Professor
Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
213-740-1713
merrils@usc.edu
Dr. Silverstein, Professor of Gerontology and Sociology, received his B.A. from Queens College, and his M.S.W. in Social Work and Ph.D. in Soc iology from Columbia University. Prior to his current appointment, Dr. Silverstein was Assistant Research Professor of Population Studies at Brown University, and from 1989 to 1992, a postdoctoral trainee in aging research at the Andrus Gerontology Center.
Dr. Silverstein's research is concerned with understanding how individuals age within the context of family life, including such issues as social support across generations, later life migration, life-course patterns of intergenerational solidarity, and public policy toward caregiving families. He is a recipient of a FIRST Award from the National Institute of Aging to study grandparenting over the life-course, and a grant from the NIH Fogarty International Center to initiate a longitudinal study aging families in rural China. He is also Co-Principal Investigator, with Vern Bengtson, of the Longitudinal Study of Generations and Mental Health. Dr. Silverstein is a Fellow of the Brookdale Foundation, the Gerontological Society of America, and the Fulbright International Senior Scholars Program for his research on informal and formal support systems for the aged in Sweden. Most recently he received funding from the National Science Foundation to study how children of divorce benefit from support by grandparents. Dr. Silverstein teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in the sociology of aging, family sociology, the demography of aging, and quantitative research methods in the social and gerontological sciences.
One of his many presentations include Intergenerational Exchanges in Rural China: Aging Families in Transition, which was given in 2005 at the USC School of Social Work. The resilience of rural families in developing nations is often attributed to the dynamic transfer of resources across generational lines. In the absence of public services and programs, families are compelled to rely on each other within a web of mutual exchanges and supports. A prime example is in rural China, where labor force migration of young adults has split families, leaving older parents in rural areas with responsibilities to care for their grandchildren, and migrant children in urban areas sending remittances back to their rural parents. Dr. Silverstein will discuss his research, which supports a corporatist, mutual aid model of the rural Chinese family in which intergenerational exchanges tend toward equilibrium and multiple family needs are met.
Education:
Ph.D., Columbia University, New York, 1990
M.S.W., Columbia University, New York, 1978
B.A., Queens College of the City University of New York, 1975
Selected Publications:
Cong, Z. & Silverstein, M. (In press). Intergenerational support and depression among elders in rural China: Do daughters-in-law matter? Journal of Marriage and Family.
Cong, Z. & Silverstein, M. (In press). Intergenerational time-for-money exchanges in rural China: Does reciprocity reduce depressive symptoms of older grandparents? Research in Human Development.
King, V., Silverstein, M, Elder, G., & Bengtson, V.L. (In press) Relations with Grandparents: Big City versus Rural Heartland. Journal of Family Issues.
Silverstein, M., Cong, Z. Li, S. (2007). Grandparents caring for grandchildren in rural China: Benefactors and beneficiaries. Pp. 55-78, in J. Powell and I. Cook (Eds.) New Perspectives on China and Ageing. New York: Nova Science Publications.
Silverstein, M. & Yang F. (2004) Review of Elderly Chinese in Pacific Rim Countries: Support and Integration, I. Chi, J. Lubben, & N.L. Chappell (Eds.), Contemporary Gerontology.
Bengtson, V. L., Giarrusso, R., Mabry, J. B., & Silverstein, M. (2002). Solidarity, conflict, and ambivalence: Complementary or competing prespectives on intergenerational relations. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 64, 568-576.
Silverstein, M. & Parker, M.G. (2002). Leisure activities and the quality of life among the oldest old in Sweden. Research on Aging, 23, 349-374
Goodman, C. and Silverstein, M. (2002) Grandmothers raising grandchildren: Family structure and well-being in culturally diverse families. The Gerontologist, 42, 676-689.
Silverstein, M. & T. M. Parrott (2001). Attitudes Toward Government Policies that Assist Informal Caregivers: The Link Between Personal Troubles and Public Issues, Research on Aging 23: 349-374
Silverstein, M., Angelelli, J. J. & Parrott, T.M. (2001). Changing Attitudes Toward Aging Policy in the United States During the 1980s &1990s: A Cohort Analysis. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 56B: S36-S43.
Silverstein, M. & Marenco, A. (2001). How Americans Enact the Grandparent Role over the Life Course. Journal of Family Issues 22: 493-522.
Giarrusso, R., Feng D., Silverstein, M. & Bengtson, V. L.. (2001). Grandparent-Adult Grandchild Affection and Consensus. Journal of Family Issues 22: 456-477.
Lennartsson, C. & Silverstein, M. (2001). Does Engagement with Life Enhance Survival of the Oldest Old? Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 56, S335-S342.
Silverstein, M., Conroy, S., Wang H., Giarrusso, R, & Bengtson, V.L. (2001). Reciprocity in Parent-Child Relations Over the Adult Life Course. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 57, S3-S13.
Goodman, C., & Silverstein, M. (2001). Grandmothers Who Parent their Grandchildren: Affective Relations Across Three Generations and Implications for Psychological Well-being. Journal of Family Issues.
Chen, X. & M. Silverstein (2000). Intergenerational Social Support and the Psychological Well-being of Older Parents in China. Research on Aging, 22: 43-65.
Tabbarah, M. & M. Silverstein (2000). A Health and Demographic Profile of Older Americans with Home Modifications. Journal of Aging and Health,12: 204-228.
Knight, B. G., M. Silverstein, T.J. McCallum & L.S. Fox (2000). A Sociocultural Stress and Coping Model for Mental Health Outcomes Among African American Caregivers in So.Calif. J.of Gerontology:Psych Sci., 55b, P142-P150.
Giarrusso, R., M. Silverstein, D. Feng & A Marenco. (2000). Primary and Secondary Stressors of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: Evidence From a National Survey. Journal of Mental Health and Aging 6: 291-310.
Silverstein, M., Parrott, T., Angelelli, J. & F. Cook. (2000). Solidarity and Tension Between Age-Groups in the United States: Challenge for an Aging America in the 21st Century. International J of Social Welfare, 9: 270-284.
Silverstein, M. & J. J. Angelleli. (1998). Older Parents= Expectations of Moving Closer to Children. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences. 53B:S153-S163.
Silverstein, M. & J. Long. (1998). Trajectories of Solidarity in Adult Grandchild-Grandparent Relationships: A Growth Curve Analysis over 23 Years. Journal of Marriage and the Family 60: 912-923.
Silverstein, M., V. Burholt, G. Wenger,& V. Bengtson. (1998). Parent-child Relations Among Very Old Parents in Wales and the United States: A Test of Modernization Theory. Journal of Aging Studies 12: 387-409.
Silverstein, M. & V.L. Bengtson. (1997). Intergenerational Solidarity and the Structure of Adult Child-Parent Relationships in American Families. American Journal of Sociology. 103: 429-460.
Silverstein, M. & T. Parrott. (1997). "Attitudes Toward Public Support of the Elderly: Does Early Involvement with Grandparents Moderate Generational Tensions?" Research on Aging.19: 108-132.
Silverstein, M. & D. Zablotsky. (1996) "Health and Social Precursors of Later Life Retirement Community Migration". Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences. 51B: S150-S156.
Silverstein, M., X. Chen, & K. Heller. (1996) "Too Much Of a Good Thing? Intergenerational Social Support and the Psychological Well-Being of Aging Parents." Journal of Marriage and the Family. 58: 970-982.
Giarrusso, R., M. Silverstein, & V.L. Bengtson. (1996) "Family Complexities and the Grandparent Role". Generations 20(1): 17-23.
Giarrusso, R., Feng, D., Wang, Q. & Silverstein, M. (1996). Parenting and Co-parenting of Grandchildren: Effects on Grandparents' Well-being &Family Solidarity. International Journal of Social Science Policy 16: 124-154.Silverstein, M. & X. Chen (1999). The Impact of Acculturation in Mexican-American Families on the Quality of Adult Grandchild-Grandparent Relationships. Journal of Marriage and the Family 61: 188-198.
Silverstein, M., T.M. Parrott & V.L. Bengtson. (1995). "Factors That Predispose Middle-Aged Sons and Daughters to Provide Social Support to Older Parents." Journal of Marriage and the Family 57: 465-476.
Silverstein, M. (1995) "Change and Stability in Temporal Distance Between Older Parents and Their Children." Demography. 32: 29-45.
Silverstein, M., T.M. Parrott & V. L. Bengtson. (1995). "Factors That Predispose Middle-Aged Sons and Daughters to Provide Social Support to Older Parents." Journal of Marriage and the Family. 57: 465-475.
Lawton, L., M. Silverstein & V. L. Bengtson. 1994. "Affection, Social Contract and Geographic Distance Between Adult Children and their Parents." Journal of Marriage and the Family. 57: 465-476.
Silverstein, M. & V. L. Bengtson. (1994) "Does Intergenerational Social Support Influence the Psychological Well-Being of Older Parents? The Contingencies of Declining Health and Widowhood." Social Science and Medicine (Special Issue: Frailty and its Consequences). 38: 943-957.
Silverstein, M., & E. Litwak. 1993. "A Task Specific Typology of Intergenerational Family Structure in Later Life." The Gerontologist 33: 258-264.
Messeri, P., M. Silverstein & E. Litwak. 1993. "Choice of Optimal Social Supports Among the Elderly: A Meta-Analysis of Competing Theoretical Perspectives." Journal of Health and Social Behavior 34: 122-137.
Silverstein, M. & L. Waite. 1993. "Are Blacks More Likely than Whites to Receive and Provide Social Support in Middle and Old Age? Yes, No, and Maybe So." Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences 48: S212-S222.
Silverstein, M. & V.L. Bengtson. 1991. "Do Close Parent-Child Relations Reduce the Mortality Risk of Older Parents?" Journal of Health and Social Behavior 32: 382-395.
Litwak, E.& M. Silverstein.1990."Helping Networks Among the Jewish Elderly Poor." Contemporary Jewry 11: 3-50.
Litwak, E., P. Messeri & M. Silverstein. 1990. "The Role of Formal and Informal Groups in Providing Help to Older People." Marriage and Family Review: Families in Community Settings 15: 171-199.
For more information on the study directed by Merril Silverstein's, see the Anhui Survey.