Ageing & Society 

About: Ageing & Society is an academic journal published by Cambridge University Press. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Population & Dementia. It has an ISSN identifier of 0144-686X. Over the lifetime, 2754 publications have been published receiving 82952 citations. The journal is also known as: aged & ageing.

Towards a Theory of Dementia Care: Personhood and Well-being

Abstract: Some foundations are laid for a social-psychological theory of dementia care. Central to this is a conceptualisation of personhood, in which both subjectivity and intersubjectivity are fully recognised. Evidence is brought forward concerning relative well-being even in those who are, from a cognitive standpoint, severely demented. In the light of this it is argued that the key psychological task in dementia care is that of keeping the sufferer's personhood in being. This requires us to see personhood in social rather than individual terms.

Preventing social isolation and loneliness among older people: a systematic review of health promotion interventions

Abstract: Preventing and alleviating social isolation and loneliness among older people is an important area for policy and practice, but the effectiveness of many interventions has been questioned because of the lack of evidence. A systematic review was conducted to determine the effectiveness of health promotion interventions that target social isolation and loneliness among older people. Quantitative outcome studies between 1970 and 2002 in any language were included. Articles were identified by searching electronic databases, journals and abstracts, and contacting key informants. Information was extracted and synthesised using a standard form. Thirty studies were identified and categorised as ‘group’ (n=17); ‘one-to-one’ (n=10); ‘service provision’ (n=3); and ‘community development’ (n=1). Most were conducted in the USA and Canada, and their design, methods, quality and transferability varied considerably. Nine of the 10 effective interventions were group activities with an educational or support input. Six of the eight ineffective interventions provided one-to-one social support, advice and information, or health-needs assessment. The review suggests that educational and social activity group interventions that target specific groups can alleviate social isolation and loneliness among older people. The effectiveness of home visiting and befriending schemes remains unclear.

The Process of Successful Ageing

Abstract: As increasingly more people experience old age as a time of growth and productivity, theoretical attention to successful ageing is needed. In this paper, we overview historical, societal and philosophical evidence for a deep, long-standing ambivalence about human ageing that has influenced even scientific views of old age. In recent years, however, discussion of the psychological and behavioural processes people use to maintain and reach new goals in late life has gained momentum. We contribute to this discussion the metamodel of selective optimisation with compensation, developed by Baltes and Baltes. The model is a metamodel that attempts to represent scientific knowledge about the nature of development and ageing with the focus on successful adaptation. The model takes gains and losses jointly into account, pays attention to the great heterogeneity in ageing and successful ageing, and views successful mastery of goals in the face of losses endemic to advanced age as the result of the interplay of the three processes, selection, compensation, and optimisation. We review evidence from the biological and social science literatures for each component and discuss new research avenues to study the interaction of the three processes.

Quality of life from the perspectives of older people

Abstract: This paper report results from a national survey of quality of life (QoL), based on 999 people aged 65 or more years living in private households in Britain. The study produced both qualitative and quantitative interview data. The 999 survey respondents were interviewed in their own homes with a semi-structured survey instrument, and 80 were followed-up in greater depth at one and two years after the baseline interview. The material from the in-depth interviews is presented here. The main QoL themes that emerged were: having good social relationships, help and support; living in a home and neighbourhood that is perceived to give pleasure, feels safe, is neighbourly and has access to local facilities and services including transport; engaging in hobbles and leisure activities (solo) as well as maintaining social activities and retaining a role in society; having a positive psychological outlook and acceptance of circumstances which cannot be changed; having good health and mobility; and having enough money to meet basic needs, to participate in society, to enjoy life and to retain one's independence and control over life. The results have implications for public policy, and supplement the growing body of knowledge on the composition and measurement of quality of life in older age.

A critical review of the literature on social and leisure activity and wellbeing in later life

Abstract: An engaged lifestyle is seen as an important component of successful ageing. Many older adults with high participation in social and leisure activities report positive wellbeing, a fact that fuelled the original activity theory and that continues to influence researchers, theorists and practitioners. This study's purpose is to review the conceptualisation and measurement of activity among older adults and the associations reported in the gerontological literature between specific dimensions of activity and wellbeing. We searched published studies that focused on social and leisure activity and wellbeing, and found 42 studies in 44 articles published between 1995 and 2009. They reported from one to 13 activity domains, the majority reporting two or three, such as informal, formal and solitary, or productive versus leisure. Domains associated with subjective wellbeing, health or survival included social, leisure, productive, physical, intellectual, service and solitary activities. Informal social activity has accumulated the most evidence of an influence on wellbeing. Individual descriptors such as gender or physical functioning sometimes moderate these associations, while contextual variables such as choice, meaning or perceived quality play intervening roles. Differences in definitions and measurement make it difficult to draw inferences about this body of evidence on the associations between activity and wellbeing. Activity theory serves as shorthand for these associations, but gerontology must better integrate developmental and psychological constructs into a refined, comprehensive activity theory.