The Aging Self and the Aging Society Ethical issues involving the elderly have recently come to the fore. This should come as no surprise: Since the turn of the century, there has been an eightfold in crease in the number of Americans over the age of sixty five, and almost a tripling of their proportion to the general population. Those over the age of eighty-five- the fastest growing group in the country-are twenty one more times as numerous as in 1900. Demographers expect this trend to accelerate into the twenty-first century. The aging of society casts into vivid relief a num ber of deep and troubling questions. On the one hand, as individuals, we grapple with the immediate experience of aging and mortality and seek to find in it philosophical or ethical significance. We also wonder what responsi bilities we bear toward aging family members and what expectations of others our plans for old age can reasona bly include. On the other hand, as a community, we must decide: What special role, if any, do older persons occupy in our society? What constitutes a just distribution of medical resources between generations? And, How can institutions that serve the old foster imperiled values, such as autonomy, self-respect, and dignity? Only recently have we begun to explore these themes, yet already a rich and fruitful literature has grown up around them."

Health care professionals are now more frequently consulted about emotional and sexual matters by older patients. There is a wealth of information available about the psychological, medical and sociological processes of ageing that has become available in recent years. Demographic studies demonstrate a world-wide tendency, most pronounced in the West, towards more people living into later decades of life.;Dr Gibson has brought all this information together with the object of increasing the quality of care available. In so doing, he explodes many myths, addresses both emotional and sexual life in the context of health and illness, the problems associated with ageist discrimination and the needs of those with different sexual preferences.;Drawing from a wide body of knowledge, the author writes with insight in the first major work of its kind. The book seeks to surprise and equip doctors, clinical psychologists, counsellors, nurses, social workers and clergy, in their respective professions, as they consider their own role in an ageing society which has greater expectations for health and quality of relationships.

This book provides readers with a compelling case for the inclusion of contextual therapy in comprehensive healthcare settings by presenting its applications to individual and family health across the lifespan. Part I gives an overview of contextual therapy, including case conceptualization, assessment, intervention, and supervision. Part II provides specific recommendations for incorporating contextual therapy in diverse and multidisciplinary settings. Case studies illustrate how concepts such as justice, loyalty, and balanced giving and receiving influence families' adjustment to chronic illnesses and mental health disorders. Accounting for the trend toward increased collaboration between providers in traditional mental health and medical settings, this book will empower clinicians to expand their current range of assessment methods, intervention techniques, and supervision experiences

Grandparenting: Contemporary Perspectives is one of the first books of its kind to offer a dedicated account of the social and psychological research on this important life stage. Reflecting the contemporary positive approach to ageing, it covers many of the issues that impact the grandparent experience today, such as care-giving and changing family structures, to reveal the health and wellbeing benefits of the grandparent role. It examines biological, psychological, social/ familial, gender, cultural and economic dimensions to map out the current landscape in this emerging field. Moore and Rosenthal draw on quantitative and qualitative, experimental, survey, observation and case study research, including unique data on grandfathers. They examine how people respond to the challenges and possibilities of grandparenting, and how this influences intergenerational relationships and adapting to growing older. The book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date evidence base for students in health, sociology and psychology and those interested in gerontology and the lifespan.

This volume presents a clear, concise overview of the current state of knowledge about the biology of aging - serving as both an invaluable graduate-level text and a key reference for practicing professionals. Over a dozen distinguished contributors probe the latest developments in our knowledge of why people age and how the process works. These authoritative chapters are not just written for biologists - but for gerontologists in general. Marks the tenth anniversary of the Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics.

How come I can never find my keys? Why don't I sleep as well as I used to? Why do my friends keep repeating the same stories? What can I do to keep my brain sharp? Scientists know. Brain Rules for Aging Well, by developmental molecular biologist Dr. John Medina, gives you the facts, and the prescription to age well, in his signature engaging style. With so many discoveries over the years, science is literally changing our minds about the optimal care and feeding of the brain. All of it is captivating. A great deal of it is unexpected. In his New York Times best seller Brain Rules, Medina showed us how our brains really work, and why we ought to redesign our workplaces and schools to match. In Brain Rules for Baby, he gave parents the brain science they need to know to raise happy, smart, moral kids. Now, in Brain Rules for Aging Well, Medina shares how you can make the most of the years you have left. In a book destined to be a classic on aging, Medina's fascinating stories and infectious sense of humor breathe life into the science. Brain Rules for Aging Well is organized into four sections, each laying out familiar problems with surprising solutions. First up, the social brain, in which topics ranging from relationships to happiness and gullibility illustrate how our emotions change with age. The second section focuses on the thinking brain, explaining how working memory and executive function change with time. The third section is all about your body: how certain kinds of exercise, diets, and sleep can slow the decline of aging. Each section is sprinkled with practical advice, for example, the fascinating benefits of dancing, and the brain science behind each intervention. The final section is about the future. Your future. Medina connects all the chapters into a plan for maintaining your brain health. You may already be experiencing the sometimes-unpleasant effects of the aging process. Or you may be deeply concerned about your loved ones who are. Either way, Brain Rules for Aging Well is for you.

The study of "the end of life" has become a major focus on medicine, the social sciences, ethics, and religion. This volume brings together the latest research on issues around death and dying, life's attributes as it nears death, planning and preparation for death, and care and intervetion-related issues. This evidence-based finding of this volume will help shape how we approach the topic for years to come.

Enhancing the Wellbeing and Wisdom of Older Learners: A Co-research Paradigm examines how lifelong learning, becoming wise, and sharing wisdom are integrally linked to older people's wellbeing. The book highlights appropriate learning styles and pedagogies for older people, including research models emphasising participation, and offers recommendations for research in lifelong learning with the potential to effect change. Focusing upon a collaborative action research project, 'Sagaciation', chapters explore the involvement of older learners in the design and delivery of the scheme, which enabled them to expand their knowledge and skills, and to fully engage as critical and creative voices in a supportive and welcoming environment. The book offers an account of the process of the action research, as well as its findings. The project is set into the context of leading academic thinking on fields such as the growth of an ageing population, the rise of literature on ageing, negative and positive constructions of ageing, social gerontology, the wellbeing and health of older people, and educational gerontology. This book challenges negative representations of older people as a burden by offering a paradigm of hope, resilience, and sagacity within education and beyond. It will appeal to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of adult education, lifelong learning, gerontology, mental health and wellbeing, and the sociology of education, as well as to policymakers and those working with older people

This exciting collection presents an in-depth, up-to-date analysis of the unprecedented phenomenon of increasing numbers of grandparents worldwide, co-existing and interacting for longer periods of time with their grandchildren. The book contains analyses of topics that have so far received relatively little attention, such as transnational grandparenting and gender differences in grandparenting practices. It is the only collection that brings together theory-driven research on grandparenting from a wide variety of cultural and welfare state contexts - including chapters on Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia - drawing broad lines of debate rather than focusing at a country level. Building on the success of 'Contemporary grandparenting', edited by Virpi Timonen and Sarah Arber, this book further deepens our understanding of how social structures continue to shape grandparenting across a wide range of cultural and economic contexts. The book is essential reading and reference for researchers, students and policy-makers who want to understand the growing influence of grandparents in ageing families and societies across the world.

The complexity and diversity of families and aging has generated the necessity for research, policy, and program agendas that address emerging issues and needs for elderly Americans and their families. This volume is an effort towards that end - an effort towards fostering a different perspective at families and aging.

Boomers are heading into (very) old age following a pandemic, a time of overt ageism and deficient eldercare. The front wave, now in their seventies, are on the brink of life changes that will challenge everyone - family, friends, and the health care system too. Recognizing the dire need to meet these challenges, Gillian Ranson investigates what they are doing to prepare for old age. Regardless of their situation - well off or struggling, partnered or on their own - front-wave boomers share one thing: the need for intimate, caring social ties. Many of them are making these connections with creativity and resilience. Their stories hold lessons for us all.

When her husband's ill health forces them to move into an assisted living facility, Anne M. Wyatt-Brown suddenly finds herself surrounded by elderly residents. In this lively and provocative collection, other distinguished gerontologists reflect on Anne's moving account of her transition to becoming a member of a vibrant and sociable community that offers care-giving support, while encouraging her to pursue her own interests, including exercising, reviewing articles for scholarly journals, serving on committees, and singing. By redefining notions of care and community, undoing the stigmas of aging, and valuing the psychological factors involved in accepting assistance, this volume provides a bold new framework for thinking about aging, continuing care, making the big move to a retirement community, and living with vitality in the new environment.

"With great rigour, yet an enviable lightness of touch, Susan Pickard has written an engaging and accessible book that students will love." - Rosaline Gill, City University London "A scholarly tour de force that brings into focus the various disciplines, histories, literatures and knowledges that have transformed us into modern subjects of age." - Stephen Katz, Trent University Age Studies takes an invigorating approach to the study of age and ageing in contemporary society. Encompassing ageing throughout the life course, taking in childhood, adolescence, mid-life and older age, and situated explicitly within a sociological disciplinary framework, Age Studies: Explores current social science debates on the study of ageing linking these to core sociological concepts. Links theory and application, using a variety of examples and international case studies Includes chapter summaries, further reading and guided questions. A thought-provoking companion to advanced undergraduates and postgraduate student studying ageing, older people, social gerontology and related courses.

Grandparents in Cultural Context gives a long overdue global view of the changing roles of grandparents. The eleven main chapters are by experts in the Americas, Europe and Russia, Asia, and Africa and the Middle East, and the editors integrate their chapters with previous writings on grandparenthood. Rather than technical or statistical research reports, each chapter provides a thought-provoking and comprehensive review of research, real-life case stories, cultural influences, and applied implications for grandparenthood across and within societies. Calling special attention to the roles of grandfathers and grandparenthood in societies previously un-represented in the literature, it provides several hundred new citations of work previously unavailable in English-language publications. Accessible to both scholars and students, it has several pedagogical features (e.g. web links, discussion questions) that make it useful as a text for upper-division undergraduate or graduate level classes in behavioral, social, and family sciences. It is relevant to psychology, gerontology, family studies, anthropology, family/comparative sociology, education, social work, gender studies, ethnic studies, psychiatry, and diversity and international studies programs. Practitioners, service providers, policymakers, and internationally minded grandparents will also enjoy this book.

Later-Life Social Support and Service Provision in Diverse and Vulnerable Populations offers current, multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and service provision to older Americans. The chapters trace how our understanding of social support among older adults has developed over the past 40 years and explore current gerontological research in the area. They consider how informal care arrangements articulate with formal long-term care policies and programs to provide support to the diverse population of older Americans. They also emphasize heterogeneity in the composition of support networks, particularly in relation to gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and immigrant status. Collectively, the chapters provide insight into the complexity of older adult's social support networks that can be used to improve the services provided to caregivers and care recipients as well as the policies that promote high-quality support to people of all ages who are in need of assistance.

More than thirty years ago, an entire generation sought a new way of life, looking for fulfillment and meaning in a way no one had before. Leaving his teaching job at Harvard, Ram Dass embodied the role of spiritual seeker, showing others how to find peace within themselves in one of the greatest spiritual classics of the twentieth century, Be Here Now. Now, as many of that generation enter the autumn of their years, the big questions of peace and of purpose have returned, demanding answers. And once again, Ram Dass blazes a new trail, inviting all to join him on the next stage of the journey.

Increasingly, scholars from many disciplines have begun to incorporate various modalities from the humanities and arts - novels, films, artwork, and other forms of expression - to help connect students with the experience of aging in deeply meaningful and person-centered ways. This collection examines how these approaches are incorporated into gerontology and geriatrics education. Rather than focusing solely on measurable outcomes, such as changes in learning over time - which is the purview of empirical pedagogy - chapters focus on strategies for successfully incorporating a specific work into the classroom, descriptions of humanities and/or arts exercises with students or older adults, and other ways that explore how the humanities and arts can be applied successfully and meaningfully in educational settings. This book was originally published as a special issue of Geronotology & Geriatrics Education.

A spiritual life, one focused on personal growth and deep human experience, is a major focus and motivator for people over the age of forty. Yet there is a marked lack of rigorous academic study of spirituality's importance in the lives of aging people. Noted gerontologist Robert C. Atchley remedies this problem by developing complex concepts and language about spirituality.

"Spirituality and Aging" incorporates material from two decades of interviews, observations, study, and reflection to illustrate ways of thinking about and discussing spirituality--what it is, why it is important, and how it influences the experience of aging. This book provides a nuanced view of spirituality and the richness it brings to the lives of older people.

The book is divided into three sections, with the first providing basic frames of reference for examining spirituality and aging, such as the nature of spirituality, spiritual development, and the spiritual self. Atchley next focuses on two dimensions of spirituality that are likely to manifest later in life: becoming a sage (developing the capacity to bring spiritual light to everyday issues) and serving from spirit (creating opportunities for service that are rooted in spirituality). The last section illustrates how spirituality informs other aspects of late life, such as psychological coping and the experience of dying and death.

Separating spirituality from religion--something few books on this topic do-- "Spirituality and Aging" offers a plan for incorporating spirituality into gerontological scholarship, research, education, and practice.

Filling a major gap in neuropsychological references and training materials, this is the first guide to conducting effective clinical interviews as a core component of neuropsychological practice. Prominent experts provide state-of-the-art information about clinical interviewing in the context of 16 different adult populations and settings. Chapters outline critical areas of inquiry and key considerations for differential diagnosis, as well as what initial and follow-up questions to ask, rapport-building strategies, and common interviewing pitfalls. Tips for record reviews and behavioral observations are also offered. Chapters follow a consistent format and include extensive tables for easy reference.

How can you make the most of retirement? How should you plan for retirement? What are the challenges of retirement and how can they be dealt with? The Psychology of Retirement looks at this life stage as a journey that involves challenges, opportunities, setbacks, periods of disenchantment and, often, exciting new beginnings. Taking a positive approach, the book explores how retirement provides opportunities to cultivate new friendships, interests and hobbies, consolidate and renegotiate long-held ones, and even re-invent oneself in a post-work environment. It also emphasizes the value of pre-retirement planning, and the importance of establishing new goals and purposes. Retirement can be a period of significant psychological growth and development and The Psychology of Retirement shows how it can herald the beginning of a vibrant and active stage of life.

A dramatic shift in the average age of the U.S. population and the increasing number of elderly Americans has introduced new and challenging healthcare dilemmas. This book addresses these issues with contributed chapters by the leading authorities in the field of behavioral medicine. It deals with health and healthcare needs of the elderly by considering basic changes that result from aging and some of the more specific problems that accompany it. Content highlights include a review of the basic tenets of genetics and molecular biology including some of the methods of looking at heritable differences in health and well-being. Quality of life concerns are addressed, including the differences between men and women, as well as other gender issues. Several chapters deal with the effects of aging on immunity. The latter part of the book emphasizes the psychosocial implications of aging on cardiovascular disease. Chronic illness among the elderly is also addressed.

My mother's first attempt at dying occurred nine days after her eighty-ninth birthday. I lived a carefree bachelor life, no children, few responsibilities outside of work, but that all changed when the call came. When she decided to come back to life, I decided to move from the dry heat of Los Angeles back to the high humidity of New Jersey to take over. My first task was to remove all hazards: her current caretakers. After, I asked my mom, "Do you trust me?" She whispered, "Yes." "Do you understand I will do everything in my power to keep you healthy and safe?" She nodded. "That means I'm in charge. And that means you must obey me." Her mood shifted in an instant. She looked me dead in the eye and puckered up her lips. I wasn't sure if this was a sign of surrender or one wishing me luck. I kissed her and hoped for the best. The parent/child role reversal was not unique to me, but how I dealt with it was. A Cup of Tea on the Commode chronicles my multi-taking adventures of filling Mom's last years with love, laughter, and joy. Though not always successful, I came pretty damn close.

Winner of the 2019 Richard M. Kalish Innovative Publication Book Award 2019 - Gerontological Society of America This new edition provides easily accessible and usable guidelines for practitioners in the design community for older adults. It includes an updated overview of the demographic characteristics of older adult populations and the scientific knowledge base of the aging process relevant to design. New chapters include Existing and Emerging Technologies, Work and Volunteering, Social Engagement, and Leisure Activities. Also included is basic information on user-centered design and specific recommendations for conducting research with older adults. Features Focuses on design for diverse groups of older adults Introduces the latest scientific advances, but is easily accessible to practitioners and students Offers an emphasis on existing and emerging technologies within everyday contexts and activities Includes many examples of everyday activities and contexts, as well as new chapters Presents a new conceptual model linking design principles across a broad range of topics