Athena Chan, Ph.D.

Research Focus

My research examines how intergenerational relationships and psychosocial resources promote healthy aging in middle and late adulthood. Building on my earlier work on childhood adversity and resilience in emerging adulthood, my interest in supportive grandparents led me to increasingly focus on the experiences and well-being of older generations. I study how personal strengths, family relationships, and community connections contribute to resilience, meaning, and adaptation across adulthood.

Inspired by my late grandfather, I am developing the Intergenerational Wisdom Exchange (WisE) Program, which brings older adults and college students together to share life stories, wisdom, and digital skills. My research also examines family relationships and transitions, including grandparenting and empty nesting, while WisE uses a community-engaged approach to develop and test an intergenerational intervention.

I use mixed-methods approaches to examine both patterns of change and lived experiences, including intensive longitudinal designs, triadic family studies, ecological momentary assessment, qualitative interviews, surveys, and secondary data analysis.

Some current projects are outlined below:

1. Develop and pilot test a structured intergenerational program that brings older adults and college students together for meaningful interactions and mutual learning.
2. Examine changes in intergenerational roles and family relationships across adulthood, including the transition to empty nesting and grandparenting.
3. Examine how reminiscence and generativity support identity, self-acceptance, and meaning-making in later life.
4. Explore ambiguous loss, identity, and family adaptation in dementia.

Area of Expertise

• Psychosocial aging and resilience
• Intergenerational relationships and family transitions
• Reminiscence, generativity, and meaning-making
• Dementia, ambiguous loss, and family adaptation
• Mixed methods research

Selected Awards

• Early Career Prevention Scientist Training and Mentoring Program Award from the Society for Prevention Research (2025)
• Developing Investigator Award from Society for Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine (2025)
• Minority Serving Institution Fellowship from Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research National Coordinating Center (2024)

Current Funding

Title: Development of Intergenerational Wisdom Exchange Program (WisE): A pilot program for older adults in Detroit and Lubbock

Sponsor: RRF Foundation for Aging (2025-2027)

Role: PI

Selected Publications

Chan, A. C. Y., Stephan, A. T., & Sneed, R. S. (2026). The interdependence of health and grandparenting intensity: A dyadic perspective from grandparent couples in the Health and Retirement Study. Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 81(5), gbag022. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbag022

Chan, A. C. Y., Lee, S.-K., Hanson, A. N., Gewirtz, A. H., & Piehler, T. F. (2026). Online versus telehealth delivery of a parenting program for postdeployed military families: Child internalizing and externalizing symptoms as moderators of response. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 94(6), 353–363. https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0001018

Chan, A. C. Y., & Piehler, T. F. (2024). Evaluation of prevention programs for grandparent caregivers: A systematic review. Prevention Science, 25(1), 137–154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-023-01594-2

Chan, A. C. Y., Lee, S.-K., Zhang, J., Banegas, J., Marsalis, S., & Gewirtz, A. H. (2023). Intensity of grandparent caregiving and well-being in cultural context: A systematic review. The Gerontologist, 63(5), 851–873. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnac026

Sneed, R. S., & Chan, A. C. Y. (2023). The implications of intergenerational relationships for minority aging: A review of recent literature. Current Epidemiology Reports, 10, 44–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40471-023-00319-x

Chan, A. C. Y., & Sneed, R. S. (2023). Factors associated with healthcare delays among adults over 50 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 78(4), 630–636. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glac174

Chan, A. C. Y., & Stum, M. S. (2022). A family systems perspective of elder family financial exploitation: Examining family context profiles. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 41(4), 945–951. https://doi.org/10.1177/07334648211056927

Chan, A. C. Y., & Stum, M. S. (2020). The state of theory in elder family financial exploitation: A systematic review. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 12(4), 492–509. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12396