Directory

Britney M. Wardecker
PhD

Assistant Professor

315D Nursing Sciences Building
University Park

Phone: 814-863-4204

Email: bmw5006@psu.edu

Research & Publications

Dr. Wardecker received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2016 and subsequently began training as an NIA-funded T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State. As an Assistant Professor of Nursing with multidisciplinary training in Psychology, Public Health, and Biobehavioral Health, she pulls from theoretical frameworks in these fields to investigate lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) older adults’ psychological and physical health outcomes.

Education

Ph.D. – University of Michigan (Psychology)
B.S. – The Pennsylvania State University (Psychology)

Research Interests

• Promoting health equity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults
• Examining health disparities and individual differences in health (e.g., age, gender, and sexual orientation)
• Biomarker measurement

Recent Articles:

• Wardecker, B. M. & Matsick, J. L. (2020). Families of choice and community connectedness: A brief guide to the social strengths of LGBTQ older adults. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 46(2), 5-8.
• Surachman, A., Wardecker, B. M., Chow, S.-M., & Almeida, D. M. (2019). Life course socioeconomic status, daily stressors, and daily well-being: Examining chain of risk models. Journal of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 74(1), 126-135.
• Wardecker, B. M., Matsick, J. L., Graham-Engeland, J. E, & Almeida, D. M. (2019). Life satisfaction across adulthood in bisexual men and women: Findings from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48(1), 291-303.
• Wardecker, B. M. & Johnston, T. R. (2018). Seeing and supporting LGBT older adults’ caregivers and families. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 44(11), 1-4.