Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences

Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, Eighth Edition, presents the extraordinary growth of research on aging individuals, populations, and the dynamic culmination of the life course, providing a comprehensive synthesis and review of the latest research findings in the social sciences of aging.

As the complexities of population dynamics, cohort succession, and policy changes modify the world and its inhabitants in ways that must be vigilantly monitored so that aging research remains relevant and accurate, this completely revised edition not only includes the foundational, classic themes of aging research, but also a rich array of emerging topics and perspectives that advance the field in exciting ways.

New topics include families, immigration, social factors, and cognition, caregiving, neighborhoods, and built environments, natural disasters, religion and health, and sexual behavior, amongst others.

Covers the key areas in sociological gerontology research in one volume, with an 80% update of the materialHeaded up by returning editor Linda K. George, and new editor Kenneth Ferraro, highly respected voices and researchers within the sociology of aging disciplineAssists basic researchers in keeping abreast of research and clinical findingsIncludes theory and methods, aging and social structure, social factors and social institutions, and aging and societyServes as a useful resource—an inspiration to those searching for ways to contribute to the aging enterprise, and a tribute to the rich bodies of scholarship that comprise aging research in the social sciences

Foreword Preface

Section I: Theory and Methods

Chapter 1 – Aging and the Social Sciences: Progress and Prospects Linda K. George and Kenneth F. Ferraro

Chapter 2 – Trajectory Models for Aging Research Scott M. Lynch and Miles G. Taylor

Section II: Social Structures and Processes

Chapter 3 – Biodemography: Adding Biological Insight into Social, Economic, and Psychological Models of Population and Individual Health Change with Age Eileen M. Crimmins and Sarinnapha M. Vasunilashorn

Chapter 4 – Late-Life Disability Trends and Trajectories Douglas Wolf

Chapter 5 – Early Life Origins of Adult Health and Aging Diana Kuh and Yoav Ven-Shlomo

Chapter 6 – Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Health Jacqueline L. Angel, Stipica Mudrazija, and Rebecca Benson

Chapter 7 – Immigration, Aging, and the Life Course Judith Treas and Zoya Gubernskaya

Chapter 8 – Gender, Time Use, and Aging Liana C. Sayer, Vicki A. Freedman, and Suzanne M. Bianchi

Chapter 9 – Social Networks in Later Life Benjamin Cornwell and Markus H. Schafer

Section III: Social Factors and Social Institutions

Chapter 10 – Stability, Change, and Complexity in Later-Life Families J. Jill Suitor, Megan Gilligan, and Karl Pillemer

Chapter 11 – The Influence of Military Service on Aging Janet M. Wilmoth and Andrew S. London

Chapter 12 – Religion, Health, and Aging Neal Krause and R. David Hayward

Chapter 13 – Evolving Patterns of Work and Retirement Kevin E. Cahill, Michael D. Giandrea, and Joseph F. Quinn

Chapter 14 – Productive Engagement in Later Life Nancy Morrow-Howell and Emily A. Greenfield

Chapter 15 – Aging, Neighborhoods, and the Built Environment Carol S. Aneshensel, Frederick Harig, and Richard G. Wight

Chapter 16 – Abusive Relationships in Late Life Karen A. Roberto

Chapter 17 – The Impact of Disasters: Implications for the Well-Being of Older Adults Lisa M. Brown and Kathryn A. Frahm

Chapter 18 – End-of-Life Planning and Health Care Deborah Carr and Elizabeth Luth

Section IV – Aging and Society

Chapter 19 – Organization and Financing of Health Care Marilyn Moon

Chapter 20 – Innovations in Long-Term Care Joseph E. Gaugler

Chapter 21 – Politics and Policies of Aging in the United States Robert B. Hudson

Chapter 22 – The Future of Retirement Security in Comparative Perspective John B. Williamson and Daniel Béland

Chapter 23 – Health Inequalities Among Older Adults in Developed Countries: Reconciling Theories and Policy Approaches Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, Andrea Willson, and Sandra Reiter-Campeau