Life Course and Intergenerational Processes
The study of families, social relationships, and institutions is central to understanding how health inequalities emerge, are modified, or are sustained across the life course.
Recent Publications
Broussard, Kathleen and Abigail Weitzman. 2020. “Sibling Mortality and Fertility Ideals from the High-Mortality Context of Peru” Population Studies 74 (2), 179-195.
Henderson, Andrea K., Katrina M. Walsemann, and Jennifer A. Ailshire. 2022. “Religious Involvement and Cognitive Functioning at the Intersection of Race–Ethnicity and Gender Among Midlife and Older Adults.” The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 77(1):237–48. 10.1093/geronb/gbab034.
Wong, Jaclyn S., and Ning Hsieh. 2021. “Couple Analysis in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project.” The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 76(Supplement_3):S276–86. 10.1093/geronb/gbab061.
Current Projects
Augustine ASPIRE
This project aims to replicate and extend my previous research, in which I find that increases in mothers’ educational attainment does not lead to significant changes in children’s cognitive skills or noncognitive skills.
Stress and Women’s Health
Studies of social disparities in accelerated aging have shown mixed results in the association between chronic stress and accelerated aging, with racial disparities often less pronounced than socioeconomic ones.
Religion and Cognitive Functioning
Dr. Henderson examines the extent to which various dimensions of religiosity is associated with trajectories of cognitive functioning among older adults and whether this relationship varies by race.
Faculty
Jennifer Augustine, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology
How mothers shape family level processes and in turn their children’s health and academic outcomes.
Caroline Hartnett, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology
How social factors influence decision-making around childbearing and how the exchange of resources within families impact inequality.
Andrea Henderson, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Sociology
The religious lives of Black Americans and how religion influences health and well-being in the face of stress, including racial discrimination.
Carla Pfeffer, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies
Contemporary families, genders, sexualities, and bodies considered marginal, as well as social actors’ management of stigma and discrimination.
Jaclyn Wong, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Sociology
How positive and negative social relationships shape older adults’ health and wellbeing. The role of gender, marriage, and family relationships on life course health.
