Family Ties and Aging - Softcover

Connidis, Ingrid Arnet

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1412959578 ISBN 13: 9781412959575

Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc, 2009

Synopsis

Providing an integrated and thorough representation of what we know from current research and contemporary society, Family Ties and Aging is the only book that shows how pressing issues of our time―an aging population, changing family structures, and new patterns of work-family balance―are negotiated in the family lives of middle-aged and older adults.

Focusing on such key questions as "How do current trends and social arrangements affect family relationships?" and "What are the implications of what we know for future research, theory, practice, and policy?" author Ingrid Arnet Connidis explores groups and relationships that typically receive short shrift, including single, divorced, and childless older people and their family relationships, as well as sibling relationships among the elderly, live-in partnerships not formalized by marriage, and the kinds of family ties forged by gay and lesbian individuals over the life course. The Second Edition is thoroughly updated to include the latest research and theoretical developments, recent media coverage of related issues, and new information on intimate relationships in later life, gay and lesbian partnerships, sibling ties, and elder neglect/abuse.

Key Features

• Weaves the vast range of information about the many facets of family relationships and aging into a critical, comprehensive, and integrated whole
• Explores a range of intimate relationships, what happens when they end, and pathways to intimacy in old age
• Emphasizes diversity in terms of gender, age, class, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation throughout to help readers learn about similarities and differences in family relationships as we age
• Links the discussion of various family relationships in mid- and later life to current and future directions for research, practice, and policy

Family Ties and Aging is appropriate for use in upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses such as Families and Aging, Sociology of Aging, and Introduction to Gerontology in departments of family studies, sociology, social work, and gerontology.

About this title

About the Author:

Ingrid Arnet Connidis is Professor of Sociology at Western University (formerly, University of Western Ontario), London, Canada. In 2001 she was the Petersen Visiting Scholar in Gerontology and Family Studies at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, and in 2011 she was Visiting Chair in Gerontology at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Her research on various family ties and aging and on ambivalence appears in a variety of books and journals including Journal of Marriage and Family, Journal of Family Theory and Review, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, Research on Aging, Journal of Aging Studies, and Canadian Journal on Aging. A theme of Ingrid’s work is the challenge of negotiating family ties in the face of social inequality and the consequent contradictions that are embedded in social institutions including family and work. Ingrid is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). In 2004 she and Julie McMullin were awarded the Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award from GSA for their work on ambivalence (“Sociological Ambivalence and Family Ties: A Critical Perspective.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 2002:64:3:558–567). In 2013, Ingrid was a proud recipient of the inaugural Wiley Alexis Walker Award at the National Council on Family Relations in recognition of her influence on and contribution to the field and for best research publication in family studies (“Interview and memoir: Complementary narratives on the family ties of gay adults” published in the Journal of Family Theory & Review in 2012). This award is in memory of a woman of intellect, integrity, humility, and generosity, Alexis J. Walker, whose example and mentoring continue to have a profound influence on the lives of many scholars and students.

Review:

"I am very excited about this book! I believe it will fill a crucial niche in the field of gerontology. There have been a few slim textbooks on family and aging issues in the past, but none as comprehensive as this one . . . There are many attractive features . . . excellent covreage of diversity in family experiences according to racial, ethnic, and sexual orientation group membership . . . . indication of diversity of family and aging experience according to socioeconomic class. . . . many useful examples of critical thinking . . . section introductions and summaries that serve as useful learning tools . . . . I think it will give students a broader perspective of the world than they typically get from textbooks."

(Rosemary Blieszner)

"This book presents a wealth of information on family ties and aging, and would be a good text for undergraduates." 

(Victor G. Cicirelli)

"Overall, the book is really very good. All the chapters are excellent....impressive in its breadth and depth. There is nothing like it on the market, and I predict that it will be widely adopted." 

(Sarah Matthews)

"The book is written in a style that is easy to read and presents details carefully but without tedium. It would be appropriate for an advanced undergraduate course or a graduate course....I enjoyed reading this book. This is a topic I am interested in, and I think the author did a nice job of communicating both the old and the new, the traditional and the nontraditional issues of importance in the study of the family." 

(Toni Antonucci)

About this edition

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 1412959578
• ISBN 13: 9781412959575
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 360