Research Publications

How Does Educational Attainment Influence the Perceived Need for Future Assistance with ADLs?

Julia M. Finan

This brief summarizes the results of a recent study that used data from the 2011-2014 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to examine educational differences in perceived need for future ADL assistance among 54,946 adults aged 40 to 65 years in the United States.

April 16, 2024

Social Infrastructure Availability and Suicide Rates among Working-Age Adults in the United States

Xue Zhang, Danielle C. Rhubart, Shannon M. Monnat

“Social Infrastructure Availability and Suicide Rates among Working-Age Adults in the United States,” co-authored by Professor of Sociology Shannon Monnat, was published in Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World.

April 10, 2024

See related: Mental Health, United States

Adopting the Standard Medical Deduction Increased State SNAP Enrollment and Benefits

Yuwei Zhang, Jun Li, Dongmei Zuo, and Colleen M. Heflin

This brief summarizes findings from a study that examined the associations between state SMD adoption and SNAP participation and benefits from 2004 to 2019.

April 9, 2024

Shifting Cohort Patterns in the Use of Drugs with Elevated Overdose Risk in the United States

Kira England, Liying Luo, Ashton M Verdery, Shannon M Monnat

“Shifting Cohort Patterns in the Use of Drugs with Elevated Overdose Risk in the United States,” co-authored by Professor of Sociology Shannon Monnat, was published in Social Problems.

April 3, 2024

Spending Time Socializing in Bars Increases the Risk of Heavy Drinking

Danielle Rhubart, Jennifer Kowalkowski, and Yiping Li

This brief uses data from the 2022 Rural Health and Engagement Survey to examine relationships between time spent in bars and heavy drinking.

April 2, 2024

Older Adults are at Greater Risk of OUD in Communities with High Social Vulnerability

Tse-Chuan Yang, Seulki Kim, Stephen A. Matthews, and Carla Shoff

This brief summarizes findings from a study that used data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to examine how county characteristics contributed to the prevalence of OUD among Medicare beneficiaries age 65+ in U.S. counties in 2021.

March 26, 2024

Hypertension at the Nexus of Veteran Status, Psychiatric Disorders, and Traumatic Brain Injury

Jacob P. DeBlois, Andrew S. London, Kevin S. Heffernan

"Hypertension at the Nexus of Veteran Status, Psychiatric Disorders, and Traumatic Brain Injury: Insights from the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System," co-authored by Professor of Sociology Andrew London, was published in PLOS ONE.

March 20, 2024

See related: United States, Veterans

The Impact of Industrial Animal Agriculture on the Physical Health of Communities of Color

Mariana Zepeda

This brief summarizes the health risks for communities located near CAFOs. Additionally, it calls for government regulations that improve transparency, management, and consumer empowerment.

March 19, 2024

Waiving SNAP Interviews during the COVID19 Pandemic Increased SNAP Caseloads

Colleen Heflin, William Clay Fannin, Leonard Lopoo, and Siobhan O’Keefe

This brief summarizes findings from a recent study that used data from SNAP offices across 10 states to examine the impact of SNAP interview waivers on SNAP caseloads from January 5th to April 30th of 2021.

March 12, 2024

Cognitive Functioning is Higher among Older Adults in Walkable Neighborhoods

Tse-Chuan Yang, Seulki Kim, Seung-won Emily Choi, Shannon Halloway, Uchechi A. Mitchell, and Benjamin A. Shaw

This brief summarizes findings from a study that aims to understand how U.S. older adults’ (age 65+) exposures to residential neighborhood environments – specifically walkability and concentrated socioeconomic disadvantage – are associated with their cognitive functioning between 2010 and 2018.

March 5, 2024

Infant Mortality Rates Vary Substantially across Regions of the United States

Marissa Merrifield

This data slice uses data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to compare infant mortality rates by geographic region in the U.S. between 2017-2021.

February 27, 2024

What Factors Increase Risk of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia?

Elizabeth Vásquez and Kai Zhang

This data slice uses nationwide data from 3,155 counties in the U.S. to identify the factors that best predict county-level rates of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRDs) in 2018.

February 20, 2024

Black Women Have the Highest Maternal Mortality Rate in the United States

Tori-Ann Haywood

This data slice uses data from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics to describe U.S. maternity mortality rates for women ages 15-45 across different ethnoracial groups between 2018-2022.

February 13, 2024

Are We Accurately Counting the Disabled Population in the United States?

Nastassia Vaitsiakhovich, Scott D. Landes, and Bonnielin K. Swenor

This brief summarizes findings from a recent study that used the 2011-2012 NHIS data to compare the prevalence of the disabled population estimated in the NHIS by using two sets of questions on disability – those from the American Community Survey vs. those from the Washington Group Short Set (WG-SS). Results show that the WG-SS undercounted more than half of adult respondents aged 18 and over who reported being disabled in the ACS questions.

February 6, 2024

Educational Attainment and Perceived Need for Future ADL Assistance

Julia M. Finan, Scott D. Landes

"Educational Attainment and Perceived Need for Future ADL Assistance," co-authored by Scott Landes, associate professor of sociology, was published in the Journal of Applied Gerontology.

February 5, 2024

See related: Aging, Education, United States

Pain Limits Family Caregivers’ Daily Activities

Shelbie G. Turner, Karl A. Pillemer, Jamie R.M. Robinson, and M. Cary Reid

This brief summarizes findings from a recent study that estimated the prevalence of arthritis and activity-limiting pain among family caregivers to older adults. Over half of all caregivers reported bothersome pain in the previous month, 24% of whom had pain that limited their activities on most or every day.

January 30, 2024

Why is Food Insecurity High among U.S. Grandparents who are Caring for Grandchildren?

Madonna Harrington Meyer and Anna Delapaz

This brief draws on interviews with U.S. adults ages 60 and older who are caring for their grandchildren to summarize the factors contributing to food insecurity among grandparents.

January 23, 2024

Geographically Specific Associations Between County-Level Socioeconomic Distress and Mortality

Xue Zhang, Shannon M. Monnat

"Geographically specific associations between county-level socioeconomic and household distress and mortality from drug poisoning, suicide, alcohol, and homicide among working-age adults in the United States," co-authored by Professor of Sociology Shannon Monnat, was published in SSM - Population Health.

January 11, 2024

Estimated Arterial Stiffness, Cognitive Decline, and Dementia Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Kevin Heffernan, Janet Wilmoth, Andrew London

"Estimated Arterial Stiffness, Cognitive Decline, and Dementia Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults," co-authored by sociologists Janet Wilmoth and Andrew London, was published in Innovation in Aging.

January 9, 2024

See related: Longevity, United States

Military Service Experiences, Hearing Difficulty, and Difficulty Remembering/Concentrating

Andrew London, Scott Landes, Janet Wilmoth

"Noncombat and Combat Military Service Experiences, Hearing Difficulty, and Difficulty Remembering/Concentrating," co-authored by sociologists Andrew London, Scott Landes and Janet Wilmoth, was published in Innovation in Aging.