“The adage used to be ‘with age comes wisdom,’ but that’s not really true,” says Carolyn, an expert on psychosocial factors that influence aging. “Generally, the people who had to work to sort things out after a difficult life event are the ones who arrived at new meaning.”
A new book about World War II, Korean War and Vietnam veterans – “Long-Term Outcomes of Military Service: The Health and Well-Being of Aging Veterans” – provides valuable insights into the effects of military service as a hidden variable in aging research. The book’s editors are Rick Settersten, endowed director of the Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families; Carolyn Aldwin, endowed director of the Center for Healthy Aging; and Avron Spiro of Boston University and the Boston Veterans Administration.
Thinking over and over again about conflicts between your job and personal life is likely to damage both your mental and physical health, research from Oregon State University suggests.
Because theories answer the “why” and “how” of what we’re interested in, the handbook highlights contemporary explanations for aging, Rick says, whether at the level of cells or societies. “When we have good explanations, we can also better design prevention and intervention efforts to improve human aging.”
The CPHHS’ IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education, Research and Training) on Aging Sciences doctoral training program educates PhD students about global challenges in the world for which interdisciplinary approaches are necessary, creating top-notch researchers who make a difference in the field of aging.
The CPHHS and its Center for Healthy Aging Research celebrated the center’s 10th anniversary April 1 with a number of high-profile guests, including Don and Jo Anne Petersen and Rep. Peter DeFazio.