Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences

Linda K. George is Professor of Sociology at Duke University where she also serves as Associate Director of the Duke University Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. She is a fellow and past president of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). She is former chair of the Aging and Life Course Section and the Sociology of Mental Health Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA). She is former editor of the Journal of Gerontology, Social Sciences. She is currently associate editor of Social Psychology Quarterly and former associate editor of Demography. Professor George is the author or editor of eight books and author of more than 250 journal articles and book chapters. She co-edited the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh editions of the Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. Her major research interests include social factors and illness, stress and social support, and mental health and well-being across the life course. Among the honors Professor George has received are Phi Beta Kappa, the Duke University Distinguished Teaching Award, the Mentorship Award from the Behavioral and Social Sciences Section of GSA, the Dean’s Mentoring Award from the Graduate School of Duke University, the Kleemeier Award from the GSA, and the Matilda White Riley Award from the ASA. Kenneth F. Ferraro is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and founding Director of the Center on Aging and the Life Course at Purdue University. He is the author of over 120 peer-reviewed articles in prominent journals in sociology, gerontology, and public health. He has written two books, including The Gerontological Imagination: An Integrative Paradigm of Aging (Oxford University Press), and edited four editions of Gerontology: Perspectives and Issues. Ferraro’s recent research focuses on health inequality over the life course, including the early origins of adult health, stress, and health disparities. With interests in how stratification processes unfold over the life course, he developed cumulative inequality theory for the study of human development, aging, and health. A fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), Ferraro formerly edited Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences and chaired the Behavioral and Social Sciences section of GSA. He also is a member of the honorary Sociological Research Association and former chair of the Section on Aging and Life Course of the American Sociological Association (ASA). GSA has honored Professor Ferraro with the Distinguished Mentor Award and twice for both the Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award and the Best Paper Award for Theoretical Developments in Social Gerontology. ASA honors from the Section on Aging and the Life Course include Outstanding Publication Award and Matilda White Riley Distinguished Scholar Award.

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