Aging and Diversity by Wagner, Lisa; Mehrotra, Chandra M; Guo, Man;

Short description:

Wagner, Mehrotra, and Guo present up-to-date knowledge and scholarship about aging and diversity in a way that engages readers in active learning, placing ongoing emphasis on developing readers’ knowledge and skills, fostering higher order thinking, and encouraging exploration of personal values and attitudes.

Long description:

Aging and diversity intersect in important ways, as individuals from different backgrounds experience aging through distinct lenses shaped by traditions, values, and beliefs. As the older population in the United States is becoming more diverse, it is important to understand the characteristics, the potential, and the needs of this population.

In this new and fully revised edition of Aging and Diversity, Lisa S.Wagner, Chandra Mehrotra, and Man Guo address key topics in diversity and aging, discussing how the aging experience is affected by not only race and ethnicity but also gender, religious affiliation, socioeconomic status, rural–urban community location, and sexual orientation and gender identity. Taking this broad view of human diversity allows the authors to convey some of the rich complexities facing aging populations—complexities that provide both challenges to meet the needs of a diverse population of elders and opportunities to learn how to live in a pluralistic society.

Wagner, Mehrotra, and Guo present up-to-date knowledge and scholarship about aging and diversity in a way that engages readers in active learning, placing ongoing emphasis on developing readers’ knowledge and skills, fostering higher-order-thinking, and encouraging exploration of personal values and attitudes.

"This comprehensive update of an excellent text is timely and relevant. It is imperative that students learn about common hallmarks of aging processes and also gain understanding of influences that lead to divergent experiences of growing old. Wagner, Mehrotra, and Guo employ pedagogical best practices to motivate students to acquire multiple perspectives on aging in many domains of life. Their expansive definition of diversity includes how the aging experience varies due to rural/urban community location, socioeconomic status, gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation and gender identity."

Rosemary Blieszner, PhD, Center for Gerontology, Virginia Tech

"People become more different from one another over their life course.  To understand people as they age, we need to appreciate their diversity and how they navigate their life course.  This book is an excellent step forward in learning about aging and diversity, the positive and negative features in old age, and the possibilities of supporting people to live a good old age."

Steven H. Zarit, PhD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Penn State University

Table of Contents:

1. Aging and Diversity 2. Research Methods 3. Attitudes Towards Aging and Older People 4. Aging, Cognition, and Dementia  5. Health Beliefs, Behaviors, and Services 6. Health Inequities for Older People 7.Informal Care for Older Persons 8. Formal Care for Older Persons 9. Work, Retirement, and Leisure 10. Religious Affiliation & Spirituality 11. Death, Dying, and Bereavement