As family structures continue to evolve, aging relatives have caused increasing concern for family members as they attempt to manage complex issues such as health, caregiving, emotional and instrumental support, and intergenerational relationships. This multidisciplinary volume focuses on how aging interacts with family structures and relationship dynamics. Including research from around the globe, the authors address a wide array of topics, including family support networks, elderly care, grandparenthood, marital dynamics and satisfaction, elderly divorce, cohabitation, gender, and intergenerational relationships, and more. Paying homage to the fact that the manners by which aging affects families can vary considerably from one culture to another, this collection makes a crucial contribution by collating research on aging and the family from an international perspective. Providing this wide scope of quality research, the volume equips readers to better assess how aging and its related issues are affecting families from multiple backgrounds.

This insightful and moving book looks at how people of various ages view the process of aging and the social and emotional perspectives it evokes. Will You Still Need Me?: Feeling Wanted, Loved, and Meaningful as We Age is a touching and incisive book organized around interviews with individuals of various ages who have responded to questions about aging. The interviewees offer their unguarded thoughts about aging with a significant other-or alone. They reveal their self perceptions, their feelings about the future, their self-image as it relates to aging, and their expectations and impressions of aging itself. They also share their concerns that with aging comes not only possible loneliness, but also meaninglessness and even uselessness. Psychotherapist Angela Browne-Miller weaves the findings into a philosophical, research-based overview of cross-generational concerns and feelings about aging. Her book opens a window into the hearts and minds of our parents, our peers, and our children as they look at the aging process and at how individuals, society, and families treat aging. Through the sensitive, up-close-and-personal, bird's-eye view of the people interviewed for this book, aging unfolds into a deeply moving experience, one we all share. Includes some 50 interview reports describing people's views regarding the aging they see around them and their own aging processes Presents a group of sensitive illustrations and photographs by the author

As people are living longer on average than ever before, the number of those with dementia will increase. Because many will live a considerable time at home with their diagnosis, we need to know more about the ways people can adapt to and learn to live with dementia in their everyday lives. Lars-Christer Hyden argues in this book that to do so will involve re-imagining what dementia really is and what it can mean to the afflicted and their loved ones. One of the most important everyday opportunities for sharing experiences is the simple act of storytelling. But when someone close to you gradually loses the ability to tell stories and cherish the shared history you have together, this is seen as a threat to the relationship, to the feeling of belonging together, and to the identity of the person diagnosed. Therefore, learning about how people with dementia can participate in storytelling along with their families and friends helps to sustain those relationships and identities. In Entangled Narratives, Hyden not only emphasizes the possibilities that are inherent in collaborative storytelling, but instructs professionals and otherwise healthy relatives to learn how to effectively listen and, ultimately, re-imagine their patients and loved ones as collaborative meaning-makers in their lives.

In this new, revised edition of his landmark book, Montagu compels us to reevaluate the way we think about growth and development, in all its phases, throughout life. Humans are designed to grow and develop their childlike qualities, and not to become the ossified adults prescribed by society. Montagu demonstrates how our culture, schools, and families are in conspiracy against such childlike traits as the need to love, to learn, to wonder, to know, to explore, to think, to experiment, to be imaginative, creative and curious, to sing, dance, or play. He also reveals the many links between physical and mental aging and tells how to prevent psychosclerosis, the hardening of the mind, so that we can die young--as late as possible. The best statement ever written on the most important, neglected theme of human life and evolution. "Stephen Jay Gould, Harvard University"

In this new, revised edition of his landmark book, Montagu compels us to reevaluate the way we think about growth and development, in all its phases, throughout life. Humans are designed to grow and develop their childlike qualities, and not to become the ossified adults prescribed by society. Montagu demonstrates how our culture, schools, and families are in conspiracy against such childlike traits as the need to love, to learn, to wonder, to know, to explore, to think, to experiment, to be imaginative, creative and curious, to sing, dance, or play. He also reveals the many links between physical and mental aging and tells how to prevent psychosclerosis, the hardening of the mind, so that we can die young--as late as possible.

The Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, Seventh Edition, provides a basic reference source on the behavioral processes of aging for researchers, graduate students, and professionals. It also provides perspectives on the behavioral science of aging for researchers and professionals from other disciplines. The book is organized into four parts. Part 1 reviews key methodological and analytical issues in aging research. It examines some of the major historical influences that might provide explanatory mechanisms for a better understanding of cohort and period differences in psychological aging processes. Part 2 includes chapters that discuss the basics and nuances of executive function; the history of the morphometric research on normal brain aging; and the neural changes that occur in the brain with aging. Part 3 deals with the social and health aspects of aging. It covers the beliefs that individuals have about how much they can control various outcomes in their life; the impact of stress on health and aging; and the interrelationships between health disparities, social class, and aging. Part 4 discusses the emotional aspects of aging; family caregiving; and mental disorders and legal capacities in older adults.

This comprehensive reference in family gerontology reviews and critiques the recent theoretical, empirical, and methodological literature; identifies future research directions; and makes recommendations for gerontology professionals. This book is both an updated version of and a complement to the original Handbook of Families and Aging. The many additions include the most recent demographic changes on aging families, new theoretical formulations, innovative research methods, recent legal issues, and death and bereavement, as well as new material on the relationships themselves-sibling, partnered, and intergenerational relationships, for example. Among the brand-new topics in this edition are step-family relationships, aging families and immigration, aging families and 21st-century technology, and peripheral family ties. Unlike the more cursory summaries found in textbooks, the essays within Handbook of Families and Aging, Second Edition provide thoughtful, in-depth coverage of each topic. No other book provides such a comprehensive and timely overview of theory and research on family relationships, the contexts of family life, and major turning points in late-life families. Nevertheless, the contents are written to be engaging and accessible to a broad audience, including advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, researchers, and gerontology practitioners. Serious lay readers will also find this book highly informative about contemporary family issues. Comprises 23 chapters of all-original work covering background information, relationships, contexts of family life, and turning points such as retirement and divorce Contributions from 46 distinguished scholars recognized as leading experts in their fields Citations for cutting-edge research on each topic, plus foundational references in new areas A detailed topic index

Take charge of your health If you are an aging individual in the United States, it's crucial to understand present health-care policies and doctor-patient relations so you can aggressively demand the best care. Once you know the ins and outs, you'll feel secure and enjoy the aging process. The first step is to acknowledge two important facts: 1. As a member of the elderly population in the United States, you are part of a significant numerical force in society. 2. You can-and should-be certain that your voice is heard in every aspect of social and medical planning. Aging Aggressively also offers advice on personal health practices, including valuable resources to help you successfully manage your health. You're not dead yet Take the bull by the horns and demand the best care for yourself so that you can live-and age-well.

The dramatically increasing aging population of Hong Kong has elicited new risks and opportunities to facilitate a positive life for older adults. This book offers a holistic review of gerontological theories and literature, and constructs a conceptual framework of social support networks, coping and positive aging. In light of the implications of the convoy model of social support to depict an indigenous landscape of positive aging in Hong Kong, this is one of the very few empirical studies that adopts both quantitative research and qualitative research. The research consisted of a pilot study of in-depth interviews with 16 older Hong Kong Chinese and a main study surveying 393 older members of District Elderly Community Center. The results of the study indicate that family and peer support constitute the mainstay of support networks of the elderly, and that family and peer support are associated with positive aging. Moreover, the study shows that it is the depth of emotional closeness, namely, close interaction and intimacy with social partners that makes the greatest contribution to positive aging. Additionally, problem coping and emotion coping are found to mediate the relationship between social support networks and positive aging. There is potential in bringing more domestic helpers into elderly care and improving the service quality such that the goal of Aging in Place can be promoted in Hong Kong. Intended for researchers in social work, gerontology and positive psychology, it is also essential reading for graduates and social work professionals interested in this area. This book makes a valuable contribution to social gerontological research among Hong Kong older adults and the promotion of wellbeing in the elderly via the construct of positive aging in the culture of Chinese society.

This book presents new insights into the consequences of the impending growth in and impact of the older segment of Latino aging adults across distinctive regions of the Americas. It uses a comparative research framework to further understanding of current issues in health and aging in the transnational context of the health and migratory experiences of the U.S.- Mexican population. It provides an important contribution to the interdisciplinary investigation of chronic diseases and functional impairments, social care and medical services, care-giving and intervention development, and neighborhood factors supporting optimal aging, using new conceptual and methodological approaches (inter-group comparisons). Specifically, the chapters employ different methodologies that investigate trends in aging health and services related to immigration processes, family and household structure, macroeconomic changes in the quality of community life, and focus on the new realities of aging in Latino families in local communities. The book focuses on measurement, data-quality issues, new conceptual modeling techniques, and longitudinal survey capabilities, and suggests needed areas of new research. As such it is of interest to researchers and policy makers in a wide range of disciplines from social and behavioral sciences to economics, gerontology, geriatrics, and public health.

Aging, Health and Technology takes a problem-centered approach to examine how older adults use technology for health. It examines the many ways in which technology is being used by older adults, focusing on challenges, solutions and perspectives of the older user. Using aging-health technology as a lens, the book examines issues of technology adoption, basic human factors, cognitive aging, mental health, aging and usability, privacy, trust and automation. Each chapter takes a case study approach to summarize lessons learned from unique examples that can be applied to similar projects, while also providing general information about older adults and technology.

Most studies of geriatric patients have focused on nursing homes. In fact, most people are placed in these institutions only after being evaluated by medical and social service staff. This ethnography details the day-to-day experiences of a geriatric and assessment unit by examining the staff, families, and patients themselves. It looks at the activities that take place in the unit as well as the less obvious cultural patterns of the process. Using the Ethnography of Speaking method, it explores the human side of this most difficult of life's decisions.

Like all other advanced Western societies, Germany is coming to terms with the phenomenon of an ageing population. The demographic challenge posed by population ageing is generally seen in terms of potential crisis in the funding of health and social programmes. Some social scientists have even suggested that the early decades of the next century will be marked by conflict between the generations, with young and old competing for increasingly scarce resources. This is the first book written in English to address comprehensively ageing policies in Germany and the contribution of older people to German society.
The book examines the development of social policies affecting older people since the origins of the German welfare state under Bismarck and looks at how policy makers have sought to cope with the growing numbers of elderly people over the years.
The social, economic and political role of older people in contemporary Germany and their contribution to society are also explored, from their development into a more politically active sector of society to their changing relationship with the labour market and their social integration in terms of their relationships with families, neighbourhoods and local communities.

KiddingAround: The Child in Film and Mediais a collection of essays generated by a conference of the same title held atthe University of the District of Columbia in September 2008.The works gathered examine a variety ofchildren's media, including texts produced for children (e.g., comic strips, children's books, cartoons, animated films) as well as texts about children(e.g., feature-length films, literature, playground architecture, parentingguides).The primary goal of KiddingAround is to analyze contested representations of childhood and children invarious twentieth- and twenty-first-century media while accounting for thepolitics of these narratives.Theprimary goal of Kidding Around is to contextualize key representationsof childhood and children disseminated throughout various media today.Each of the essays gathered offers a criticalhistory of the very notion of childhood, at the same time as it analyzesexemplary children's texts from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.These chapters depart from variousmethodological approaches (including psychoanalytic, sociological, ecological, and historical perspectives), offering the reader numerous productiveapproaches for analyzing the moments of cultural conflict and impasse foundwithin the primary works studied.Despite the fact that todaychildren are one of the most coveted demographics in marketing and viewership, academic work on children's media, and children in media, is justbeginning.Kidding Around assemblesexperts from this inchoate field, opening discussion to traditional andnon-traditional children's te

No other reference provides such a comprehensive and timely overview of theory and research on family relationships, the contexts of family life, and major turning points in late-life families. It includes many suggestions for theoretical and practical applications for future research on a score of important topics. This multidisciplinary survey is an invaluable library reference and teaching resource intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, and practitioners -- for gerontologists, family scholars, psychologists, sociologists, historians, social workers, health-care providers, and policy makers.

Two irrefutable facts: (1) Money alone will not guarantee retirement happiness, and (2) Because not all people share identical work experiences, a cookie-cutter approach to retirement planning is not sufficient. Based on these self-evident assumptions, Re-tire With a Dash is different. First, we went to the experts. Not to the self-proclaimed retirement experts, but to 850 retirees (your retirement mentors) who responded to our online survey by sharing their experiences, impressions and advice on retirement. This research is current, unique and exclusive to Re-tire With a Dash. Second, given that the key to retirement happiness is to replace satisfactions lost from work, this book includes insights and self-help exercises, based on more than twenty years experience, to ensure that satisfactions lost from work will be replaced in retirement. In short, this book is the definitive guide to retirement from work. Dr. Alan Roadburg is a leading authority on retirement lifestyle education. After six years as a tenured university professor teaching and conducting research in the Sociology of Retirement and Social Gerontology, he changed careers sixteen years ago and established The Second Career Program, specializing in career enhancement and retirement lifestyle workshops. He has conducted hundreds of lifestyle planning workshops for thousands of pre- and post-retirees. Dr. Roadburg's easy-to-read and practical book elevates retirement lifestyle education to a new standard.

Southeast and East Asian countries are undergoing varying stages of population ageing. The social, economic and political implications of population ageing will be enormous, and because of the fast speed of ageing in the region, the countries cannot afford the luxury of time for the gradual evolution of social and structural support systems and networks for the older population. The essays in this volume critically examine national ageing policies and programmes, the sustainability of existing pension systems, housing and living arrangements, inter-generational transfer, and aspects of quality of life of the elderly population. While the findings show that most Southeast Asian countries have started to formulate and implement national ageing policies, they also indicate that the existing policies are by and large inadequate and underdeveloped in serving the needs of the older population and indeed much more must be done to prepare for the future.

This second edition of the popular Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging provides up-to-date coverage of the most fundamental topics in this discipline. Like the first edition, this volume accessibly and comprehensively reviews the neural mechanisms of cognitive aging appropriate to both professionals and students in a variety of domains, including psychology, neuroscience, neuropsychology, neurology, and psychiatry. The chapters are organized into three sections. The first section focuses on major questions regarding methodological approaches and experimental design. It includes chapters on structural imaging (MRI, DTI), functional imaging (fMRI), and molecular imaging (dopamine PET, etc), and covers multimodal imaging, longitudinal studies, and the interpretation of imaging findings. The second section concentrates on specific cognitive abilities, including attention and inhibitory control, executive functions, memory, and emotion. The third section turns to domains with health and clinical implications, such as the emergence of cognitive deficits in middle age, the role of genetics, the effects of modulatory variables (hypertension, exercise, cognitive engagement), and the distinction between healthy aging and the effects of dementia and depression. Taken together, the chapters in this volume, written by many of the most eminent scientists as well as young stars in this discipline, provide a unified and comprehensive overview of cognitive neuroscience of aging.