Erin York Cornwell

Associate Professor, Sociology Link

Faculty Affiliate, Center for Aging and Policy Studies

CAPS Biography:

I am a sociologist who examines the dynamics of social contexts – including urban spaces, residential neighborhoods, and social connectedness – in the production of health and well-being in later life. In alignment with the CAPS  themes of Health and Well-Being and Family and Intergenerational Support, one area of my current research examines how the spatial proximity of family members and friends — and the characteristics of the social contexts in which they are embedded (e.g., residential neighborhoods, households) — affects relationship quality, access to social support, health, and well-being among community-residing older adults. This work draws on data from three waves of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP). Another area of my research engages CAPS’s themes of Health and Well-Being and the role of Place. In this line of research, I examine the dynamic interrelationships between older adults’ activity spaces (including residential neighborhoods, non-residential neighborhoods, and household contexts), social networks, and health and well-being. Ongoing data collection funded by NIA (1R01AG050605-01A1) involves smartphone-based assessment of mobility coupled with respondents’ real-time reports of local neighborhood conditions, social interaction, positive and negative affect, and stress. This study utilizes a population-based sample of older adults from 10 Chicago neighborhoods. Data from this study will enable assessment of how everyday social environments vary across older adults, and whether real-time exposure to stressors, support, and resources are linked to short-term changes in affect and symptoms of distress, which may ultimately contribute to disparities in health and well-being in later life.