Linda M. Chatters

Linda M. Chatters is a professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health and professor in the School of Social Work. She is a faculty associate with the Program for Research on Black Americans at the Institute for Social Research and the Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health. The focus of Dr. Chatters' research is the study of adult development and aging in relation to the mental and physical health status and functioning of older persons in a variety of social contexts (i.e., the family, church, and community). She is also interested in religious involvement among African Americans and the independent effects of religious, personal, and social status factors on personal well-being. Dr. Chatters' research is supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging. Dr. Chatters is a Fellow, Behavioral and Social Sciences Section of The Gerontological Society of America and has been designated by Thomson-ISI as a Highly Cited Researcher in the Category of General Social Sciences.

Dr. Chatters co-edited Family Life in Black America (1997) and Aging in Black America (1993) and is co-author of the book, Religion in the Lives of African Americans: Social, Psychological and Health Perspectives (2004). Other areas of research/scholarly interest: family social support networks and intergenerational family relationships, the impact of social support and negative interaction impact on well-being and psychological distress. Recent articles include "Use of complementary and alternative medicines for mental and substance use disorders: A comparison of African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and non-Hispanic Whites" in Psychiatric Services; "Use of clergy services among individual seeking treatment for alcohol use problems" in The American Journal on Addictions; "Demographic correlates of psychological well-being and distress among older African Americans and Caribbean Black adults" in Best Practices in Mental Health: An International Journal; and "Emotional support, negative interaction and DSM IV lifetime disorders among older African Americans: Findings from the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) in International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.