The aging of America will reshape how we live and will transform nearly every aspect of contemporary society. Renowned life course sociologist Deborah Carr provides a lively, nuanced, and timely portrait of aging in the United States. The US population is older than ever before, raising new challenges for families, caregivers, health care systems, and social programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Organized in seven chapters,
Aging in America covers these topics:
- the history of aging and the development of theoretical approaches
- how cultural changes shape our views on aging
- the demographic characteristics of older adults today
- older adults' family lives and social relationships
- the health of older adults and social disparities in who gets sick
- how public policies affect the well-being of older adults and their families
- how baby boomers, Gen Xers, and millennials will experience old age
Drawing on state-of-the-art data, current events, and pop culture, this portrait of an aging population challenges outdated myths and vividly shows how future cohorts of older adults will differ from the generations before them.
Deborah Carr is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Innovation in Social Science at Boston University. She is the author of several books, including the award-winning Golden Years? Social Inequality in Later Life. Her research on aging has been featured in the New York Times, ABC World News, the Wall Street Journal, and other media.
"Aging in America provides an excellent introduction to the sociology and demography of aging, an area whose importance has been growing for decades but only recently has captured the attention of both academics and policy makers."—Joan R. Kahn, Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park
"Deborah Carr provides a timely update on the national portrait of older adults in the United States and concisely debunks many misconceptions about old age. This book demonstrates how a scholar's work can significantly move the field forward."—I-Fen Lin, Professor of Sociology, Bowling Green State University
232 pp.6 x 9Illus: 42 graphs, 1 illustration
9780520301290$29.95|£25.00Paper
Feb 2023