Susan Turk Charles
Associate Dean, School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine
Professor/WOS, Department of Nursing, University of California, Irvine
Biography
Susan Turk Charles, Ph.D., is Associate Dean in the School of Social Ecology and Professor in the Department of Psychological Science and the Department of Nursing at the University of California, Irvine. Charles received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Southern California and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University. Her research examines emotional experiences and emotion regulation across adulthood, with a focus on how daily stressors and social interactions influence emotional well-being and physical health as people age.
Charles is an elected Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and the Gerontological Society of America. She received the Baltes Distinguished Research Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association's Division 20 in 2025 and the Distinguished Mentorship in Gerontology award from the Gerontological Society of America in 2023. Her work has been supported by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health, including as principal investigator on studies examining aging, emotional well-being, and physical health.
Charles has served in multiple administrative roles at UC Irvine, including Department Chair of Psychological Science from 2019 to 2022 and Associate Dean of the Graduate Division from 2017 to 2019. She has contributed to the field through editorial service for journals including Psychology and Aging and Emotion, and through service on NIH grant review panels. Charles developed the Strength and Vulnerability Integration (SAVI) model, a theoretical framework for understanding emotional well-being in later adulthood.
Return to topEducation
- A.B. in Psychology, Stanford University, 1991
- M.A. in Psychology (Clinical), University of Southern California, 1994
- Ph.D. in Psychology (Clinical), University of Southern California, 1997
Distinctions
- Fellow, Collegium Helveticum (Zurich), 2022
- Baltes Distinguished Research Achievement Award, American Psychological Association: Division 20, 2025
- Distinguished Mentorship in Gerontology, The Gerontological Society of America: Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, 2023
- Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award, Gerontological Society of America, 2011
- Fellow, Association for Psychological Science, 2016
- Fellow, Gerontological Society of America, 2012
- Chancellor's Fellow, University of California, Irvine, 2014
- Phi Beta Kappa, Stanford University Chapter, 1991
Areas of Expertise
- Emotional Development Across Adulthood
- Daily Stressor Reactivity Patterns
- Social Network Diversity Effects
- Affective Neuroscience Mechanisms
- Cardiovascular Health Outcomes
- Cognitive Functioning Trajectories
- Neighborhood Environmental Influences
Recent Publications
- Jeon S., Turiano N.A., Charles S.T., “Purpose in life mediates the relationship between social activity variety and depressive symptoms in Middle-aged and older U.S. adults” (opens in new tab), Aging and Mental Health, vol. 30, pp. 444-454, 2026.
- Brown, C. J., Rook, K. S., Charles, S. T., Fingerman, K. L., “The advantages of seeing the silver lining: How valuing emotions moderates the link between ambivalent ties and daily health” (opens in new tab), The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol. 80, 2025.
- Elliott, M. R., Charles, S.T., Holmen, E.A., Garfin, D.R., Silver, R.C., “Psychological distress across 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic differs by age and by race/ethnicity” (opens in new tab), Journal of Traumatic Stress, vol. 38, pp. 606-617, 2025.
- Rush, J., Charles, S. T., Willroth, E. C., Cerino, E. S., Piazza, J. R., Almeida, D. M., “Changes in daily stress reactivity and changes in physical health across 18 years of adulthood” (opens in new tab), Annals of Behavioral Medicine, vol. 59, no. 1, 2025.
- Jeon, S., Charles, S.T., “Internet-Based Social Activities and Cognitive Functioning 2 Years Later Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults: Prospective Cohort Study” (opens in new tab), JMIR Aging, vol. 7, 2024.
- Jeon, S., Charles, S.T., “Participation in diverse social activities predicts fewer depressive symptoms” (opens in new tab), Aging and Mental Health, vol. 29, pp. 797-805, 2024.
- Jeon, S., Turiano, N.A., Charles, S.T., “A greater variety of social activities is associated with lower mortality risk” (opens in new tab), Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol. 79, 2024.
- Rush, J., Ong. A. D., Piazza, J. R., Charles, S. T., Almeida, D. M., “Too little, too much, and 'just right': Exploring the 'Goldilocks zone' of stress reactivity” (opens in new tab), Emotion, vol. 24, pp. 1249-1258, 2024.
- Cerino, E.S., Charles, S.T., Piazza, J.R., Rush, J., Looper, A.M., Witzel, D.D., Mogle, J., Almeida, D.M., “Preserving what matters: Longitudinal changes in control over interpersonal stress and non-interpersonal stress in daily life” (opens in new tab), Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol. 79, no. 4, 2024.
- Charles, S. T., Piazza, J. R., “Looking back, forging ahead: Fifteen years of Strength and Vulnerability Integration (SAVI)” (opens in new tab), Current Opinion in Psychology, vol. 55, 2023.
- Brown, C.J., Jeon, S., Ng, Y.T., Lee, S., Fingerman, K.L., Charles, S.T., “Switching it up: Activity Diversity and Cognitive Functioning in Later Life” (opens in new tab), Psychology and Aging, vol. 38, no. 6, pp. 483-493, 2023.
- Cerino, E.S., Charles, S.T., Mogle, J., Rush, J., Piazza, J.R., Klepacz, L.M., Lachman, M. E., Almeida, D.M., “Perceived control across the adult lifespan: Longitudinal changes in global control and daily stressor control” (opens in new tab), Developmental Psychology, vol. 60, no. 1, pp. 45–58, 2023.
- Kircher, J.A., Charles, S.T., Sin, N.L., Almeida, D.M., “Chronic Pain and Affective Experiences Associated with Daily Stressors and Uplifts” (opens in new tab), International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, vol. 8, pp. 485-500, 2023.
- Charles, S.T., Rush, J., Piazza, J.R., Cerino, E., Mogle, J., Almeida, D.M., “Growing old and being old: Emotional well-being across adulthood” (opens in new tab), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 125, no. 2, pp. 455–469, 2023.
- Charles S.T., Carstensen L.L., “Marriage in Old Age” (opens in new tab), Inside the American Couple New Thinking New Challenges, pp. 236-254, 2023.
- Lee, S., Ng, Y. T., Charles, S. T., Almeida, D. M., Fingerman, K. L., “Who has active lifestyles? Sociodemographic and personality correlates of activity diversity in two samples of adults” (opens in new tab), Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol. 78, no. 4, pp. 659-669, 2022.
- Almeida, D.M., Rush, J., Mogle, J., Piazza, J.R., Cerino, E., Charles, S.T., “Longitudinal change in daily stress across 20 years of adulthood: Results from the National Study of Daily Experiences” (opens in new tab), Developmental Psychology, vol. 59, no. 3, pp. 515–523, 2022.
- Leger, K., Charles, S.T., Brown, C. J., Fingerman, K.L., “Physical activity and daily stress processes in older adulthood” (opens in new tab), Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol. 78, no. 1, pp. 20-29, 2022.
- Kaur, A., Charles, S.T., Molina, K.M., Almeida, D.M., “Adding insult to injury: Everyday discrimination moderates stressor-related negative affect” (opens in new tab), Behavioral Medicine, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 26-36, 2022.
Most Cited Publications
- Carstensen, L.L., Isaacowitz, D.M., Charles, S.T., “Taking time seriously: A theory of socioemotional selectivity theory” (opens in new tab), American Psychologist, vol. 54, pp. 165-181, 1999.
- Carstensen, L.L., Fung, H., Charles, S.T., “Socioemotional selectivity theory and emotion regulation in the second half of life” (opens in new tab), Motivation and Emotion, vol. 27, pp. 103-123, 2003.
- Charles, S.T., Carstensen, L.L., “Social and emotional aspects of aging” (opens in new tab), Annual Review of Psychology, vol. 61, pp. 383-409, 2010.
- Charles, S.T., “Strength and Vulnerability Integration (SAVI): A Model of Emotional Well-Being in Later Adulthood” (opens in new tab), Psychological Bulletin, vol. 136, pp. 1068-1091, 2010.
- Charles, S.T., Mather, M., Carstensen, L.L., “Aging and emotional memory: The forgettable nature of negative images for older adults” (opens in new tab), Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, vol. 132, pp. 310-324, 2003.
- Charles, S. T., Reynolds, C., Gatz, M., “Age-related differences and change in positive and negative affect over twenty-five years” (opens in new tab), Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 80, pp. 136-151, 2001.
- Charles, S.T., Piazza, J.R., Mogle, J., Sliwinski, M., Almeida, D.M., “The wear-and-tear of daily stressors on mental health” (opens in new tab), Psychological Science, vol. 24, pp. 733-741, 2013.
- Luong, G., Charles, S.T., Fingerman, K.L., “Better with age: Social relationships across adulthood” (opens in new tab), Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, vol. 28, pp. 9-23, 2011.
- Piazza, J. R., Charles, S. T., Sliwinski, M., Mogle, J., Almeida, D. M., “Affective reactivity to daily stressors and long-term risk of reporting a chronic physical health condition” (opens in new tab), Annals of Behavioral Medicine, vol. 45, pp. 110-120, 2013.
- Neupert, S., Almeida, D.M., Charles, S.T., “Age differences in reactivity to daily stressors: The role of personal control” (opens in new tab), Journals of Gerontology Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, vol. 62, pp. 116-122, 2007.
Contact Information
Email: scharles@uci.edu
Phone: (949) 824-1450
Address: 4570 Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway
Return to topThis profile was created with the help of AI.
Last updated on 4/2/2026.