Becca Levy, PhD
Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences) and PsychologyCards
Additional Titles
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global Health
Contact Info
Yale School of Public Health
PO Box 208034, 60 College Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8034
United States
About
Titles
Professor of Public Health (Social and Behavioral Sciences) and Psychology
Affiliated Faculty, Yale Institute for Global HealthBiography
Dr. Levy's research explores psychosocial factors that influence older individuals’ cognitive and physical functioning, as well as their longevity. She is credited with creating a field of study that focuses on how positive and negative age stereotypes, which are assimilated from the culture, can have beneficial and adverse effects, respectively, on the health of older individuals.Her studies have been conducted by longitudinal, experimental, and cross-cultural methods.
She has received numerous awards for her research including a Brookdale National Fellowship for Leadership in Aging, the Baltes Distinguished Research Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, the Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award from the Gerontological Society of America and the Ewald W. Busse Research Award in the Social Behavioral Sciences from the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics that is given once every four years. She is an Associate Editor of the Handbook of Psychology of Aging, a consulting editor for Psychology and Aging, is on the founding editorial board of Stigma and Health, and serves on the editorial boards of GeroPsych and Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Science.
Dr. Levy has given invited testimony before the United States Senate on the effects of ageism and contributed to briefs submitted to the United States Supreme Court in age-discrimination cases.
She received her Ph.D. in psychology from Harvard University and held a National Institute on Aging postdoctoral fellowship at the Division of Aging and Department of Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Her research has been supported by the National Institute on Aging, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Science Foundation, and The Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation.
Appointments
Social and Behavioral Sciences
ProfessorPrimaryDepartment of Psychology
ProfessorSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- Postdoctoral Fellow
- Harvard Medical School (1998)
- PhD
- Harvard University (1995)
Research
Overview
- Psychosocial Determinants of Longevity
- Psychosocial Factors that Contribute to Elders’ Successful Cognitive and Physical Functioning
- Mechanisms by which Age Stereotypes Influence Older Individuals Health
- Interventions to Improve Aging Health.
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Research at a Glance
Yale Co-Authors
Publications Timeline
Research Interests
Martin Slade, MPH, PhD
Xi Chen, PhD
E-Shien Chang
Jose M Aravena Castro, MSc
Sarah Lowe, PhD
Shi-Yi Wang, MD, PhD
Publications
2024
Advantage in Aging Cognition Associated with the CREBRF variant rs373863828 Among Samoans
Levy B, Viali S, Naseri T, Reupena M, Faasalele-Savusa K, Filipo V, Kershaw E, Huang Y, Slade M. Advantage in Aging Cognition Associated with the CREBRF variant rs373863828 Among Samoans. GeroPsych 2024 DOI: 10.1024/1662-9647/a000338.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAssociation of Children's Residential Proximity and Spousal Presence with Lower Modifiable Risk Factors for Dementia among Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment
Lin Z, Yin X, Levy B, Yuan Y, Chen X. Association of Children's Residential Proximity and Spousal Presence with Lower Modifiable Risk Factors for Dementia among Older Adults with Cognitive Impairment. American Journal Of Geriatric Psychiatry 2024 PMID: 38839462, DOI: 10.1016/j.jagp.2024.05.005.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricConceptsModifiable risk factorsCognitively impaired older adultsOlder adultsFamily supportResidential proximitySpousal presenceRisk factorsDepressive symptomsCognitive impairmentModifiable dementia risk factorsHealth and Retirement StudyProportion of older adultsDementia risk factorsSocial isolationDegree of family supportPercentage of smokingMixed-effects logistic regressionRobust to various sensitivity analysesCo-resident childrenRetirement StudySocial supportNo spouseLogistic regressionSpousesProtective factorsAssociation between experiencing low healthcare quality and developing dementia
Aravena J, Chen X, Levy B. Association between experiencing low healthcare quality and developing dementia. Journal Of The American Geriatrics Society 2024, 72: 2126-2132. PMID: 38415796, PMCID: PMC11226361, DOI: 10.1111/jgs.18842.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchAltmetricConceptsAssociated with increased dementia riskHealthcare qualityDementia riskHealthcare discriminationAssociated with greater dementia riskHazard ratioHealth and Retirement StudyDeterminants of dementiaCases of dementiaDementia prevalenceReducing dementiaPhysician diagnosisRetirement StudyHealthcare servicesOlder personsOlder adultsSocioeconomic factorsDementiaHealthcareImplement structural changesCognitive scoresCox regressionParticipantsHealthIndividual-level behavior
2023
Role of Positive Age Beliefs in Recovery From Mild Cognitive Impairment Among Older Persons
Levy B, Slade M. Role of Positive Age Beliefs in Recovery From Mild Cognitive Impairment Among Older Persons. JAMA Network Open 2023, 6: e237707. PMID: 37043204, PMCID: PMC10098975, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.7707.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and Concepts
2022
The Role of Structural Ageism in Age Beliefs and Health of Older Persons
Levy BR. The Role of Structural Ageism in Age Beliefs and Health of Older Persons. JAMA Network Open 2022, 5: e2147802. PMID: 35138405, DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.47802.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH KeywordsLevy, B. (2022). Breaking the Age Code: How Your Age Beliefs Determine How Long and Well You LIve
New York: HarperCollins.Books
2021
Impact of Media-Based Age Stereotypes on Older Individuals’ Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Chang E, Lowe S, Provolo N, Slade M, Levy B. Impact of Media-Based Age Stereotypes on Older Individuals’ Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Innovation In Aging 2021, 5: 592-593. PMCID: PMC8681102, DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igab046.2264.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsImpact of Media-Based Negative and Positive Age Stereotypes on Older Individuals’ Mental Health
Levy BR, Chang ES, Lowe S, Provolo N, Slade MD. Impact of Media-Based Negative and Positive Age Stereotypes on Older Individuals’ Mental Health. The Journals Of Gerontology Series B 2021, 77: e70-e75. PMID: 33964154, PMCID: PMC8135987, DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbab085.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and ConceptsConceptsOlder individualsMental healthCOVID-19 pandemicWorse mental healthType of messagingAge stereotypesBetter mental healthOlder personsPositive age stereotypesInterventionPositive versionYounger participantsHealthActual news storiesPositive messagingInstitutional ageismPandemicIndividualsMedia messagingNeutral conditionsStereotypes
2020
When Culture Influences Genes: Positive Age Beliefs Amplify the Cognitive-Aging Benefit of APOE ε2
Levy BR, Slade MD, Pietrzak RH, Ferrucci L. When Culture Influences Genes: Positive Age Beliefs Amplify the Cognitive-Aging Benefit of APOE ε2. The Journals Of Gerontology Series B 2020, 75: e198-e203. PMID: 32835364, PMCID: PMC7489069, DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbaa126.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and Concepts
2019
Active coping shields against negative aging self-stereotypes contributing to psychiatric conditions
Levy BR, Chung PH, Slade MD, Van Ness PH, Pietrzak RH. Active coping shields against negative aging self-stereotypes contributing to psychiatric conditions. Social Science & Medicine 2019, 228: 25-29. PMID: 30870669, PMCID: PMC7232846, DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.02.035.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchCitationsAltmetricMeSH Keywords and Concepts
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
honor Investigator Award for Outstanding Research in Public Health
Yale University AwardYale School of Public HealthDetails09/01/2022United Stateshonor Baltes Distinguished Research Achievement Award
International AwardAmerican Psychological AssociationDetails07/19/2019United Stateshonor Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award
National AwardGerontological Society of AmericaDetails06/22/2016United Stateshonor Scholar Award for Research Related to Disadvantaged Older Adults
National AwardSenior Service America and Gerontological Society of AmericaDetails01/01/2014United Stateshonor Ewald W. Busse Research Award for Excellence in Social Behavioral Sciences
International AwardInternational Association of Gerontology and GeriatricsDetails01/01/2013United States
Links & Media
News
- June 16, 2024Source: Los Angeles Daily News
Having a positive attitude toward aging can add years to your life
- April 10, 2024Source: The Washington Post
How to Age Better Than Your Parents
- March 13, 2024
New Faculty Journal Club aims to encourage discourse on the science of teaching
- February 19, 2024Source: The New York Times
Old and Young, Talking Again
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Contacts
Yale School of Public Health
PO Box 208034, 60 College Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8034
United States
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Ste 408
New Haven, CT 06510