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The purpose of this paper is to outline the need to develop a more balanced approach to addressing the loneliness experience by older people by recognising the psychological and emotional dynamics which cause it. It proposes a more holistic psychosocial approach to loneliness.

This paper draws on and reviews the published literature on the psychological aspects of loneliness.

Although not extensive, there is sufficient evidence to begin to develop and test more psychosocial approaches to addressing loneliness.

The evidence base is not extensive and a fair degree of it has not been fully trialled with older people.

There is an a priori case for using the evidence that exists to develop and test out new psychosocial interventions for addressing loneliness.

It is possible that a more psychosocial approach to loneliness will enable more to be done to address the significant distress of older people experience severe and chronic loneliness. It may also be possible to develop more effective preventative strategies which build resilience in older people.

The field of loneliness practice and research is overwhelmingly based on sociological analysis and social interventions. This paper is one of the first to explicitly highlight the value in drawing from psychological data in order to develop psychosocial approaches.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a high-level overview of a substantial body of research on the impact that negative attitudes towards ageing have on the health and wellbeing outcomes of people in later life and to highlight the need for a more interdisciplinary approach towards older people’s wellbeing.

The paper draws from an initial analysis of over 70 peers reviewed and published studies on the psychosocial impact of negative stereotypes about ageing.

There is overwhelming evidence that the way in which people think about ageing can have a very significant adverse impact on a wide array of health and wellbeing outcomes. This research evidence is largely unknown, nor operationalised, within the field of health and social care policy or service development.

The fact that beliefs and attitudes can have such a profound impact on health and wellbeing outcomes suggests the possibility of psychosocial interventions to address them in order to improve older people’s experience of later life. There is a need for a much more interdisciplinary research agenda to take these findings forward.

The evidence suggests the need for a much more rigorous and comprehensive approach to addressing the effects of socially constructed ageist attitudes.

Whilst the research itself is not new, the originality of this paper is its attempt to bring data from a different discipline into the health and social care ambit and thereby extend the knowledge base and create the possible conditions for the development and application of new psychosocial interventions to improve the lives of older people.

The aim of this paper is to highlight the corrosive impact of ageism on the health and wellbeing of older people and to propose a practical methodology for addressing the psychological and emotional damage.

The paper examines published research from social gerontology on the impact of negative attitudes on longevity and health and then incorporates research from the realm of positive psychology to produce some practical personal development approaches based on a synthesis of the two.

Negative attitudes, largely fed by societal ageism, can significantly reduce longevity. Altering a person's “explanatory style” can produce significant health and wellbeing benefits. The latter is then proposed as a means of countering the former.

Whilst each element is grounded in robust research evidence, there is as yet no dedicated research to show that the proposed “combined intervention” will have the intended impact.

A methodology is proposed for enabling individuals to examine their negative attitudes towards their own ageing and then use a variety of psychological techniques to ameliorate or replace them with more positive ones, which it is argued, will lead to greater health and wellbeing.

The paper synthesises research from two disparate disciplines (i.e. social gerontology, and psychology) to propose a way of addressing the negative impact of internalised ageist attitudes. The paper offers practical approaches to reverse the psychological and emotional damage caused by prevalent ageism in society. One such transformational programme is outlined.

The purpose of this paper is to outline learning and good practice across Europe on the deployment of asset based approaches for promoting active ageing and intergenerational solidarity.

The paper draws on a wide ranging review of good practice across Europe distilled from desktop analysis and two European roundtable sessions with key stakeholders.

The paper analyses the current level of volunteering by older people across Europe and the evidence for its benefits to the health and wellbeing of older people. It then goes on to provide analysis and good practice regarding area and individual based asset approaches, as well those relevant to addressing the social exclusion faced by people with dementia.

The analysis and good practice examples in the report provide resources for developing effective asset based approaches to promoting active ageing and intergenerational solidarity.

The review of European experience is particularly original. There has been little if any European review of asset based approaches to active ageing and intergenerational solidarity. Learning from practice elsewhere enables more confident initiatives to be taken up and developed.

The purpose of this paper is to outline an approach to understanding later life issues through the conceptual framework of “transitions”.

The paper draws on a wide ranging review of the literature, supported by two workshop sessions involving key stakeholders and experts in the field.

An analysis of efficacy or otherwise of the support available for people undergoing some of the major transitions is undertaken and some of the key issues arising from this are presented.

The study derives its data largely from a review of published literature and therefore lacks the input from older people themselves.

The analysis provides guidance to policy makers and others interested in the later life agenda with well-researched recommendations for change.

There are significant social implications in the recommendations and the opportunity for the experiences in later life to be framed in a transitions paradigm.

This is a very original piece of work as no other review has presented the conceptual framework of transitions alongside a practical analysis of the value of current support arrangements across the major transitions.