The Many Faces of Dependency in Old Age [Hardcover]

Margret Baltes provides insights into the social foundation of dependency with a blend of theoretical and empirical argument.Challenging the view that dependence is a negative and unnecessary consequence of aging, this text presents a theory which holds that dependency plays an important role in successful aging, and is a resourceful adaptation to aging losses.Challenging the view that dependence is a negative and unnecessary consequence of aging, this text presents a theory which holds that dependency plays an important role in successful aging, and is a resourceful adaptation to aging losses.Margret Baltes, a major researcher in gerontology, challenges the view that dependence is a negative and unnecessary consequence of aging. In this important volume, she presents her theory of learned dependency based on twenty years of research, which holds that dependency plays an important role in successful aging and is a resourceful adaptation to aging losses. This book attempts to correct the bias toward the virtues of independence over the vicissitudes of dependence, a predominantly North American view. It stresses that dependencies are not always dysfunctions, representing loss. Baltes also incorporates European, Japanese and feminist ideas about juxtaposing individuality and connectedness in the mature adult.1. Introduction; 2. What is dependency; 3. Behavioral dependency in old age; 4. Empirical research program on behavioral dependency: summary of theoretical and methodological framework; 5. Observational research in institutional settings; 6. Generalization of interaction patterns; 7. Expectations and attributions; 8. Behavioral dependency and successful aging; 9. Conclusions and implications. ...readers will find a powerful framework within which one could conceivably analyze and study virtually any behavior...Baltes leaves few questions unanswered...Baltes brings us to a clear understanding of dependency. Margaret Vaughan, American Scientist A major contributl“È