Gerontology coming of age: The transformation of social gerontology into a distinct academic discipline

The paper's goal is to propose a conceptual framework, a “knowledge infrastructure,” demonstrating that social gerontology is at the point of becoming a distinct academic discipline. The various phases of gerontological development that have led to the current stage are outlined. The components of the framework are arranged vertically by three time phases in the development of gerontology, and horizontally by three conceptual foci: individual/micro, contextual/community, and societal/macro. The usefulness of the proposed analytic framework for the transformation of gerontology into a distinct academic discipline is demonstrated. Moreover, the framework might be applicable to other knowledge bases at the same point of development.