Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Geriatric Medicine pp 28–37Cite as

Social and Psychological Characteristics of Older Persons

  • Chapter

Abstract

Long life is a major achievement of the 20th century in all developed countries of the world. The average life expectancy at birth in United States has now reached 75 years, and it is expected to keep rising (Table 3.1.). It is not only that people are living longer. Primarily because of lower birth rates, the proportions of older to younger people are increasing, producing a shift in the overall age distribution of the society that is expressed by the term, the aging society.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   74.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. National Institute on Aging and the US Bureau of the Census. America’s Centenarians. Washington, DC: US Dept of Health and Human Services, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Avorn JL. Medicine: The life and death of Oliver Shay. In: Pifer A, Bronte L, eds. Our Aging Society. New York, NY: WW Norton & Co Inc; 1986: 283–297.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Brody JA, Brock DB, Williams TF. Trends in the health of the elderly population. Annu Rev Public Health 1987; 8: 211–34.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Katz S, Greer DS, Beck JC, et al. Active life expectancy: societal implications. In: Committee on an Aging Society, Institute of Medicine and National Research Council, eds. America’s Aging: Health in an Older Society. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1985: 57–72.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Special Committee on Aging, (US Congress, Senate) 1987. Aging America: Trends and Projections. US Dept of Health and Human Services publication, 1988: 38–77.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Neugarten BN, Neugarten DA. Changing meanings of age in the aging society. In: Pifer A, Bronte L, eds. Our Aging Society. New York, NY: WW Norton & Co Inc; 1986: 33–52.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Neugarten BN. Age groups in American society and the rise of the young-old. Ann Am Acad Political Soc Sci 1974; 415: 187–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Committee on an Aging Society, Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. America’s Aging: Productive Roles in an Older Society. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Rosenwaike I. A demographic portrait of the oldest old. Milbank Q 1985; 63: 187–205.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Neugarten BN. Time, age, and the life cycle. Am J Psychiatry 1979; 136: 887–893.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Brody EM. Parent care as a normative family stress. Gerontologist 1985; 25: 19–29.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Odegaard CE. Dear Doctor-A Personal Letter to a Physician. Menlo Park, Calif: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  13. White KL. The Task of Medicine. Menlo Park, Calif: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation; 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  14. US Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1987 (107th edition), No. 82, Births and Birth Rates: 1960 to 1984. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office; 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  15. US Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-20, No. 418, Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March 1986, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office; 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  16. US Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-20, No. 407, Geographical Mobility: March 1983 to March 1984, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office; 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Sherman SR. Assets of new retired-worker beneficiaries: findings from the New Beneficiary Survey. Social Security Bulletin, July 1985, vol 48, No. 7, pp 27–43.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. US Bureau of the Census, Current Population Reports, Series P-25, No. 952, Projections of the Population of the United States, by Age, Sex, and Race: 1983 to 2080, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office; 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Louis Harris & Associates, Inc. The Myth and Reality of Aging in America: A Study for the National Council on the Aging, Inc. Washington, DC: National Congress on the Aging, Inc.; 1975.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Louis Harris & Associates, Inc. Aging in the Eighties: A Study for the National Council on the Aging, Inc. Washington, DC: National Council on the Aging, Inc.; 1981.

    Google Scholar 

  21. National Center for Health Statistics. Aging in the Eighties, Age 65 Years and Older: Use of Community Services. Rockville, Md: National Center for Health Services; 1986 (advance data No. 124, September 1986).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Bernice L. Neugarten
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Section of General Internal Medicine, The University of Chicago Medical Center, 60637, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Christine K. Cassel M.D. (Chief) (Chief)

  2. Journal of the American Medical Association, 60610, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Donald E. Riesenberg M.D. (Senior Editor, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine) (Senior Editor, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine)

  3. Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, 60637, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Donald E. Riesenberg M.D. (Senior Editor, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine) (Senior Editor, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine)

  4. Department of Medicine, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, 60637, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Leif B. Sorensen M.D., Ph.D. (Associate Chief) (Associate Chief)

  5. Geriatric Medicine, Portland V.A. Medical Center, 97207, Portland, Oregon, USA

    John R. Walsh M.D. (Chief) (Chief)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1990 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Neugarten, B.L. (1990). Social and Psychological Characteristics of Older Persons. In: Cassel, C.K., Riesenberg, D.E., Sorensen, L.B., Walsh, J.R. (eds) Geriatric Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2093-8_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2093-8_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-2095-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-2093-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation