Biographical Sketch
Professor Carol S. Aneshensel
Department
of Community Health Sciences
650 Charles E. Young Drive South
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772
Dr. Aneshensel applies principles of stratification and life course theory to the analysis of quantitative data to understand better disparities in mental health risk in our society. In particular, her work focuses on differential exposure to social stress and differential vulnerability to the effects of stress, as moderated by psychosocial resources such as social support, self esteem and mastery, and coping. Her current work deals with the impact of neighborhood structure on emotional well-being for adolescents on the one hand, and for older adults on the other. A related concern focuses on populations at crucial transitions in the life course, which is found in her work with adolescents as they transverse the transition to adulthood, and in her work with older adults, who are often dealing with issues of disability, chronic illness, dependency, and death. The latter themes are most evident, in her work on caregiving, especially as it pertains to older family members with dementia, but also in her collaborative work on mid-life and older women who are caring for family members with HIV/AIDS. The work Dr. Aneshensel conducts typically employs large, community-based probability samples; data collection uses longitudinal survey designs; and, data analysis utilizes multivariate statistical techniques, including hierarchical linear models and latent variable causal models.