This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Scheidt, R. J. Articles by Yorgason, J. B. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Successful Aging: What's Not to Like?

Daniel R. Humpherys

Jeremy B. Yorgason

Kansas State University

The "successful aging" paradigm championed by Rowe and Kahn has become a valued and powerful paradigm in the culture of gerontology. It has been particularly useful for understanding distinctions between primary and secondary aging in later life, leading to numerous intervention studies designed to identify, prevent, and reverse functional losses associated with usual aging. We pose some cautionary questions regarding the assumptions, conceptualization, and application of the perspective. We suggest that the paradigm is parochial with respect to defining criteria; fails to incorporate adequately life course dynamics, particularly the multiple meanings of age-related losses and dependency; fails to address the generalizability of assumptions and findings to heterogeneous populations of elders; ignores evidence indicating numerous routes to aging well; and fails to consider the implications for elders who cannot age " successfully" due to incapacitation or lack of access to environmental resources.

Journal of Applied Gerontology, Vol. 18, No. 3, 277-282 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/073346489901800301


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. J. McLaughlin, C. M Connell, S. G. Heeringa, L. W. Li, and J. S. Roberts Successful Aging in the United States: Prevalence Estimates From a National Sample of Older Adults J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci, December 14, 2009; (2009) gbp101v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. E. Dillaway and M. Byrnes Reconsidering Successful Aging: A Call for Renewed and Expanded Academic Critiques and Conceptualizations Journal of Applied Gerontology, December 1, 2009; 28(6): 702 - 722. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. Angus and P. Reeve Ageism: A Threat to "Aging Well" in the 21st Century Journal of Applied Gerontology, April 1, 2006; 25(2): 137 - 152. [Abstract] [PDF]

				I. Hellstrom, M. Nolan, and U. Lundh 'We do things together': A case study of 'couplehood' in dementia Dementia, February 1, 2005; 4(1): 7 - 22. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. B. Holstein and M. Minkler Self, Society, and the "New Gerontology" Gerontologist, December 1, 2003; 43(6): 787 - 796. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Minkler and P. Fadem "Successful Aging:": A Disability Perspective Journal of Disability Policy Studies, January 1, 2002; 12(4): 229 - 235. [Abstract] [PDF]