This volume evaluates a range of assessment measures with regard to older adults. The expert contributors address topics such as assessment of health, functional disability (ADLs), mental agility, aging and personality, depression, and pain. While the instruments themselves are readily available from other sources, this book discusses the suitability, strengths, and weaknesses of various measures and offers current information on the rapidly changing, state-of-the-art assessment technology.

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Sixteen chapters by scholars of social work relate the well-being of older adults to social work practice and the current model of service delivery. Chapters concentrate on issues affecting the health of older adults (depression, dementia, abuse), services to specific populations (African American women, grandparents raising grandchildren, the developmentally disabled), and professional issues (home care, case management, standardized assessment). The implications for training, research, and policy are highlighted. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

The field of emotions research has recently seen an unexpected period of growth and expansion, both in traditional psychological literature and in gerontology. The Handbook of Emotion, Adult Development, and Aging provides a broad overview and summary of where this field stands today, specifically with reference to life course issues and aging. Written by a distinguished group of contributing authors, the text is grounded in a life span developmental framework, while advancing a multidimensional view of emotion and its development and incorporating quantitative and qualitative research findings.The book is divided into five parts. Part One discusses five major theoretical perspectives including biological, discrete emotions, ethological, humanistic, and psychosocial. Part Two on affect and cognition discusses the role of emotion in memory, problem solving, and internal perceptions of self and gender. Part Three on emotion and relationships expands on the role of emotion in sibling and parent/child relationships, as well as relationships between friends and romantic partners, and the emotional reaction to interpersonal loss across the life span. Part Four on stress, health, and psychological well-being treats issues of stress and coping, religion, personality, and quality of life. The final part on continuity and change in emotion patterns and personality discusses emotion and emotionality throughout the life span.An ideal reference source for professionals across a wide range of disciplines, the text summarizes recent important developments in this fast growing area of psychology and proposes many new directions for future research. - Provides a biopsychological view on emotion in adulthood from a life span context - Presents the new perspective on emotion in older adults actively engaged in emotion self-regulation - Describes the intimate connection between emotion and the structure of personality - Demonstrates a new perspective on what emotion is, its importance across the life span, its connections with cognition, its role in interpersonal relation, and the way it influences both stability and change in adulthood - Illustrates the interpersonal nature of emotion - Provides theoretically based, leading edge research from international authors - Five areas of coverage include: - Theoretical perspectives - Affect and cognition - Emotion and relationships - Stress, health, and psychological well-being - Continuity and change in emotion patterns and personality Coverage includes: - Five major theoretical perspectives, including biological, discrete emotions, ethological, humanistic, and psychosocial - The role of emotion in memory, problem-solving, and internal perceptions of self and gender - The role of emotion in sibling and parent/child relationships, relationships between friends and romantic partners, and the emotional reaction to interpersonal loss across the lifespan - Issues of stress and coping, religion, personality, and quality of life - Emotion and emotionality throughout the lifespan

Presenting the latest research in the biology of aging, this volume addresses important theoretical issues focusing on the basis for why humans live as long as they do. Expert authors combine three general paradigms of aging research: demographic studies, evolutionary studies, and studies of biological mechanisms. Topics explored include: Why does aging occur? Cellular aging Models in aging research Modern approaches to the mechanisms of aging The genetics of behavioral aging

In this collection of fifteen papers, leading researchers analyze the middle years of the lifespan, paying close attention to the many different facets of adult development. They study the various changes involving the self and others that middle-aged adults experience in the realms of work, family, and health. This book explains how the different experiences interrelate and how a better understanding of them can foster successful midlife development.

A must-have professional reference for researchers and educators in psychology, sociology, anthropology, public health, genetics, medicine, and the biological sciences, this issue of the Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics discusses how complex biological, behavioral, and social systems interact to create and impact health. This knowledge is essential to maintaining positive health outcomes over the life span and across a variety of populations and settings. With contributions by leading world scientists, this trusted annual volume reviews the current literature and presents examples of how biological factors underlie behavioral factors to impact health in later life. It also offers methods for examining these complex systems of biology and behavior, and explores how social scientists use this information in their research. Key Topics: Genetic and environmental contributions to Alzheimer's disease and age-associated memory changes Vascular depression, including cardiovascular implications for mental health The impact of spirituality on health Family comorbidity and the family context as a source of health Stress and coping Exercise and oxidative damage