This F32 training proposal seeks support for a three-year program of research and training at the University of Chicago's Center on Aging and Biological Sciences Division under the guidance of Dr. Stacy Tessler Lindau. The proposed research aims to integrate biological and sociological approaches to gain a better understanding of the complex pathways between social factors and health at older ages. Specifically, the aims of the proposed research are: 1) To determine which social factors are most associated with known physiological precursors or risk factors for major health outcomes common among the aging; 2) To examine how psychological factors interact with these social factors in affecting physiological indicators of health status; and 3) To specify how these psychosocial pathways are mediated by individual health behaviors.
The specific aims will be addressed with analysis of data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), which is collecting detailed data on multiple levels of social relationships, as well as biological measurements of immune, endocrine, and cardiovascular function from a nationally representative sample of men and women ages 57-84.
