Social Integration in the Second Half of Life

Karl Pillemer is Professor of Human Development in the Cornell Gerontology Research Institute at. 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 at. Nina Glasgow is Senior Research Associate in the Department of Rural Sociology at.

• AcknowledgmentsContributorsIntroductionPart I: Overview of Major Issues and ApproachesChapter 1. Social Integration and Aging: Background and TrendsChapter 2. Multiple Roles, Social Integration, and HealthPart II: Social Integration in Major Domains of Later LifeChapter 3. A Life-Course Approach to Retirement and Social Integration Chapter 4. Transportation Transitions and Social Integration of Nonmetropolitan Older PersonsChapter 5. Social Integration and Family Support: Caregivers to Persons with Alzheimer's DiseaseChapter 6. Future Housing Expectations in Late Midlife: The Role of Retirement, Gender, and Social IntegrationChapter 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 LifeChapter 9. An Intervention to Improve Transportation Arrangements Chapter 10. Fostering Integration: A Case Study of the Cornell Retirees Volunteering in Service (CRVIS) ProgramChapter 11. Peer Support for Alzheimer's Caregivers: Lessons from an Intervention Study Chapter 12. Closing Thoughts and Future Directions Author Index Subject Index

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