Aging and Diversity: Social and Community Contexts of Aging

Aging and diversity intersect in important ways, as individuals from different backgrounds experience aging through distinct lenses shaped by traditions, values, and beliefs. As the older population in the United States is becoming more diverse, it is important to understand the characteristics, the potential, and the needs of this population. In this new and fully revised edition of Aging and Diversity, Lisa S.Wagner, Chandra Mehrotra, and Man Guo address key topics in diversity and aging, discussing how the aging experience is affected by not only race and ethnicity but also gender, religious affiliation, socioeconomic status, rural–urban community location, and sexual orientation and gender identity. Taking this broad view of human diversity allows the authors to convey some of the rich complexities facing aging populations—complexities that provide both challenges to meet the needs of a diverse population of elders and opportunities to learn how to live in a pluralistic society. Wagner, Mehrotra, and Guo present up-to-date knowledge and scholarship about aging and diversity in a way that engages readers in active learning, placing ongoing emphasis on developing readers’ knowledge and skills, fostering higher-order-thinking, and encouraging exploration of personal values and attitudes.