Mentor - Antonia Díaz-Valdés, PhD, MSW - Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile

Thematic Areas: Aging, Mental Health, Social determinants of Health

Project Description
The mediation effect of alcohol use on the association between retiring and mental health among older adults: a cross-country analysis

Student Project Activities
Literature review
Collecting country level data from public documents
Data management in Stata
Data analysis in Stata
Building tables
Contributing to the discussion

Spots Available
1-2

Other Requirements
Statistical knowledge (at least OLS regression models)

Ph.D in social work from Boston College. I have taught undergraduate and graduate research methodologies courses at Boston College and Catholic Pontific University of Chile, among other universities. I have conducted and collaborated on several research projects in India, Guatemala, USA and Chile, among others. My research focus are: retirement systems, retirement timing, planned retirement age, the effect of retirement on health and well-being, physical health among older adults, substance use and suicidal behaviors among adolescents, the intersection between retirement, depression and alcohol, food security and reading comprehension amog school-age children and the use and adoption of cleaner cooking stoves.

Esteban Calvo is a life-course sociologist and social epidemiologist interested in positive aging processes. Much of his work aims to identify and understand the social factors experienced across the life course that influence the health and happiness of older adults, as well as to evaluate public policies and interventions that can improve their well-being and benefit society as a whole. His current research agenda includes three threads: (1) assessing the impact of life-course statuses, transitions, and trajectories on a variety of health outcomes, from self-reports to physical measures and biomarkers; (2) understanding how individuals react to social contexts and public policies that they experience over the life course; and (3) improving our understanding of the challenges and opportunities posed by demographic change to aging-related policy throughout the world. His recent publications focus on the health effects of work and retirement, life satisfaction effects of unemployment and pension policy, as well as cultural and structural determinants of social security and health policy reforms worldwide. He is currently engaged in a long-term "cells to society" project, studying patterns of alcohol consumption and cardiovascular health outcomes and mortality among older adults in more than 20 countries. Dr. Calvo is the recipient of awards from the American Public Health Association, American Sociological Association, Gerontological Society of America, and Retirement Research Foundation.