The Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis is advancing an agenda on productive aging, focusing on three primary forms of productive engagement: employment, volunteerism/civic engagement, and caregiving. These are activities that produce goods and services, whether paid for or not, and that have effects beyond individuals to families, communities, and society. Older adults who engage in these activities make important economic and social contributions, though these contributions are often undervalued. This agenda on productive aging builds on the results of a CSD-sponsored symposium where leading gerontologists from many academic disciplines discussed older adults as a resource.
Project: Productive Engagement of Older Adults: Effects on Well-Being
Citation
Morrow-Howell, N., Sherraden, M., McBride, A. M., Hinterlong, J., Rozario, P., & Tang, F. (2004). An agenda on productive aging: Research, policy, and practice (CSD Working Paper 04-33). St. Louis, MO: Washington University, Center for Social Development