Marsha Seltzer
Ph.D.
Acting Director, Waisman Center

Professor; Ph.D., Brandeis University, 1978. Interests: families, aging, developmental disabilities, longitudinal research methods. Current research: family caregiving for individuals with autism; family caregiving for aging relatives.

Contact Information

University of Wisconsin, Madison - Social Work
211 School of Social Work
1350 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 263-3578
Fax: 263-3836
Email: mseltzer@waisman.wisc.edu

Education

University of Wisconsin-Madison, BA, 1972
Brandeis University, Ph.D. Social Welfare, 1978

Research Interests

The focus of Dr. Seltzer?s research is on the life course impacts of disability on the family. She is interested in how lifelong caregiving affects the well-being of parents and siblings of individuals with disabilities, including autism, Down syndrome, and schizophrenia. In addition, she has studied how the family environment affects the development of individuals with disabilities. Her research has been funded by the National Institute on Aging since 1990. With this support, she has conducted three lines of research.

First, with Marty Wyngaarden Krauss of Brandeis University, she has recently completed a 12-year study of aging families who had an adult son or daughter with mental retardation living at home when the study began. These families face a unique dual challenge: adjusting to the challenges of their own aging while at the same time continuing to have caregiving responsibilities for their son or daughter with retardation. The research examined the pattern of age-related changes and transitions in these families, how the changes affected the son or daughter with the disability, and the antecedents and consequences of out-of-home placement of the adult child.

A second line of research involves the comparison of parents of adults with developmental disabilities (most recently, autism) with parents of adults with schizophrenia, in collaboration with Jan Greenberg of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Marty Krauss. These studies have elucidated the diagnosis-specific aspects of family caregiving by examining differences in the stress and coping process for parents whose children have either developmental disabilities or schizophrenia, and consequent differences in their well-being. Support for this line of research comes from grants from the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Mental Health.

Her third line of research traces the life course impacts of parenting a child with a disability through study of a unique cohort, the participants in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS). In collaboration with Jan Greenberg and Frank Floyd of Georgia State University, this research analyzes data spanning over 40 years in the lives of parents who have a child with either developmental disabilities or schizophrenia. It is the only study to include pre-parenting measures as well as multiple follow-up points across the life course. This research is also funded by the National Institute on Aging.

Together, these studies offer specific insights about parenting a child with a disability, revealing both the stresses of this challenge and the resiliency of parents who cope successfully. In addition, her studies more generally address child effects on parents, revealing the bi-directional and reciprocal influences of parents and children on their unfolding and intersecting development across the life course.

Research and Professional Specialties

Family Caregiving
Developmental Disabilities
Longitudinal Research

Current Research Projects

Project Title: Impacts of Parenting Adolescents and Adults with Autism

Role on Project: Principal Investigator; Co-PI Jan Greenberg, Ph.D.

Funding Agency: National Institute on Aging

This longitudinal study examines the impact of lifelong caregiving on families who have a son or daughter with autism. It involves the investigation of changes in the symptoms of autism during the adolescent and adult years, and the influence of these changes on family members.

Project Title: Aging Parents with a Mentally Ill Child at Home

Role on Project: Co-PI; Principal Investigator, Jan Greenberg, Ph.D.

Funding Agency: National Institute of Mental Health

This study investigates the well-being of aging parents caring for an adult child with schizophrenia, and examines how these families make the transition to non-parental care when the aging parents are no longer able to continue in the caregiving role.

Selected Publications

Seltzer, M.M., Greenberg, J.S., Floyd, F.J., Pettee, Y., Hong, J. (2001). Life course impacts of parenting a child with a disability. American Journal on Mental Retardation, 106, 282-303.

Seltzer, M.M., Krauss, M.W., Hong, J., Orsmond, G.I. (2001). Continuity or discontinuity of family involvement with adults with mental retardation following residential transitions. Mental Retardation, 39, 181-194.

Hong, J., Seltzer, M.M., & Krauss, M.W. (2001). Change in social support and psychological well-being: A longitudinal study of aging mothers of adults with mental retardation. Family Relations, 50,154-163.

Seltzer, M. M., Krauss, M. W., Orsmond, G. I., & Vestal, C. (2000). Families of adolescents and adults with autism: Uncharted territory. In L. M. Glidden (Ed.), International Review of Research on Mental Retardation, Vol. 23. San Diego: Academic Press.