Karl Pillemer
Professor
2008
HD

Web Bio Page

Current Activities

Current Professional Activities
Gerontological Society of America, American Sociological Association, National Council on Family Relations

Current Research Activities
My current research projects span my interests in aging and the family, long-term care, violence and aggression in later life, and the social integration of older persons. This research is funded by the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute for Nursing Research, and a variety of foundation sources. Ongoing studies include the following: 1) The Within-Family Differences Study (NIA, in collaboration with J. Jill Suitor, Purdue University) is following 550 mothers over the age of 65 and their adult children over a 7-year period, examining the causes and consequences of within-family differentiation in later life. Analyses have focused on parental favoritism, differential helping to and by offspring, caregiver selection, and ambivalent parent-adult child relationships, among other topics. 2) Resident-to-Resident Elder Mistreatment (NIA, in collaboration with Mark S. Lachs, Weill Cornell Medical College) is the first large scale prevalence and risk factor study of aggression and violence among nursing home residents. 3) Taking Community Action against Pain (NINR, in collaboration with M. Carrington Reid, Weill Cornell Medical College) applies principles of community-based participatory research to develop more effective interventions for older persons dealing with pain. 4) Evaluation of Electronic Medical Records in Nursing Homes is studying the impact of the introduction of electronic health information technology in long-term care facilities. 5) The Program on Aging and the Environment (USDA) involves research and intervention studies of environmental civic engagement and volunteering by older persons. An overarching interest is in translational research, studying methods and techniques of moving research findings more swiftly into application for practice and policy. I am the Principal Investigator of an NIA-funded Roybal Center, which conducts research and evaluation on methods of improving research translation.

Current Extension Activities
My extension program is in the area of aging and life course development. An overarching interest is promoting social integration in later life, including intervention programs to reduce social isolation and increase social engagement among older persons. I am the Principal Investigator of a center grant funded by the National Institute on Aging: The Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging (CITRA), one of ten Edward R. Roybal Centers nationwide. CITRA has created a community-based research partnership with major elder service providers in New York City. Through a series of "research to practice consensus workshops," an innovative pilot study grant program that funds research partnerships with community agencies, and other related programs, CITRA brings Cornell research resources to the NYC community.  My extension efforts also focus on improving the quality of care provided by staff in nursing homes.  We have developed, evaluated, and are disseminating Partners in Caregiving, funded by NIA and other sources. This evidence-based program improves cooperation and communication between families and staff in nursing homes. Other products include publications for the nursing home industry that provide detailed practical guidance for upgrading the job conditions of paraprofessionals. A key component of my extension work is developing programs that link the growing older population to issues of envrionmental sustainability. We have developed and evaluated the Retiree Environmental Stewards Program, in which older adults learn about key environmental issues and take part in leadership training, enabling them to be highly effective volunteers in environmental organizations.

Biography

Biographical Statement
Dr. Karl Pillemer is the Hazel E. Reed Professor in the Department of Human Development and Professor of Gerontology in Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College. His major interests center on human development over the life course, with a special emphasis on family and social relationships in middle age and beyond. He has a strong theoretical and empirical interest in life course transitions and the effects they have on family relationships. A major program of research is on intergenerational relations in later life, with a focus on determinants and consequences of the quality of adult child - older parent relationships. Dr. Pillemer is now conducting a large-scale study of this issue, with funding from the National Institute on Aging, which focuses on within-family differences in parent-child relations in later life and on ambivalence in intergenerational relations among adults. A second major program of research focuses on the nature and dynamics of family caregiving for impaired elderly relatives, which he has been carrying out over the past two decades with funding from the National Institutes of Health. A third area is in long-term care for the elderly, with a focus on the relationships between family members of residents with staff in long-term care facilities. Fourth, Dr. Pillemer has a long-term program of research on conflict and abuse in families of the aged, including several related studies of the domestic and institutional abuse of older persons. Finally, he is actively involved in intervention research and in policy analysis related to aging and health care, with an emphasis on evidence-based methods of developing a competent, caring long-term care workforce. His extension and outreach work involves translational research, exploring ways to speed the transfer of findings from basic research into scientifically tested interventions.

Education
Ph.D. 1985 - Brandeis University
Sociology

M.A. 1981 - Brandeis University
Sociology

B.A. 1977 - Boston University
Sociology

Administrative Responsibilities
Director, Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging

Coordinator, Undergraduate Concentration in Gerontology

Member, Executive Committee, Department of Human Development

Member, Advisory Committee, Cornell Survey Research Institute

Member, Advisory Committee, Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center

Courses, Websites, Pubs

Courses Taught
Social Interventions to Promote Optimal Human Development; Parent-Child Relations in Later Life; Exploring Human Development

Related Websites

Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging
http://agingresearchtranslator.com



Selected Publications
Pillemer, Karl, and J. Jill Suitor.(2008). Collective Ambivalence: Considering New Approaches to the Complexity of Intergenerational Relations. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 63 394-396

Pillemer, Karl, and J. Jill. Suitor. (2008). “Intergenerational Support, Care and Relationship Quality in Later Life: Exploring Within-Family Differences.” Pp. 195-231 in N. Crouter and A. Booth (Eds.), Caring, Negotiation and Exchange within and across Generations. Washington, D. C.: Urban Institute Press.

Suitor, J. Jill, Jori Sechrist, Mari Plikuhn, Tamara Pardo, and Karl Pillemer. (2008). "Within-Family Differences in Parent-Child Relations across the Life Course." Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 334-338.

Pillemer, Karl, Rhoda Meador, Charles Henderson, Jr., Julie Robison, Carol Hegeman, Edwin Graham, Leslie Schultz. (2008). “A Facility Specialist Model for Improving Retention of Nursing Home Staff: Results from a Randomized, Controlled Study.” The Gerontologist, 48: 80-9.

Tony Rosen, Mark S. Lachs, Ashok J. Bharucha, Scott M. Stevens, Jeanne A. Teresi, Flor Nebres, Karl Pillemer. (2008) “Resident-to-Resident Aggression in Nursing Homes: Insights from Focus Groups of Nursing Home Residents and Staff.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 56: 1398-1408.

Pillemer, Karl, and Linda P. Wagenet. (2008). “Taking Action: Environmental Volunteerism and Civic Engagement by Older People.” Public Policy and Aging Report, 18: 1, 23-27.

Pillemer, K., Suitor, J.J., Mock, S.E., Sabir, M., Pardo, T., Sechrist, J. (2007). Capturing the complexity of intergenerational relations: Exploring ambivalence within later-life families. Journal of Social Issues, 63: 775-791.

Chen, C. K, Sabir, M., Zimmerman, S. Suitor, J., and Pillemer, K. (2007). The importance of family relationships with nursing facility staff for family caregiver burden and depression. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 62, 253-260.

Honkanen, Lisa A., Niall Monaghan, M. C. Reid, David Newstein, Karl Pillemer, and Mark S. Lachs. 2007. “Can Hip Protector Use in the Nursing Home Be Predicted?” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 55: 350–356.

Suitor, J. Jill, Jori Sechrist, and Karl Pillemer. (2007). "Within-Family Differences in Mothers' Support to Adult Children in Black and White Families." Research on Aging, 29: 410-435.

Robison, Julie and Karl Pillemer. (2007). "Job Satisfaction and Intention to Quit among Nursing Home Nursing Staff: Do Special Care Units Make a Difference?" Journal of Applied Gerontology, 26, 95-112.

Suitor, J. J., & K. Pillemer. (2007). “Mothers’ Favoritism in Later Life: The Role of Children’s Birth Order.” Research on Aging 29: 32-55.

Sabir, Myra, Risa Breckman, Rhoda Meador, Elaine Wethington, M.Carrington Reid, and Karl Pillemer. (2006). “The CITRA Research-Practice Consensus Workshop Model: Exploring a New Method of Research Translation in Aging.” The Gerontologist, 46: 833-839.

Pillemer, Karl, and J. Jill Suitor. (2006). “Making Choices: A Within-Family Study of Caregiver Selection.” The Gerontologist, 46: 439-448.

Pillemer, Karl, J. Jill Suitor, Katrin Mueller-Johnson, Jori Sechrist, and Jenifer Heidorn. (2006). “Parent-Adult Child Relations.” Pp 901-903 in R. Schulz et al., (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Aging. New York: Macmillan.

Lachs, Mark S., and Karl Pillemer. 2004. “Elder Abuse.” The Lancet, 364: 1263–72

Pillemer, Karl, and Kurt Luescher (Eds.). 2004. Intergenerational Ambivalences: New Perspectives on Parent-Child Relations in Later Life. Stamford, CN: Elsevier/JAI Press.