Research

Professor Wethington is a medical sociologist, jointly appointed in Human Development and Sociology. Her research interests are in the areas of: 1) situational determinants of exposure to stress, access to social support, and successful coping; 2) the epidemiology of mental and physical illness, particularly in relationship to exposure to severe life stressors; 3) the possible long-term positive impacts of role demands and challenging stressors on well-being. Four ongoing research projects reflect these interests:

Instruments to Assess Social Integration and Isolation. This is a five year project to develop new semi-structured research instruments to assess social integration and isolation. The project includes 3 national telephone surveys to validate the instruments. The data collection is funded by the National Institutes on Aging.

Psychological Experiences -- A Midlife Perspective. This is a longitudinal study of midlife psychological "turning points", deep psychological experiences linked to stressful life events, midlife role transitions, and the onset and resolution of chronic difficulties. Respondents are 750 randomly-selected adults aged 25-74, representative of the U.S. population. The data collection is funded by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Midlife Development as an intensive followup to the first nationally-representative study of midlife.

Daily Experiences in Midlife. This is an 8-day daily diary study of stress, time use, social and philanthropic activities, and mood. The 1300 respondents in this study are randomly-selected adults representative of the U.S. population, with an oversample of twins. The data collection is funded by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Midlife Development, supplemented by grants from the National Institutes of Mental Health and the Kellogg Foundation.

The Structured Life Event Interview. This project contributes to the revision and ongoing development of interview-based measures and objective rating systems for stressful life events and difficulties. It is supported by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Development and Psychopathology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Publications

Books:

John Krout and Elaine Wethington. 2003. Residential Choices and Experiences of Older Adults: Pathways to Life Quality. New York: Springer.

Karl A. Pillemer, Phyllis Moen, Elaine Wethington, and Nina Glasgow. Social Integration in the Second Half of Life, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press (1998)

Urie Bronfenbrenner, Peter McClelland, Elaine Wethington, Phyllis Moen, and Stephen J. Ceci, with Helene Hembrooke, Pamela A. Morris, and Tara L. White. The State of Americans: This Generation an the Next. New York: The Free Press. (1996)

Articles and Book Chapters:

See Elaine's CV, here