As a social gerontologist, I am interested in studying the inter-development between social relationships and health in mid- and later- adulthood. Guided by the bioecological framework, life course perspective, and family systems theory, my research focus is driven by the questions; what are the intra-personal, inter-personal, and contextual factors that support us to thrive well into our fourth quarter of life?; and what are the mechanisms in which life events and social determinant factors influence the trajectory of health and how individuals and couples cope? In this talk, I’d like to share my research experiences in studying later adulthood from the discipline of human development and family studies (HDFS). The first line of research is on the psychosocial factors that are linked to health outcomes; I will discuss my study on the link between loneliness and cognition. The second line of research is focused on identifying the effects of "linked lives" where spouses and family members influence each others' health and development as a dyad; I will discuss my study on personality traits and the health of older couples. The third line of research is interested in exploring the dynamics and decisions people make related to managing their social life in the face of external stress; I will discuss my study on the patterns of social contact change and the links to mental health at the early stages of the pandemic.