Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences
- 10th Edition - September 1, 2026
- Latest edition
- Editors: Kenneth Ferraro, Deborah Carr
- Language: English
Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, Tenth Edition continues its legacy of providing a comprehensive synthesis of the latest research findings in aging. This newly revise… Read more
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Description
Description
Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, Tenth Edition continues its legacy of providing a comprehensive synthesis of the latest research findings in aging. This newly revised edition maintains the foundational, classic themes while introducing a wealth of emerging topics and perspectives that advance the field in innovative ways. Readers explore the complexities of population dynamics, cohort succession, and policy changes that shape our world, alongside new insights into the multifaceted nature of aging. This edition includes cutting-edge discussions on addiction and substance use in later life, the impacts of COVID-19 on older adults, and the implications of structural racism and health.
In addition to these new themes, this new edition expands on critical areas such as caregiving, rural aging, and the biodemography of aging. Topics like climate change and aging, contemporary challenges in long-term care, and the life course implications of incarceration are explored in depth. With new chapters on sexual and gender minorities in later life and the social influences on cognitive health, this edition offers fresh perspectives and valuable insights.
In addition to these new themes, this new edition expands on critical areas such as caregiving, rural aging, and the biodemography of aging. Topics like climate change and aging, contemporary challenges in long-term care, and the life course implications of incarceration are explored in depth. With new chapters on sexual and gender minorities in later life and the social influences on cognitive health, this edition offers fresh perspectives and valuable insights.
Key features
Key features
- Includes new chapters on addiction and substance use in later life, impacts of COVID-19 on older adults, and structural racism and health, reflecting the latest research and societal challenges
- Offers insights from fields such as biodemography, ethnography, and computational approaches to understand aging populations
- Addresses critical issues affecting diverse groups, including rural aging, sexual and gender minorities in later life, and sociocultural variability in the older Latino population
- Explores the implications of Medicare and health policy, long-term care challenges, and the life course impacts of education
- Examines social influences on cognitive health, social isolation and integration, and the changing dynamics of families and caregiving
Readership
Readership
Clinicians, researchers, and students in gerontology, developmental psychology, psychiatry, sociology, biology, and other related health care professions tasked with caring for the aging population
Table of contents
Table of contents
1. Addiction and Substance Use in Later Life
2. Ageism
3. Biodemography of Aging
4. Caregiving for Better Living
5. Challenges of Rural Aging
6. Changing Families in Later Life
7. Climate Change and Aging
8. Computational or “Big Data” Approaches for Understanding Aging Populations
9. Contemporary Challenges in Long-Term Care
10. Disability in Later Life
11. Ethnography and Aging
12. Impacts of COVID on older adults
13. Income Inequality and Insecurity in Old Age
14. Life Course Implications of Death of Family Members
15. Life Course Implications of Incarceration
16. Life Course Perspective on Education and Health
17. Medicare and Health Policy for Older Adults
18. Migration and Immigration in Later Life
19. Sexual and Gender Minorities in Later Life
20. Social Influences on Cognitive Health
21. Social Isolation and Integration
22. Social Theories of Aging
23. Sociocultural Variability in the Older Latino Population
24. Structural Racism and Health in Later Life
2. Ageism
3. Biodemography of Aging
4. Caregiving for Better Living
5. Challenges of Rural Aging
6. Changing Families in Later Life
7. Climate Change and Aging
8. Computational or “Big Data” Approaches for Understanding Aging Populations
9. Contemporary Challenges in Long-Term Care
10. Disability in Later Life
11. Ethnography and Aging
12. Impacts of COVID on older adults
13. Income Inequality and Insecurity in Old Age
14. Life Course Implications of Death of Family Members
15. Life Course Implications of Incarceration
16. Life Course Perspective on Education and Health
17. Medicare and Health Policy for Older Adults
18. Migration and Immigration in Later Life
19. Sexual and Gender Minorities in Later Life
20. Social Influences on Cognitive Health
21. Social Isolation and Integration
22. Social Theories of Aging
23. Sociocultural Variability in the Older Latino Population
24. Structural Racism and Health in Later Life
Product details
Product details
- Edition: 10
- Latest edition
- Published: September 1, 2026
- Language: English
About the editors
About the editors
KF
Kenneth Ferraro
Kenneth F. Ferraro is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and founding Director of the Center on Aging and the Life Course at Purdue University. He is the author of over 120 peer-reviewed articles in prominent journals in sociology, gerontology, and public health. He has written two books, including The Gerontological Imagination: An Integrative Paradigm of Aging (Oxford University Press), and edited four editions of Gerontology: Perspectives and Issues. Ferraro’s recent research focuses on health inequality over the life course, including the early origins of adult health, stress, and health disparities. With interests in how stratification processes unfold over the life course, he developed cumulative inequality theory for the study of human development, aging, and health. A fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), Ferraro formerly edited Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences and chaired the Behavioral and Social Sciences section of GSA. He also is a member of the honorary Sociological Research Association and former chair of the Section on Aging and Life Course of the American Sociological Association (ASA). GSA has honored Professor Ferraro with the Distinguished Mentor Award and twice for both the Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award and the Best Paper Award for Theoretical Developments in Social Gerontology. ASA honors from the Section on Aging and the Life Course include Outstanding Publication Award and Matilda White Riley Distinguished Scholar Award.
Affiliations and expertise
Distinguished Professor of Sociology and founding Director of the Center on Aging and the Life Course, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USADC
Deborah Carr
Deborah Carr is Professor and Chair of Sociology at Boston University. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1997. Dr. Carr has held faculty positions at University of Michigan, University of Wisconsin, and Rutgers University. She is the author of over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, as well as the author of several books including Worried Sick: How Stress Hurts Us and How to Bounce Back (Rutgers, 2014). Her latest book Golden Years? Social Inequality in Later Life (2019, Russell Sage) received the Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award from the Gerontologicial Society of America. Carr’s research focuses on psychosocial factors that affect health and well-being over the life course. Recent research focuses on disability and obesity-related discrimination, family relationships as a source of support and strain, and death and dying issues including bereavement, advance care planning, and well-being at the end of life. Carr is fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences from 2015-20. She is a member of the honorary Sociological Research Association and former chair of the Aging and Life Course and Medical Sociology sections of the American Sociological Association (ASA).
Affiliations and expertise
Professor of Sociology, Boston University, USA