Dr. Helen Black, Senior Research Associate in the Behavioral Institute at Arcadia University, and Dr. Robert Rubinstein of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, have been awarded a two-year grant from the National Institutes of Health Institute on Aging for $278,199 for a project on “Control in Later Life: A Cultural Analysis.”

Control is best known as a psychological construct, yet it is also a central cultural and experiential construct. This project will involve the collection of a life story from 40 persons, age 70 and above. The researchers will show how elders identify and understand the concept of control and the decision they make about maintaining or relinquishing control.