Untitled Document

Research

Carol D. Ryff

Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University
Professor, Department of Psychology
Director, Institute on Aging
cryff@wisc.edu
http://psych.wisc.edu/faculty/bio/kmRyff.html

Understanding Positive Aging as an Integrated Biopsychosocial Process

My research addresses aging as a multidisciplinary challenge that requires integration of many levels of analysis: sociodemographic characteristics, psychosocial resources, life stresses, health behaviors and practices, neurobiological risk and protective factors, and health outcomes (mental and physical). We study the pathways through which these influences come together in longitudinal investigations, involving local, state, and national samples.

Well-Being. As a psychologist, I approach optimal aging in terms what key ingredients comprise healthy mental functioning. Our studies focus on six dimensions of well-being: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. We have shown that these qualities are contoured by sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, culture) as well as by the events and experiences that individuals confront (both unexpected life stresses and planned, normative transitions). We have also contrasted the above aspects of "eudaimonic" well-being with "hedonic" formulations, which emphasize happiness, positive affect, and life satisfaction. Religion and spirituality have most recently become part of our studies of well-being.

Positive Health. We define positive health as the neurophysiological substrates of flourishing. The key issue is how psychosocial well-being is linked with biology. Do such things as good quality relationships and purpose in life convey protection against adverse health outcomes, and if so, what are the intervening mechanisms? We pursue these questions by connecting assessments of well-being, broadly defined, to diverse biomarkers (cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, immune) and to neural circuitry. Such work demands collaborative, multidisciplinary teams, whose objective is to understand the biopsychosocial processes that contribute to good mind/body health and high life quality.

Resilience. The theme of resilience, which we define as the maintenance or recovery of health and well-being in the face of cumulative adversity, is prominent in our studies. Of interest is how people sustain positive outlooks and functional capacities as life challenges multiply, a question of considerable import in old age. We explore potential protective factors on multiple levels (biological, psychological, social). A primary forum for investigating resilience is MIDUS, a national survey of adults and the elderly, which thanks to NIA support, has become a longitudinal study with extensive psychosocial and biomarker assessments.

Representative Publications
Friedman, E.M., Williams, D.R., Singer, B.H., & Ryff, C.D. (2009). Chronic discrimination predicts higher circulating levels of E-selectin in a national sample: the MIDUS study. Brain, Behavior & Immunity, Jan. 11, 2009 [Epub ahead of print].

Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (2008). Know thyself and become what you are: A eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 13-39.

Gruenewald, T.L., Mroczek, D.K., & Ryff, C.D. (2008). Diverse pathways to positive and negative affect in adulthood and later life: An integrative approach using recursive partitioning. Developmental Psychology, 44(2), 330-343.

Tsenkova, V.K., Love, G.D., Singer, B.H., & Ryff, C.D. (2008). Coping and positive affect predict longitudinal change in glycosylated hemoglobin. Health Psychology, 27(2, Suppl), S163-S171.

Lachman, M.E., Rocke, C., Rosnick, C., & Ryff, C.D. (2008). Realism and illusion in Americans� temporal views of their life satisfaction: Age differences in reconstructing the past and anticipating the future. Psychological Science, 19(9), 889-897.

Friedman, E.M., Love, G.D., Davidson, R., Urry, H., Rosencranz, M., Singer, B.H., & Ryff, C.D. (2007). Socioeconomic status predicts subjective and objective sleep quality in aging women. Psychosomatic Medicine, 69, 682-691.

Friedman, E.M., Hayney, M., Love, G.D., Singer, B.H., & Ryff, C.D. (2007). Plasma interleukin-6 and soluble IL-6 receptors are associated with psychological well-being in aging women. Health Psychology, 26, 305-313.

Tsenkova, V.K., Love, G.D., Singer, B.H., & Ryff, C.D. (2007). Socioeconomic status and psychological well-being predict cross-time change in glycosylated hemoglobin in older women without diabetes. Psychosomatic Medicine, 69(8), 777-784.

Ryff, C.D., Love, G.D., Muller, D., Urry, H., Friedman, E.M., Davidson, R., & Singer, B. (2006). Psychological well-being and ill-being: do they have distinct or mirrored biological correlates? Psychotherapy & Psychosomatics, 75, 85-95.

Friedman, E.M., Hayney, M.S., Love, G.D., Urry, H.L., Rosenkranz, M.A., Davidson, R.J., Singer, B.H., & Ryff, C.D. (2005). Social relationships, sleep quality, and interleukin-6 in aging women. PNAS, 102, 18757-18762.

Singer, B.H., Friedman, E.M., Seeman, T.E., Fava, G.A., & Ryff, C.D. (2005). Protective environments and health status: cross-talk between human and animal studies. Neurobiology of Aging, 26, 113-118.

Ryff, C.D., Singer, B., & Love, G.D. (2004). Positive health: connecting well-being with biology. Philosophical Transactions Royal Society London B (Online).

Kwan, C.M.L., Love, G.D., Ryff, C.D., & Essex, M.J. (2003). The role of self-enhancing evaluations in a successful life transition. Psychology and Aging, 18(1), 3-12.

Ryff, C.D., & Singer, B. (2003). The role of emotion on pathways to positive health. In R.J. Davidson, K.R. Scherer, & H.H. Goldsmith (Eds.), Handbook of affective sciences. New York: Oxford University Press.

Hayney, M.S., Love, G.D., Buck, J. M., Ryff, C.D., Singer, B., & Muller, D. (2003). The association between psychosocial factors and vaccine induced-Ccytokine production. Vaccine, 21, 2428-243.

Kling, K.C., Ryff, C.D., Love, G., & Essex, M. (2003). Exploring the influence of personality on depressive symptoms and self-esteem across a significant life transition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 922-932.

Han, G., Lee, J., Ryff, C.D., Marks, N.F., Ok, S., & Cha, S. (2003). Health status and health behavior of middle-aged Korean men and women: Gender and age-group differences. Journal of Korean Home Economics Association, 4, 213-229.

Seeman, T.E., Singer, B.H., Ryff, C.D., Love, G.D., & Levy-Storms, L. (2002). Social relationships, gender, and allostatic load across two age cohorts. Psychosomatic Medicine, 64, 395-406.

Keyes, C.L.M., Shmotkin, D., & Ryff, C.D. (2002). Optimizing well-being: The empirical encounter of two traditions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 1007-1022.

Singer, B., & Ryff, C.D. (Eds.). (2001). New horizons in health: An integrative approach. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Ryff, C.D., Kwan, C.M.L., & Singer, B. (2001). Personality and aging: Flourishing agendas and future challenges. In J.E. Birren & K.W. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (5th ed.). San Diego: Academic Press.

Singer, B., & Ryff, C.D. (2001). Understanding aging via person-centered methods and the integration of numbers and narratives. In R.H. Binstock & L.K. George (Eds.), Handbook of aging and the social sciences (5th ed.). San Diego: Academic Press.

Ryff, C.D., Singer, B., Wing, E., & Love, G.D. (2001). Elective affinities and uninvited agonies: Mapping emotion with significant others onto health. In C.D. Ryff & B. Singer (Eds.), Emotion, social relationships and health. New York: Oxford University Press.

Ryff, C.D., & Singer, B. (2000). Biopsychosocial challenges of the new millennium. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 69, 170-177.

Singer, B., & Ryff, C.D. (1999). Hierarchies of life histories and associated health risks. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 896, 96-115.

Marmot, M.G., Fuhrer, R., Ettner, S.L., Marks, N.F., Bumpass, L.L., & Ryff, C.R. (1998). Contribution of psychosocial factors to socioeconomic differences in health. Milbank Quarterly, 76, 403-440.

Ryff, C.D., & Singer, B. (1998). The contours of positive human health. Psychological Inquiry, 9, 1-28.

Singer, B., Ryff, C.D., Carr, D., & Magee, W.J. (1998). Life histories and mental health: A person-centered strategy. In A. Raftery (Ed.), Sociological methodology. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association.

Ryff, C.D., Singer, B., Love, G.D., & Essex, M.J. (1998). Resilience in adulthood and later life: Defining features and dynamic processes. In J. Lomranz (Ed.), Handbook of aging and mental health. New York: Plenum.

Heidrich, S.M., & Ryff, C.D. (1993). The role of social comparison processes in the psychological adaptation of the elderly. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 48, 127-P136.

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