Susan H. McFadden – författare

The field of emotions research has recently seen an unexpected period of growth and expansion, both in traditional psychological literature and in gerontology. The Handbook of Emotion, Adult Development, and Aging provides a broad overview and summary of where this field stands today, specifically with reference to life course issues and aging. Written by a distinguished group of contributing authors, the text is grounded in a life span developmental framework, while advancing a multidimensional view of emotion and its development and incorporating quantitative and qualitative research findings.The book is divided into five parts. Part One discusses five major theoretical perspectives including biological, discrete emotions, ethological, humanistic, and psychosocial. Part Two on affect and cognition discusses the role of emotion in memory, problem solving, and internal perceptions of self and gender. Part Three on emotion and relationships expands on the role of emotion in sibling and parent/child relationships, as well as relationships between friends and romantic partners, and the emotional reaction to interpersonal loss across the life span. Part Four on stress, health, and psychological well-being treats issues of stress and coping, religion, personality, and quality of life. The final part on continuity and change in emotion patterns and personality discusses emotion and emotionality throughout the life span.An ideal reference source for professionals across a wide range of disciplines, the text summarizes recent important developments in this fast growing area of psychology and proposes many new directions for future research.- Provides a biopsychological view on emotion in adulthood from a life span context- Presents the new perspective on emotion in older adults actively engaged in emotion self-regulation- Describes the intimate connection between emotion and the structure of personality- Demonstrates a new perspective on what emotion is, its importance across the life span, its connections with cognition, its role in interpersonal relation, and the way it influences both stability and change in adulthood- Illustrates the interpersonal nature of emotion- Provides theoretically based, leading edge research from international authors- Five areas of coverage include:- Theoretical perspectives- Affect and cognition- Emotion and relationships- Stress, health, and psychological well-being- Continuity and change in emotion patterns and personality Coverage includes:- Five major theoretical perspectives, including biological, discrete emotions, ethological, humanistic, and psychosocial- The role of emotion in memory, problem-solving, and internal perceptions of self and gender- The role of emotion in sibling and parent/child relationships, relationships between friends and romantic partners, and the emotional reaction to interpersonal loss across the lifespan- Issues of stress and coping, religion, personality, and quality of life- Emotion and emotionality throughout the lifespan

This up-to-date summary of research in the field highlights the pivotal role that emotions play in personality formation and social behavior. The authors discuss this research in its historical context, placing current developments within the broader framework of the field's own research history, and that of developmental psychology in general. They treat developmental topics from both the classic age-comparative and normative-descriptive approaches, as well as from an individual differences perspective.

Examine the questions of how, what, and why associated with religiousness and spirituality in the lives of older adults! New Directions in the Study of Late Life Religiousness and Spirituality explores new ways of thinking about a topic that was once taboo but that has now attracted considerable attention from the gerontological community. It examines various approaches to methodology and definition that are used in the study of religion, spirituality, and aging. In addition, it explores the ways that gerontological research can highlight the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of older adults. The first section will introduce you to new ways of thinking about research methodology and data analysis that can be applied to studying the complexity of older adults' religious/spiritual practice and beliefs. You'll learn several approaches to the study of phenomena that are both personal and also deeply embedded in community. The second section addresses issues of definition, exploring important questions that call for critical reflection, such as: What are we studying? What social and psychological influences shape our thinking about definition? and Do the definitions used by gerontologists match those held by older people? The final section moves the study of religion, spirituality, and aging beyond a focus on health and mortality to examine well-being more broadly in the context of the life experiences of older adults. Here is a small sample of what you'll learn about in New Directions in the Study of Late Life Religiousness and Spirituality:structural equation modelinga statistical method designed to capture the dynamics inherent in the passage of time feminist qualitative methods for studying spiritual resiliency in older women spirituality as a public health issue the differences between groups of older people in the way they define religion and spirituality the psychosocial implications of two types of religious orientationdwelling and seeking older women's responses to the experience of widowhood and to the question of whether their religious beliefs were affected by the experience how social context influences our decisions and our interpretations of people's religious beliefs, behaviors, and experiences the ways that people caring for a spouse with dementia rely on religious coping a model that delineates three different ways people relate to God in copingand a study that asks whether these types of coping produce different outcomes for caregivers how people adjust to bereavement as a function of their beliefs about an afterlife

Examine the questions of how, what, and why associated with religiousness and spirituality in the lives of older adults! New Directions in the Study of Late Life Religiousness and Spirituality explores new ways of thinking about a topic that was once taboo but that has now attracted considerable attention from the gerontological community. It examines various approaches to methodology and definition that are used in the study of religion, spirituality, and aging. In addition, it explores the ways that gerontological research can highlight the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of older adults. The first section will introduce you to new ways of thinking about research methodology and data analysis that can be applied to studying the complexity of older adults'' religious/spiritual practice and beliefs. You''ll learn several approaches to the study of phenomena that are both personal and also deeply embedded in community. The second section addresses issues of definition, exploring important questions that call for critical reflection, such as: What are we studying? What social and psychological influences shape our thinking about definition? and Do the definitions used by gerontologists match those held by older people? The final section moves the study of religion, spirituality, and aging beyond a focus on health and mortality to examine well-being more broadly in the context of the life experiences of older adults. Here is a small sample of what you''ll learn about in New Directions in the Study of Late Life Religiousness and Spirituality:

structural equation modelinga statistical method designed to capture the dynamics inherent in the passage of time feminist qualitative methods for studying spiritual resiliency in older women spirituality as a public health issue the differences between groups of older people in the way they define religion and spirituality the psychosocial implications of two types of religious orientationdwelling and seeking older women''s responses to the experience of widowhood and to the question of whether their religious beliefs were affected by the experience how social context influences our decisions and our interpretations of people''s religious beliefs, behaviors, and experiences the ways that people caring for a spouse with dementia rely on religious coping a model that delineates three different ways people relate to God in copingand a study that asks whether these types of coping produce different outcomes for caregivers how people adjust to bereavement as a function of their beliefs about an afterlife

Examine the questions of how, what, and why associated with religiousness and spirituality in the lives of older adults! New Directions in the Study of Late Life Religiousness and Spirituality explores new ways of thinking about a topic that was once taboo but that has now attracted considerable attention from the gerontological community. It examines various approaches to methodology and definition that are used in the study of religion, spirituality, and aging. In addition, it explores the ways that gerontological research can highlight the role of religion and spirituality in the lives of older adults. The first section will introduce you to new ways of thinking about research methodology and data analysis that can be applied to studying the complexity of older adults'' religious/spiritual practice and beliefs. You''ll learn several approaches to the study of phenomena that are both personal and also deeply embedded in community. The second section addresses issues of definition, exploring important questions that call for critical reflection, such as: What are we studying? What social and psychological influences shape our thinking about definition? and Do the definitions used by gerontologists match those held by older people? The final section moves the study of religion, spirituality, and aging beyond a focus on health and mortality to examine well-being more broadly in the context of the life experiences of older adults. Here is a small sample of what you''ll learn about in New Directions in the Study of Late Life Religiousness and Spirituality:

structural equation modelinga statistical method designed to capture the dynamics inherent in the passage of time feminist qualitative methods for studying spiritual resiliency in older women spirituality as a public health issue the differences between groups of older people in the way they define religion and spirituality the psychosocial implications of two types of religious orientationdwelling and seeking older women''s responses to the experience of widowhood and to the question of whether their religious beliefs were affected by the experience how social context influences our decisions and our interpretations of people''s religious beliefs, behaviors, and experiences the ways that people caring for a spouse with dementia rely on religious coping a model that delineates three different ways people relate to God in copingand a study that asks whether these types of coping produce different outcomes for caregivers how people adjust to bereavement as a function of their beliefs about an afterlife

Never in human history have there been so many people entering old age-roughly one-third of whom will experience some form of neurodegeneration as they age. This seismic demographic shift will force us all to rethink how we live and deal with our aging population. Susan H. McFadden and John T. McFadden propose a radical reconstruction of our societal understanding of old age. Rather than categorizing elders based on their cognitive consciousness, the McFaddens contend that the only humanistic, supportive, and realistic approach is to find new ways to honor and recognize the dignity, worth, and personhood of those journeying into dementia. Doing so, they argue, counters the common view of dementia as a personal tragedy shared only by close family members and replaces it with the understanding that we are all living with dementia as the baby boomers age, particularly as early screening becomes more common and as a cure remains elusive. The McFaddens' inclusive vision calls for social institutions, especially faith communities, to build supportive, ongoing friendships that offer hospitality to all persons, regardless of cognitive status.Drawing on medicine, social science, philosophy, and religion to provide a broad perspective on aging, Aging Together offers a vision of relationships filled with love, joy, and hope in the face of a condition that all too often elicits anxiety, hopelessness, and despair.

This up-to-date summary of research in the field highlights the pivotal role that emotions play in personality formation and social behavior.