Family Ties and Aging

Providing an integrated and thorough representation from current research and contemporary society, Family Ties and Aging shows how pressing issues of our time—an aging population, changing family structures, and new patterns of work-family balance—are negotiated in the family lives of middle-aged and older adults. 

Focusing on key questions such as "How do current trends and social arrangements affect family relationships?" and "What are the implications of what we know for future research, theory, practice, and policy?", authors Ingrid Arnet Connidis and Amanda E. Barnett explore groups and relationships that are typically overlooked, including the unique family situations of older single and childless persons, sibling ties, older lesbian and gay adults, and new forms of intimate relationships. The Third Edition is thoroughly updated to include the latest research and theoretical developments, recent media coverage of related issues, and new information on intimate relationships in later life and elder neglect/abuse.

Ingrid Arnet Connidis is Professor of Sociology at Western University (formerly, University of Western Ontario), London, Canada. In 2001 she was the Petersen Visiting Scholar in Gerontology and Family Studies at Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, and in 2011 she was Visiting Chair in Gerontology at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. Her research on various family ties and aging and on ambivalence appears in a variety of books and journals including Journal of Marriage and Family, Journal of Family Theory and Review, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, Research on Aging, Journal of Aging Studies, and Canadian Journal on Aging. A theme of Ingrid’s work is the challenge of negotiating family ties in the face of social inequality and the consequent contradictions that are embedded in social institutions including family and work. Ingrid is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). In 2004 she and Julie McMullin were awarded the Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award from GSA for their work on ambivalence (“Sociological Ambivalence and Family Ties: A Critical Perspective.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 2002:64:3:558–567). In 2013, Ingrid was a proud recipient of the inaugural Wiley Alexis Walker Award at the National Council on Family Relations in recognition of her influence on and contribution to the field and for best research publication in family studies (“Interview and memoir: Complementary narratives on the family ties of gay adults” published in the Journal of Family Theory & Review in 2012). This award is in memory of a woman of intellect, integrity, humility, and generosity, Alexis J. Walker, whose example and mentoring continue to have a profound influence on the lives of many scholars and students. Amanda E. Barnett is Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, WI, United States. Her work focuses on the areas of caregiving, intergenerational relationships, and late life family decision-making. She was the 2010 recipient of the Gerontological Society of America Emerging Scholar and Professional Organization Interdisciplinary Paper Award, and the 2010-2011 recipient of the Shelley Joseph Kordell Scholarship from the University of Minnesota Center on Aging for her pursuit of a career in aging. She has presented and published her research on a range of topics including marital relationships of grandparents raising grandchildren, financial long-term care decisions among couples, adult child caregivers’ multiple roles and health outcomes, and intergenerational resource transfers. Her work appears in a variety of journals, including Journal of Marriage and Family, Research on Aging, International Journal of Aging and Human Development, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, and Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning.