Contents

Contributors

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Theories of Aging: Developments Within and Across Disciplinary Boundaries

Vern L. Bengtson and Richard A. Settersten, Jr.

2. Concepts and Theories of Age and Aging

Richard A. Settersten, Jr., and Bethany Godlewski

PART I. STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS: PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES ON THEORY DEVELOPMENT IN AGING

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants in Gerontology

Richard A. Settersten, Jr.

3. Unlike Aging, Longevity Is Sexually Determined

Leonard Hayflick

4. The Psychology of Aging

K. Warner Schaie

5. How Theories of Aging Became Social: Emergence of the Sociology of Aging

Vern L. Bengtson

6. Social Movements and Social Knowledges: Gerontological Theory in Research, Policy, and Practice

Carroll L. Estes with Nicholas R. DiCarlo

PART II. BIOLOGICAL THEORIES AND CONCEPTS

Advances in Biological Theories of Aging

Brian K. Kennedy

7. Evolutionary Theory and Aging

Devin Arbuthnott, Daniel E. L. Promislow, and Jacob A. Moorad

8. Inflammation and Aging

Ming Xu and James L. Kirkland

b>9. Theories of Stem Cell Aging

Pedro Sousa-Victor, Joana Neves, and Heinrich Jasper

10. Proteostasis and Aging

Matt Kaeberlein

PART III. PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES AND CONCEPTS

Advances in Psychological Theories of Aging

Jacqui Smith

11. Theories of Emotional Well-Being and Aging

Susan T. Charles and Joanna Hong

12. Emotion–Cognition Links in Aging: Theories and Evidence

Nhi Ngo, Molly Sands, and Derek M. Isaacowitz

13. Theories of Social Support in Health and Aging

Bert N. Uchino, Anthony D. Ong, Tara L. Queen, and Robert G. Kent de Grey

14. Age Stereotypes’ Influence on Health: Stereotype Embodiment Theory

Brad A. Meisner and Becca R. Levy

15. Terminal Decline of Function

Gizem Hülür, Nilam Ram, and Denis Gerstorf

PART IV. SOCIAL SCIENCE THEORIES AND CONCEPTS

Advances in Social Science Theories of Aging

Richard A. Settersten, Jr.

16. Theories of Work and Retirement: Culture, Trust, and the Social Contract

Melissa Hardy and Adriana M. Reyes

17. Families and Aging: Toward an Interdisciplinary Family-Level Approach

Rosemary Blieszner and Marieke Voorpostel

18. Theories of Social Connectedness and Aging

Jaclyn S. Wong and Linda J. Waite

19. Long, Broad, and Deep: Theoretical Approaches in Aging and Inequality

Angela M. O’Rand

20. The Interpretive Perspective on Aging

Victor W. Marshall, Anne Martin-Matthews, and Julie Ann McMullin

PART V. POLICY, INTERVENTION, AND PRACTICE THEORIES AND CONCEPTS

Advances in Theory-Based Policy and Interventions

Nancy Morrow-Howell

21. Aging in Place

Andrew E. Scharlach and Keith Diaz Moore

22. Theories That Guide Consumer-Directed/Person-Centered Initiatives in Policy and Practice

Nancy R. Hooyman, Kevin J. Mahoney, and Mark Sciegaj

b>23. Theories Guiding Support Services for Family Caregivers

Rhonda J. V. Montgomery, Jung Kwak, and Karl D. Kosloski

24. Theoretical Foundations for Designing and Implementing Health Promotion Programs

Susan L. Hughes, Elske Stolte, and Renae L. Smith-Ray

25. Theories of the Politics and Policies of Aging

Robert B. Hudson

26. Theories of Help-Seeking Behavior: Understanding Community Service Use by Older Adults

Robbyn R. Wacker and Karen A. Roberto

PART VI. TRANSDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVES ON THEORY DEVELOPMENT IN AGING

Advances in Transdisciplinary Theories of Aging

Vern L. Bengtson

27. Successful Aging

John W. Rowe and Theodore D. Cosco

28. Coping, Optimal Aging, and Resilience in a Sociocultural Context

Carolyn M. Aldwin and Heidi Igarashi

29. Religion, Spirituality, and Aging

Peter G. Coleman, Elisabeth Schröder-Butterfill, and John H. Spreadbury

30. Theories of Wisdom and Aging

Monika Ardelt and Hunhui Oh

31. Theories of Environmental Gerontology: Old and New Avenues for Person–Environmental Views of Aging

Hans-Werner Wahl and Frank Oswald

32. Theoretical Perspectives on Biodemography of Aging and Longevity

Leonid A. Gavrilov and Natalia S. Gavrilova

33. The Multiplicity of Aging: Lessons for Theory and Conceptual Development From Longitudinal Studies

Dario Spini, Daniela S. Jopp, Stéphanie Pin, and Silvia Stringhini

PART VII. CONCLUSION

34. The Past as Prognosis: A Prismatic History of Theories of Aging

W. Andrew Achenbaum

35. Prospects for Future Theory Development in Aging

Richard A. Settersten, Jr., and Vern L. Bengtson

Index