Sociology News & Events

"Food Insecurity, Race and Ethnicity, and Cognitive Function Among United States Older Adults," co-authored by Haowei Wang, assistant professor of sociology, was published in the Journal of Nutrition.

The bureau has spent time, money and energy trying to improve counts of racial and ethnic minorities who have been historically undercounted, but the statistical agency seems willing to adapt questions that will shortchange the numbers of people with disabilities, says Scott Landes, associate professor of sociology.

"Counting disability in the National Health Interview Survey and its consequence: Comparing the American Community Survey to the Washington Group disability measures," co-authored by Scott Landes, associate professor of sociology, was published in Disability and Health Journal.

"During my conversations with Tsinghua University faculty and students regarding whether they would consider studying in the United States, they expressed fear and anxiety about what they perceive as 'a hostile America' toward China—specifically, the U.S. policies targeting Chinese talent and the broader anti-China rhetoric," Yingyi Ma, professor of sociology.

"Gender Differences in Adults with ADHD," co-authored by Professor of Sociology Andrew London, was published in the Clinical Handbook of ADHD Assessment and Treatment Across the Lifespan.

In the glory days of the American labor movement, when unions were strong and wages rose alongside productivity, “organized workers could cash that out as more free time,” says Aaron Benanav, assistant professor of sociology. “But for decades, workers haven’t even been getting that choice because, for the most part, productivity growth has ended up as higher profits and more inequality.”

“Disabled people are already underserved,” says Scott Landes, associate professor of sociology. Altering the way the Census Bureau gathers disability statistics, he argues, will generate “inaccurate information.”

"Pharmacy workers at CVS or Walgreens have been saddled with this exacerbation of workplace duties without a corollary growth of staffing," says Gretchen Purser, associate professor of sociology. "They feel very overwhelmed, very overburdened, very overworked. And none of that has come along with increased wages, either."

“Among older people there is a reluctance to project negativity into their future,” says Merril Silverstein, professor and chair of sociology. “There’s research that they tend to put on rose-colored glasses about things like their own aging trajectory so it’s keeping up their ego integrity to want to be independent and stay in their home.”

Maxwell sociologist Sean J. Drake is exploring the neighborhood and school experiences of refugee and other migrant youth in Syracuse and New York City.

"Becoming sandwiched in later life: Consequences for individuals’ well-being and variation across welfare regimes," co-authored by Professor and Chair of Sociology Merril Silverstein, was published in The Journals of Gerontology.

They have taken advantage of opportunities to learn and help others, including work with the local organization Layla’s Got You.

The differences in state policies directly correlate to those years lost, said Jennifer Karas Montez, director of the Center for Aging and Policy Studies and author of several papers that describe the connection between politics and life expectancy.

Prema Kurien and Janet M. Wilmoth received awards, and several faculty colleagues were elected to roles in the American Sociological Association. 

"Health equity for people with intellectual and developmental disability requires vast improvements to data collection: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic," co-authored by Associate Professor of Sociology Scott Landes, was published in Disability and Health Journal.

"Did Gender Egalitarianism Weaken Religiosity in Baby Boom Women? A Developmental-Historical Approach," co-authored by Professor of Sociology Merril Silverstein, was published in Sociology of Religion.

The research team led by Jennifer Karas Montez and Shannon Monnat hopes to better understand how state policies and local economic conditions impact health and mortality rates.

“I think about academics having to write grants all the time,” says Aaron Benanav, assistant professor of sociology, as an example. Those can be formulaic and would take far less time with the help of a machine. In programming, it’s helping engineers “write up basic outlines of code or sometimes like whole sections of code,” he says. 

Prema Kurien, professor of sociology, says there is a logical reason why immigrant groups exhibit higher rates of religiosity. “Immigration and relocation from a familiar context to something completely unfamiliar is a theologizing experience,” Kurien says. “It raises existential questions—things that people don’t think about when they are in their home country with a familiar community.”

"Explaining the U.S. rural disadvantage in COVID-19 case and Death rates during the Delta-Omicron surge: The role of politics, vaccinations, population health, and social determinants," co-authored by Professor of Sociology Shannon Monnat, was published in Social Science & Medicine.