The field of gerontology has often been criticized for being ‘data-rich but theory-poor.’ The editors of this book address this issue by stressing the importance of theory in gerontology. While the previous edition focused on multidisciplinary approaches to aging theory, this new edition provides cross-disciplinary, integrative explanations of aging theory: The contributors of this text have reached beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries to partner with researchers in adjacent fields in studying aging and age-related phenomena.
This edition of the Handbook consists of 39 chapters written by 67 internationally recognized experts in the field of aging. It is organized in seven sections, reflecting the major theoretical developments in gerontology over the past 10 years.
Special Features:
- Comprehensive coverage of aging theory, focusing on the biological, psychological, and social aspects of aging
- A section dedicated to discussing how aging theory informs public policy
- A concluding chapter summarizing the major themes of aging, and offering predictions about the future of theory development
Required reading for graduate students and post doctoral fellows, this textbook represents the current status of theoretical development in the study of aging.
Daftar Isi
‘Part 1. Setting the Context of Theories of Aging
Chapter 1:Theorizing about Age and Aging
Chapter 2: A Metahistorical Perspective on Theories of Aging
Chapter 3: An Evolutionary Theory of Human Lifespan: Embodied Capital and the Human Adaptive Complex
Part II. Theorizing Aging across Disciplines
Chapter 4:Biodemography and Aging across Disciplines
Chapter 5:Problematic Foundations: Theorizing Time, Age and Aging
Chapter 6:Deriving a Sense of Meaning in Late Life: An Overlooked Forum for the Development of Interdisciplinary Theory
Chapter 7:Understanding Healthy Aging: Key Components and their Integration
Part III: Biological Theories of Aging
Chapter 8:Making Sense of Biological Theories of Aging
Chapter 9:The Immunological Theory of Aging Revisited
Chapter 10:Modalities of Gene Action Predicted by the Classical Evolutionary Theory of Aging
Chapter 11:A Model System Approach to the Neurobiology of Learning, Memory, and Aging
Chapter 12:Programmed Longevity and Programmed Aging Theories
Chapter 13:Free Radicals & Oxidative Stress in Aging
Part IV: Psychological Theories of Aging
Chapter 14:Convoys of Social Relations: An Interdisciplinary Approach
Chapter 15:Building Theories of Social Context, Cognition, and Aging
Chapter 16:Dynamic Integration Theory: Emotion, Cognition, and Equilibrium in Later Life
Chapter 17:Theories of Cognitive Plasticity: Naturally Occurring and Experimentally Induced
Chapter 18:Cognitive Control Theory of Aging and Emotional Well-Being
Part V. Social Science Perspectives on Theories of Aging
Chapter 19:Toward an Integrative Theory of Social Gerontology
Chapter 20:Towards a Phenomenology of Aging
Chapter 21: Theorizing the Life Course: New Twists in the Paths
Chapter 22:Cumulative Inequality Theory for Research on Aging and the Life Course
Chapter 23:Theorizing Lifestyle: Exploring Agency and Structure in the Life Course
Chapter 24:Theorizing the New Terrain of Old Age: Hallmarks, Freedoms, and Risks
Chapter 25:Theorizing Feminist Gerontology, Sexuality and Beyond: An Intersectional Approach
Chapter 26:Theorizing Across Cultures
Chapter 27:Out of the Arm Chair and off the Veranda: Anthropology, Experiences and Theories of Age
Chapter 28:Theorizing about Families and Aging from a Feminist Perspective
Part VI. Society, Public Policy and Theories of Aging
Chapter 29:From Industrialism to Institutionalism: Theoretical Accounts of Aging Policy Development in the United States
Chapter 30:The Political Economy Perspective of Aging
Chapter 31:Theory Informing Public Policy: The Life Course Perspective as a Policy Tool
Chapter 32:Aging and Social Policy: Theorizing the Social
Chapter 33:Reconstructing Theories of Aging: The Impact of Globalization on Critical Gerontology
Chapter 34:Aging Policy in the Welfare State: Theories and Realities
Part VII. Translating Theories of Aging
Chapter 35:Jurisprudential Gerontology: Theorizing the Relationship between Law and Aging
Chapter 36:Spirituality, Finitude and Theories of the Lifespan
Chapter 37:A Good Old Age: Theories of Mental Health and Aging
Chapter 38:Translational Theory: Applying Life Span Theories to Psychotherapy
Chapter 39:The Construction of Knowledge: A New Gerontological Paradigm
Part VIII. The Future of Theories of Aging
Chapter 40:The Future of Theories of Aging
Index
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Tentang Penulis
Daphna Gans, Ph D is a postdoctoral fellow in the study of aging at the Department of Labor and Population at RAND. She is a part-time lecturer at the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California.