This newest edition of a core graduate level textbook has added six new chapters to further enrich the "gerontological imagination," and encourage an interdisciplinary approach to the study of aging. Academically rigorous yet clear and accessible, the text provides the most current findings from leading gerontological researchers and practitioners. New and updated chapters examine biology, exercise science/nutrition, communication science, geriatric medicine and nursing, demography, anthropology, economics, human development, psychology, political science, sociology, social work, and law, to provide broadly drawn perspectives on the study of aging.
Special emphasis is placed on current challenges regarding policy and service delivery in the face of fiscal uncertainty. Additionally, this new edition covers international outlooks on aging given the increasing influence of globalization on individual lives. By interweaving knowledge from a broad range of disciplines, Wilmoth and Ferraro have created a comprehensive picture of gerontology today that will enhance course instruction and provide a new window into the future of the discipline. New chapters address:
Geriatric medicine and nursing Communication disorders and aging International and cross-cultural perspectives on aging Public policy and the needs of diverse aging populations Geriatric social work Legal perspectives on aging
Key Features:
Interweaves current gerontological research and ideas from multiple disciplines Addresses biology, psychology, human development, sociology, and economics as they relate to gerontology Presents additional disciplinary perspectives including exercise science/nutrition, communication science, geriatric medicine and nursing, demography, anthropology, political science, social work, and law. Includes Ferraro's classic chapter on "The Gerontological Imagination"

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1. The gerontological imagination

PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF AGING

Chapter 2. The Biology of Successful Aging: Watchful Progress at Biogerontology's Known-Unknown Interface

Chapter 3. Cognitive aging

Chapter 4. Communication disorders and aging

Chapter 5. Exercise, nutrition, and aging

Chapter 6. Geriatric Medicine and Nursing

SOCIAL ASPECTS OF AGING

Chapter 7. Social and emotional development in adulthood

Chapter 8. Age structures, aging, and the life course

Chapter 9. Retirement and financial security

Chapter 10. Demographic Perspectives on Aging

Chapter 11. Cross-cultural and global perspectives on aging and the life course

PUBLIC POLICY: Meeting the physical and social needs of older adults

Chapter 12. Politics and policy in the lives of older Americans

Chapter 13. The role of public policy in addressing the needs of diverse aging populations

Chapter 14. Gerontological social work

Chapter 15. Legal Gerontology