About

Julie Ober Allen is an Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Health Equity in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her research investigates mechanisms generating chronic disease burden and disparities within the older U.S. adult population, focusing on how exposure to chronic stressors rooted in social inequities such as ageism, discrimination, race, and gender expectations affect behavior, biology, psychosocial factors, and health outcomes in later life. Her work emphasizes the health implications of ageism, Black-White health disparities, and conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and multimorbidity. Allen's goal is to inform community, societal, and policy-level changes to promote health and reduce disparities among older adults. She completed her MPH and PhD at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for Social Research. Her contributions include research on aging appearance, ageism, and health disparities, with media appearances such as CBS Sunday Morning discussing ageism.

Research topics

• Psychology
• Medicine
• Gerontology
• Psychiatry
• Social psychology
• Geography

Selected publications

• Older adults’ report of fight-or-flight and other acute stress responses to ageism and linkages to health

  Aging & Mental Health · 2026-02-10

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  OBJECTIVES: Exposure to ageism is believed to trigger fight-or-flight responses, compel certain behaviors, and make people self-conscious about their age, cumulatively increasing long-term health risks. This study investigated relationships between everyday ageism, self-reported acute stress responses following experiences with ageism, and health. METHOD: age 65, 72% women) and parallel mediation models. Health outcomes were number of chronic physical health conditions and having a mental health condition. RESULTS: its indirect effect on physiological stress responses. Other acute stress responses were associated with health but did not mediate everyday ageism-health associations. CONCLUSION: Asking older adults about their acute stress responses to ageism is a promising strategy in research investigating mechanisms implicating ageism in poor health outcomes. In clinical practice, this may increase self-awareness and adoption of healthy strategies to manage ageism-related responses and coping.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Food Insecurity, Multilevel Coping Strategies, and Depression among Single Female Caregivers: Findings from the Stretching It Study

  Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior · 2026-03-01

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• The Role of Emotional Well-Being in Diabetes Prevention and Management

  Annual Review of Nutrition · 2026-05-15

  article

  This article presents a nuanced analysis of current evidence regarding the role of emotions as understudied mediators of the effectiveness of type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevention and management programs. It reviews empirical literature on how indicators of poor mental health, as well as positive affective functioning, are relevant to health behaviors that contribute to T2D risk, such as compliance with recommended diets and improved nutrition. Addressing these emotional aspects of diabetes may be an effective means of improving uptake, and ultimately efficacy, of efforts to reduce the burden of T2D. This article also discusses examples of diabetes self-management efforts that aim to simultaneously address diabetes care and emotional health needs across clinical and community settings, including the collaborative care model, peer-led programs, and community health educators. Finally, this article considers what centering the emotional side of diabetes means for innovative health promotion efforts for people with T2D.

  PublisherDOI

• Nuanced Gender Differences in Everyday Ageism and Health

  Innovation in Aging · 2025-12-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Qualitative research has documented substantial gender differences in perceptions, experiences, and consequences of ageism, yet survey studies have generally documented comparable amounts of self-reported ageism for men and women. This study uses the new Everyday Ageism Scale for an in-depth investigation of gender differences in amount of routine ageism experienced, types, and salience to mental and physical health in a nationally representative sample of US adults ages 50-80 (2019 National Poll on Healthy Aging, N = 2044). Men and women reported comparable amounts of everyday ageism overall and two of three types (age discrimination, internalized ageism). Women reported more exposure to ageist messages suggesting aging and older adults were unattractive, undesirable, and a source of ridicule (p=.005). No gender differences were detected in associations between 1) overall amount of ageism and all examined mental and physical health outcomes, and 2) types of ageism and physical health outcomes (number of chronic health conditions, odds of fair/poor physical health). Among types of ageism, age discrimination and internalized ageism were associated with mental health outcomes at comparable levels by gender; however, more exposure to ageist messages was associated with higher odds of having depression symptoms among women (unrelated for men) and lower odds of fair/poor mental health among men (unrelated for women). While ageism may be a health risk shared by men and women, findings inform initiatives and clinical care on nuances at the intersection of ageism and gender that may contribute to differences in types of ageism experienced and potential mechanisms affecting mental health.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Black-White Differences Related to Ageism and Health: Evidence from the Experiences of Aging in Society Project

  Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities · 2025-03-03 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Sex differences in the prevalence of fatigue across age groups and associated factors

  Fatigue Biomedicine Health & Behavior · 2025-02-22

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Psychometric Properties of the Everyday Ageism Scale: Results from the Experiences of Aging in Society Project

  Journal of Aging and Health · 2025-09-20 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Objective: To comprehensively evaluate the psychometric properties of the relatively new Everyday Ageism Scale. Methods: Data were from the 2021–2023 Experiences of Aging in Society project ( N = 237, ages 50+, multiracial/multiethnic, 72.6% female). We assessed the multidimensional structure, reliability, and validity of the Everyday Ageism Scale. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis generally substantiated the three-factor structure of the Everyday Ageism Scale: exposure to ageist messages, ageism in interpersonal interactions, and internalized ageism. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were satisfactory for the full scale and two of the three subscales. The scale demonstrated acceptable validity for convergence within measure, convergence criterion with three other scales used to measure ageism, and prediction of concurrent health (number of chronic physical health conditions, mental health condition). Discussion: Findings establish the Everyday Ageism Scale as a valid and reliable, multidimensional scale, while recommending ongoing attention to messages subscale limitations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Exploring longitudinal associations between social determinants of health during adolescence and self-reported contraceptive use in young adulthood in the United States

  Preventive Medicine Reports · 2025-02-23 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Objective: Childhood environment and socioeconomic status influence adult health. Past research links early social and economic disadvantages to later-life diseases and substance abuse, but their effects on contraceptive use remain unexplored. This longitudinal study utilizes the Social Determinants of Health (SDH) framework to explore the associations between social domains in adolescence and contraceptive use in young adulthood. Study design: Fourteen measures of the SDH domains were extracted from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent and Adult Health Wave I data (1994-95) to explore associations with reported ever-use and consistent use of contraception among young adults in the U.S (18-26 years) at Wave III (2001) using multilevel logistic regression. Results: Among 11,172 participants, 87.60 % reported past-year ever-use of contraception, while 47.30 % were consistent contraceptive users. Measures significantly associated with the past year's ever-use of contraceptives in young adulthood included parents' high school graduation status (positive/+), volunteering experience (+), history of foster care (negative/-), and parental reporting a trash problem in the neighborhood (-) during adolescence. For consistent use of contraception in young adulthood, parent high school education (+), volunteering experience (+), higher social cohesion scores (+), access to health care (+), receiving family planning counseling (-), parental receipt of public assistance (-), non-English language spoken at home (-) and the number of neighborhood crimes (-) during adolescence were found to be significant. Conclusions: A favorable environment during adolescence provides a foundation for positive health behaviors. Interventions aimed at improving contraceptive use in young adulthood should consider creating supportive environments for adolescents.

  PublisherDOI

• How old do I look? Aging appearance and experiences of aging among U.S. adults ages 50–80.

  Psychology and Aging · 2024-02-29 · 9 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  values < .001). While aging appearance is often the basis for jokes, it may affect the quality of older adults' experiences of aging and associated health outcomes. Nuanced findings caution against framing youthful biases in aging appearance and investments in looking younger as solely negative (or positive). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

  PublisherDOI

• RACIAL AND ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN AGEISM AND HEALTH: EVIDENCE FROM THE EXPERIENCES OF AGING IN SOCIETY PROJECT

  Innovation in Aging · 2024-12-01

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Abstract Age-based stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination (ageism) are implicated in a variety of poor health outcomes, yet it is unclear if all segments of the older adult population are affected similarly. This study examined racial and ethnic differences in ageism and health using data from the Experiences of Aging in Society project (2021-2023) with a sample equally divided between NonHispanic Black, White, and Asian American and Hispanic US adults age 50+ (N=236; Mage 65; 72% female). We identified variations in amount and types of routine ageism (Everyday Ageism Scale and subscales) and associations with health using ANCOVA and z-tests of differences in race/ethnicity-stratified regression parameters. While all racial/ethnic groups reported comparable amounts of routine ageism overall, differences were detected in types: exposure to ageist messages, White=most, Black=least; age discrimination, Black=most, White=least; and internalized ageism, Hispanic=most, Black=least. In the full sample, ageism was associated with more chronic physical health conditions and greater odds of a mental health disorder (p-values&amp;lt;.02); of the three types, age discrimination was most closely associated with physical health outcomes and internalized ageism with mental. Relationships differed by race/ethnicity: ageism was only associated with physical health among Black (association driven by age discrimination) and White adults (driven by internalized ageism) and with mental health among White adults (driven by internalized ageism) (p-values&amp;lt;.05). Exposure to routine ageism may be universal; yet, healthy aging initiatives should attend to nuances at the intersection of age, race, and ethnicity that contribute to divergent experiences of ageism and consequences for mental and physical health.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Derek M. Griffith

  Georgetown University

  22 shared

• Jeffrey T. Kullgren

  19 shared

• Erica Solway

  17 shared

• Dianne Singer

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  15 shared

• Preeti Malani

  15 shared

• Matthias Kirch

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  14 shared

• Briana Mezuk

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  14 shared

• Daphne C. Watkins

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  12 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Kinesiology

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  2000

• M.S., Kinesiology

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  1995

• B.S., Kinesiology

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  1992