George / Ferraro Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences

8. Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-0-12-417285-2
Verlag: Elsevier Science & Techn.
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 552 Seiten

Reihe: Handbooks of Aging

Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, Eighth Edition, presents the extraordinary growth of research on aging individuals, populations, and the dynamic culmination of the life course, providing a comprehensive synthesis and review of the latest research findings in the social sciences of aging. As the complexities of population dynamics, cohort succession, and policy changes modify the world and its inhabitants in ways that must be vigilantly monitored so that aging research remains relevant and accurate, this completely revised edition not only includes the foundational, classic themes of aging research, but also a rich array of emerging topics and perspectives that advance the field in exciting ways. New topics include families, immigration, social factors, and cognition, caregiving, neighborhoods, and built environments, natural disasters, religion and health, and sexual behavior, amongst others. - Covers the key areas in sociological gerontology research in one volume, with an 80% update of the material - Headed up by returning editor Linda K. George, and new editor Kenneth Ferraro, highly respected voices and researchers within the sociology of aging discipline - Assists basic researchers in keeping abreast of research and clinical findings - Includes theory and methods, aging and social structure, social factors and social institutions, and aging and society - Serves as a useful resource-an inspiration to those searching for ways to contribute to the aging enterprise, and a tribute to the rich bodies of scholarship that comprise aging research in the social sciences

Autoren/Hrsg.

George, Linda

Ferraro, Kenneth

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Front Cover;1
2;Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences;4
3;Copyright Page;5
4;Dedications;6
5;Contents;8
6;Foreword;12
7;Preface;14
8;About the Editors;16
9;List of Contributors;18
10;I. Theory and Methods;20
10.1;1 Aging and the Social Sciences: Progress and Prospects;22
10.1.1;Theoretical and Conceptual Developments;23
10.1.1.1;Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage Theory;24
10.1.1.2;Cumulative Inequality Theory;25
10.1.2;Methods and Data;25
10.1.2.1;Data Developments;25
10.1.2.2;Statistical Sophistication;27
10.1.3;Emerging Themes in Aging Research;28
10.1.3.1;Increased Attention to Cohort Analysis;28
10.1.3.2;The Effects of Social and Economic Disruptions on Aging;29
10.1.3.2.1;The Great Recession;30
10.1.3.2.2;Hurricane Katrina and Other Disasters;30
10.1.3.3;Gradual, Incremental Cultural Change;31
10.1.3.3.1;Income Inequality and Health;31
10.1.4;What Aging Research Contributes to the Social Sciences: The Big Picture;35
10.1.5;References;39
10.2;2 Trajectory Models for Aging Research;42
10.2.1;Growth Modeling in a Nutshell;44
10.2.1.1;Example 2.1;45
10.2.2;Latent Class Modeling in a Nutshell;50
10.2.2.1;Example 2.2;50
10.2.2.2;Example 2.3;53
10.2.2.3;Example 2.4;55
10.2.3;Latent Class Growth Analysis;57
10.2.3.1;Example 2.5;57
10.2.4;Growth Mixture Modeling;58
10.2.4.1;Example 2.6;59
10.2.5;Important Issues in the Implementation of Trajectory Methods;62
10.2.5.1;Data Structure and Method;62
10.2.5.2;Measurement of Time;63
10.2.5.3;Importance of Assumptions;65
10.2.5.4;Extraction of Classes and Inclusion of Covariates;66
10.2.6;Conclusion;68
10.2.7;References;69
11;II. Social Structures and Processes;72
11.1;3 Biodemography: Adding Biological Insight into Social, Economic, and Psychological Models of Population and Individual Hea ...;74
11.1.1;Introduction;75
11.1.2;Expansion of the Demographic Approach: The Process of Health Change;75
11.1.3;The Expanded Biodemographic Model of Health;76
11.1.4;Measuring Biomarkers in Population Studies;78
11.1.5;Use of Biomarkers in Assessing Population Health and Health Care Use and Its Effectiveness;79
11.1.6;Summary Indices of Biological Risk;82
11.1.7;Genetic Markers as a New Frontier;87
11.1.8;Summary;88
11.1.9;Appendix: Information on Biomarkers often Used in Social Science Research;88
11.1.10;References;91
11.2;4 Late-Life Disability Trends and Trajectories;96
11.2.1;Introduction;96
11.2.2;The Conceptualization of Disability;98
11.2.3;Measuring Disability;100
11.2.4;Evidence on Trends in Disability Prevalence;103
11.2.4.1;Overall Trends;103
11.2.4.2;Between-Group Differences, Compositional Change, and “True” Change;105
11.2.4.3;Potential Explanations for “True” Change;107
11.2.5;Individual-Level Disability Trajectories;108
11.2.5.1;Time to Death as an Additional “Time” Variable;112
11.2.5.2;Accounting for Sample Losses due to Death;113
11.2.6;Conclusion;113
11.2.7;References;114
11.3;5 Early Life Origins of Adult Health and Aging;120
11.3.1;Introduction;120
11.3.2;Historical Overview;122
11.3.3;Early Origins of Adult Disease: From FOAD Through DOHaD to a Life Course Perspective;123
11.3.3.1;The Intrauterine Environment;123
11.3.3.2;The Postnatal Environment;124
11.3.3.2.1;Physical Growth and Development;125
11.3.3.2.2;Early Adverse Environments and the Stress Response;125
11.3.3.3;A Genetic and Evolutionary Perspective;126
11.3.4;Early Life Origins of Functional Aging in a Life Course Perspective;128
11.3.4.1;An Integrated Life Course Model of Aging;128
11.3.4.2;Structural Reserve and Compensatory Mechanisms;131
11.3.4.3;Endocrine System;131
11.3.4.3.1;Life Course Physical and Psychological Influences on the HPA Axis;132
11.3.4.4;Vascular Function;133
11.3.4.4.1;Lifetime Influences on Vascular Function;133
11.3.4.5;Physical and Cognitive Capability;134
11.3.4.5.1;Lifetime Influences on Physical and Cognitive Capability;134
11.3.5;Conclusions and Future Directions;135
11.3.6;References;137
11.4;6 Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Health;142
11.4.1;Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Health;142
11.4.2;Theoretical Perspectives;144
11.4.2.1;Life-Course Perspectives on Health;146
11.4.2.2;Theories of Life-Course Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities;148
11.4.3;Research Across Minority Groups;149
11.4.4;Summary and Conclusion;152
11.4.5;References;156
11.5;7 Immigration, Aging, and the Life Course;162
11.5.1;Introduction;162
11.5.2;Immigration as a Life-Course Experience;163
11.5.3;The Principle of Life-Span Development;165
11.5.4;The Principle of Agency;166
11.5.5;The Principle of Time and Place;166
11.5.6;The Principle of Timing;167
11.5.7;The Principle of Linked Lives;168
11.5.8;Immigrants and Families;169
11.5.9;Socioeconomic Outcomes of Older Immigrants;171
11.5.10;The Health of Older Immigrants;173
11.5.11;Conclusion;174
11.5.12;References;176
11.6;8 Gender, Time Use, and Aging;182
11.6.1;Introduction;182
11.6.2;Measuring Time Allocation in Later Life;184
11.6.3;“A Day in the Life” of Older Adults;186
11.6.3.1;Age and Gendered Time Use;187
11.6.3.2;Employment and Family Role Influences on Time Use;188
11.6.3.3;Work and Family Roles, Gender, and Leisure Activities;190
11.6.4;The Social versus Solitary Dimension of Time;192
11.6.5;Caregiving, Time Use, and Well-Being;193
11.6.5.1;Measuring Caregiving Time;193
11.6.6;Future Directions;195
11.6.7;Acknowledgments;197
11.6.8;References;197
11.7;9 Social Networks in Later Life;200
11.7.1;Introduction;200
11.7.2;Network Concepts and Definitions;201
11.7.2.1;Basic Social Network Data Concepts;201
11.7.2.2;Elements of Network Structure and Composition;203
11.7.2.3;Composite Network Measures;204
11.7.3;Why and How Social Networks Matter;204
11.7.3.1;Access to Social Resources;204
11.7.3.2;Health and Well-Being;205
11.7.4;Aging and Social Network Change;208
11.7.4.1;Theories of Network Change in Later Life;208
11.7.4.2;Consequences of Network Change for Older Adults;209
11.7.5;Social Networks and Stratification;210
11.7.5.1;Race/Ethnicity;210
11.7.5.2;Socioeconomic Status;211
11.7.5.3;Gender;212
11.7.6;Emerging Topics in Network-Gerontology;212
11.7.6.1;Electronic Networks;212
11.7.6.2;Whole Networks;213
11.7.6.3;Network Diffusion Processes;214
11.7.6.4;Negative Network Ties;215
11.7.7;Conclusions;215
11.7.8;References;216
12;III. Social Factors and Social Institutions;222
12.1;10 Stability, Change, and Complexity in Later-Life Families;224
12.1.1;Introduction;225
12.1.2;Theoretical Roots and Conceptual Advances;226
12.1.2.1;Intergenerational Solidarity;226
12.1.2.2;The Life-Course Perspective in Later-Life Family Relationships;227
12.1.2.3;Within-Family Complexity;228
12.1.3;Substantive Advances;228
12.1.3.1;Supportive Exchanges Between Generations;228
12.1.4;Relationship Quality Between Older Parents and Adult Children;231
12.1.4.1;Social Structural Characteristics;231
12.1.4.2;Ascribed Characteristics;231
12.1.4.3;Achieved Structural Characteristics;232
12.1.4.4;Value Similarity;234
12.1.4.5;Exchange Processes;234
12.1.5;Sibling Relations;234
12.1.5.1;New Directions in the Study of Relationship Quality Between Siblings;235
12.1.5.2;Patterns of Support Between Siblings;235
12.1.6;Grandparent–Grandchild Relations;236
12.1.6.1;New Directions in the Study of Relationship Quality Between Grandparents and Grandchildren;237
12.1.6.2;Patterns of Support Between Grandparents and Grandchildren;237
12.1.7;Marriage in the Later Years;238
12.1.8;Conclusion;239
12.1.9;References;240
12.2;11 The Influence of Military Service on Aging;246
12.2.1;Introduction;246
12.2.2;Cohort Flow, Periods of War, and the Composition of the US Older Adult Population;247
12.2.3;Military Service as a “Hidden Variable” in Aging Research;249
12.2.4;Mechanisms Through Which Military Service Influences Aging;251
12.2.5;An Overview of Military Service and Aging Among Specific War Cohorts;253
12.2.5.1;WWI;253
12.2.5.2;WWII;255
12.2.5.3;Korean War and Post-Korean War;256
12.2.5.4;Vietnam War;257
12.2.5.5;All-Volunteer Force;259
12.2.6;Studying Military Service and Aging;261
12.2.7;References;265
12.3;12 Religion, Health, and Aging;270
12.3.1;Introduction;270
12.3.2;Religious Involvement over the Life Course;271
12.3.3;Religion, Health, and Well-Being;273
12.3.3.1;Religion and Physical Health;273
12.3.3.2;Religion and Psychological Well-Being;274
12.3.4;From Correlation to Explanation: Identifying the Health-Related Dimensions of Religion;275
12.3.4.1;Religious Services Attendance;275
12.3.4.2;Religious Coping Responses;276
12.3.4.3;God-Mediated Control Beliefs;277
12.3.4.4;Religion and a Sense of Meaning in Life;278
12.3.4.5;Religious Involvement and Forgiveness;279
12.3.4.6;Prayer;280
12.3.4.7;Social Relationships in the Church;281
12.3.5;Spiritual Struggles: Assessing the Dark Side of Religion;283
12.3.6;Race/Ethnicity, Religion, and Health;284
12.3.7;Conclusions;285
12.3.8;Acknowledgment;286
12.3.9;References;286
12.4;13 Evolving Patterns of Work and Retirement;290
12.4.1;Introduction;290
12.4.2;The Beginning and End of Earlier and Earlier Retirement;292
12.4.3;A Closer Look at the Retirement Process in the Modern Era;294
12.4.4;Changes to the Traditional Pillars of Retirement Income and How They Relate to Labor Force Participation;296
12.4.5;The Increasing Importance of Macroeconomic Influences;301
12.4.6;The Potential Benefits of Continued Work Later in Life;303
12.4.7;Disclaimer and Acknowledgments;306
12.4.8;References;306
12.5;14 Productive Engagement in Later Life;312
12.5.1;Introduction;312
12.5.2;Conceptual Issues;313
12.5.2.1;Defining the Term;313
12.5.2.2;Controversies in Defining the Term;314
12.5.3;Relevance of Productive Engagement in Later Life;315
12.5.3.1;Demographic Context;315
12.5.3.2;Prevalence of Productive Engagement in Later Life;316
12.5.4;Scholarship on the Antecedents and Outcomes of Productive Engagement;318
12.5.4.1;Conceptual Frameworks;318
12.5.4.2;Overview of the Current Evidence on Antecedents of Productive Engagement;320
12.5.4.2.1;Theoretical Perspectives;320
12.5.4.2.2;Empirical Findings;321
12.5.4.3;Overview of the Literature on Outcomes of Productive Engagement;323
12.5.4.3.1;Theoretical Perspectives;323
12.5.4.3.2;Empirical Findings;324
12.5.5;Challenges and Future Directions;325
12.5.6;References;328
12.6;15 Aging, Neighborhoods, and the Built Environment;334
12.6.1;Introduction;334
12.6.2;Theoretical Models of Neighborhood;335
12.6.2.1;The Concept of Neighborhood;335
12.6.2.2;Contextual and Compositional Neighborhood Effects;336
12.6.2.3;The Interaction of Person and Environment;337
12.6.2.4;Neighborhood Stress Process Model;338
12.6.3;Neighborhood Structure and the Health of Older Persons;340
12.6.3.1;Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage;340
12.6.3.2;Racial and Ethnic Segregation;342
12.6.3.3;Stressors and Resources;343
12.6.4;The Built Environment and the Health of Older Persons;345
12.6.4.1;Physical Activity and Health;345
12.6.4.2;The Disability Process;346
12.6.4.3;Aging in Place;348
12.6.4.4;Recovery of Mobility;349
12.6.5;Discussion and Directions for Future Research;349
12.6.5.1;Age and Time;349
12.6.5.2;Toward Evidence-Based Interventions;350
12.6.6;References;351
12.7;16 Abusive Relationships in Late Life;356
12.7.1;Introduction;356
12.7.1.1;Prevalence of Elder Abuse;357
12.7.1.2;Global Perspectives;358
12.7.2;A Socioecological Framework for Understanding Elder Abuse;359
12.7.2.1;Ecological Theory;359
12.7.2.2;A Life Course Perspective;360
12.7.2.3;Models of Social Organization;360
12.7.2.4;Feminist Theories;361
12.7.3;Vulnerabilities and Risk for Elder Abuse;361
12.7.3.1;Age, Gender, Race, and Ethnicity;362
12.7.3.2;Cultural Beliefs and Perceptions;363
12.7.3.3;Health and Cognitive Abilities;363
12.7.3.4;Social Interactions and Isolation;364
12.7.4;Perpetrators of Elder Abuse;364
12.7.4.1;Spouses/Partners;364
12.7.4.2;Adult Children;365
12.7.4.3;Other Relatives;366
12.7.4.4;Trusted Others;366
12.7.5;Responses to Elder Abuse;367
12.7.5.1;Community Perceptions;367
12.7.5.2;Interventions;368
12.7.5.3;Policy Initiatives;369
12.7.6;Future Research;369
12.7.7;References;370
12.8;17 The Impact of Disasters: Implications for the Well-Being of Older Adults;376
12.8.1;Introduction;376
12.8.2;Types and Definitions of Disasters;377
12.8.3;Influence of Residential Environment on Disaster-Related Activities and Outcomes;378
12.8.4;Group Evacuation versus Individual/Independent Evacuation;379
12.8.5;Temporary Evacuation, Transfer, or Permanent Relocation;380
12.8.6;Age and Vulnerability;381
12.8.7;Stress and Coping;382
12.8.8;Age and Resilience;382
12.8.9;Disaster-Related Physical and Mental Health Issues;384
12.8.10;Social Factors and Disaster Response Outcomes;385
12.8.11;Role of Formal and Informal Social Support and Social Networks;386
12.8.11.1;Formal Support;386
12.8.11.1.1;American Red Cross and Medical Reserve Corp, Community Faith-Based Organizations, Social Agencies;386
12.8.11.2;Informal Support and Social Networks;387
12.8.11.2.1;Senior Centers, Family, Friends, Neighbors;387
12.8.12;Future Directions;388
12.8.13;Conclusion;389
12.8.14;References;389
12.9;18 End-of-Life Planning and Health Care;394
12.9.1;Introduction;394
12.9.2;Death and Dying in the United States;395
12.9.2.1;Demographic and Epidemiologic Contexts;395
12.9.2.2;Cultural Context of Death and Dying;397
12.9.2.2.1;Medicalization of Death and Dying;397
12.9.2.2.2;The Movement toward Patient Autonomy;398
12.9.3;Advance Care Planning;399
12.9.3.1;Components and Limitations;399
12.9.3.2;ACP Benefits and Consequences;401
12.9.3.3;Trends and Differentials;402
12.9.4;Public Policy Innovations;404
12.9.4.1;Physician’s Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST);404
12.9.4.2;Affordable Care Act;405
12.9.4.3;Physician-Assisted Suicide;406
12.9.5;Conclusion and Future Directions;407
12.9.6;References;409
13;IV. Aging and Society;414
13.1;19 Organization and Financing of Health Care;416
13.1.1;Introduction;416
13.1.1.1;A Brief History of Medicare and Medicaid;418
13.1.1.2;Moving into an Era of Health Reform;422
13.1.1.3;Supplementing Medicare with Medicaid and other Insurance;424
13.1.1.3.1;Medicaid;426
13.1.1.3.2;Employer-Sponsored Plans;426
13.1.1.3.3;Medigap Insurance;427
13.1.1.3.4;Medicare Advantage;428
13.1.1.3.5;No Coverage;429
13.1.1.4;The Affordability and Sustainability Questions about the Future of Medicare and Medicaid;429
13.1.1.5;Major Options for Reform;430
13.1.1.5.1;A Private Plan Approach;431
13.1.1.5.2;More Incremental Approaches;433
13.1.1.6;The Issues of Financing Medicare and Medicaid;434
13.1.2;References;435
13.2;20 Innovations in Long-Term Care;438
13.2.1;Introduction;438
13.2.2;Defining Long-Term Care;440
13.2.3;A Brief Historical Overview of Long-Term Care in the United States;441
13.2.4;Selected Innovations in Long-Term Care;443
13.2.4.1;Integrating Acute Care with Long-Term Care Services;443
13.2.4.2;Rebalancing Long-Term Care Efforts;447
13.2.4.3;Consumer-Directed Care Options;448
13.2.4.4;Culture Change;449
13.2.4.5;Pay-for-Performance;450
13.2.4.6;Informal Care;451
13.2.4.7;Transitional Care/Care Coordination;452
13.2.4.8;Health Information Technology;453
13.2.5;Looking Toward the Future of Long-Term Care;454
13.2.6;References;455
13.3;21 Politics and Policies of Aging in the United States;460
13.3.1;Introduction;460
13.3.2;The Altered Political Perceptions of Older Americans;461
13.3.2.1;Positive Standing and Policy Benefits;461
13.3.2.2;Policy Benefits and Political Standing;463
13.3.3;The Transformation of Seniors’ Political Environment;465
13.3.3.1;The Shifting Economic Context;466
13.3.3.2;New Political Realities;467
13.3.3.3;The Newly Conflicted World of Old-Age Policy;467
13.3.4;Accounting for Old-Age Policy Enactments;470
13.3.5;Emerging Issues;474
13.3.6;References;476
13.4;22 The Future of Retirement Security in Comparative Perspective;480
13.4.1;Introduction;481
13.4.2;Social Security in the United States;481
13.4.2.1;Efforts to Partially Privatize Social Security in the United States;482
13.4.2.2;Social Security “Parametric” Reform Proposals;483
13.4.3;Employer-Sponsored Pensions in the United States;484
13.4.3.1;The Rapid Move from DB Pensions to DC Pensions;484
13.4.3.2;The Emergence and Future of 401(k) Pensions;484
13.4.3.3;Pros and Cons of 401(k) Plans;485
13.4.3.4;The Problem of Major Market Corrections;485
13.4.3.5;The Implicit Assumption of Financial Literacy;485
13.4.4;International Developments and Lessons;486
13.4.4.1;The Trend toward Partial Privatization;486
13.4.4.2;Chile: A Very Influential Move from the PAYG-DB to the FDC Model;487
13.4.4.3;Argentina: An Unsuccessful Latin American Experiment in Partial Privatization;488
13.4.4.4;China: An Innovative New Rural Pension Model;489
13.4.4.5;The United Kingdom: An Industrial Country Having Noteworthy Problems with its FDC Pillar;492
13.4.4.6;Canada: A PAYG-DB-Based Scheme with Lessons for the United States;494
13.4.5;Conclusion;495
13.4.6;Acknowledgments;497
13.4.7;References;497
13.5;23 Health Inequalities Among Older Adults in Developed Countries: Reconciling Theories and Policy Approaches;502
13.5.1;Introduction;502
13.5.2;Theories of Health Inequality in Older Age;503
13.5.2.1;Fundamental Cause Theory;504
13.5.2.2;Life Course Theories of Health Inequality;505
13.5.2.2.1;Cumulative Dis/advantage (CAD);505
13.5.2.2.2;Cumulative Inequality Theory;507
13.5.3;Welfare States and the Interplay of Social Solidarity and Equity;508
13.5.3.1;Pensions;509
13.5.3.2;Long-Term Care;511
13.5.3.3;WHO Health in All Policies;512
13.5.4;WHO Age-friendly Environments Programme;513
13.5.5;Promising Avenues for Sociological Research;515
13.5.6;References;517
14;Author Index;522
15;Subject Index;540

Leseproben

Chapter 1

Aging and the Social Sciences

Progress and Prospects

Linda K. George1 and Kenneth F. Ferraro2,    1Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA,    2Center on Aging and the Life Course, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

The purpose of this is to highlight recent advances in social science research on aging and identify high priority topics for future research. It is organized into four sections. The first section reviews theoretical and conceptual developments in the field; the second provides an update of advances in data, methods, and statistical techniques that have become central in aging research. The third and longest section reviews three thematic topics that have emerged as cutting-edge issues in social research on aging and the life course. In the concluding section, we briefly comment upon the broader issue of how aging research contributes to major issues and assumptions in the social sciences.

Keywords

Theory; Methods; Longitudinal data; Cohort analysis; Individual and social change; Social disruptions

Outline

Theoretical and Conceptual Developments 4

Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage Theory 5

Cumulative Inequality Theory 6

Methods and Data 6

Data Developments 6

Statistical Sophistication 8

Emerging Themes in Aging Research 9

Increased Attention to Cohort Analysis 9

The Effects of Social and Economic Disruptions on Aging 10

Gradual, Incremental Cultural Change 12

What Aging Research Contributes to the Social Sciences: The Big Picture 16

References 20

“The only constant is change.” This quote, heard frequently today, is attributed to Heraclitis of Ephesus, a Greek philosopher who lived from approximately 535 BC to 475 BC. One wonders what it was about life at about 500 years before the birth of Christ that led Heraclitis to that conclusion. Was the pace of social change so rapid that it led to this inference? Was it the rhythms of nature that triggered this observation? Or, perhaps, was it the flow of everyday life that convinced Heraclitis that he was not the same person today that he was yesterday or would be tomorrow? At any rate, it is clear that humans have long been aware that change is ubiquitous.

Scholars of aging arguably devote more of their intellectual activity to studying and understanding change than those in any other field. Aging itself is change – some of it easily observable; some of it occurring at the cellular and molecular levels and requiring years or even decades to be measurable and the fodder for scientific inquiry. Aging individuals are embedded in macro-, meso-, and micro-environments in which change also is omnipresent. And a fundamental assumption of the social sciences is that those constantly changing environments affect the ways in which people age. Thinking seriously about the complexity of change leads to the conclusion that considerable audacity and fortitude are required to study aging and lay claim to understanding or explaining its dynamics. And yet that is precisely what aging researchers do.

Audacity and fortitude also are required in any attempt to summarize the state-of-the-science with regard to social science aging research. Yet, the goal of this chapter is to provide a partial summary of the state-of-the-field. More specifically, the purpose of this chapter is to review, in broad brush, recent theoretical, methodological, and selected substantive developments in aging research in the social sciences. We used the approximate dates of 1996–2015 as the focus of this review. This is an arbitrary window of time, but we believe that it is a reasonable temporal scope for summarizing current significant issues in aging research.

The chapter is organized into four sections. The first section reviews theoretical and conceptual developments in the field; the second provides an update of advances in data, methods, and statistical techniques that have become central in aging research. The third and longest section reviews three thematic topics that have emerged as cutting-edge issues in social research on aging and the life course. In the concluding section, we briefly comment upon the broader issue of how aging research contributes to major issues and assumptions in the social sciences.

Considerable subjectivity was employed in developing this chapter, especially in identifying emerging substantive issues. It is possible to produce a veritable “laundry list” of recent and emerging themes in aging research. We selected only three, with the unifying theme being “big picture” influences on aging. Undoubtedly, other scholars would have selected other developments in the field. Other scholars may disagree with our labeling these research topics as “recent” or “new.” This is inevitable. Nonetheless, we hope that this chapter captures much of the theoretical, methodological, and substantive “action” of the past two decades in social science research on aging.

Theoretical and Conceptual Developments

Arguably, the biggest “story” in aging research for the past several decades has been developments in, advances in, and the greatly increased volume of research that incorporates the life course perspective. The life course perspective is not a theory per se; rather, it is a set of five principles that contextualize individual lives in a number of ways (Elder, Johnson, & Crosnoe, 2003). The principle of states that human development and aging are lifelong processes – that patterns observable over time link distal and proximal events and experiences across the life course. The principle of focuses on the ways that individuals construct their own lives by the choices they make within the opportunities and constraints of their environments. The principle of states that human lives develop in historical and geographic contexts that strongly affect the opportunities and constraints available. The principle of states that the effects of events and other experiences vary, depending on the individuals’ ages or life stages. Finally, the principle of focuses on the social networks and relationships that also structure the opportunities and constraints available to individuals. Although temporality, especially biographical and historical time, is widely viewed as the hallmark of the life course perspective, context is its major foundation.

Questions arise at times about the relationships between life course research and gerontological research, especially whether gerontological theory and research will be or have been eclipsed by the life course perspective. In order to document its strengths, life course scholars sometimes critique gerontological research that does not incorporate one or more principles of the life course perspective. Nonetheless, multiple research questions appropriately focus on late life and need not incorporate explicit life course principles (e.g., studies of variability within the older population, studies that examine the effects of interventions or policies on older adults). Virtually all studies of older adults, however, should recognize that research participants are members of cohorts measured at specific historical times – and therefore it cannot be assumed that the findings will generalize to other cohorts and historical contexts.

Because the life course perspective is not a theory, its principles need to be incorporated and tested in conjunction with established theories. This cross-fertilization of life course principles with mainstream social science theories has expanded rapidly. Several examples provide illustrations of this cross-fertilization but do not comprise a comprehensive inventory of relevant topics. Life course principles of life span development, agency, timing, and linked lives have been incorporated in stress process theory. This research has provided important knowledge about the persistent effects of early severe trauma on the mental health and well-being of older adults (e.g., Danese & McEwen, 2012; Shaw & Krause, 2002). Another profitable area of research focuses on the ways in which educational achievements and occupational choices in young adulthood affect financial security in later life (Cahill, Giandrea, & Quinn, 2006). And perhaps no topic has been more thoroughly investigated than the effects of childhood conditions (traumatic events, persistent poverty, and poor health) on morbidity and mortality in middle and late life (for a review, see Chapter 5, this volume).

Cumulative Advantage/Disadvantage Theory

If there has been a theory based on the life course perspective, specifically the principle of life span development, it is cumulative advantage/disadvantage theory (CA/DT). The major hypothesis of CA/DT was developed by Robert Merton (1968), who called it the Matthew Effect, based on a verse in the Gospel of Matthew (13:12). The Matthew Effect refers to a pattern in which those who begin with advantage accumulate more advantage over time and those who begin with disadvantage become more disadvantaged over time (Dannefer, 1987;...