The 20th century. Looking back at the ambiance of aging from the perspective of age-specific journals and periodicals.
The word "aging" is fraught with nuance, both positive and negative. The purpose of this article is to describe the results of a preliminary exploration of the ambiance of the concept of aging in the United States as seen from the perspective of periodical literature from the past century. A convenience sample of professional journals and lay periodicals concerned with aging and the issues of aging was selected as the focus for this investigation. Specifically, volume one, number one of the selected journals was examined with regard to the date of the first publication, the table of contents, and the first issue editorial or articles in the first volume describing the motivation for the introduction of the journal. Findings indicated that as the century progressed and the study of aging took form, the focus shifted from how to manage the problems of aging to: (a) how to promote healthier young adult lifestyles to increase the chances of a healthy old age, (b) how to continue to maintain older adults' health and therefore, increase the life expectancy for those people older than age 65, and (c) how older adults contribute to the well-being of society. The longevity of the human species, as well as the increasing size of the aging population is a new phenomenon, the ramifications of which are difficult to predict. However, as the emotional tone of the journals in the latter quarter of the century gradually became more positive, it was apparent that consideration was being given to the idea that this phenomenon could be a positive force in the collective growth of humanity.
Holkup
P A
PA
University of Iowa College of Nursing, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D015706:Bibliometrics; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006801:Humans; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States