Jon Nussbaum-research areas How Does Communication Change across the Life Span?
How Does Communication Change across the Life Span?

It is rather obvious to accept the fact that we change physically over the course of our lives. Many of our physical attributes and several critical mental abilities have been shown to decline as we age into our 50’s, 60’s and beyond. Professor Jon Nussbaum is pursing a research agenda that investigates the changing structure and function of our communication as we age. While it may be true that certain physical and mental abilities decline with age, research has shown that our ability to successfully communicate can compensate for these declines and is an important factor in our overall well-being throughout the entirety of our lives. To date, studies have been conducted to link communication to overall well-being by focusing on professional relationships within the health care domain as well as various family and friendship relationships. The aim of this research is to place communication at the center of any consideration of a life span theory of successful aging. Click on any of the article titles below to see an abstract of the publication.


Pecchioni, L.L., Wright, K.B. & Nussbaum, J.F. (2005). Life-span communication. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Nussbaum, J.F., Pitts, M.J., Huber, F.N., Krieger, J.R., & Ohs, J.E. (2005). Ageism and ageist language across the life span: Intimate relationships and non-intimate interactions. Journal of Social Issues, 61, 285-303.

Robinson, J.D. & Nussbaum, J.F. (2004). Grounding research and medical education about religion in actual physician-patient interaction: Church attendance, social support, and older adults. Health Communication, 16, 63-86.

Kundrat, A.L. & Nussbaum, J.F. (2003). The impact of invisible illness on identity and contextual age across the life span. Health Communication, 15, 331-347.

Nakonezny, P.A., Rodgers, J.L., & Nussbaum, J.F. (2003). The effect of later life parental divorce on adult child-older parent solidarity: A test of the buffering hypothesis. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33(6), 1153-1178
Pecchioni, L.L. & Nussbaum, J. F. (2001). Mother-daughter discussions of caregiving prior to dependency: Exploring conflicts among European American women. Journal of Family Communication, 2, 133-150.

Nussbaum, J.F., Pecchioni, L. & Crowell, T. (2001) The older-patient health care provider relationship in a managed care environment. In M.L. Hummert & J. F. Nussbaum (Eds.), Aging, communication, and health: Linking research and practice for successful aging (pp. 23-42). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.