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Research Interests: My graduate training in social psychology emphasized health-related research in the context of later life. Throughout my career, I have conducted programmatic research on the interplay between chronically ill and disabled older adults and their caregiving families. A unifying theme in this research is the assumption that all social interactions have the potential to be both positive and problematic. My work has focused on two key questions: 1) how do support and problematic support from family members affect an individual's adjustment to a disabling health condition, and 2) how do the stresses and rewards of providing care to a disabled family member affect caregivers? I have examined these questions in the context of several family relationships (e.g., married couples and parent-adult child relations), and in the context of various chronic health conditions, (e.g., stroke, dementia, and arthritis). |