Elaine Wethington
Prof Assoc
2007
HDWeb Bio Page
Current Activities
Current Professional Activities
Co-Principal Investigator and Pilot Study Director, Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging
Co-Principal Investigator, New York City Interdisciplinary Geriatric Research Center
Member, American Sociological Association, Gerontological Society of America, American Public Health Association and National Council on Family Relations
Current Research Activities
Wethington is the co-principal investigator and pilot studies director for the Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging(CITRA). CITRA fosters the development of community-based research on aging in New York City by engaging gerontologists, geriatricians, and geropsychiatrists on Cornell's geographically dispersed campuses in research projects that directly relate to the needs of aging people in New York City. CITRA is an Edward R. Roybal Center, supported by the National Institute on Aging. To date, CITRA has funded studies to assess the demographic characteristics of those who receive home-delivered meals, deliver telephone-based mental health assistance to caregivers, survey the experiences of retired artists, and study end-of-life decision making in diverse groups. The institute also sponsors research reviews for practitioners in New York City among other outreach activities.
Wethington is also collaborating with colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie-Mellon University to develop new technologies for measuring psychosocial stress exposure. The project is funded by the Exposure Biology program of the Genes, Environment and Health Initiative, National Institutes of Mental Health.
Wethington also maintains ongoing projects that relate to the important question of how the accumulation of stressors over time affects mental and physical health. The Daily Experiences in Midlife project, with researchers at the Pennsylvania State University and Harvard University, developed new instruments to assess daily stressor exposure. The study was conducted in a nationally representative sample of 1300 adults in the U.S. funded by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Midlife. A follow-up data collection has been completed, funded by the National Institute on Aging. She is also collaborates with faculty in the Division of Nutritional Sciences (Carol Devine and Carole Bisogni) on the topic of Work-Family Integration and the Diets of Low Income Multi-Ethnic Working Adults. The purpose of the project is to develop a detailed picture of how low income working adults manage the multiple demands of low wage work, family responsibilities, and food provisioning.
Biography
Biographical Statement
Wethington is a medical sociologist, jointly appointed in the Departments of Human Development and of Sociology. Her research interests are in the areas of stress and the protective mechanisms of social support. Three current interests frame her work: 1) longitudinal studies of the impacts of life events, chronic difficulties, and their accumulation on changes in mental and physical health: 2) adaptation to work and family demands during midlife; 3) social isolation, social integration and health among older people.
Education
A.B. 1972 - Indiana University, Bloomington History
M.A. 1975 - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor History
Ph.D. 1987 - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Sociology
Administrative Responsibilities
Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Human Development
Courses, Websites, Pubs
Courses Taught
HD251/SOC251, Introduction to Social Gerontology
HD/SOC457, Health and Social Behavior
HD651, Seminar on Interdisciplinary Community-Based Scientific Research in Health and Aging
Related Websites
Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging
Publications
Evans, Gary W., Elaine Wethington, Meredith Coleman, Margo Worms, and Edward A. Frongillo. 2008. “Income Health Inequalities among Older Persons: The Mediating Role of Multiple Risk Exposures.” Journal of Aging and Health 20:107-25.
Wethington, Elaine, Risa Breckman, Rhoda Meador, Mark S. Lachs, M. Carrington Reid, Myra Sabir, and Karl A. Pillemer. 2007. “The CITRA Pilot Studies Program: Mentoring Translational Research.” The Gerontologist 47:845-50.
Wethington, Elaine and Karl A. Pillemer. 2007. “Translating Basic Research into Community Practice: The Cornell Institute for Translational Research on Aging (CITRA).” Forum on Public Policy Online. (http://www.forumonpublicpolicy.com Winter 2007).
Sabir, Myra, Risa Breckman, Rhoda Meador, Elaine Wethington, M. Carrington Reid, and Karl A. Pillemer. 2006. “The CITRA Research-Practice Consensus Workshop Model: Exploring a New Method of Research Translation in Aging.” The Gerontologist 46:833-39.
Devine, Carol M., Margaret Jastran, Jennifer A. Jabs, Elaine Wethington, Tracy J. Farrell, and Carole A. Bisogni. 2006. “ 'A Lot of Sacrifices:' Work-Family Spillover and the Food Choice Coping Strategies of Low Wage Employed Parents.” Social Science and Medicine 63:2591-603.
Wethington, Elaine. 2005. “The Life Course Perspective on Health: Implications for Health and Nutrition.” Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior 37:115-120.
Serido, Joyce, David Almeida, and Elaine Wethington. 2004. "Chronic Stressors and Daily Hassles: Unique and Interactive Relationships with Psychological Distress." Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 45: 17-33
Krout, John and Elaine Wethington. 2003. Residential Choices and Experiences of Older Adults: Pathways to Life Quality. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Almeida, D., Wethington, E., & Kessler, R. C. (2002). The Daily Inventory of Stressful Events (DISE): An Investigator-Based Approach for Measuring Daily Stressors. Assessment, 9: 41-55
Wethington, E. (2002). The Relationship of Work Turning Points to Perceptions of Psychological Growth and Change. Advances in Life Course Research: New Frontiers in Socialization 7: 111-131
Pillemer, K., Moen, P., Wethington, E., & Glasgow, N. (2000). Social Integration in the Second Half of Life. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.