Assistant Professor, Psychology
Faculty Affiliate, Center for Aging and Policy Studies
CAPS Biography:
Jenna Wells studies how emotion in close relationships contributes to mental and physical health over the lifespan, with a focus on later life. Her training is in clinical psychology, and she utilizes methods derived from basic affective science (e.g., behavioral coding, text analysis). Content with the CAPS cross-cutting theme of specific populations, she is particularly interested in individuals providing care for a loved one with dementia or other neurodegenerative disease. A central aim of her work is to identify predictors of individual differences in caregivers’ health and well-being. A second line of her research examines positive interpersonal processes and their associations with long-term health in individuals and dyads. Ultimately, the goal of this work is to identify intervention targets for individuals as well as family and intergenerational supports that are vulnerable to the adverse effects of caregiving and other interpersonal stressors.
