Synonyms
Introduction
The elderly of today differ in many significant ways from those of previous generations. As the baby-boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, moved into the categories of middle and old age, they brought with them new ways of thinking about and behaving relative to aging. Retirement no longer necessarily indicates the end to productivity and involvement in the outside world but now often signals the beginning of a meaningful second half of life. Rather than consigning themselves to rocking chairs and a slowing down of their faculties and activities, retirees tend to see themselves as younger longer, confident, engaged, and active, as well as excited about what lies ahead.
The context within which this shift has occurred is that of our aging* society. That is, between 2003 and 2013, the 65+ population increased from 35.9 million to 44.7 million, a 24% increase. By 2060, this number is expected to reach 98 million, or to double. In 2013, the 85+...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Administration on Aging. (2015). A profile of older Americans, 2014. http://www.aoa.acl.gov/Aging_Statistics/Profile/2014/docs/2014-Profile.pdf. Accessed 6 July 2015.
Becvar, D. S., & Becvar, R. J. (2013). Family therapy: A systemic integration. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Bethea, L. S., Travis, S. S., & Pecchioni, L. (2000). Family caregivers’ use of humor in conveying information about caring for dependent older adults. Health Communication, 12(4), 361–376.
Choi, J., & Marks, N. (2006). Transition to caregiving, marital disagreement, and psychological well-being. Journal of Family Issues, 27(12), 1701–1722.
Davey, A., Murphy, M. J., & Price, S. J. (2000). Againg and the family: Dynamics and therapeutic interventions. In W. C. Nichols, M. A. Pace-Nichols, D. S. Becvar, & A. Y. Napier (Eds.), Handbook of family development and intervention (pp. 235–252). New York: Wiley.
Dychtwald, K. (2000). Age power: How the 21st century will be ruled by the new old. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam.
Mancini, J. A., & Bliesner, R. (1989). Aging parents and adult children: Themes in relationships between older parents and their adult children. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 51, 275–290.
Shields, C. G., King, D., & Wynne, L. C. (1995). Interventions with later life families. In R. H. Mikesell, D. D. Lusterman, & S. H. McDaniel (Eds.), Integrating family therapy: Handbook of family psychology and systems theory (pp. 141–158). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Vaillant, G. E. (2002). Aging well. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Ziemba, R. A., & Lynch-Sauer, J. M. (2005). Preparedness for taking care of elderly parents: “First, you get ready to cry”. Journal of Women and Aging, 17(1/2), 2005.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Becvar, D. (2016). Elderly in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_431-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_431-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences