Health and aging
Faculty Associates who have current or recent work in this area:
Current projects:
“Mental and Physical Health Consequences of Partner Health Shocks among Older Adults” (Eberstein, M. Taylor). This research examines older couples to study the how the occurrence of a negative health event (health shock) for one spouse affects the mental and physical wellbeing of the other partner. Data are from six waves of the Health and Retirement Study (1998-2008).
Health and the environment
Faculty Associates who have current or recent work in this area:
Current projects:
“The Built Environment and Community Health” (Coutts). This research examines the influence of the built environment and ecologically-sensitive land use practices on community health and health behaviors in North Florida. This project is part of a broader program of biophilic epidemiology aimed at unraveling how environmental elements and socio-ecological relationships influence health.
“Housing and Health” (Miles with Andrew Aurand). This project looks at Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs) in an intermediate-sized Southern city in order to better understand the types of housing and community environments that best support successful aging- in-place in such locations. Intermediate cities are likely to feature lower residential densities and to be more spread out than large cities and therefore deserve a focus of their own.
Health and well-being among infants, children, and youth
Faculty Associates who have current or recent work in this area:
Current projects:
“Children’s Neighborhood Environments and Health” (Miles with Suzanne Johnson). Using data from Leon County, Florida, this project investigates the extent to which the physical places where children live, grow, and play contribute to changes in their weight status over time. A particular focus is summer break: are children living near parks and green spaces more likely to maintain their weight than children who don’t?
“Neighborhood context and breastfeeding practices” (Burdette). This project considers the effects of neighborhood characteristics on breastfeeding practices among low-income, urban women in the United States.
“Child disability and siblings” (Eberstein with Shannon Sabo). This project uses population data sets to examine whether/how the presence of a sibling with any of a range of disabling conditions may affect children and adults. In addition to educational and economic outcomes, other aspects of individual and family wellbeing will be considered.
Sexual and reproductive health
Faculty Associates who have current or recent work in this area:
Current projects:
“Transition to Sexual Activity” (Brewster, Tillman). Researchers have treated the transition to sexual activity as an amorphous process that ends in first coitus; it is clear, however, that sexual activity involves behaviors other than coitus, such as oral sex with heterosexual partners and same-sex sexual engagement. This on-going project uses cross-sectional and longitudinal data to define more clearly the transition to sexual activity among adolescents and young adults in the U.S.
“Community Context and Reproductive Knowledge” (Burdette). This research investigates the relationship between characteristics of the community context and young adults’ reproductive knowledge among young adults.
Stress processes
Faculty Associates who have current or recent work in this area:
Current projects:
“Racial/ethnic Contrasts in Health-Related Coping Behaviors.” (J. Taylor with Byron Miller) This project looks at racial/ethnic contrasts in health-related coping behaviors in response to exposure to social stress.
“Black/White Crossover in Stress Exposure” (J. Taylor with Elizabeth Corsentino, Natalie Sachs-Ericsson).