Note: All chapters include: - Learning Objectives and Key Facts - Highlight Boxes - Summary - For Reflection, Debate, or Action - Key Terms - Multimedia Resources - Notes Preface Acknowledgments Developments in Social Gerontology since 1940 That Have Had a Major Impact on Canadian Research, Policy, and Practice Part One: Interweaving Individual and Population Aging 1. Aging as a Social Process Introduction: Challenges and Opportunities within an Aging World Population Aging: Adding Years to Life Individual Aging: Adding Life to Years Interacting Aging Processes The Social World of Aging Stereotypes and Their Influence on Individuals and Society The Field of Gerontology Matures Three Life Course Conceptual Dimensions to Understand the Study of Aging Critical Issues and Challenges for an Aging Society 2. Historical and Cultural Aspects of Aging Introduction: Diversity in Aging across Time, Place, and Culture Aging in Canada's Multicultural Society The Multiple Dimensions and Meanings of Culture Historical and Comparative Approaches to Understanding Aging Processes An Intersectionality Lens to Cultural Experiences and Identity The Modernization Hypothesis and the Changing Status of Older People The Modernization Hypothesis and the Changing Status of Older People Diversity of Aging during Modernization Aging in Subcultures 3. Integrating Physical, Psychological, and Social Change across the Life Course Introduction Aging, Physical Structure, and the Physiological Systems Aging and the Motor and Sensory Systems Aging and Cognitive Processes Personality Processes and Aging Cognitive Vitality among the Very Old 4. Population Aging: Understanding the Importance of Demography Introduction The Study of Demography Global Demographic and Epidemiological Transitions Demographic Variations among Generations and Age Cohorts Demography Is Not Destiny: The Misuse of Demographic Statistics An Expanding Older Population The Significance of Demographic Indices Geographic Distribution of the Aging Population Part Two: The Social, Environmental, and Health Contexts of Aging 5. Theories and Research in Explaining and Understanding Aging Phenomena Introduction The Goals of Scholarly Research Developing Knowledge: Multiplicity in Perspectives and Theories Research Methods Applied to Aging and the Aged: The Search for Answers Methodological Issues in Aging Research 6. Intersections of Social Structures, Social Inequality, and the Life Course Introduction Social Structures and Aging Age Structures and the Life Course Age Structures and Social Change 7. Health Status and Health-Care Transitions in an Aging Context Introduction: What Is Health? Models of Health and Health Care Is the Older Population Healthier over Time? Is the Mid-Life Population Healthier over Time? Increasing Longevity and Centenarians Dimensions of Health and Illness Mental Health Canada's Health-Care System and Population Aging 8. The Lived Environment: Community, Housing, and Place Introduction The Multiple Meanings of Community An Ecological Model of Aging: Person-Environment Interaction Coping with the Environment: Challenges and Adaptations Living Arrangements in Later Life Housing Alternatives in Later Life Changing Places: Local Moves and Migration in Later Life Part Three: Aging, Social Institutions, and Public Policy 9. Family Ties, Relationships, and Transitions Introduction The Concept of Family Changing Family and Kinship Structures Factors Influencing Family Relationships Family Ties and Relationships Life Transitions in a Family Context 10. Later Life Work, Retirement, and Economic Security Introduction Older Workers in the Pre-retirement Years The Process of Retirement Economic Security in Later Life 11. Social Participation, Social Connectedness, and Leisure among Older Persons Introduction Social Networks over the Lifecourse Loneliness and Social Isolation in Later Life: Myth or Fact? Social Participation in Later Life Asocial Behaviour: Older Criminals Leisure and Aging: Conceptual and Methodological Issues 12. The Completion of the Life Course: Social Support, Public Policy, and Dying Well Introduction Social Support and Caregiving in an Aging Society Informal Social Support Formal Social Support Social Intervention Strategies and Issues End of the Life Course: Dying Well, with Support and Dignity Public Policy for an Aging Population Appendix: Study Resources Glossary References Index Notes
Andrew V. Wister is the Director of the Gerontology Research Centre at Simon Fraser University. He is also currently Chair of the National Seniors Council of Canada. Andrew has written several important articles on gerontology in Canada, and worked in conjunction with Barry McPherson on the last edition of Aging as a Social Process.