Grants

Heisenberg fellow

I have been awarded a fellowship in the Heisenberg Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG). The program fully funds a professorship position for five years. (€ 787,644)

Research project

The German Research Foundation (DFG) granted funding for a three-year research project on “Social networks and wellbeing: A mixed-methods study in an older community”. This project seeks to identify which kinds of social networks are associated with positive health outcomes in older adults. Methods comprise the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative panel data on the social networks of older adults within several social clubs. The project called Jeckenstudie was carried out from 2022 to 2025. (€ 516,274)

Publications from this project:

Reiner, A., Moody, J. (2025). Moving beyond constrained settings: Health and network dynamics among middle-aged and older adults in voluntary clubs. Network Science (forthcoming).

Reiner, A., Wittek, M., Ellwardt, L. (2025): Who would ask whom for health advice? The structural anatomy of health advice networks among middle-aged and older adults. Network Science, 13: e14. [open access]

Reiner, A., De Gioannis, E., Steinhoff, P. (2025): Social networks and their association with depression in community-dwelling older adults: A meta-analysis. Aging & Mental Health, 1209-1238. [open access]

Steinhoff, P., Ellwardt, L., Wermeyer, M. (2024): Well-being in middle-aged and older adults who volunteer: A qualitative network analysis. Aging & Mental Health, 343-351. [open access]

Reiner, A., Steinhoff., P. (2024): The association of social networks and depression in community-dwelling older adults: A systematic review. Systematic Reviews, 13: 161. [open access]

Steinhoff, P., Reiner, A. (2024): Physical activity and functional social support in community-dwelling older adults: A scoping review. BMC Public Health, 24: 1355. [open access]

Conference funding

Funding by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation was granted for a conference on social network research at the GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences in 2019. (€ 8,500)