Faculty
William E. Haley, Ph.D.
Distinguished University Professor, School of Aging Studies
Phone: (813) 974 9739
Office: MHC 1321
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Curriculum Vitae
Biosketch
Description of Research Interests
My research focuses on stress, coping, and adaptation in older adults and their family members. Most of my research has examined the experiences of family caregivers who often face potentially overwhelming chronic strain. This work has examined psychological, social and health impacts experienced by family members caring for relatives with Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, cancer and terminal illness; racial/ethnic differences in the impact of caregiving stress; and the application of stress and coping models to understanding individual differences in caregiver adaptation. Recently, my work with Dr. David Roth of Johns Hopkins has shown that caregiving also produces several psychological and physical health benefits, including greater longevity in caregivers compared to noncaregivers. We have also found that caregiving does not have a serious negative impact on biomarkers of inflammation, a widely cited mechanism of the possible impact of stress on caregiver health. This and other work challenges the narrative that caregiving is generally overwhelming, and generally leads to depression, disruption of immunity and inflammation, and poor health. I am also interested in the development and evaluation of psychosocial interventions to improve the adaptation of older adults facing stressful circumstances, including family caregiving, chronic illness, and bereavement. I have worked with several research teams that have developed and/or evaluated research-based patient or family caregiver interventions for diverse groups, including White, African-American, and Latino family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease; family caregivers of hospice patients with terminal cancer and heart failure; and cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Videos, Podcasts, and Media Links
Video:
Interviewed for and cited in a New York Times article, published May 16, 2024, “How to Care for Yourself as a Caregiver” by Louisa Kamps.
Interviewed for the Speaking of Psychology Podcast (American Psychological Association), November 2023. Topic: “Caregiving as a Source of Stress and Strength—with William Haley, PhD.” Available at
Interviewed for the Psychology of Aging Podcast, February 2021. Topic: “Lower Caregiver Stress with Proven Resilience Strategies—With William Haley, PhD.” Available at
Professional Service
2023-2025 Elected Member, Council of Representatives, American Psychological Association
2018-2020 Member, American Psychological Association Committee on Aging (CONA). Chair in 2020.
2013 - 2014 - President, Division of Adult Development and Aging (Division 20), American Psychological Association.
2006 - 2009 - National Institute of Mental Health – member, Interventions Committee for Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders, Personality Disorders, and Disorders of Late Life (ITSP)scientific review panel.
2003 - 2004 Chair, Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, Gerontological Society of America.
2001 - President Section II (Clinical Geropsychology) of Division 12 (Clinical Psychology), American Psychological Association.
Honors and Awards
2021 Distinguished University Professor, ±«Óătv
2019 Outstanding Faculty Award, ±«Óătv
2019 Dean’s Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, College of Behavioral and Community
Sciences, ±«Óătv
2018 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
2016 Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, ±«Óătv
2016 Fellow, American Psychological Society
2013 Minority Mentorship Award, Gerontological Society of America Task Force on Minority
Issues in Gerontology
2009 Master Mentor Award , American Psychological Association Division of Adult Development
and Aging and Retirement Research Foundation
2004 Outstanding Research Achievement Award, ±«Óătv Office of
Research
2004 Outstanding Alumni Award, College of Liberal Arts, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
2003 President’s Award for Faculty Excellence, ±«Óătv , Tampa
, Florida
2002 Mentor Award , American Psychological Association Division of Adult Development
and Aging and Retirement Research Foundation
1993 Fellow, American Psychological Association (Divisions 12, 20, and 38)
1992 Fellow, Gerontological Society of America
Current/ Recent Grant Support
Co-PI (Y. Sun, PI) “Center for Innovation, Technology and Aging -- Transforming Homecare for Individuals with AD/ADRD with Holistic Technology Innovations”. 07/01/24 to 06/30/27. ±«Óătv Provost Initiative CREATE (Collaborative Research Excellence And Translational Efforts) Award, $1,000,000.
Transitions to Family Caregiving and Its Impact on Health Indicators. National Institute on Aging, 1 RO1 AG050609, 2016-2021. (Co-Investigator, D. Roth, PI)
Sponsor (Victoria Marino, PI), “Identifying Pathways Between Daily Stress and Long-Term Well-Being in Caregivers and Non-Caregivers.”. National Institute on Aging, 1F31AG066434 - 01A1, 2020-2022. ($72,461).
Co-Investigator (L. Peterson, PI), “Disaster Preparedness for Caregivers of Persons with Dementia.” Retirement Research Foundation, 1/1/2020-6/30/2022. ($137,662.00).
Co-Investigator (D. Dobbs, PI), “Palliative care education in assisted living for care providers of residents with dementia.” Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program, 2019-2021. ($237,496.20).
Co-Investigator (G. Hueluer, PI), “Evaluation of Project VITAL: Virtual Inclusion Technology for All.” Alzheimer’s Association and Florida Department of Elder Affairs, 7/20/2020-6/30/2021).
Publications (representative publications selected from over 160)
Peterson, L. J., Dobbs, D, Hackett, S., & Haley, W. E. (2024). Florida dementia caregivers’ perspectives on natural disaster preparedness: Barriers, resources, and recommendations. The Gerontologist, 64 (3).
Nguyen, L. T., Prophater, L. E., Fazio, S., HĂĽlĂĽr, G., Tate, R., Sherwin, K., Shatzer, J., Peterson, L. J., & Haley, W. E. (2024). Project VITAL at home: Impact of technology on loneliness and well-being of family caregivers of people with dementia. Clinical Gerontologist, 47 (1), 149-160.
Templeman, M. E., Lee, S., & Haley, W. E. (2023). Factors associated with working caregivers’ well-being: Comparisons between Black and White caregivers. International Journal of Aging & Human Development.
Elayoubi, J., Haley, W. E., Nelson, M. R., & HĂĽlĂĽr, G. (2023). How social connection and engagement relate to functional limitations and depressive symptom outcomes after stroke. Stroke, 54, 1830-1838.
Armstrong, N. D., Irvin, M. R., Haley, W. E., Blinka, M. D., Mukaz, D. K., Patki, A., Siegel, S., Shalev, I., Durda, P., Mathias, R. A., Walston, J. D., & Roth, D. L. (2022). Telomere shortening and the transition to family caregiving in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. PLoS ONE, 17 (6), e0268689.
Haley, W. E., Roth, D. L., Sheehan, O. C., Rhodes, J. D., Blinka, M. D., & Howard, V. J. (2020). Effects of transitions to family caregiving on well-being: A longitudinal population-based study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 68, 2839-2846.
Liu, C., Badana, A. N. S., Burgdorf, J., Fabius, C. D., Roth, D. L., & Haley, W. E. (2020). Systematic review and meta-analysis of racial and ethnic differences in dementia caregivers’ well-being. The Gerontologist.
Marino, V. R., Badana, A. N. S., & Haley, W. E. (2020). Stress, strain, and health among primary and secondary caregivers. Clinical Gerontologist, 43, 558-571.
Templeman, M. E., Badana, A. N. S., & Haley, W. E. (2020). The relationship of caregiving to work conflict and supervisor disclosure with emotional, physical, and financial strain in employed family caregivers. Journal of Aging and Health, 32, 698-707.
Roth, D. L., Haley, W. E., Sheehan, O. C., Huang, J., Chung, S., Rhodes, J. D., Durda, P., Howard, V. J., Walston, J. D., & Cushman, M. (2020). The transition to family caregiving and its effect on biomarkers of inflammation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Classes Taught
GEY 7602 - Seminar in Family Caregiving
GEY 6934 - Assessment of Older Adults
GEY 4360 – Gerontological Counseling
GEY 4612 – Psychology of Aging
GEY 6206 – Family Caregiving in Aging and Chronic Illness (web based)
GEY 6614— Aging and Mental Disorders (web based)
GEY 6617-Gerontological Counseling Theories and Practice (web based)