Biography

My research examines how geographic, social, and economic context shapes mental and physical health across the lifespan, with attention to populations the existing service system tends to miss. I work from a family systems perspective and direct a program of research, intervention, and mentorship focused on three groups: rural Southerners navigating health care access, custodial grandfamilies, and older adults affected by substance use and recovery. By the end of 2026 I will assume the role of Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Aging and Human Development.

What I Study

Three lines of work run through my lab and my collaborations. The first examines how rural residence shapes health and information access across the lifespan, including the digital divide that limits rural caregivers' access to evidence-based health content. The second focuses on custodial grandfamilies, the grandparents and other relatives who provide most of the non-parental care in the United States but typically lack the formal supports available to foster families. The third investigates the psychological and social resources, including gratitude, social support, and meaningful engagement, that protect well-being as people age, particularly in the context of substance use and recovery. Across all three, I look for the modifiable mechanisms a clinician or program can actually change.

Background

I came to this work the long way around. I grew up in a part of West Virginia rural enough that my family didn't have a physical address until I was in my twenties. I was a first-generation college student at West Virginia University, and I applied to one graduate program because I didn't know the process. The mentorship I now provide my own students is, in part, the mentorship I wish I had had. The access barriers I research are ones I encountered before I studied them.

I received my Ph.D. in Lifespan Developmental Psychology from West Virginia University in 2011, then spent time at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs MIRECC and as adjunct faculty at Sam Houston State University before joining Mississippi State in 2013. I was promoted to Associate Professor in 2021 and serve as Undergraduate Coordinator for our department of roughly 800 majors.

Contact

Email: Danielle.Nadorff@msstate.edu

Office: 201 Rice Hall, Mississippi State University

Mailing: P.O. Box 6161, Mississippi State, MS 39762

Join the Lab

Prospective graduate students and undergraduate research assistants are welcome to apply to join the Grandfamilies Lab.