Aging and Health
Intergenerational Relationships, Health, and Well-being
Dr. Hammersmith's current research uses secondary data from the Health and Retirement Study to examine how:
1. An older adult's partnership status (married versus cohabiting) is linked to expectations of help with care needs from adult children.
2. The biological relatedness of children is linked to whether or not aging parents expect adult children will help them with care needs in the future.
Inquiries about this project should be send to: [email protected]
Featured Project: "COVID-19 and Loneliness in Later Life"
Student: Rebecca Clark (Senior; BMS Major with an English minor)
Mentor: Dr. Anna Hammersmith
Rebecca completed a SOC 499 over two semesters. Rebecca designed her own study to examine loneliness and social isolation among older adults in West Michigan during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her research included:
- Literature review
- IRB approval
- Study design
- Data collection, cleaning, and analysis
- Producing a research paper
- Presenting at conferences and in the community, like the Midwest Sociological Society Annual Meeting (MSS)