PERSPECTIVES ON PRODUCTIVE AGING

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Support is requested for a scientific meeting, Perspectives on Productive Aging: Toward a Knowledge-Building Agenda, to be held December 3 & 4, 1998 at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. The Center for Social Development (CSD) at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work will host this event. Population aging has led to a large increase in the number of healthy older adults. The concept of productive aging has emerged ion response to concerns that we have not fully recognized the contributions made by older adults nor have we created the knowledge, policies, and practices to optimize positive contributions to society. A literature on productive aging is developing; but this work has proceeded without the advantages of 1) guiding theoretical frameworks or 2) an integrated multidisciplinary research agenda. The proposed conference will spur the development of a knowledge base to inform program and policy initiatives. A group of 30 scholars will meet for two days to achieve the following objectives: 1) review and critique the current state of conceptualization and empirical evidence on productive aging; 2) identify promising theoretical perspectives for knowledge building to inform program and policy development; and 3) specify key theoretically-based research questions. There are six parts to the scientific meeting: 1) reviewing current knowledge and theory on productive aging (Scott Bass, Frank Caro, Andrew Achenbaum); 2) developing theoretical perspectives on productive aging: sociology (Van Bengtson), psychology (James Birren), economic (James Schulz) and biomedicine (Alvar Svanborg); 3) applying emergent gerontological perspectives to productive aging (Harry Moody, Carroll Estes, James Jackson); 4) overviewing new policy and program developments regarding producing aging (Fernando Torres-Gil, Marc Freedman); summarizing theoretical strengths and weaknesses (Michael Sherraden) and 6) formulating a research agenda (Nancy Morrow-Howell, James Hinterlong). All presenters have confirmed their participation. The meeting organizers will publish a volume of conference proceedings as well as disseminate a report. Money is requester from NIA to fund the commissioning of papers, travel expense of the presenters, and work of the CSD in hosting the conference and in editing the volume for publication. Part of the budget is being funded by the CSD with support from the Ford Foundation. This conference offers a unique opportunity for leading gerontologists to advance scholarship on the concept of productive aging and forward a broader vision of the aging experience.