Health, Illness, and Optimal Aging

Carolyn M. Aldwin, PhD, is the Jo Anne Leonard Endowed Director, Center for Healthy Aging Research; Director of the Gerontology Program; and Professor in Human Development and Family Sciences, School of Social & Behavioral Health Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. She is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, as well as both Divisions 20 (Adult Development and Aging) and 38 (Health Psychology) of the American Psychological Association. She received the Developmental Health Psychology Award from these divisions, and is a former president of Division 20. Dr. Aldwin has authored or edited six books, including Stress, Coping, and Development, Second Edition, Handbook of Health Psychology and Aging, and Health, Illness, and Optimal Aging, Second Edition (Springer Publishing). She has authored or co-authored 124 other publications on stress, stress-related growth, coping, health, and optimal aging, as well as the long-term effects of military service on health outcomes in later life, and was Editor for Research in Human Development. She currently has funding from the National Institute on Aging. Heidi Igarashi, PhD, recently received her doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies from Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. Her work focuses on the intersection of resilience, optimal aging, and wisdom; specifically, how individuals navigate and negotiate their social environments during everyday life, as well as critical life events. This research interest emerges from 26 years as a mental health counselor. Dr. Igarashi has authored and co-authored professional journal articles and book chapters on stress, coping, resilience, optimal aging, and intergenerational relationships in adulthood. She also serves on the Board of Directors of an adult day service in an effort to support community-based approaches that facilitate resilient aging in both caregivers and care recipients. Diane Fox Gilmer, PhD, was most recently a lecturer and post-graduate researcher in the Department of Human and Community Development, University of California, Davis, and is now retired. She is certified as an Adult Family Nurse Practitioner and has worked extensively with older adults. In addition to authoring many professional journal articles, Dr. Gilmer is a co-author with Dr. Aldwin on Health, Illness, and Optimal Aging First Edition (2004) and Second Edition (2013). Michael R. Levenson, PhD is Research Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences, School of Social & Behavioral Health Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. He studies exceptional adult development, both positive (e.g., wisdom and spirituality) and negative (e.g., psychopathy). He has also studied age, cohort, and period effects in the use of alcohol, as well as the effects of personality on health. He has over sixty publications.

Foreword xi
Preface to the Third Edition
Preface to the Second Edition xiii
Acknowledgments xvii<
1. Introduction and Basic Concepts in Aging
SECTION I. DEMOGRAPHIC, THEORETICAL, AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES
2. Demography of Aging
3. Theories of Aging
4. Understanding Change in Aging Research
SECTION II. AGING OF BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
5. Aging of the Skin and Musculoskeletal System
6. Aging of the Internal Organ Systems
7. Aging of the Sensory and Nervous Systems
8. Aging of the Endocrine and Immune Systems
9. Functional Health, Health Promotion, and Quality of Life
SECTION III. PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS AFFECTING PHYSICAL HEALTH
10. The Interface Between Physical and Mental Health
11. Stress, Coping, and Health
12. Social Support, Health, and Aging
SECTION IV. PRACTICAL AND CLINICAL ASPECTS OF AGING
13. Aging in the Sociostructural Context
14. What Is Optimal Aging?
Index