Biography
Courtney A. Polenick, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Faculty Associate in the Aging & Biopsychosocial Innovations Program of the Survey Research Center at the U-M Institute for Social Research. Dr. Polenick’s research focuses on later-life family relationships and caregiving in the context of complex care needs including dementia and multimorbidity. She is particularly interested in understanding mutual influences within older couples managing chronic conditions that inform targeted dyadic interventions to maintain the well-being of both partners.
Areas of Interest
- Complex care needs and family caregiving
- Spousal care dyads
- Mutual influences on mental and physical health within aging couples
- Social factors linked to substance use and misuse in later life
Featured News
Majority of adults over 50 report being caregivers for other seniors: poll
Dr. Courtney Polenick is quoted in this The Hill article.
Poll documents the critical role of people over 50 as caregivers and helpers for older loved ones
Supporting everything from health care needs and personal care to home repairs and finances brings both challenges and rewards
In sickness and in health: Study looks at how married couples face chronic conditions
Depression symptoms rise over time when facing multiple conditions that need different types of self-care, especially among husbands whose conditions differ from their wives’
Credentials
- NIMH T32 Postdoctoral Fellowship, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School
- Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies, Pennsylvania State University
- M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis, Youngstown State University
- B.A. in Music Performance, Youngstown State University
