The Science and Practice of Gerontology: A Multidisciplinary Guide

(Hardback)

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Description

This definitive guide encompasses past, present, and future issues of theory, research, and practice in areas of interest and specialization in aging, and represents current trends of thought on gerontology, the science of and associated practices with the elderly. This volume is a collection of articles dealing with the psychological, social, and cultural domains affecting older people and contains general biomedical understandings and practical/clinical applications. The contributors broadly outline some of the most relevant academic issues, including cross-cultural perspectives on age and aging; past and future trends in life expectancy with underlying explanations; innovations and advances in research design and methodology in the study of the aging process and the effects of age as a variable; and past and current theoretical perspectives on the psychology and sociology of aging. Some pertinent concerns for practitioners and clinicians are addressed, such as successful counseling therapies with older adults and changes in social work and rehabilitation practice with the elderly. The thought-provoking chapters provide a wide-sweeping, multidisciplinary review of a rapidly expanding field of interest and represent a definite desire among the contributors to evolve a theoretical apparatus and a related, applied arena of endeavor. This important work on a significant and timely issue of concern will broaden our understanding and awareness of the rising number of positive efforts within gerontological studies now being derived from diverse disciplinary roots. The reader will find articles on subjects of particular interest, such as the Biology of Aging, the Psychology of Adult Development and Aging, Rehabilitation of the Elderly, and Social Work and Aging. An extraordinarily detailed reference, this work will be a valuable resource for gerontologists, social workers, psychologists, and doctors specializing in geriatrics.

Reviews

"Faculty and researchers in the field of aging provide an overview of the science (biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology) and the practice (medicine, social work, counseling) of gerontology. The collection is designed as an introduction to students approaching the study of gerontology.' Chapters address the past, present, and future of each discipline's contribution to gerontology, with major emphasis on research. . . . [T]he chapter on sociology provides an excellent discussion of social theories of aging, while the chapter on psychology focuses on the limitations of research, requiring a better-than-average knowledge of research methods. A more appropriate title would be Controversies in the Science and Practice of Gerontology, ' for herein lies the value of this work. Most contributors analyze the debates within their discipline and the relationships between disciplines regarding approaches to the study and practice of gerontology. Especially valuable is a discussion on certification or licensure of gerontological programs and practitioners. This feature, along with thorough bibliographies, makes this a worthwhile contribution to upper-division and graduate gerontology collections."-Choice
Faculty and researchers in the field of aging provide an overview of the science (biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology) and the practice (medicine, social work, counseling) of gerontology. The collection is designed as an introduction to students approaching the study of gerontology.' Chapters address the past, present, and future of each discipline's contribution to gerontology, with major emphasis on research. . . . [T]he chapter on sociology provides an excellent discussion of social theories of aging, while the chapter on psychology focuses on the limitations of research, requiring a better-than-average knowledge of research methods. A more appropriate title would be Controversies in the Science and Practice of Gerontology, ' for herein lies the value of this work. Most contributors analyze the debates within their discipline and the relationships between disciplines regarding approaches to the study and practice of gerontology. Especially valuable is a discussion on certification or licensure of gerontological programs and practitioners. This feature, along with thorough bibliographies, makes this a worthwhile contribution to upper-division and graduate gerontology collections.-Choice
The intended audience would appear to be academic gerontologists. . . The individual chapters give a thumbnail sketch of areas such as biology, social gerontology, anthropology, cognitive and personality psychology, medicine, and social work.-Clinical Gerontologist
"The intended audience would appear to be academic gerontologists. . . The individual chapters give a thumbnail sketch of areas such as biology, social gerontology, anthropology, cognitive and personality psychology, medicine, and social work."-Clinical Gerontologist

Author Bio

NANCY J. OSGOOD is Associate Professor of Gerontology and Sociology at the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth Univeristy. Osgood has authored several books including Life After Work (1982), Senior Settlers (1982), and Suicide in the Elderly (1985). ANN H.L. SONTZ is President of the Brunswick Institute on Aging. Sontz is the author of Philanthropy and Gerontology: The Role of American Foundations (Greenwood Press, 1989) and is currently at work on an historical study of academic philanthropy.