Social Gerontology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective

Abstract

This edition of Social Gerontology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective reflects profound changes in the way society views aging and older adults. We have moved from a widely held perspective that aging represents inevitable decline to the more optimistic viewpoint that people can, to some extent, influence their own experience of aging. Our lifestyles related to exercise, nutrition, and social engagement during youth and middle age can affect our physical, cognitive, emotional, and social well-being in our later years. This paradigm shift in the field of gerontology is attributable to two parallel and interconnected processes. First, a growing body of research demonstrates the role of individual choices, strengths, and behaviors in whether we age in a healthy, active, and socially engaged manner or with multiple chronic diseases and without supportive social networks. While genetic and societal factors, especially educational and economic opportunities, affect how we age, recent studies offer evidence that even older adults who are living with dementia, chronic diseases, or poverty can be resilient and experience wellbeing in ways that were rarely recognized in the past