This first systematic guide to the latest research about religion and aging focuses on the linkage between religion and health outcomes in people over 55, who will represent one-third of America's population by the year 2025. A short introduction points to the rapidly growing literature since 1980; the conclusion offers a brief synthesis of the varied basic and applied studies on the subject and suggests a useful model to consider applying. Nearly 300 entries with concise and comprehensive annotations are organized under four main subjects: religious beliefs, behaviors, and experience; relationships between religion and health; practical applications of research findings; and measuring religiosity and spirituality. Arranged under numerous additional sub-topics and with author and subject indexes, the guide is accessible and designed for varied use by students, teachers, researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and professionals in the fields of sociology and social work, psychology and psychiatry, and medicine and health.
Researchers, educators, and policymakers will find this book invaluable in identifying research and application studies and in evaluating their quality and methodology. Arranged under additional subtopics (by populations in many situations with varied problems, in terms of concerns relating to mental and physical health and with applications in different fields) and with author and subject indexes, the guide is accessible and designed for varied use by students, teachers, practitioners, and professionals in the fields of sociology and social work, psychology and psychiatry, and medicine and health.