal life-history
• remembering
• phases of life
• anxiety about death
• being a psychoanalyst and growing old.

Throughout Growing Old the author draws on both her clinical experience of working with the elderly, and her own personal experience of growing old. This makes it an interesting read for both practising psychoanalysts, and those who wish to gain a greater insight of the natural progression into later life.

This book was nurtured by the belief that the new dynamics of today's and tomorrow's aging has not yet been treated well in the gerontology literature. Several questions drove the choice of substance for the book: What kind of new dynamics of aging deserves consideration? What kinds of theories and fields are at the core of treating such a new dynamics? And what kind of empirical evidence should be considered? The master hypothesis on which the book is based maintains that the new dynamics of old age is best observed in a range of everyday aging contexts that have been undergoing major change since the second half of the 20th century. In particular, five areas of new and persistent dynamics are treated in depth: the social environment, with a focus on cohort effects in social relations and the consideration of family relations and elders as care redelivers; the home environment, with emphasis on housing and quality of life, relocation and urban aging issues; the outdoor environment, with consideration of out-of-home activity patterns, car-driving behaviour and the leisure world of aging; the technological environment, with treatments of the role of the Internet and the potential of technology for aging outcomes and; and the societal environment with a focus on global aging, the new politics of old age and older persons as market consumers. The book's main purpose is to provide the scholarly gerontology community with a comprehensive and critical discussion of these new trends related to old age. The book will be of interest for the scholarly community of gerontology in a variety of disciplines; sociology, psychology, demography, epidemiology, humanities, social policy and geriatrics; students in gerontology education and in the disciplines named above who have an interest in aging issues (graduate level); professionals in practical and applied fields related to aging such as community and urban planners, health and care providers and policymakers; people involved in senior citizens' organizations and those in industry who wish to serve older people with new products.

This original collection explores how critical gerontology can make sense of old age inequalities to inform and improve social work research, policy and practice and empower older people. With examples of practice-facing research, this book engages with key debates on age-related human rights and social justice issues. The critical and conceptual focus will expand the horizons of those who work with older people, addressing the current challenges, issues and opportunities that they face.

Middle age, for many, marks a key period for a radical reappraisal of one's life and way of living. The sense of time running out, both from the perspective that one's life has ground to a halt, and from the point of view of the greater closeness of death, and the sense of loneliness engendered by the compromised and wasteful nature of life, become ever clearer in mid-life, and can lead to a period of dramatic self doubt.In this book, the philosopher Christopher Hamilton (early 40s) explores the moods, emotions and experiences of middle age in the contemporary world, seeking to describe and analyze that period of life philosophically. Hamilton draws on his own personal experiences of turning 40 as well as a wide range of sources - from the philosophical writings of Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Hegel, Heidegger to the literature of Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Conrad and the films of Woody Allen - to offer us a philosophy of middle age.Some of the many fascinating themes explored include the strong sense of nostalgia experienced in mid-life, of loss for one's youth, and of regret, the sense that life has become boring, the recognition that one can never fully escape feelings of guilt, and - central to the experience of middle age - the question of what is the point of going on at all. In the light of the 'melancholy wisdom' of mid-life Hamilton suggests that pleasure becomes much more important than at previous stages of life and he shows that the enjoyment of pleasure can be something noble.Insightful, entertaining, and thought-provoking, "Middle Age" is fascinating reading and for anyone heading for a 'mid-life crisis' it is much cheaper than buying a sports car.

In the World Library of Psychologists series, international experts present career-long collections of what they judge to be their most interesting publications - extracts from books, key articles, research findings, practical and theoretical contributions. Professor Patrick Rabbitt has been a prominent contributor to knowledge of cognitive performance and cognitive ageing for over half a century. He has made a range of significant contributions to geronotological research, from the development of information processing theories in the 1950s and 1960s to a new understanding of decision making and the ageing process in subsequent decades. This collection of his research articles represents a review of how work in cognitive performance and cognitive ageing has developed in the past 50 years. Whilst the nature of scientific research means that some of the questions posed have since been answered, Rabbitt adds introductory sections to articles which contextualise its place in the subject area and offer a personal view on the evolution of the field. This book is important because it provides a perspective on the development of cognitive research and the ageing process through the work of an active researcher in the field. It will interest all students and researchers interested in cognitive development and gerontology.

Memory, Attention, and Aging is a collection of some of the most influential journal articles previously published by Fergus Craik and his collaborators, with new introductory material unifying the research of this noted cognitive psychologist. The reprinted articles are grouped into six sections reflecting Craik's various research interests across his career. The first section on short-term memory focuses on research concerns Craik uncovered in the 1970s, but are still valid today. They comprise theoretical suggestions and data on the nature of STM, including the notion that working memory may be defined as attention paid to features of items held in conscious awareness. The second section on levels of processing contains the very influential articles by Craik & Lockhart and by Craik & Tulving on memory research, in addition to a later article in which Craik gives a critical account of the LOP work. Craik's third interest is in cognitive aging. The section contains two articles from the 1980s in which Craik lays out his ideas on age-related changes in memory, plus a more recent article addressing lifespan changes in cognition. The fourth section on attention and memory has two articles that report on the effects of divided attention on subsequent memory, and differences between implicit and explicit memory processes. The fifth section on cognitive neuroscience includes an early PET study probing neural correlates of LOP, and a study searching for the neural correlates of the "self" concept. Finally, the sixth section contains an article on bilingualism that explores age-related differences in executive functions as a consequence of bilingualism, and a study showing that bilingualism postpones the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Grouping the most highly cited and groundbreaking articles of Fergus Craik in one volume, this book will be of interest to a wide spectrum of students and professional researchers.

Originally published in 1987, a well-known Jungian analyst, the late Bani Shorter writes here about how women are initiated into becoming themselves. Her book was an important contribution to the field of analytical psychology at the time, as well as to the increasingly popular study of women's spirituality. In former times transitions from one stage of life to another were prepared for and marked by ritual initiation; in modern times this necessity is overlooked and women's natural development is made more difficult as a consequence. Through working in close therapeutic relationships with women, Bani Shorter found that when challenged by crises and transitions in their lives, today's women instinctively create rituals nevertheless to mark their journey towards maturation, wholeness and meaning. In this process they discover something of who they are and recognise dimensions of themselves which have been previously repressed and undreamed of. The stories unfolded here can be a guide for all women through their own rites of passage.

Failure to Launch is a book geared towards helping clinicians work with dependent adult children. The book first attempts to define the problem of failure to launch as well as identify the underlying causes such as entitlement, narcissism, enabling family systems, and undiagnosed mental health problems. Failure to Launch also lays out a step-by-step treatment plan to help guide clinicians with these clients to help facilitate change. The book includes case studies, sample chapters, and the latest research to help illustrate the theoretical basis for the treatments in this book.

This book is a major reassessment of work in the field of critical gerontology, providing a comprehensive survey of issues by a team of contributors drawn from Europe and North America. The book focuses on the variety of ways in which age and ageing are socially constructed, and the extent to which growing old is being transformed through processes associated with globalisation. The collection offers a range of alternative views and visions about the nature of social ageing, making a major contribution to theory-building within the discipline of gerontology. The different sections of the book give an overview of the key issues and concerns underlying the development of critical gerontology. These include: first, the impact of globalisation and of multinational organizations and agencies on the lives of older people; second, the factors contributing to the "social construction" of later life; and third, issues associated with diversity and inequality in old age, arising through the effects of cumulative advantage and disadvantage over the life course. These different themes are analysed using a variety of theoretical perspectives drawn from sociology, social policy, political science, and social anthropology. "Aging, Globalization and Inequality" brings together key contributors to critical perspectives on aging and is unique in the range of themes and concerns covered in a single volume. The study moves forward an important area of debate in studies of aging, and thus provides the basis for a new type of critical gerontology relevant to the twenty-first century.

As the baby boom generation ages, there are few ethnographies that capture the dynamics of aging. This new book is based on years of participant observation in "the Sands," a beautiful ocean community of well-off individuals and couples seeking the easy life. Yet the community members contend with deep uncertainties about health as they learn to face the realities of death. Identity, sexuality, gender, and conflict play into a sense of "who belongs where," who is counted a friend or stranger in the struggles of old age. Warren shows how the vicissitudes of the aging body center the present and become anchors for the past and future. Expressed in beautiful literary prose, this book moves beyond wealth to explore the realities of aging in poignant new ways that will enliven discussion in courses on Gerontology, Medical Sociology, Inequality, and many others.

As the baby boom generation ages, there are few ethnographies that capture the dynamics of aging. This new book is based on years of participant observation in "the Sands," a beautiful ocean community of well-off individuals and couples seeking the easy life. Yet the community members contend with deep uncertainties about health as they learn to face the realities of death. Identity, sexuality, gender, and conflict play into a sense of "who belongs where," who is counted a friend or stranger in the struggles of old age. Warren shows how the vicissitudes of the aging body center the present and become anchors for the past and future. Expressed in beautiful literary prose, this book moves beyond wealth to explore the realities of aging in poignant new ways that will enliven discussion in courses on Gerontology, Medical Sociology, Inequality, and many others.

The Handbook of Gerontology Research Methods offers a clear understanding of the most important research challenges and issues in the burgeoning field of the psychology of aging. As people in developed countries live longer, so a range of research methods has evolved that allows a more nuanced understanding of how we develop psychological and neurologically. Allied to this is an increasing concern with the idea of well-being, a concept which places cognitive performance and development within a more socially grounded context. With contributions from a range of top international scholars, the book addresses both typical and atypical aging, highlighting key areas such as physical and cognitive exercise, nutrition, stress, diabetes and issues related to death, dying and bereavement. Successful ageing is emphasised throughout the text. Each chapter concludes with a series of practical tips on how to undertake successful research in this area. This unique collection is the first book to provide both a concise overview of the major themes, findings and current controversies in this growing field, as well as an understanding of the practical issues when researching older adults which may impact on research outcomes, intervention, policy and future directions. Designed for both students and researchers interested in the psychology of aging, but also highly relevant for students or researchers in related fields such as health psychology and social care, the Handbook of Gerontology Research Methods is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand more about the psychology of aging.

A complete guide to one of the most popular types of retirement options, Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). In this book you will earn what CCRCs are, how they operate, and what they offer. Also, how to locate CCRCs and how to determine which one is right for you.

Advancing the notion of connected autonomy, and highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary research in the development of this novel concept, this volume explores the possibility of maintaining the freedom to make one's own decisions in later life, while also remaining connected to others - as well as to things, services, places and events. Through a series of case studies, the book examines the importance of preserving self-determination as health, environmental and social circumstances render autonomy more difficult, showing that innovations in social interaction and technology have the capacity to enhance older persons' connectedness to their environment, while at the same time, offering opportunities for self-governance. As such, it will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in ageing and the life course, the sociology of science and technology and research methods.

* offers a fresh approach, employing new and exciting custom methodologies in psychodrama * inspires and gives helpful tools to those who work with people who suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, loss, illness, self-effacement, abuse, or any issue that causes loneliness and depression * fhe focus is on old age and dementia; however, the tools and illustrations can be used by therapists, teachers, and personnel of all fields