Lenard W. Kaye, DSW, PhD, is professor of social work at the University of Maine School of Social Work and Director of the University of Maine Center on Aging.Clifford M. Singer, MD, serves as chief of geriatric mental health and neuropsychiatry at Acadia Hospital and Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) in Bangor, Maine and an adjunct professor at the University of Maine.

• ContributorsPrefacePART I. Setting the Context1. The Scourge of Social Isolation and Its Threat to Older Adult HealthLenard W. Kaye and Clifford M. Singer2. Historical Perspectives on the Research of Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Social SupportMary Lou Ciolfi3. Making the Case: The Clinical Value of Assessing Older Adults’ Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Social RelationshipsSarah Pillemer, Chelsea Schoen, and Sloane Sheldon4. International Perspectives on Social Relationships, Social Isolation, and Well-Being Among Older AdultsHoward LitwinPART II. Proven Strategies and Programs for Promoting Social Integration and Health5. Friend Power—A View From the Front Lines:The Importance of Relationships in the Lives of the Disabled, People With Dementia, and Older AdultsHope Reiner6. Physical Activity for Older Adults: Supporting Social IntegrationMarilyn R. Gugliucci, Erica Robertson, Susan Wehry, and Shirley A. Weaver7. Designing Age Friendly Communities as a Strategy for Enhancing Social ConnectednessPatricia Huffman Oh8. Healthy Places and the Social Life of Older AdultsKeith Diaz Moore, Ivis Garcia, and Ja Young Kim9. Volunteering as a Strategy for Combatting Social IsolationJennifer A. Crittenden10. Using Technology to Advance Social HealthHiroko H. Dodge11. Spirituality and Religion in the Lives of EldersKenneth J. Doka12. Involving Our Pets in Relationship Building—Pets and Elder Well-BeingAubrey H. Fine and Erika FriedmannPART III. Special Challenges Influencing Social Connectedness in Later Life13. Social Networks and Social Isolation Among LGBT Older AdultsSandra S. Butler14. Family and Intergenerational RelationshipsDonna M. Butts and Kristin Bodiford15. Rethinking Love, Intimacy, and Sexual Relationships in the Later YearsNicholas Velotta and Pepper Schwartz16. The Gendered Nature of Later Life RelationshipsEdward H. Thompson, Jr. and Kate de Medeiros17. The Social Implications of Growing Old in Small Towns and Rural CommunitiesKristina M. Hash, Deana F. Morrow, and Mandana R. WeirichAppendix: Resources on Older Adult Social Isolation and RelationshipsLisa DezsoIndex

Lenard W. Kaye, DSW, PhD, is professor of social work at the University of Maine School of Social Work and Director of the University of Maine Center on Aging.Clifford M. Singer, MD, serves as chief of geriatric mental health and neuropsychiatry at Acadia Hospital and Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) in Bangor, Maine and an adjunct professor at the University of Maine.

• ContributorsPrefacePART I. Setting the Context1. The Scourge of Social Isolation and Its Threat to Older Adult HealthLenard W. Kaye and Clifford M. Singer2. Historical Perspectives on the Research of Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Social SupportMary Lou Ciolfi3. Making the Case: The Clinical Value of Assessing Older Adults’ Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Social RelationshipsSarah Pillemer, Chelsea Schoen, and Sloane Sheldon4. International Perspectives on Social Relationships, Social Isolation, and Well-Being Among Older AdultsHoward LitwinPART II. Proven Strategies and Programs for Promoting Social Integration and Health5. Friend Power—A View From the Front Lines:The Importance of Relationships in the Lives of the Disabled, People With Dementia, and Older AdultsHope Reiner6. Physical Activity for Older Adults: Supporting Social IntegrationMarilyn R. Gugliucci, Erica Robertson, Susan Wehry, and Shirley A. Weaver7. Designing Age Friendly Communities as a Strategy for Enhancing Social ConnectednessPatricia Huffman Oh8. Healthy Places and the Social Life of Older AdultsKeith Diaz Moore, Ivis Garcia, and Ja Young Kim9. Volunteering as a Strategy for Combatting Social IsolationJennifer A. Crittenden10. Using Technology to Advance Social HealthHiroko H. Dodge11. Spirituality and Religion in the Lives of EldersKenneth J. Doka12. Involving Our Pets in Relationship Building—Pets and Elder Well-BeingAubrey H. Fine and Erika FriedmannPART III. Special Challenges Influencing Social Connectedness in Later Life13. Social Networks and Social Isolation Among LGBT Older AdultsSandra S. Butler14. Family and Intergenerational RelationshipsDonna M. Butts and Kristin Bodiford15. Rethinking Love, Intimacy, and Sexual Relationships in the Later YearsNicholas Velotta and Pepper Schwartz16. The Gendered Nature of Later Life RelationshipsEdward H. Thompson, Jr. and Kate de Medeiros17. The Social Implications of Growing Old in Small Towns and Rural CommunitiesKristina M. Hash, Deana F. Morrow, and Mandana R. WeirichAppendix: Resources on Older Adult Social Isolation and RelationshipsLisa DezsoIndex

Lenard W. Kaye, DSW, PhD, is professor of social work at the University of Maine School of Social Work and Director of the University of Maine Center on Aging.Clifford M. Singer, MD, serves as chief of geriatric mental health and neuropsychiatry at Acadia Hospital and Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) in Bangor, Maine and an adjunct professor at the University of Maine.

• ContributorsPrefacePART I. Setting the Context1. The Scourge of Social Isolation and Its Threat to Older Adult HealthLenard W. Kaye and Clifford M. Singer2. Historical Perspectives on the Research of Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Social SupportMary Lou Ciolfi3. Making the Case: The Clinical Value of Assessing Older Adults’ Social Isolation, Loneliness, and Social RelationshipsSarah Pillemer, Chelsea Schoen, and Sloane Sheldon4. International Perspectives on Social Relationships, Social Isolation, and Well-Being Among Older AdultsHoward LitwinPART II. Proven Strategies and Programs for Promoting Social Integration and Health5. Friend Power—A View From the Front Lines:The Importance of Relationships in the Lives of the Disabled, People With Dementia, and Older AdultsHope Reiner6. Physical Activity for Older Adults: Supporting Social IntegrationMarilyn R. Gugliucci, Erica Robertson, Susan Wehry, and Shirley A. Weaver7. Designing Age Friendly Communities as a Strategy for Enhancing Social ConnectednessPatricia Huffman Oh8. Healthy Places and the Social Life of Older AdultsKeith Diaz Moore, Ivis Garcia, and Ja Young Kim9. Volunteering as a Strategy for Combatting Social IsolationJennifer A. Crittenden10. Using Technology to Advance Social HealthHiroko H. Dodge11. Spirituality and Religion in the Lives of EldersKenneth J. Doka12. Involving Our Pets in Relationship Building—Pets and Elder Well-BeingAubrey H. Fine and Erika FriedmannPART III. Special Challenges Influencing Social Connectedness in Later Life13. Social Networks and Social Isolation Among LGBT Older AdultsSandra S. Butler14. Family and Intergenerational RelationshipsDonna M. Butts and Kristin Bodiford15. Rethinking Love, Intimacy, and Sexual Relationships in the Later YearsNicholas Velotta and Pepper Schwartz16. The Gendered Nature of Later Life RelationshipsEdward H. Thompson, Jr. and Kate de Medeiros17. The Social Implications of Growing Old in Small Towns and Rural CommunitiesKristina M. Hash, Deana F. Morrow, and Mandana R. WeirichAppendix: Resources on Older Adult Social Isolation and RelationshipsLisa DezsoIndex