Publisher's Synopsis
As the authors of this credible volume demonstrate, aging is largely a women's issue. Women live longer than men, but they also tend to be poorer and less healthy than older men. Only in recent years has the problem of aging among women been recognized and studied. Women in the Later Years challenges many long-held beliefs about the aging process and points to changes that must be made in present and future policy to guarantee the physical, social, and economic well-being of future generations of women.
In this book, experts in the fields of women's studies, health, and aging scrutinize the unique process of aging as it is experienced by women and address four broad topic areas--intergenerational relationships and exchanges, health issues, friendship, and ethnic and cross-cultural issues--as they affect middle-aged and older women. Among the many significant issues they examine are the need for policies that address the economic and social needs of older women, the gaps in the mental health services that are targeted to elderly women, and the effects of family and other social support on the psychological well-being of older women. Geared toward professionals and lay people with interest in gerontology and/or women's issues, Women in the Later Years is particularly valuable to policymakers, human service workers, researchers, and older women themselves, who wish to be updated on areas that have recently emerged as important in research and practice.
