Athena Chan, Ph.D.

Research Focus

My research program investigates how social determinants of health, early-life adversities, and adulthood stressors shape psychosocial aging. The central aim of this work is to identify modifiable mechanisms that promote resilience across the life course, with a broader vision of enabling sustainable aging-in-place through individual, family, and community resources. To pursue this, I integrate basic research, intervention studies, and community-engaged approaches. I often use mixed methods that draw on primary data collection approaches, including surveys, semi-structured interviews, card-sorting, smartwatches, and ecological momentary assessment.

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
2. Explore how reminiscence supports older adults processing identity challenges and fostering self-acceptance
3. Examine family dynamics and wellbeing in the transition of empty nesting and in grandfamilies
4. Explore ambiguous loss in the family experiences of dementia

Area of Expertise

• Psychosocial aging and resilience
• Family dynamics across adulthood
• Intergenerational relationships and programs
• Reminiscence, identity, and meaning making in later life
• Ambiguous loss and family adaptation in dementia
• 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 Black and Hispanic older adults in Detroit and Lubbock

Sponsor: RRF Foundation for Aging (2025-2027)

Role: PI

Selected Publications

Healthy Aging

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

Sneed, R. & 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., 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

Betz-Hamilton, A., Stum, M. S., & Chan, A. C. Y. (2023). Elder family financial exploitation offenders: Exploring the complexities of problematic behaviors. Victims & Offenders, 18(5), 943-960. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2022.2040068

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

Cheung, S. K. D., Ho, G. W. K., Chan, A. C. Y., Ho, L. M. K., Kwok, R. K. H., Law, Y. P. Y., & Bressington, D. (2022). A good dyadic relationship between older couples with one having mild cognitive impairment: A Q-methodology. BMC Geriatrics, 22, 764. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-022-03449-x

Chan, A. C. Y., & Stum, M. S. (2020). The state of theory in elder family financial exploitation: A systematic review. Journal of Family Theory and Review, 12(4),492-509. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12396  (Awarded the 2021 Outstanding Doctoral Student and New Professional Paper Award in the Families and Health Section of the National Council on Family Relations)

Adult Resilience

Ho, G. W. K., Leung, D., Chan, A. C. Y., Bressington, D. T., Shevlin, M., Hyland, P., & Karatzias, T. (2025). How do you become resilient? A critical realist explanation of the youth resilience process. Adversity and Resilience Science, 6, 105-121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-024-00154-z

Leung., D., Chan, A. C. Y., & Ho, G. W. K. (2022). Resilience is a process of self-righting for emerging adults with adverse childhood experience: A qualitative systematic review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 23(1),163-181. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838020933865

Wojciak, A. S., Powers, J., Chan, A. C. Y., Pleggenkuhle, A. L., & Hooper, L. M. (2022). ARCCH Model of Resilience: A flexible multisystemic resilience framework. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(7),3920. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19073920

Chan, A. C. Y., Piehler, T. F., & Ho, G. W. K. (2021). Resilience and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from Minnesota and Hong Kong. Journal of Affective Disorders, 295, 771-780. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.08.144

Ho, G. W. K., Chan, A. C. Y., Shevlin, M., Karatzias, T., Chan, P. S., & Leung, D. (2021). Childhood adversity, resilience, and mental health: A sequential mixed-methods study of Chinese young adults. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(19–20), NP10345–NP10370. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519876034

Ho, G. W. K., Chan, A. C. Y., Chien, W.-T., Bressington, D. T., & Karatzias, T. (2019). Examining patterns of adversity in Chinese young adults using the Adverse Childhood Experiences—International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ). Child Abuse & Neglect, 88, 179-188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.11.009