This proposal requests funds to continue a series of conferences designed to explore the interfaces between disciplines concerned with the study of social macro- and micro-structures, and those disciplines specifically concerned with the investigation of individual differences in human aging processes. Prior conferences have addressed Social Structure and Aging topics: Psychological Processes (1986); Age Structures in Cultural Perspective (1987); Self-directedness and Efficacy: Causes and Effects Throughout the Life Course (1988); Aging, Health Behaviors and Health Outcomes (1989); Social Structures and Caregiving: Family and Cross National Perspectives (1990); Societal Impact on Aging: Historical Perspectives (1991 ); Social Structure and Aging: Intergenerational Perspectives (1992); Societal Mechanisms that Maintain Individual Competence (1993); Impact of Social Structures on Decision Making in the Elderly (1994); Impact of the Workplace on the Aging Individual (1995); Mobility and Aging (1997); Impact of Society on the Aging Self (1998); Social Structures and Effective Health Behaviors (1999); Mastery and Control in the Elderly (2000); and Impact of Technology and Successful Aging (2001). A sixteenth conference on the topic of Impact of Religious Organizations on Health and Well-being in the Elderly to be held in 2002 is in preparation. The proposed conferences will address: Impact of Historical Events on the Elderly, (2003; Glen EIder, co-chair); Social Structures, Aging and Self Regulation in the Elderly (2004; Laura Carstensen, co,chair); and Impact of Demographic Changes on Health and Well-being tin the Elderly (2005, Peter Uhlenberg, co-chair). Each proposed conference will involve 18 invited participants and up to 100 observers. Papers and discussions will be published in volumes edited by the conference organizers of the respective """"""""Societal Impacts on Aging"""""""" series.
