J. Jill Suitor

J. Jill Suitor is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and a Faculty Associate at Purdue University's Center on Aging and the Life Course. She leads the Within-Family Differences Study (WFDS), a longitudinal NIH-funded project examining intergenerational relationships, parental favoritism, and sibling dynamics in over 550 multigenerational families. Her research spans 2001–present, with a focus on family caregiving and well-being.

• Education: Ph.D. in Sociology from SUNY-Stony Brook (1985)

Research Interests: Suitor specializes in parent-adult child relations, sibling relations in adulthood, family caregiving, and mixed methods. Her work explores how parental differential treatment affects psychological well-being and interpersonal dynamics, particularly during health crises and bereavement.

Article Trends: Recent publications analyze birth order, digital communication, racial/gender disparities, and intergenerational care networks. Themes include depressive symptoms, caregiving roles, and transmission of family behaviors across generations.

Funding & Leadership: Research supported by the National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Mental Health, and Spencer Foundation. She served as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Innovation in Aging and Associate Editor of The Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, with leadership in NIH study sections.

Students & Team: Mentored graduates like Robert T. Frase (Southern Illinois University), Reilly Kincaid (University of Arkansas), and Siyun Peng (University of South Florida). Current team includes graduate students Destiny Ogle, Ranran He, and postdoctoral fellows like Hanamori Skoblow at the University of Missouri.