Adolescent dating violence may lead to adverse health behaviors. We examined associations between sexual teen dating violence victimization (TDVV) and sexual risk behaviors among U.S. high school students using 2013 and 2015 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey data (combined n = 29,346). Sex-stratified logistic regression models were used to estimate these associations among students who had dated or gone out with someone during the past 12 months (n = 20,093). Among these students, 10.5% experienced sexual TDVV. Sexual TDVV was positively associated with sexual intercourse before age 13, four or more lifetime sexual partners, current sexual activity, alcohol or drug use before last sexual intercourse, and no pregnancy prevention during last sexual intercourse. Given significant findings among both sexes, it is valuable for dating violence prevention efforts to target both female and male students.

Increasing urbanization coupled with population aging suggests that the neighborhood context in which people grow old may shape their health, longevity, and well-being. In this chapter, we examine the neighborhood–health relationship within the context of age and aging. We summarize the literature on neighborhoods and health, lay out a set of theories that inform the study of neighborhood structural and social process factors, and suggest two promising new directions in research on neighborhoods, aging, and health: (1) study of neighborhoods and households as nested contexts and (2) the examination of biomarkers in large-scale social surveys that include a geographic component. These two pursuits illustrate the additional potential of neighborhood-based research in gerontology and geriatric research.

Inheritance appears to play a strong role in terms of human longevity and also in risk for chronic neurodegenerative diseases of late life such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Understanding the role of genes in normal biological aging of the nervous system and in the expression of AD pathological changes is important for developing useful disease targets for clinical intervention and treatment. The extent to which gene expression can be altered through environmental exposures may also provide important clues for disease prevention. In this chapter, we consider the role of genetic and environmental factors in AD risk and in age-related cognitive decline. We focus, in particular, on targets that are potentially modifiable with respect to exerting positive effects on cognition and AD risk. In this context, we conclude the chapter by considering lifestyle approaches to disease prevention and enhancement of successful cognitive aging that extend from the current state of evidence and discuss areas for future research development.

There is now substantial evidence, in some cases compelling and in others fairly preliminary, that mouse lifespan can be extended by 3 dietary interventions (Miller et al. 2005; Sun, Sadighi Akha, Miller, & Harper, 2009; Weindruch & Sohal, 1997), by mutations in numerous genes (Ladiges et al., 2009), and by multiple drugs including rapamycin (Harrison et al., 2009). There are also provocative reports of genetic or nongenetic interventions that seem to convey health benefits to mice without clear improvement in lifespan. These new methods for postponing ill health and/or death provide valuable tools for asking questions, at the level of cell biology and organismic physiology, about the factors that control the rate of aging in mammals and the pathways that link aging to diseases and to death. This research area may also someday be seen as an early step toward the development of preventive medicines that postpone a wide range of human maladies by retarding the common factor, aging, that underlies them.

Edward Steinfeld first started studying aging at the Department of Architecture and Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan, with his mentor, Lee Pastalan. His work departed from what became mainstream Environmental Gerontology as he focused on design of the broader community environment as opposed to environments purpose-built for an aging population. While holding a joint appointment at the All-University Gerontology Center and the School of Architecture at Syracuse University, he conducted a landmark research study that led to a major expansion and revision of a consensus standard used in the design of built environments in the United States. This research also underlies, to this day, the requirements of federal accessibility laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards. At the University at Buffalo, SUNY School of Architecture and Planning, he founded the center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access. Over the last 30 years, the Center has conducted research and development activities, consulting services, educational initiatives, and knowledge dissemination in universal design and accessibility. It seeks to advance design of communities to accommodate all citizens throughout their lifespans by enhancing usability, health, and social participation.