Health, Illness, and Optimal Aging, Second Edition : Biological and Psychosocial Perspectives

Spanning the biological and psychosocial aspects of aging, this upper-level undergraduate and graduate text integrates current findings in biology, psychology, and the social sciences to provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary coverage of the aging process. From a physical perspective, it examines age-related changes and disease-related processes, the demography of the aging population, theories of aging, and the how to promote optimal aging. Coverage of the psychosocial aspects of aging encompasses mental health, stress and coping, spirituality, and care-giving in later years.

The authors address demographic, theoretical, and methodological issues on aging including a worldwide overview of the demography of aging. The book reviews biological and psychosocial theories and offers much-needed information on longitudinal design and statistics as they relate to aging research. It discusses the aging of major organ systems, basic anatomy and physiology, normal, impaired, and optimal aging, and functional health. Psychosocial factors that affect health are addressed including the interplay between physical and mental health, stress, coping, and social support. The text also covers current issues in social gerontology including optimal aging, and provides information on health promotion programs.

• Addresses retirement, housing, and new trends such as gerontechnology and Green Houses),
• Covers economics and aging including information on social security and other retirement income and the future of Medicare and Medicaid All chapters are extensively revised and updated.

• Integrates biogerontology with social processes
• Provides comprehensive coverage of every part of the aging process from physical aging of different body systems to quality of life and social support
• Includes detailed demographics of aging and covers longitudinal statistics
• Offers valuable tips for promoting optimal aging
• Features examples of real life situations to enhance learning and promote critical thinking

Carolyn M. Aldwin, PhD, is Director of the Gerontology Program and Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. She received her doctorate from the University of California, San Francisco, was a postdoctoral fellow in the Program of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine, and spent five years at the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study in Boston. Dr. Aldwin is a fellow and president-elect of Division 20 (adulthood and aging) and a fellow of Division 38 (health psychology) of the APA; and a fellow of the Gerontological Association of America. She is editor of Research in Human Development; was on the editorial boards of Journals of Gerontology and Psychology of Aging; co-editor of Psychology and Health, and is a consulting reviewer for multiple professional journals including Psychology and Aging, Journal of Stress & Anxiety, Developmental Psychology, and others. Dr. Aldwin is the author of Stress, Coping, and Development: An Integrative Approach, 2nd edition (2007); co-editor of Handbook of Health Psychology and Aging (2007), co-author of Health, Illness, and Optimal Aging, 1st edition (2004), and numerous professional journal articles.

Diane F. Gilmer, PhD, most recently was Lecturer and Postgraduate Researcher in the Department of Human and Community Development at the University of California, Davis, and is now retired. She received a master of science in nursing from the University of Portland, Oregon, and a master of science in education and doctorate in human development from the University of California. She is certified as an adult family nurse practitioner and is has worked extensively with the elderly. In addition to authoring many professional journal articles, she is the coauthor with Dr. Aldwin of Health, Illness, and Optimal Aging, 1st edition (2004).