List of contributors; Foreword; Preface; Part I. Introduction and Overview: 1.1 Are theories of ageing necessary?; 1.2 Ageing and changing: international historical perspectives on ageing; 1.3 Global ageing: the demographic revolution in all cultures and societies; 1.4 The psychological science of human ageing; 1.5 The biological science of human ageing; Part II. The Ageing Body: 2.1 Biodemography and epidemiology of longevity; 2.2 The epidemiology of ageing; 2.3 Patterns of illness and mortality across the adult lifespan; 2.4 Sensory impairment; 2.5 Mobility and falls; 2.6 The genetics of behavioural ageing; 2.7 Psychodynamic approaches to the life-course & ageing; 2.8 Cultural approaches to the ageing body; 2.9 Promoting health and well being in later life; Part III. The Ageing Mind: 3.1 Psychological approaches to human development; 3.2 Cognitive changes across the lifespan; 3.3 Age-related changes in memory; 3.4 Intelligence and wisdom; 3.5 Everyday competence in older adults; 3.6 The psychology of emotions and ageing; 3.7 Personality and ageing; 3.8 Depression; 3.9 Dementia; 3.10 Dementia in an Asian context; Part IV. The Ageing Self: 4.1 Self and identity; 4.2 Stress and coping; 4.3 Reminiscence: developmental, social and clinical perspectives; 4.4 The social worlds of old age; 4.5 Listening to the past: reminiscence and oral history; 4.6 Elder abuse in developing nations; 4.7 The self in dementia; 4.8 Ageism; 4.9 Profiles of the oldest-old; 4.10 Images of ageing: cultural representations of later life; 4.11 Religion, spirituality and older people; 4.12 Quality of life and ageing; 4.13 The transformation of dying in old societies; 4.14 The psychology of death ; 4.15 Death and spirituality; Part V. The Ageing of Relationships: 5.1 Global ageing and challenges to families; 5.2 Aging parents and adult children: new perspectives on intergenerational relationships; 5.3 Grandparenthood; 5.4 Sibling ties across time: the middle and later years; 5.5 Filial piety in changing Asian societies; 5.6 Generational memory and family relationships; 5.7 Family caregivers: increasing demands in the context of 21st century globalization?; 5.8 Network dynamics in later life; 5.9 Changing family relationships in developing nations; 5.10 Ethnic diversity in aging, multi-cultural societies; 5.11 Gay and lesbian elders; Part VI. The Ageing of Societies: 6.1 The lifecourse perspective on ageing: linked lives, timing and history; 6.2 The political economy of old age; 6.3 Moral economy and ageing; 6.4 Generational changes and generational equity; 6.5 Gender dimensions of the age shift; 6.6 Migration and older people; 6.7 Do longevity and health generate wealth?; 6.8 Women, ageing and inequality: a feminist perspective; Part VII. Policies and Provisions for Older People: 7.1 The social construction of old age as a problem; 7.2 Restructuring the life course: work and retirement; 7.3 Ethical dilemmas in old age care; 7.4 Wealth, health, and ageing: the multiple modern complexities of financial gerontology; 7.5 Formal and informal community care for older adults; 7.6 Health policy and old age: an international review; 7.7 Gerontological nursing: the state of the art; 7.8 Delivering effective social/long-term care to older people; 7.9 Delivering care to older people at home 7.10 Long-term care; 7.11 Managed care in the United States and United Kingdom; 7.12 Health care rationing: is age a proper criterion?; 7.13 Adaptation to new technologies; 7.14 Ageing and public policy in ethnically diverse societies