Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, Seventh Edition (Handbooks of Aging)

408 Pages·2010·4.61 MB·English

by  K. Warner Schaie

Handbook of the Psychology of Aging
The Handbooks
of Aging
Consisting of Three Volumes
Critical comprehensive reviews of
research knowledge, theories, concepts, and issues
Editors-in-Chief
Laura L. Carstensen
and
Thomas A. Rando
Handbook of the Biology of Aging, 7th Edition
Edited by Edward J. Masoro and Steven N. Austad
Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, 7th Edition
Edited by K. Warner Schaie and Sherry L. Willis
Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, 7th Edition
Edited by Robert H. Binstock and Linda K. George
Handbook of the
Psychology of
Aging
7th Edition
Editors
K. Warner Schaie and Sherry L. Willis
Associate Editors
Bob G. Knight, Becca Levy, and Denise C. Park
Amsterdam • Boston • Heidelberg • London • New York • Oxford • Paris
San Diego • San Francisco • Singapore • Sydney • Tokyo
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Seventh edition, 2011
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Contributors
 Numbers in parentheses indicate the page number on which the author’s contribution begins
Stefan Agrigoroaei (175) Stephanie A. Cosentino (339)
Department of Psychology, Brandeis University Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Taub Institute for
Waltham, Massachusetts, USA Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain;
Department of Neurology at Columbia
David M. Almeida (191) University Medical Center, New York, USA
Department of Human Development and Family Studies
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park Nathan F. Dieckmann (133)
Pennsylvania, USA Decision Research, Eugene, Oregon, USA
Monika Ardelt (279)
Roger A. Dixon (3)
Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law
Department of Psychology, University of Alberta
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Lars Bäckman (121)
Barry Edelstein (325, 367)
Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institute
Department of Psychology, West Virginia University
Stockholm, Sweden
Morgantown, West Virginia, USA
Chandramallika Basak (153)
Beckman Institute, University of Illinois Emilio Ferrer (25)
Champaign, Illinois, USA Department of Psychology, University of California
Davis, USA
Kira S. Birditt (219)
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan Karen L. Fingerman (219)
Ann Arbor, MI, USA Child Development and Family Studies
Purdue University West Lafayette, IN, USA
Gérard N. Bischof (109)
The Center for Vital Longevity, University of Texas Jessica Gasiorek (233)
Dallas, Texas, USA Department of Communication, University of California
Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
Catherine E. Bowen (263)
Jacobs Center on Lifelong Learning and
Paolo Ghisletta (25)
Institutional Development, Jacobs University Bremen
Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences
Bremen, Germany
University of Geneva, Genève, Switzerland;
Distance Learning University, Sierre, Switzerland
Adam M. Brickman (339)
Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center, Taub Institute for
Howard Giles (233)
Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain;
Department of Neurology at Columbia Department of Communication, University of California
University Medical Center, New York, USA Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
Susan Turk Charles (295) Mary Lee Hummert (249)
School of Social Ecology, University of California Vice Provost for Faculty Development
Irvine, California, USA University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA
vii
Contributors
Kristen M. Kennedy (73) Denise C. Park (109)
School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences The Center for Vital Longevity, University of Texas
University of Texas, Dallas, Texas, USA Dallas, Texas, USA
Laura C. Klein (191) Ellen Peters (133)
Department of Human Development and Family Studies Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park Columbus, Ohio, USA
Pennsylvania, USA
Jennifer R. Piazza (191)
Bob G. Knight (353) Department of Human Development and Family Studies
School of Gerontology, University of Southern California The Pennsylvania State University, University Park
Los Angeles, California, USA Pennsylvania, USA
William S. Kremen (93) Karen M. Rodrigue (73)
Department of Psychiatry, Center for Behavioral Genomics School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences
University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA; University of Texas, Dallas, Texas, USA
VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA
Aida Saldivar (365)
Margie E. Lachman (175) Boston VA Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Department of Psychology, Brandeis University
K. Warner Schaie (41)
Waltham, Massachusetts, USA
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Andres Losada (353) University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Department of Psychology
Universidad Reg Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain Daniel L. Segal (325)
Department of Psychology, University of Colorado
Mary Luszcz (59) Colorado Springs, USA
Department of Psychology, Flinders Centre for Ageing
Ursula M. Staudinger (263)
Studies, Flinders University, Adelaide SA, Australia
Jacobs Center on Lifelong Learning and
Michael J. Lyons (93) Institutional Development, Jacobs University Bremen
Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA; Bremen, Germany
Harvard Institute of Epidemiology and Genetics,
Robert S. Stawski (191)
Boston, MA
Department of Human Development and Family Studies
Jennifer J. Manly (339) The Pennsylvania State University, University Park
Gertrude H. Sergievsky Center and the Taub Institute for Pennsylvania, USA
Research on Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain;
Elizabeth A. L. Stine-Morrow (153)
Department of Neurology at Columbia
University Medical Center, New York, USA Beckman Institute, University of Illinois, Champaign
Illinois, USA
Daniel Marson (365)
Sarah L. Szanton (207)
Department of Neurology, University of Alabama-
Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Suzanne Meeks (311)
Roland Thorpe (207)
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, USA School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Jennifer Moye (367)
Joshua Weller (133)
Director, Geriatric Mental Health, VA Boston Healthcare
System, Massachusetts, USA Decision Research, Eugene, Oregon, USA
Shevaun D. Neupert (175) Susan Krauss Whitbourne (311)
Department of Psychology, North Carolina State Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts-
University, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA Amherst, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA
Keith E. Whitfield (207)
Martin G. Noack (263)
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
Jacobs Center on Lifelong Learning and
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Institutional Development, Jacobs University Bremen
Bremen, Germany Stacey Wood (365)
Department of Psychology, Scripps College
Lars Nyberg (121) Claremont, California, USA
Department of Integrative Medical Biology and Radiation
Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
viii
Foreword
Advances in science and technology in the 20th century reshaped 21st century life in industri-
alized nations around the world. Living conditions so improved that infant and childhood
mortality were profoundly reduced and medical advances in the prevention and treatment
of leading causes of death among adults, such as heart disease and cancer, further extended
the lives of older individuals. As a result, in the course of a single century, the average life
expectancy in developed countries nearly doubled. For the first time in human history, old
age became a normative stage in life. Not only are individuals living longer on average, but
populations have begun to age as a result of this increase in life expectancy along with a
precipitous drop in fertility rates. Countries in the developed world are rapidly reaching the
point where there will be more people over 60 than under 15. Thus, the status of older peo-
ple holds ramifications for the functioning of entire societies.
Even though the near-doubling of life expectancy was a spectacular achievement, there
were not concurrent advances in our ability to alleviate the disabling conditions of later life.
Nor were there sociological advances to create a world as responsive to the needs of very old
people as to the very young. In order to realize the enormous potential of longer life, scien-
tists must come to a more comprehensive understanding of human aging and the social,
psychological and biological factors that contribute to optimal outcomes. Along with the
phenomenal advances in the genetic determinants of longevity and susceptibility to age-
related diseases has come the awareness of the critical importance of environmental factors
that modulate and even supersede genetic predispositions. This series provides a balanced
perspective of the interacting factors that contribute to human aging.
The Handbooks of Aging series, comprised of three separate volumes, The Handbook of the
Biology of Aging, The Handbook of the Psychology of Aging, and The Handbook of Aging and the
Social Sciences, is now in its seventh edition and has provided a foundation for an under-
standing of the issues of aging that are relevant both to the individual and to societies at
large. Because discoveries in these fields have been both rapid and broad, the series has
played a uniquely important role for students and scientists. By synthesizing and updat-
ing progress, they offer state-of-the-art reviews of the most recent advances. By continually
featuring new topics and involving new authors, they have pushed innovation and fostered
new ideas. With the explosion of information and research on aging in recent decades, there
has been a concomitant increase in the number of college and university courses and pro-
grams focused on aging and longevity. The Handbook of Aging series has provided knowledge
bases for instruction in these continually changing fields.
Indeed, The Handbooks are resources for teachers and students alike, providing informa-
tion for didactics and inspiration for further research. Given the breadth and depth of the
material covered, they serve as both a source of the most current information and as an
overview of the various fields. One of the greatest strengths of the chapters in The Handbooks
is the synthesis afforded by authors who are at the forefront of research and thus provide
expert perspectives on the issues that current define and challenge each field. The interdisci-
plinary nature of aging research is exemplified by the overlap in concepts in chapters rang-
ing from basic biology to sociology.
We express our deepest thanks to the editors of the individual volumes for their incred-
ible dedication and contributions. It is their efforts to which the excellence of the products
ix
Foreword
is largely credited. We thank Drs. Edward J. Masoro and Steven N. Austad, editors of The
Handbook of the Biology of Aging; Drs. Sherry L. Willis and K. Warner Schaie, editors of The
Handbook of the Psychology of Aging; and Drs. Robert H. Binstock and Linda K. George, editors
of The Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences. We would also like to express our apprecia-
tion to Nikki Levy, our publisher at Elsevier, whose profound interest and dedication has
facilitated the publication of The Handbooks through their many editions. And, finally, we
extend our deepest gratitude to James Birren for establishing and shepherding the series
through the first six editions.
Thomas A. Rando, Laura L. Carstensen
Center on Longevity, Stanford University
x
Preface
The Handbook of the Psychology of Aging provides a basic reference source on the behavior-
al processes of aging for researchers, graduate students, and professionals. It also provides
perspectives on the behavioral science of aging for researchers and professionals from other
disciplines.
The present edition involves at least a partial generational turnover in the editorial leader-
ship for this major handbook. James E. Birren, who was the founding editor of this hand-
book, decided that this project could no longer continue as a major focus of his remaining
energy. Hence, he turned over the senior editorship to K. Warner Schaie, who had been the
co-editor for all previous editions of the Handbook. He in turn invited Sherry L. Willis who
had been a frequent contributor to earlier editions, to become the co-editor. Given the many
new directions in our field, we next invited a new group of associate editors to help us in our
efforts. We recruited the help of Denise C. Park to assist in the planning and editing of the
expanded section on topics related to neuroscience, Becca Levy for the section on health and
social influences on behavior, and Bob G. Knight for the section on psychopathology
and complex processes.
The seventh edition of the Handbook continues to reflect both the continuing interest of
the scientific community as well as the needs and worldwide growth of the older portion
of the population as well as their expanding total and active life expectancy. The growth of
the research literature provides new opportunities to replace the index of chronological age
as the primary independent variable with other variables that represent causal mechanisms,
and hence present the potential for control or experimental modification. Both academic
and public interests have been contributing to the emergence of the psychology of aging as
a major subject in universities and research institutions. Issues of interest to the psychology
of aging touch upon many features of daily life, from the workplace and family life to pub-
lic policy matters covering health care, retirement, social security, and pensions.
The psychology of aging is complex and many new questions keep being raised about
how behavior is organized and how it changes over the course of life. Results of the mark-
edly increasing number of longitudinal studies are providing new insights into the casual
factors in behavior changes associated with adult development and aging. They are contrib-
uting to our understanding of the role of behavior changes in relation to biological, health,
and social interactions. Parallel advances in research methodology particularly directed
toward the problems of studying change allow us to explicate in greater detail, patterns and
subpatterns of behavior over the life span.
Facing the rapidly accelerating growth of the relevant research literature, the editors once
again have had to make choices about what new topics should be included in the hand-
book. But the growth in research activity does not occur uniformly across all fields. Hence,
some topics covered in earlier editions of the Handbook are not included in the present edi-
tion. In this edition we have markedly expanded coverage of the section on Neuroscience,
Cognition, and Aging. Other new topics first introduced in this edition include relation-
ships between adults and their aging parents, intergenerational communication practices,
assessment of emotional and personality disorders in older adults, neuropsychological
assessment of the dementias of late life, and family caregiving for cognitively or physically
frail older adults.
xi