Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

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Providing an integrated and thorough representation from current research and contemporary society, Family Ties and Aging shows how pressing issues of our time—an aging population, changing family structures, and new patterns of work-family balance—are negotiated in the family lives of middle-aged and older adults. Focusing on key questions such as "How do current trends and social arrangements affect family relationships?" and "What are the implications of what we know for future research, theory, practice, and policy?", authors Ingrid Arnet Connidis and Amanda E. Barnett explore groups and relationships that are typically overlooked, including the unique family situations of older single and childless persons, sibling ties, older lesbian and gay adults, and new forms of intimate relationships. The Third Edition is thoroughly updated to include the latest research and theoretical developments, recent media coverage of related issues, and new information on intimate relationships in later life and elder neglect/abuse.

Processes of Aging: Social and Psychological Perspectives is based on a monumental series of studies on the psychological and social aspects of aging in relation to mental health. This effort gives scientists from North America and Europe an opportunity to explore the concepts, methodological problems, and conclusions of their researches in the rapidly growing field of gerontology. Much work has been done in an attempt to present this material in sequential and systematic fashion. Original work of sixty-six research workers from twelve countries is represented in this two-volume set. They offer an inventory of principal fields of gerontological research, in advanced countries. Human aging, in its many ramifications, is becoming one of the major areas of research interest among an increasing number of students in the biological, behavioral, and social sciences. Although the phenomena of aging were largely overlooked as subject matter for research during the early stages in the development of all basic sciences, it was inevitable that students would eventually become curious about the final processes of maturation. Events of recent years have hastened the need for social action on behalf of older people and, consequently, the need for scientific knowledge about their characteristics, circumstances, and requirements. Processes of Aging: Social and Psychological Perspectives will be of interest to research workers, teachers, and advanced students concerned with the psychological, psychiatric, psychosocial, and socioeconomic aspects of aging. Many of the theoretical and analytical discussions and the specific studies offer guidance for top-level planners and policy administrators in public agencies and voluntary organizations. This volume is highly sensitive to older people as such: how they feel about themselves and the world, and in the way they behave in relation to others. It is must reading in the health and welfare of aging.