Postdoctoral position in Psychology-HILAUSENIORS

Nantes Université; France; Sur place; EUR 20 000 - 40 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

A leading French university is seeking a postdoctoral researcher to analyze how housing type influences the autonomy of older adults. The role involves conducting interviews and analyzing survey data. Candidates should have a PhD and expertise in cognitive aging and proficiency in quantitative analysis. The position offers competitive remuneration and flexible contract duration.

Prestations

Minimum salary of €2,784 gross per month

Vacation time of 45 days off per year

24 to 35 months contract duration

Responsabilités

• Conduct FOCUS interviews and process data from HILOS and FOCUS surveys.
• Present detailed written and oral reports to project partners and the academic community.

Connaissances

Disciplinary knowledge of psychology, particularly in cognitive aging.

Proficiency in R or Python

Proficiency in longitudinal data analysis

Strong verbal and written communication skills

Thoroughness and organizational skills

Autonomy and initiative

Ability to work well with others

Adaptability

Multidisciplinary open-mindedness

Formation

PhD or equivalent

Description du poste

Organisation/Company Nantes Université Department Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire Research Field Psychological sciences » Psychology Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Positions Postdoc Positions Country France Application Deadline 12 Oct 2025 - 23:59 (Europe/Paris) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 37h15 Offer Starting Date 10 Nov 2025 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Other EU programme Reference Number 2025_11_03_LPPL_GILET_HILAUSENIORS_POSTDOC Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The HILAUSENIORS project has been awarded a government grant managed by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche under the France 2030 program, reference 23-PAVH-0007 ( https://anr.fr/ProjetIA-23-PAVH-0007 ). This multidisciplinary project, led by the “Caisse Nationale d\'Assurance Vieillesse's Unité de Recherche sur le Vieillissement” (PI: L. Nowik), aims to improve our understanding of the relationship between different types of housing and seniors' (aged 75+) autonomy. The consortium will conduct a large longitudinal panel survey (i.e., HILOS) which will be at the center of the research protocol. Additionally, some sub-samples of panels will be mobilized for specific multidisciplinary studies (including standardized tests and face-to-face interviews) relative to housing and autonomy (i.e., FOCUS). A survey (i.e., OFFRE) will be also conducted inorder to explore the main characteristics and offers of the intermediate housing structures in France of the main intermediate housing structures that are managed by different types of actors (public, semi-public, associative, private). Information will be collected on the structures and services offered, the staff working in these structures, and the costs for residents. The OFFRE survey will allow us to relate the responses of HILOS respondents to the characteristics of their place of residence. To accomplish this goal, the consortium has brought together over a dozen scientific partners from various disciplines, including economics, sociology, geriatrics, design, epidemiology, geography, and psychology.

The HILOS survey will address 15,000 individuals aged 75 years and older living in various types of intermediate housing or standard homes. They will be followed and compared over a four-year period. Data will be collected through self-administered questionnaires submitted to respondents every 18 months (three waves in paper format with telephone support to facilitate the inclusion of some respondents). The first wave of the HILOS survey has launched in January 2025, and the data processing phase has begun. The FOCUS study will be conducted on 200 individuals from the HILOS survey distributed over 4 geographically and socially contrasting French localities. Participants to the FOCUS study will be interviewed three times, between the HILOS waves. The aim of these visits and interviews is to better understand the pathways leading to intermediate housing, the representations of home by individuals living in standard housing, the feeling of well-being in relation to the environment, sociability networks and the support that older people receive.

The program is organized into five work packages: WP0: "Coordination" ensures the success of the research, its coordination, and the exploitation of the results; WP1: "Data Creation/Production" to conduct and coordinate the HILOS survey, the FOCUS study, and the OFFRE survey; WP2: "The Offer of Intermediate Housing," which aims to understand the past and present territorial coverage of intermediate housing (IH), the services offered, and the associated costs of different types of IH; WP3: "Transitions (in and out) between different housing types," which investigates the trajectories and determinants of housing transitions, as well as the reasons for and experiences of transitions; WP4, "Trajectories of autonomy," which analyzes how homes and environments (IH/standard homes) influence autonomy, and conversely, how deterioration of some dimensions of autonomy influences housing choices. WP5: "Autonomy and Residential Choices": Investigating the factors that contribute to individuals' choice to remain in their homes.

The person recruited for this project will play a key role in WP4, in conjunction with WPs 3 and 5. The objective of the WP4 is to analyze how the home environment influences the autonomy of older adults and how deterioration in certain dimensions of autonomy (functional, cognitive, decision-making, economic, social, and civic) influences housing choices. Specifically, this work package aims to determine the effect of housing type on the different dimensions of autonomy by identifying the factors that mediate or moderate this effect.

The goal is to compare trajectories of change in autonomy according to habitat type, examine predictors of autonomy trajectories, and determine if they vary according to habitat type. Additionally, we will contrast autonomy evolution profiles and the factors that explain these profiles.

The recruited person will work with the four LPPL researchers (co-leader of WP4) involved in the project (Anne-Laure Gilet, Lina Guerrero, Christelle Evrard and Fabienne Colombel), primarily focusing on the cognitive autonomy of the recruited older adults.

Their main responsibilities will be to conduct FOCUS interviews and to process and analyze data from HILOS and FOCUS surveys. They will present detailed written and oral reports of the results to project partners and the academic community at symposia and in scientific articles.

Where to apply

E-mail [e-mail]

Requirements

Research Field Psychological sciences » Cognitive science Education Level PhD or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

• Disciplinary knowledge of psychology, particularly in the field of cognitive aging.
• Proficiency in R or Python
• Proficiency in longitudinal data analysis would be considered a plus.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Thoroughness and organizational skills
• Autonomy and initiative
• Ability to work well with others
• Adaptability
• Multidisciplinary open-mindedness

Languages

• FRENCH Level Excellent
• ENGLISH Level Good

Research Field Psychological sciences » Cognitive science Years of Research Experience 1 - 4

Additional Information

Salary : Based on experience, with a minimum of €2,784 gross per month

Contract duration : 24 to 35 months

Working time : 37h15 / week

Vacation time : 45 days off / year

Eligibility criteria

Disciplinary knowledge of psychology, particularly in the field of cognitive aging.

Selection process

1) Cover letterin which the candidate briefly explains his or her background, its relevance to the post