Research Interests for Keith E Whitfield

Dr. Whitfield's research on individual differences in minority aging employs a two prong approach that includes studying individual people as well as members of twin pairs. Dr. Whitfield’s research examines the individual variation in health and individual differences in cognition due to health conditions. Dr. Whitfield has worked with researchers from Sweden, Russia, and the United States to examine how social, psychological, and cultural factors of cognition and healthy aging. He has completed a study that involves examining health and psycho-social factors related to health among adult African American twins from North Carolina. His current research project is a longitudinal study of cognition and health among older African Americans.

Keywords:

Twin studies, Cognitive aging, Health disparities, Cognitive vitality, Genetic and environmental influences, Gene by environment interactions

Current projects:

Carolina African American Twin Study of Aging

Baltimore Study of Black Aging: Patterns of Cognitive Aging

Recent Publications   (search)

1. Whitfield, K.E. & Edwards, C.L., Mentoring special populations, Educational Gerontology, vol. 37 no. 5 (2011), pp. 422-439.
2. Whitfield, K.E., Thorpe, R., Szanton, S., Health disparities, social class, and aging, edited by Warner Schaie and Sherry Willis, The Handbook of the Psychology of Aging 7th Edition (2011), pp. 207-218, Elsuvier.
3. Whitfield, Angel, J., & Wong, R., Biobehavioral aspects of health and aging in people of Mexican Origin, Journal of Health and Aging, vol. 23 no. 7 (2011), pp. 1019-1026.
4. Kennedy, S.W., Allaire, J.C., Gamaldo, A.A., & Whitfield, K.E, Race differences in intellectual control beliefs and cognitive functioning, Experimental Aging Research (In Press).
5. Baker, T.A., Buchanan, N.T., Small, B.J., Hines, R.D., & Whitfield, K.E., Identifying the relationship between chronic pain, depression, and life satisfaction in older African Americans, Research on Aging (In Press).