Elliot Friedman is the William and Sally Berner Hanley Professor of Gerontology in the Department of Human Development and Family Science at Purdue University. He is interested in the ways biological processes related to health (e.g., inflammation and immune function) are shaped by psychological characteristics, social resources, and social structural factors such as socioeconomic status, and he typically works with large national dataset, such as Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). A particular focus of his work is positive psychological functioning, including high-quality familial and non-familial relationships and purpose in life, as predictors of better health and greater longevity in aging adults and as a buffer against various forms of life adversity, including discrimination and low social status. Dr. Friedman’s work broadly addresses the CAF themes of aging family health and health disparities in aging families.
