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J. Jill Suitor

  • Distinguished Professor of Sociology

Office and Contact

Room: BRNG 1146

Email: jsuitor@purdue.edu

Phone: 765-496-1718

Fax: 765-496-1476


Pillars of Interdisciplinary Research Excellence
Social Contexts and Policy for Optimal Aging; Integrative Health Care in Later Life
 
 
Education
PhD - State University of New York at Stony Brook - Sociology - 1985
 
Research Interests
Parent-adult child relations; family caregiving; sibling relationships in adulthood; interpersonal relations and well-being; mixed methods
 
Teaching Interests
Sociology of the Family; Aging and the Family; Mixed-Methods
 
Selected Grants
“Within-Family Differences-Bereavement.” Funded by the National Institute on Aging (1R56AG062767-01), J. Jill Suitor, PI; Megan Gilligan, Co-I ($755,623) 2019-2021
 
“Parent-Child Relations: Within Family Differences-II.” Funded by the National Institute on Aging (2RO1 AG18869-01), J. Jill Suitor, PI; Karl Pillemer, Co-PI ($1,752,283) 2007-2014
 
Selected Publications
Suitor, J. Jill, Robert T. Frase, Megan Gilligan, Ranran He, Destiny Ogle, and Di Wang. 2026, in press. “Impact of Sibling Death in Midlife on Tension Among Surviving Siblings.” Journal of Marriage and Family.
 
Frase, Robert, J. Jill Suitor, Megan Gilligan, Destiny Ogle, and Ranran He. 2026. “Receiving Advice from Mothers and Depressive Symptoms in Midlife: Exploring the Moderating Roles of Gender and Relationship Quality.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 81, gbaf24.
 
Suitor, J. Jill, Megan Gilligan, Robert T. Frase, Destiny Ogle, and Ranran He. 2025. “Maternal Differential Treatment and Adult Children’s Well-Being When Mothers Have Cognitive Impairment.” Journal of Marriage and Family 87:863-884.
 
He, Ranran, J. Jill Suitor, and Megan Gilligan. 2024 “Digital Contact as Strain or Support: How Does Type of Contact Shape the Association between Mother-Child Interactions and Adult Children’s
Depressive Symptoms in Later-life Families?” The Gerontologist 64: gnae 158.
 
Suitor, J. Jill, Megan Gilligan, Destiny Ogle, Robert Frase, Catherine Stepniak, Yifei Hou, and Shawn Bauldry. 2024. “How Gender Shapes Sibling Tension in Adulthood Following Parental Death.” Journal of Marriage and Family 86: 677-697.