Although this monograph "Dependency o r interdependency in old age" is not the first publication o f the European Social Sciences Research C- mittee (ESSRC) o f the International Association o f Gerontology, I a m happy, as former chairman o f the Committee (1964-1975), to introduce this book to the readers, together with the present chairman. So far the activities o f the Committee have consisted o f co-operating in organizing the scientific programme o f the tri-annual congresses o f the International Association o f Gerontology (lAG), and in organizing sm- ler o r bigger symposia and colloquia for social gerontologists. Sometimes these meetings were mainly organized for European researchers only, sometimes several concurrent colloquia took place in which Americans and o t h e r non-Europeans participated. T h e Committee, the oldest o f the lAG, was established at a scientific meeting in 1954 at Sheffield (U. K. ) A f t e r that year colloquia were held in 1956 near Copenhagen 1 (Denmark), in 1957 at M e r a n o2 (Italy), in 1959 at Assisi (Italy), in 1960 a t Berkeley (Cal.