Handbook of Aging and the Family

(Hardback)

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Description

No other reference provides such a comprehensive and timely overview of theory and research on family relationshps, the contexts of family life, and major turning points in late-life families. It includes many suggestions for theoretical and practical applications for future research on a score of important topics. This multidisciplinary survey is an invaluable library reference and teaching resource intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, and practitioners - for gerontologists, family scholars, psychologists, sociologists, historians, social workers, health-care providers and policy makers.

Reviews

Edited by seasoned researchers, this welcome contribution to family gerontology . . . flows smoothly from each chapter to the next, and has substantial internal integrity. Contributors include some of the leading researchers and theorists in the field. End of chapter references, selected bibliography, and subject index. Highly recommended. * Choice *
The strength of the handbook is in recognizing the varied and multi-leveled aspects of aging. The text covers comprehensively a wide variety of topics on old age with up-to-date information. . . . [T]his handbook is suitable for teaching purposes as well as a source book for interested professionals. * Clincal Gerontologist *
[I]t is a welcome and much-needed addition to the handful of extant volumes in the area of family gerontology that are less broad in scope and exhaustive in depth. This volume has many strengths including its focus on both conventional and innovative topics in the subfield of family gerontology. . . . The chapters are well written and the literature reviewed in each is rarely redundant as the authors cite other chapters in the Handbook when appropriate. . . . [T]his Handbook will be an important reference for researchers. In addition, the book will serve as a text in graduate courss in family and gerontology. * Journal of Applied Gerontology *
Blieszner and Bedford have compiled a conprehensive book of readings, including articles by many of the major researchers and scholars in the field. . . . The book will be useful for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses and as a resource for schoalrs and practitioners. * Michigan Family Review *

Author Bio

Rosemary Blieszner is professor of gerontology and family studies in the Department of Family and Child Development and associate director of the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She received her PhD from Pennsylvania State University in Human Development-Family Studies with a concentration in Adult Development and Aging. Her research focuses on family and friend relationships and psychological well-being in adulthood and old age. She is co-author, with Rebecca G. Adams of Older Adult Friendship: Structure and Process (1989) and Adult Friendship (1992). Victoria Hilkevitch Bedford is assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychology at the University of Indianapolis. She received her PhD in developmental psychology from Rutgers University, and was a National Institute on Aging Postdoctoral Fellow with the Midwest Council for Social Research on Aging. Her research interests and publications are in family relationships of middle-aged and old adults (especially sibling relationships), family relations in a social network context, and attachment across the lifespan.