Erika Augustsson

I am a PhD student in the Social Gerontology Sector at Aging Research Center working on a project about the social connectedness of older adults. I am also part of research projects on loneliness in old age and psychosocial resilience of older adults. 

My background is in sociology, with an MSc in social research and social statistics from the University of Stirling and MA (Hons) in sociology with quantitative methods from the University of Glasgow. Before starting my PhD I spent two years working on the Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old - SWEOLD which I am using in combination with the level of living survey for my PhD.

I am affiliated with the National Graduate School on Ageing and Health - SWEAH and part of the Social Inequalities in Ageing Network. In 2023 I was honoured to receive Irisstipediet to attend the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research.

I am interested in the social relationships of older adults, especially ways in which they participate socially, loneliness and historical trends. The overall aim of my PhD is to investigate various dimensions of the social connectedness of older adults. I am especially interested in friendship and the changing role of friends in old age.  

I am the course assistant for the Society and Health course in the Psychology program and have co-supervised multiple Masters dissertations, both for Swedish students and students from abroad.