Dr. Margolis’ research focuses on how family dynamics shape population change over time. She studies how and why grandparenthood is changing over time, how family networks are evolving, and how the thinning of kinship networks affects older adults.
Dr. Margolis’ research focuses on how family dynamics shape population change over time. She studies how and why grandparenthood is changing over time, how family networks are evolving, and how the thinning of kinship networks affects older adults.
Dr. Wiemers studies economic well-being and intergenerational ties across the life course. She is particularly interested understanding the role that families play in promoting health and well-being and the differences in the connection between family and well-being across socioeconomic status, race-ethnicity, and geography.
I-Fen Lin’s area of expertise include family sociology, aging, and survey methods. Much of her work examines parent-child relationships over the life course, with a focus on parents’ investment in children and adult children’s support of their aging parents. Her current projects examine the antecedents and consequences of gray divorce, family caregiving in late life, and discordance in parents’ and children’s reports of intergenerational transfer.
Dr. Friedman’s research examines how families and communities facilitate the health and wellbeing of older adults. Much of her recent work focuses on family caregiving, including social support networks of family caregivers, the economic costs of family caregiving, and current and future kin availability for dementia care. Dr. Friedman leads MiCDA’s Network core and Longitudinal Studies on Aging in the U.S. Network.
Dr. Fingerman studies how relationships with family members, friends, and acquaintances change from young adulthood to old age, with particular attention to emotional qualities of ties and support exchanges. She is currently overseeing the NIA-funded Daily Experiences and Well-being in Late Life Study, which focuses on older adults’ social relationships and physical and cognitive functioning in a daily context using a variety of sensory devices and ecologically valid assessments.
Steven H. Zarit has conducted pioneering research on caregiver burden and stress, including development of research measures and conducting studies that examined the effects of programs to lower stress among caregivers. His most recent research used novel methods for measuring biological markers of stress to demonstrate the benefits of use of adult day care on the health and well-being of family caregivers of persons with dementia.
Dr. Reczek is a sociologist and social demographer who studies family care across the life course using qualitative and quantitative approaches. Their research pays particular attention to how LGBTQ people navigate family life, including caregiving, within the context of LGBTQ discrimination and stigma.
Dr. Wolff’s research focuses on the care of persons with complex health needs and disabilities and their family and other unpaid caregivers. She conducts survey- and claims-based research to assess the quality of care and experiences of older adults and their caregivers, drawing heavily on the National Health and Aging Trends Study and its linked National Study of Caregiving.
Dr Wolf’s research areas include the well-being and life course-patterns of the older population, such as household composition and parent-child coresidence; informal care of older persons, especially the care provided by family members; and the spatial distribution of kin and migration choices.
Dr. Polenick’s research interests center on family relationships and family caregiving in middle and later life. She is particularly interested in understanding mutual influences within care dyads that inform interventions to maintain the well-being of both care dyad members.