Background: The aging prison population in the United States presents a significant public health challenge with high rates of trauma and mental health issues that the correctional system alone is ill-prepared to address. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of age, objective, and subjective measures of trauma and stressful…

Purpose of the Study: This article explores a clash between incoming Baby Boomers and older residents in an active adult retirement community (AARC). We examine issues of social identity and attitudes as these groups encounter each other. Design and Methods: Data are drawn from a multiyear ethnographic study of social relations in senior housing.…

Purpose: This research combined cross-sectional and longitudinal data to characterize age-related trajectories in physical disability for adults with and without diabetes in the United States and to investigate if those patterns differ by age, gender, race or ethnicity, and education. Design and Methods: Data were examined on 20,433 adults aged 51…

Purpose: Given age-related health restrictions, the importance of the environment for life satisfaction may increase in later life. This study investigated whether objective and perceived physical and social environmental aspects of the home and of the surrounding neighborhood represent resources for or risks to life satisfaction among young-old…

During the 50 years in which "The Gerontologist" has been publishing, the politics of aging in the United States has undergone distinct changes. The political behavior of older individuals has remained largely the same even though different birth cohorts have succeeded each other in populating the ranks of older people. But the politics…

Purpose: This study evaluates the role of older family members as providers of social resources within familial network systems affected by an inherited cancer susceptibility syndrome. Design and Methods: Respondents who previously participated in a study that involved genetic counseling and testing for Lynch syndrome and their family network…

Purpose: This is a pilot study that provides a description of the values older persons report in ethical wills and their reasoning for the values they chose, and compares the values in ethical wills of seniors and students. Nursing home residents rarely get the opportunity or venue to discuss these topics and the ethical will enables them to have…

Purpose: Due to population aging, the need for long-term institutional care is increasing. We study the potentially modifiable sociodemographic factors that affect the rate of entry into and exit from long-term care. Design and Methods: A 40% sample from the population registration data of Finns aged 65 and older living in private households at…

Purpose: In the 2008 presidential election, a majority of older persons voted for John McCain, the loser. The purposes of this report are to help illuminate why older voters were the only age-group that gave a majority to McCain and to delineate some ongoing issues in the analysis of older persons' voting behavior. Methods: Analysis was undertaken…

Purpose: To examine racial differences in (a) the prevalence of financial exploitation and psychological mistreatment since turning 60 and in the past 6 months and (b) the experience--perpetrator, frequency, and degree of upset--of psychological mistreatment in the past 6 months. Design and methods: Random digit dial telephone recruitment and…

Purpose: This study evaluates the changes in social networks of older and younger breast cancer patients over a 6-month period following their first diagnosis and how such modifications are associated with changes in the patients' mood state. Design and Methods: Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients were interviewed shortly after their diagnosis…

Purpose: The Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit (Part D) program debuted in January 2006. We ascertained the sociodemographic and health characteristics of Blacks and Whites who enrolled in the early stages of the program. Design and Methods: Data were collected between April 2006 and October 2007 from an ongoing population-based biracial study of…

Purpose: There is a dearth of research on older adoptive parents caring for minor children, despite a growing number of such adoptions finalized each year. This study offers a large-scale investigation of adoptive families headed by older parents. We describe these families and explore how preadoptive kinship between the adoptive parent and the…

Purpose: Valuation of life (VOL) represents a construct capturing active attachment to life put forward by M. P. Lawton (e.g., 1999). As old and very old individuals may differ in terms of endorsement and with respect to what makes a life worth living, the present study investigated whether mean levels and the explanatory value of…

Surveyed 933 middle aged and older adults to compare shopping behavior in retired and nonretired consumers. Results indicated the elderly enjoy shopping less and are less concerned with bargains than adults 55-64. Age, rather than retirement status, was a key factor. (JAC)