Psychology/DSJS 3030 - Psychology of Aging

Tips and Resources for the course, Psychology of Aging, Psychology 3030 / Diversity and Social Justice Studies 3030
updated for Winter 2020

Where to search:

• PsycINFO  - if your topic is entirely within traditional psychology research and theory
• OneSearch - if your topic is interdisciplinary with other fields such as health care, sociology, public policy, etc. Note that the nursing and allied health literature has considerable coverage of gerontological-related issues, not exclusively physical health
• CBCA - for both scholarly and popular/news articles about and from Canada specifically

How to search for "aging" in those databases:

• PsycINFO has a direct limiter for Aged (65+ years) - use this link to start a search in PsycINFO with that limiter already applied
• OneSearch requires a more complex search logic because many different databases with different subject tags are combined in the search results. Using this link will insert the search below into the first search box, then add your other topic aspects to the second and other boxes:
  (SU aging OR SU aged OR SU elderly OR SU "older people" OR SU "older adults" OR SU "geriatric*" OR SU "gerontol*" OR TI elderly OR TI "older adults" OR TI "older people")
• CBCA - similar to OneSearch but slightly different syntax:  (SU(aging OR aged OR elderly OR "older people" OR "older adults" OR geriatric OR gerontol* OR retirement) OR TI(elderly OR "older adults" OR "older people" OR seniors)) AND LOC(Canada)

Other useful places to search:

• Library Catalogue - for finding print books only (use OneSearch for print and ebooks), use this link to find books tagged as "aging - psychological aspects" OR "older people - psychology" (results sorted by date, newest first)
  ​Some specific ebooks on gerontological theories and concepts:
  • Blackburn, J. A. . P. D., & Dulmus, C. N. (2007). Handbook of gerontology : evidence-based approaches to theory, practice, and policy. Wiley.
  • Kolb, P. J. (2014). Understanding aging and diversity: theories and concepts. Routledge.
  • Tornstam, L. (2005). Gerotranscendence: a developmental theory of positive aging. Springer
  • Phillips, J., Ajrouch, K. J., & Hillcoat-Nallétamby, S. (2010). Key concepts in social gerontology. SAGE.
  • Dannefer, D., & Phillipson, C. (2010). The SAGE handbook of social gerontology. SAGE.
  • Schaie, K. W., & Willis, S. L. (2011). Handbook of the psychology of aging. Elsevier/Academic Press.
  • Youdin, R. (2016). Psychology of Aging 101.Springer Publishing Company
• Canadian government websites - federal, provincial, municipal - use this link to find pages and reports mentioning elderly/older people - add to the front of the search bar your own topic-specific keywords

PEI-specific resources regarding seniors and aging:

• PEI Government topic page for Seniors
• The Province's latest Population Report (PDF) came out a few months ago -- there's some good stuff on the aging population and dependency ratios on pages 6 - 10. Note that this is derived from Census 2016 data
• "Population Projections" report (PDF) was released in September, 2019
• Promoting Wellness, Preserving Health, an "Action Plan for seniors, near-seniors, and caregivers" (PDF) May, 2018
• The latest edition of the provincial Seniors' Secretariat Seniors' Guide (PDF) -- "information about programs and services for seniors" 2017 (though it says "2018" on the cover)
• Commissioned Report on "the continuum of care for Island seniors" (PDF). - presented to government in August, 2016
• PEI Chief Public Health Officer's Report, 2014 (PDF) included a large section on "healthy aging"
• PEI health trends in the 2016 CPHO report (PDF)
• 2009 Healthy Aging Strategy (PDF) - older but still widely referenced
• Pioneers in Aging: Voices of Women Age 85 and Older Aging in Place in Rural Communities (Dr. Olive Bryanton's PhD research, subjects lived on PEI)
• Driving Cessation: Older Women’s Experiences (PDF) (Dr. Bryanton's MEd thesis, all participants were PEI women (aged 70+))
• Provincial Forum about Abuse of Older Adults on PEI (2010, PDF) published by UPEI's Centre on Health and Aging
• Community Legal Information Association of PEI has quite a few resources targeted at seniors