Growing Old in America

Beth B. Hess is professor of sociology at County College of Morris, a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and past chair of the GSA’s Section on Behavioral and Social Sciences. She has served as president of Sociologists for the Eastern Sociological Society. Her publications include four editions of an introductory sociology textbook, books on the women’s movement and gender analysis, as well as articles in social gerontology and feminist sociology. Dr. Hess is currently secretary of the American Sociological Association., Elizabeth W. Markson is research associate professor of sociology and associate director, Gerontology Center, at Boston University, and associate professor at the Boston University Medical School. She has worked in both applied and academic settings over the past two decades and has contributed to several scholarly journals. Her books include Older Women, Public Policies for an Aging Population (with Gretchen Batra), the third edition of Growing Old in America (with Beth B. Hess), and four editions of Sociology (with Beth B. Hess and Peter J. Stein).

List of Tables, List of Figures, Acknowledgments, PART I OVERVIEW, Introduction, 1. Growing Old in America in the 1990s Beth B. Hess, 2. The Specter of Old Age: History, Politics, and Culture in an Aging America Thomas Cole, 3. Which Child? The Consequences of Social Development on the Support Systems of Widows Helena Znaniecka Lopata, PART II AGING AND THE LIFE COURSE, Introduction, 4. Midlife: Crisis or Nodal Point? Some Cross-Cultural Views Elizabeth W. Markson and Maryvonne Gognalons-Nicolet, 5. A Decade of Reminders: Changing Age Consciousness between Fifty and Sixty Years Old David A. Karp, 6. A New Class in America: A Revisionist View of Retirement Robert Morris and Scott A. Bass, 7. The Asphalt Identikit: Old Age and the Driver’s License Susan A. Eisenhandler, PART III AGING MINDS, Introduction, 8. Reexamining Some Common Beliefs About Mental Health and Aging Marjorie Chary Feinson, 9. Through a Glass, Darkly: Gender Stereotypes for Men and Women Varying in Age and Race Barbara F. Turner and Castellano B. Turner, 10. The Social Preservation of Mind: The Alzheimer’s Disease Experience Jaber F. Gubrium, PART IV AGING BODIES, Introduction, 11. Physiological Changes, Illness, and Health Care Use in Later Life Elizabeth W. Markson, 12. Selective Survival, Aging, and Society Kyriakos S. Markides and Richard Machalek, 13. The Intersecting of Aging and Disabilities Edward F. Ansello, 14. Aging and Disability: Toward a Unifying Agenda Irving Kenneth Zola, 15. Impoverishing the Elderly: A Case Study of the Financial Risk of Spend-Down among Massachusetts Elderly People Laurence G. Branchy Daniel J. Friedmanf Marc A. Cohenf Nancy Smith, and Elinor Socholitzky, PART V WORK AND RETIREMENT, Introduction, 16. Report of the Secretary of Labor: Labor Market Problems of Older Workers U.S. Department of Labor, 17. Economic Security of Older Women: Issues and Trends for the Future Leslie A. Morgan, 18. Women and Retirement Maximiliane Szinovacz, 19. The Transition to Retirem