Program Area: Behavioral and Social Sciences
J Jill Suitor, PhD, FGSA
Distinguished Professor of Sociology
Sociology and Center on Aging and the Life Course
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana, United States
Megan Gilligan, PhD, FGSA
Associate Professor
HDFS
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa, United States
Rachel Donnelly, PhD
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Sociology
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
Meng Huo, PhD
Assistant Professor of Human Development
Human Ecology
University of California, Davis
DAVIS, California, United States
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Rebecca Rodin, MD, MSc
Clinical Fellow, Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
New York City, New York, United States
Anneke Vedder, MSc.
Junior Assistant Professor
Clinical Psychology
Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences
Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
Toni Miles, MD,PhD (she/her/hers)
Pope Eminent Scholar / Professor Emeritus
Epidemiology / Biostatistics
Rosalynn Carter Institute / University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia, United States
This symposium considers the consequences of deaths of family members across the life course on psychological well-being, physical health, and mortality in the middle and later years. The first two papers focus on intergenerational losses, using data from the HRS. Donnelly, Lin and Umberson examine the ways in which the impact of parental death on adult children’s health in later life are shaped by children’s ages at loss, social isolation, and race/ethnicity. Next, Huo and Kim investigate the extent to which the effect of child loss on parents’ well-being in mid- and later-life is moderated by volunteering. The third and fourth papers focus on the role of spousal loss in health and well-being. Rodin and colleagues use HRS data to explore whether the association between widowhood and mortality differs depending on the cognitive health of the surviving spouse. Next, Vedder and colleagues provide a systematic review of variations in patterns and predictors of loneliness by marital status in middle and later life. Finally, Miles and Olsen examine the association between recent loss and binge drinking among spouses and adult children who had served as caregivers to the deceased, using data from the Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. This diverse set of studies reveals how the impact of the death of family members on survivors’ health and well-being is shaped by a complex set of structural and socioemotional factors, shedding new and important light on health disparities by sex/gender and race/ethnicity in the middle and later years.
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Rachel Donnelly, PhD – Vanderbilt University
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Meng Huo, PhD – University of California, Davis
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Rebecca Rodin, MD, MSc – Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Anneke Vedder, MSc. – Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences
Individual Symposium Abstract First Author: Toni Miles, MD,PhD (she/her/hers) – Rosalynn Carter Institute / University of Georgia