Social Integration in the Second Half of Life

by Karl Pillemer (Editor), Phyllis Moen (Editor), Elaine Wethington (Editor), Nina Glasgow (Editor)

Overview

Social scientists use the term social integration to refer to individuals' connections with others in their environments. The concept and its consequences have been the subject of considerable study. Many researchers have asserted that meaningful and enduring ties to other persons serve as a buffer against stress, and thereby promote physical and mental health. The results are especially pronounced for older persons.

Social Integration in the Second Half of Life presents integrative reviews of theory and research on this topic. The editors and contributors, all currently or previously affiliated with the Cornell Gerontology Research Institute, also present new empirical findings of research done at their center. The first section of the book discusses basic theory and principles of social integration in later life and its implications for health. The second, largest section examines specific issues: retirement, driving, family support, housing, neighbors. The third section addresses interventions to promote social integration: transportation, volunteering, and peer support for dementia caregivers. Throughout, the authors focus on the diverging influences of social integration and its converse, social isolation, in later life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801864544
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	11/24/2000
Series:	Gerontology
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.79(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Karl Pillemer is Professor of Human Development in the Cornell Gerontology Research Institute.

Phyllis Moen is Ferris Family Professor of Life Course Studies in the at Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center.

Elaine Wethington is Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development.

Nina Glasgow is Senior Research Associate in the Department of Rural Sociology.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Contributors
Introduction
Part I: Overview of Major Issues and Approaches
Chapter 1. Social Integration and Aging: Background and Trends
Chapter 2. Multiple Roles, Social Integration, and Health
Part II: Social Integration in Major Domains of Later Life
Chapter 3. A Life-Course Approach to Retirement and Social Integration
Chapter 4. Transportation Transitions and Social Integration of Nonmetropolitan Older Persons
Chapter 5. Social Integration and Family Support: Caregivers to Persons with Alzheimer's Disease
Chapter 6. Future Housing Expectations in Late Midlife: The Role of Retirement, Gender, and Social Integration
Chapter 7. Neighboring as a Form of Social Integration and Support
Chapter 8. Social Integration and the Move to a Continuing Care Retirement Community
Part III: Interventions to Promote Social Integration in Later Life
Chapter 9. An Intervention to Improve Transportation Arrangements
Chapter 10. Fostering Integration: A Case Study of the Cornell Retirees Volunteering in Service (CRVIS) Program
Chapter 11. Peer Support for Alzheimer's Caregivers: Lessons from an Intervention Study
Chapter 12. Closing Thoughts and Future Directions
Author Index
Subject Index

What People are Saying About This

Jon Hendricks

This volume will stand for years to come as a widely cited summary document that pulls together both existing literature and original findings. The scholarship is exemplary and the insights are laudable. Because of the book's intrinsic merit, it will approach the status of 'handbook' on social integration and therefore will be tantamount to required reading in graduate-level social gerontology classes.

From the Publisher

This volume will stand for years to come as a widely cited summary document that pulls together both existing literature and original findings. The scholarship is exemplary and the insights are laudable. Because of the book's intrinsic merit, it will approach the status of 'handbook' on social integration and therefore will be tantamount to required reading in graduate-level social gerontology classes.
—Jon Hendricks, Oregon State University

Editorial Reviews

Pillemer and colleagues, in their excellent review of social integration at the threshold of the 21st century, document the problems of mid-lifers and elders as they seek social integration, that is, a life with people.
—Gerontologist

Karl Pillemer, Phyllis Moen, Elaine Wethington, and Nina Glasgow succeed admirably in giving social integration a contemporary focus using a life-course perspective that emphasizes institutional context, linked lives, and processes of development and change. They should be congratulated on this insightful volume integrating theory and research on social integration and the larger issue of successful aging. Researchers and practitioners alike will find this clearly written and well-organized book a very useful reference. Moreover, it could be used in graduate courses in gerontology because of its content and focus or in research methods for its excellent examples of sociological research.
—Jennifer Crew Solomon, Contemporary Sociology

This edited volume contains an excellent collection of contributions that not only take a more careful look at social integration in aging, but consider practical means of enhancing the integration process.
—Health and Age

From the Publisher

Karl Pillemer, Phyllis Moen, Elaine Wethington, and Nina Glasgow succeed admirably in giving social integration a contemporary focus using a life-course perspective that emphasizes institutional context, linked lives, and processes of development and change. They should be congratulated on this insightful volume integrating theory and research on social integration and the larger issue of successful aging. Researchers and practitioners alike will find this clearly written and well-organized book a very useful reference. Moreover, it could be used in graduate courses in gerontology because of its content and focus or in research methods for its excellent examples of sociological research.

Contemporary Sociology - Jennifer Crew Solomon

Karl Pillemer, Phyllis Moen, Elaine Wethington, and Nina Glasgow succeed admirably in giving social integration a contemporary focus using a life-course perspective that emphasizes institutional context, linked lives, and processes of development and change. They should be congratulated on this insightful volume integrating theory and research on social integration and the larger issue of successful aging. Researchers and practitioners alike will find this clearly written and well-organized book a very useful reference. Moreover, it could be used in graduate courses in gerontology because of its content and focus or in research methods for its excellent examples of sociological research.

— Jennifer Crew Solomon

Contemporary Sociology

These 12 essays provide an overview of the major issues and approaches associated with social integration and aging. They consider the structure of social integration in the major domains of later life, including transportation, health care, and housing. They also discuss interventions to promote social integration in these same areas. Contributors include doctors, sociologists, and researchers in education and human development. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

This edited volume contains an excellent collection of contributions that not only take a more careful look at social integration in aging, but consider practical means of enhancing the integration process.

Health and Age

Pillemer and colleagues, in their excellent review of social integration at the threshold of the 21st century, document the problems of mid-lifers and elders as they seek social integration, that is, a life with people.

Gerontologist