Handbook of Families and Aging / Edition 2

by Rosemary Blieszner, Victoria Hilkevitch Bedford

Overview

This comprehensive, state-of-the-art textbook and reference volume in family gerontology reviews and critiques the recent theoretical, empirical, and methodological literature; identifies future research directions; and makes recommendations for gerontology professionals.

This book is both an updated version of and a complement to the original Handbook of Families and Aging. The many additions include the most recent demographic changes on aging families, new theoretical formulations, innovative research methods, recent legal issues, and death and bereavement, as well as new material on the relationships themselves—sibling, partnered, and intergenerational relationships, for example. Among the brand-new topics in this edition are step-family relationships, aging families and immigration, aging families and 21st-century technology, and peripheral family ties.

Unlike the more cursory summaries found in textbooks, the essays within Handbook of Families and Aging, Second Edition provide thoughtful, in-depth coverage of each topic. No other book provides such a comprehensive and timely overview of theory and research on family relationships, the contexts of family life, and major turbaning points in late-life families. Nevertheless, the contents are written to be engaging and accessible to a broad audience, including advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, researchers, and gerontology practitioners. Serious lay readers will also find this book highly informative about contemporary family issues.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440828638
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/20/2012
Pages:	616
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Rosemary Blieszner, PhD, is alumni distinguished professor of human development and associate director of the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.

Victoria Hilkevitch Bedford, PhD, is professor emerita at the University of Indianapolis, School of Psychological Sciences, Indianapolis, IN.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Part I Background

1 The Family Context of Aging Rosemary Blieszner Victoria Hilkevitch Bedford 3

2 Demographic Trends and Later Life Families in the 21st Century Emily M. Agree Mary Elizabeth Hughes 9

3 Theoretical Directions for Studying Family Ties and Aging Ingrid Arnet Connidis 35

4 Innovative Research Methods for Family Gerontology Aloen L. Townsend 61

Part II Family Relationships

5 Marriage and Other Partnered Relationships in Middle and Late Adulthood Jamila Bookwala 91

6 Sibling Relationships from Midlife to Old Age Victoria Hilkevitch Bedford Paula Smith Avioli 125

7 Aging Parents and Adult Children: Determinants of Relationship Quality Jori Sechrist J. Jill Suitor Karl Pillemer Megan Gilligan Abigail R. Howard Shirley A. Keeton 153

8 Grandparenthood: Grandchild and Great-Grandchild Relationships Bert Hayslip Jr. Kyle S. Page 183

9 Relationships in Older Stepfamilies Lawrence Ganong Marilyn Coleman 213

10 The Importance of Discretionary and Fictive Kin Relationships for Older Adults Marieke Voorpostel 243

Part III Contexts of Family Life

11 Intersectionality and Aging Families Toni Calasanti K. Jill Kiecolt 263

12 Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Aging Families: Implications for Resource Allocation and Weil-Being across Generations Merril Silverstein Jessica Lendon Roseann Giarrusso 287

13 Older Rural Adults and Their Families Norah Keating Stephanie Fletcher 309

14 Aging Families and Immigration Paula M. Usita Holly B. Shakya 337

15 U.S. Old Age Policy and Families Madonna Harrington Meyer Chantell Frazier 363

16 Legal Issues in Aging Families Marshall B. Kapp 387

17 Elder Abuse in Aging Families Pamela B. Teaster Tenzin Wangmo Frances B. Vorsky 409

18 Family Gerontechnology: An Emergent Agenda for Research, Policy, and Practice Jennifer M. Kinney Cary S. Kart 431

Part IV Turning Points in Family Life

19 Families and Retirement Maximiliane E. Szinovacz David J. Ekerdt Abigail Butt Kelli Barton Corina R. Oala 461

20 Divorce and Widowhood in Later Life Deborah Can Tetyana Pudrovska 489

21 Family Caregiving in Later Life: Shifting Paradigms Rachel Pruchno Laura N. Gitlin 515

22 Turning Points in Later Life: Grief and Bereavement Brian de Vries 543

Part V Future Research

23 New Directions for Family Gerontology: Where Do We Go from Here? Victoria Hilkevitch Bedford Rosemary Blieszner 567

About the Editors and Contributors 581

Index 593

Editorial Reviews

This collection of well-researched essays . . . summarizes a massive amount of data and analysis. . . . An effective reference source. Summing Up: Recommended.” —Choice

From the Publisher