Fulfilling Ageing: Psychosocial and Communicative Perspectives on Ageing (International Perspectives on Aging, 30)

✍ Scribed by Marisa Cordella, Aldo Poiani

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 2021
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 1008
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

This book explores the reality of ageing and old age from the perspectives of the individual and society. It emphasizes cross-cultural aspects of ageing and communication issues both within and across generations. The authors approach the understanding of ageing from a multi-disciplinary perspective, integrating biology, psychology, linguistics, sociology, and history. The book is organized as follows: historical and broader cross-cultural issues of ageing, followed by biomedical, psychological, social, and communicative aspects of ageing. The book concludes with an in-depth analysis of the existential dimension of ageing followed by an evolutionary perspective. ​

✦ Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Contents
About the Authors
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 The Multiple Dimensions of Ageing: An Overview
References
Chapter 2: Old Ages in History
2.1 The Ages of Life
2.2 Retirement Age and Old Age Pension
2.3 Before Greece and Rome
2.4 Ancient Greece and Rome
2.5 Middle Ages and Renaissance
2.6 The Seventeenth–Eighteenth Centuries
2.7 The Nineteenth Century
2.8 The Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries
2.9 The Safety Net
2.10 Older Ages and New Meanings of Life
2.11 Conclusions
References
Chapter 3: Old People Across Cultures
3.1 The Cultural Context of Old Age
3.2 Fulfilling Ageing Across Cultures
3.3 Inter-Generational Relationships Across Cultures
3.4 Perceptions of Old People’s Health Across Cultures
3.5 Old-Age Stereotypes: A Cross-Cultural View
3.6 The Ethnic Dimension of Elder Abuse and Neglect
3.7 Caring for Older People
3.8 Food Choices of the Elders
3.9 Life After Retirement
3.10 Old Age and End of Life Across Cultures
3.11 Conclusions
References
Chapter 4: Ageing in Better Mental Health
4.1 Body Changes with Age
4.2 Plasticity of the Ageing Brain
4.3 Mental Health
4.4 Mental Disorders in the Elderly
4.5 Neurocognitive Disorders: Causes, Prevention, and Psychological Interventions
4.6 Ageing, Gender, and Sexual Life
4.7 Ageing with a Disability
4.8 Physical Disabilities
4.9 Intellectual Disabilities
4.10 Reaching Very Old Ages
4.11 Conclusions
References
Chapter 5: The Psychology of Older Ages
5.1 Psychological Ageing
5.2 Self-Identity
5.3 The Emotional Dimension
5.4 The Cognitive Dimension
5.5 Memory
5.6 Personality and Ageing
5.7 Ageing and Psychological Stress
5.8 Retirement and Fulfilling Life
5.8.1 Preparing for Retirement
5.8.2 Transition to Retirement
5.8.3 Post-Transition Adjustment
5.8.4 Gender and Retirement
5.9 Conclusions
References
Chapter 6: The Social Dimension of Older Ages
6.1 Social Integration of the Elderly
6.2 Loneliness
6.3 Abuse
6.4 Family
6.5 Community
6.6 The Ethics of Ageing: Stereotypes, Stigma, and Ageism
6.6.1 Old Age and Ethics
6.6.2 Stereotypes of Old Age
6.6.3 Stigma
6.6.4 Ageism and Discrimination
6.7 Oldest-Old in Society
6.8 Older Immigrants
6.9 Older Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transsexual/Transgender(trans), and Intersex People
6.10 Ageing Prison Inmates
6.11 Caring for Older People and Caregiver Burden
6.11.1 Caring for Older People
6.11.2 Caregiver Burden
6.12 Conclusions
References
Chapter 7: Language and Communication
7.1 Ageing and Communication: An Overview
7.2 A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Communication in Old People
7.3 Intra-Generational Communication
7.4 Inter-Generational Communication
7.4.1 Improving Inter-Generational Communication: Intervention Programmes
7.5 Narratives of the Elders
7.6 Elderly and the Media
7.7 Translating and Interpreting for Older Immigrants
7.8 Doctor–Patient Communication in the Elderly
7.9 Conclusions
References
Chapter 8: Journey Towards the End of Life
8.1 The Existential Dimension
8.2 Life Meaning and Legacy
8.2.1 Life Meaning
8.2.2 The Study of Meaning
8.2.3 Meaning and Life Satisfaction
8.2.4 Life Meaning and Life Traumas
8.2.5 Meaning Making
8.2.6 Legacy
8.3 Fear of Death and Death Anxiety
8.3.1 Factors Affecting Fear of Death and Death Anxiety
8.3.2 Decreasing Fear of Death and Death Anxiety
8.4 Religion and Spirituality
8.5 Hastening Own Death: Euthanasia and Suicide
8.5.1 Euthanasia
8.5.2 Euthanasia, Life Fatigue, and Existential Suffering
8.5.3 Suicide
8.5.4 Will to Live and Suicide
8.5.5 Attempted Suicide, Protective Factors, and Interventions
8.6 End of Life in Multicultural Societies
8.7 End-of-Life Care
8.8 Conclusions
References
Chapter 9: Ageing in Evolutionary Perspective
9.1 Evolution and Lifespan
9.2 Evolution and Senescence
9.2.1 Evolution, Sex, and Ageing
9.2.2 Kin Selection and Ageing
9.3 Neoteny
9.4 Conclusions
References
Chapter 10: Fulfilling Ageing
10.1 Experiencing Fulfilling Ageing
10.2 Spontaneous Personal and Community Initiatives
10.3 Institutional and Professionally Guided Initiatives
References
Index