- Debra Umberson is Professor of Sociology, Director of the Population Research Center, and Centennial Commission Profe... moreDebra Umberson is Professor of Sociology, Director of the Population Research Center, and Centennial Commission Professor in the Liberal Arts #1 at the University of Texas at Austin. She received her PhD in sociology from Vanderbilt University and was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research. Umberson's research focuses on relationships and population health with a particular emphasis on aging and life course change, marital and family ties, gender and racial variation in relationship/health linkages, and the blending of quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Recent publications have focused on marital transitions and body weight; stress and health behavior; gender and health in gay, lesbian, and straight couples; race, social ties, and disadvantage in health; and health policy addressing the link between social ties and health. She has been the recipient of a National Research Service Award and a FIRST Award from the National Institute on Aging. Dr. Umberson is also an elected Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America. Her current research, supported by a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Investigator in Health Policy Research Award and the National Institute on Aging, examines how marital relationships affect health-related behavior and health care, and how those processes vary across gay, lesbian, and heterosexual unions. She is the immediate past editor of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior and Chair-elect of the Medical Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association. She is also the receipient of the 2015 Matilda White Riley Distinguished Scholor Award from the American Sociological Association's Section on Aging and the Life Course.edit
Social relationships—both quantity and quality—affect mental health, health behavior, physical health, and mortality risk. Sociologists have played a central role in establishing the link between social relationships and health outcomes,... more
Social relationships—both quantity and quality—affect mental health, health behavior, physical health, and mortality risk. Sociologists have played a central role in establishing the link between social relationships and health outcomes, identifying explanations for this link, and discovering social variation (e.g., by gender and race) at the population level. Studies show that social relationships have short- and long-term effects on health, for better and for worse, and that these effects emerge in childhood and cascade throughout life to foster cumulative advantage or disadvantage in health.this article describes key research themes in the study of social relationships and health, and it highlights policy implications suggested by this research.
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As we live longer, most of us maintain relationships with our parents into middle age and beyond. How do these connections affect our health and well-being?
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Results from a 1986 national survey (N = 3,614) show that having ever been widowed is associated with current levels of depression and that this association is greater for men than women. Some of this apparent gender difference occurs... more
Results from a 1986 national survey (N = 3,614) show that having ever been widowed is associated with current levels of depression and that this association is greater for men than women. Some of this apparent gender difference occurs because men have been widowed for a shorter average period of time than women and the effects of widowhood appear to lessen over time. Widowhood also is associated with different types and amounts of life strain for men and women. The results suggest that the primary mechanism linking widowhood to depression among women is financial strain. Among men, the more critical mechanisms seem to be strains associated with household management. When specific strains occur, they appear to have different effects on respondents who have ever been widowed and those who have not. Taken together, these results suggest that what appears on the surface to be a gender difference in vulnerability to the same life event turns out upon closer examination to occur because widowhood does not affect men and women in the same way.
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図書論文詳細表示. 所蔵番号, 130228, 掲載頁, 193-217, 発行日, 2004. タイトル, The Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families. 論文タイトル, Families of the Poor ([III. Inequality and Diversity] 12). 叢書名, Blackwell Companions to Sociology. 著者, Walker,Robert,... more
図書論文詳細表示. 所蔵番号, 130228, 掲載頁, 193-217, 発行日, 2004. タイトル, The Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of Families. 論文タイトル, Families of the Poor ([III. Inequality and Diversity] 12). 叢書名, Blackwell Companions to Sociology. 著者, Walker,Robert, & Collins,Claire ...
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ABSTRACT Most explanations of child abuse among humans focus either on psychologic dysfunction of the perpetrator of abuse or environmental stress on the perpetrator. More recently, evolutionary theory and studies of infant abuse among... more
ABSTRACT Most explanations of child abuse among humans focus either on psychologic dysfunction of the perpetrator of abuse or environmental stress on the perpetrator. More recently, evolutionary theory and studies of infant abuse among nonhuman species have led to a sociobiological explanation of child abuse among humans. Advocates of this approach (Lenington, 1981; Daly and Wilson, 1981) suggest that abuse of offspring be viewed within the context of genetic relatedness and inclusive fitness. This report addresses the methodological and theoretical problems which arise when the sociobiological explanation of infant abuse is applied to humans. Suggestions are made to fill gaps in the sociobiological explanation, consequently allowing rudimentary tests of hypotheses.
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1. Do you think the well-known distinction between 'Sociology-in-Medicine'versus 'Sociology-of-Medicine'made by Straus (1957) is still some-how valid? If yes, in which of the two labels... more
1. Do you think the well-known distinction between 'Sociology-in-Medicine'versus 'Sociology-of-Medicine'made by Straus (1957) is still some-how valid? If yes, in which of the two labels do you mostly identify your journal? If not, how would you differently elaborate the problem of the relationship between theory and practice in Medical/Health Sociology?
ABSTRACT Thesis (Ph. D. in Sociology)--Vanderbilt University, 1985. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 240-249).
1. Do you think the well-known distinction between 'Sociology-in-Medicine'versus 'Sociology-of-Medicine'made by Straus (1957) is still some-how valid? If yes, in which of the two labels do you mostly identify your... more
1. Do you think the well-known distinction between 'Sociology-in-Medicine'versus 'Sociology-of-Medicine'made by Straus (1957) is still some-how valid? If yes, in which of the two labels do you mostly identify your journal? If not, how would you differently elaborate the problem of the relationship between theory and practice in Medical/Health Sociology?
... Robert Crosnoe Norval D. Glenn Debra Umberson Ted Huston Page 3. ... assistance throughout this project: Dr. Catherine Ross, Dr. Robert Crosnoe, Dr. Norval Glenn, Dr. Debra Umberson, and Dr. Ted Huston. Special gratitude goes to Dr.... more
... Robert Crosnoe Norval D. Glenn Debra Umberson Ted Huston Page 3. ... assistance throughout this project: Dr. Catherine Ross, Dr. Robert Crosnoe, Dr. Norval Glenn, Dr. Debra Umberson, and Dr. Ted Huston. Special gratitude goes to Dr. Ross and ...
... Susan Marshall Arthur Sakamoto Debra Umberson Alison Davis-Blake Page 3. ... wonderful person. I would like to thank Susan Marshall for her challenging Gender Stratification class which gave me a strong foundation in critical... more
... Susan Marshall Arthur Sakamoto Debra Umberson Alison Davis-Blake Page 3. ... wonderful person. I would like to thank Susan Marshall for her challenging Gender Stratification class which gave me a strong foundation in critical thinking; Arthur Sakamoto for ...
Despite substantial evidence of the linkage between stress and weight change, previous studies have not considered how stress trajectories that begin in childhood and fluctuate throughout adulthood may work together to have long-term... more
Despite substantial evidence of the linkage between stress and weight change, previous studies have not considered how stress trajectories that begin in childhood and fluctuate throughout adulthood may work together to have long-term consequences for weight change. Working from a stress and life course perspective, we investigate the linkages between childhood stress, adulthood stress and trajectories of change in body mass (i.e., Body Mass Index, BMI) over time, with attention to possible gender variation in these processes. Data are drawn from a national longitudinal survey of the Americans' Changing Lives (N = 3617). Results from growth curve analyses suggest that both women and men who experienced higher levels of childhood stress also report higher levels of stress in adulthood. At the beginning of the study period, higher levels of adulthood stress are related to greater BMI for women but not men. Moreover, women who experienced higher levels of childhood stress gained wei...
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Identifying factors associated with cognitive limitations among older adults has become a major public health objective. Given the importance of marital relationships for older adults' health, this study examines the association... more
Identifying factors associated with cognitive limitations among older adults has become a major public health objective. Given the importance of marital relationships for older adults' health, this study examines the association between marital quality and change in cognitive limitations in late life, directionality of the relationship between marital quality and cognitive limitations, and potential gender differences in these associations. Latent growth curve models were used to estimate the association of marital quality with change in cognitive limitations among older adults and the direction of the association between marital quality and cognitive limitations using 4 waves of the Americans' Changing Lives survey (N = 841). Results indicate that more frequent negative (but not positive) marital experiences are associated with a slower increase in cognitive limitations over time, and the direction of this association does not operate in the reverse (i.e., cognitive limitat...
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Mortality rates are lower for married individuals than they are for unmarried individuals, and marriage seems to be even more beneficial to men than women in this regard. A theoretical model of social integration and social control is... more
Mortality rates are lower for married individuals than they are for unmarried individuals, and marriage seems to be even more beneficial to men than women in this regard. A theoretical model of social integration and social control is developed to explain why this may occur. Drawing from this model, I hypothesize that marriage may be beneficial to health because many spouses monitor and attempt to control their spouse's health behaviors. Furthermore, the provision, receipt, and consequences of these social control efforts may vary for men and women. These hypotheses are considered with analysis of a national panel survey conducted in 1986 (N = 3617) and 1989 (N = 2867). Results show that: (1) marriage is associated with receipt of substantially more efforts to control health for men than women, (2) those who attempt to control the health of others are more likely to be female than male, (3) there is some support for the social control and health behavior hypothesis among the mar...
Research Interests: Sociology, Anthropology, Health Behavior, Gender Identity, Social Science & Medicine, and 14 moreSocial Control, Marriage, Humans, United States, Female, Male, Social Integration, Texas, Middle Aged, Adult, Public health systems and services research, Theoretical Model, Mortality rate, and Marital Status
Research on same-sex relationships has informed policy debates and legal decisions that greatly affect American families, yet the data and methods available to scholars studying same-sex relationships have been limited. In this article... more
Research on same-sex relationships has informed policy debates and legal decisions that greatly affect American families, yet the data and methods available to scholars studying same-sex relationships have been limited. In this article the authors review current approaches to studying same-sex relationships and significant challenges for this research. After exploring how researchers have dealt with these challenges in prior studies, the authors discuss promising strategies and methods to advance future research on same-sex relationships, with particular attention given to gendered contexts and dyadic research designs, quasi-experimental designs, and a relationship biography approach. Innovation and advances in the study of same-sex relationships will further theoretical and empirical knowledge in family studies more broadly and increase understanding of different-sex as well as same-sex relationships.
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The authors integrate theoretical work on the performance of gender with a life course perspective to frame an analysis of in-depth interviews with 17 long-term married couples. The findings indicated that couples' sexual experiences... more
The authors integrate theoretical work on the performance of gender with a life course perspective to frame an analysis of in-depth interviews with 17 long-term married couples. The findings indicated that couples' sexual experiences are characterized by change over time, yet that change is shaped by the intersection of gender and age. Midlife couples (ages 50 - 69) were distressed by changes in their sex lives likely because they impede couples from performing gendered sexuality. The source of this distress stems from age-related physical changes; however, it manifests in different ways for husbands and wives. In contrast, later life couples (ages 70 - 86) were more likely to emphasize the importance of emotional intimacy over sex as they age. Marital sex is a source of conflict for many midlife couples because of husbands' and wives' incongruent experiences, but later life husbands and wives tend to have more congruent experiences of marital sex.
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Marital relationships, like individuals, follow a developmental trajectory over time with ups and downs and gains and losses. We work from a life course perspective and use growth curve analysis to look at trajectories of change in... more
Marital relationships, like individuals, follow a developmental trajectory over time with ups and downs and gains and losses. We work from a life course perspective and use growth curve analysis to look at trajectories of change in marital quality over time. Although the tendency is for marital quality to decline over time, some groups begin with much higher levels of marital quality than others. Moreover, a number of life course and contextual factors can accelerate or slow this path of change. Our findings point to the importance of considering the multi-dimensionality of time (e.g., age, marital duration, the passage of years) as well as family transitions (e.g., having children, emptying or refilling the nest) in creating the meanings and experiences of marriage over time.
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Until very recently, the first" fact" went largely uncontested. Durkheim (1897/1951) came to a similar conclusion at the turn of the century when he found that... more
Until very recently, the first" fact" went largely uncontested. Durkheim (1897/1951) came to a similar conclusion at the turn of the century when he found that suicide rates were higher among the unmarried than the married. Working from a variety of theoretical perspectives, sociologists throughout the twentieth century concluded that marriage has beneficial effects on the individual. The second" fact" generated much more controversy beginning in the 1970s. Jesse Bernard (1972) argued, in support of a gender difference in marital benefits, ...
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The provision and receipt of emotion work-defined as intentional activities done to promote another's emotional well-being-are central dimensions of marriage. However, emotion work in response to physical... more
The provision and receipt of emotion work-defined as intentional activities done to promote another's emotional well-being-are central dimensions of marriage. However, emotion work in response to physical health problems is a largely unexplored, yet likely important, aspect of the marital experience. We analyze dyadic in-depth interviews with husbands and wives in 21 mid- to later-life couples to examine the ways that health-impaired people and their spouses provide, interpret, and explain emotion work. Because physical health problems, emotion work, and marital dynamics are gendered, we consider how these processes differ for women and men. We find that wives provide emotion work regardless of their own health status. Husbands provide emotion work less consistently, typically only when the husbands see themselves as their wife's primary source of stability or when the husbands view their marriage as balanced. Notions of traditional masculinity preclude some husbands from providing emotion work even when their wife is health-impaired. This study articulates emotion work around physical health problems as one factor that sustains and exacerbates gender inequalities in marriage with implications for emotional and physical well-being.
Research Interests: Masculinity, Emotions, Marriage, Humans, Female, and 4 moreMale, Health Status, Clinical Sciences, and Aging Studies
Previous work on social control-the direct and indirect regulation of an individual's health behaviors by others-suggests that parent-child relationships promote healthy diet and exercise. Yet parenthood is... more
Previous work on social control-the direct and indirect regulation of an individual's health behaviors by others-suggests that parent-child relationships promote healthy diet and exercise. Yet parenthood is associated with less healthy diet and exercise patterns. The authors investigated this paradox by examining social control processes in 40 in-depth interviews with mothers and fathers. They found that parenthood involves social control processes that both promote and compromise healthy behavior, contributing to contradictory perceived effects of parenthood on health behavior. Moreover, the dynamics of social control appear to unfold in different ways for mothers and fathers and depend on the child's gender and life stage, suggesting that gender and age dyads are central to understanding the seemingly contradictory consequences of parenthood at the population level. These articulations of gendered social control processes provide new insight into the consequences of the gendered organization of parenthood for diet and exercise.
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Despite extensive evidence of the importance of marriage and marital processes for mental health, little is known about the interpersonal processes around depression within marriage and the extent to which these processes are gendered. We... more
Despite extensive evidence of the importance of marriage and marital processes for mental health, little is known about the interpersonal processes around depression within marriage and the extent to which these processes are gendered. We use a mixed methods approach to explore the importance of gender in shaping processes around depression within marriage; we approach this in two ways. First, using quantitative longitudinal analysis of 2,601 couples from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we address whether depressive symptoms in one spouse shape the other spouse's depressive symptoms and whether men or women are more influential in this process. We find that a wife's depressive symptoms influence her husband's future depressive symptoms but a husband's depressive symptoms do not influence his wife's future symptoms. Second, we conduct a qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 29 couples wherein one or both spouses experienced depression to provide additional insight into how gender impacts depression and reactions to depression within marriage. Our study points to the importance of cultural scripts of masculinity and femininity in shaping depression and emotional processes within marriage and highlights the importance of applying a gendered couple-level approach to better understand the mental health effects of marital processes.
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We work from a life course perspective to assess the impact of marital status and marital transitions on subsequent changes in the self-assessed physical health of men and women. Our results suggest three central conclusions regarding the... more
We work from a life course perspective to assess the impact of marital status and marital transitions on subsequent changes in the self-assessed physical health of men and women. Our results suggest three central conclusions regarding the association of marital status and marital transitions with self-assessed health. First, marital status differences in health appear to reflect the strains of marital
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Research Interests: Sociology, Anthropology, Health Behavior, Obesity, Family, and 22 moreLife course, Social Science & Medicine, Humans, Social Context, United States, Female, Male, Young Adult, Risk factors, Aged, Middle Aged, Parents, Family Health, Adult, Public health systems and services research, Sex Factors, Health surveys, Body Weight, Risk Factors, Weight Gain, Growth Curve, and Cumulant
Researchers estimate that 3 4 million women are abused by intimate partners each year, and the United States Surgeon General reports physical abuse as the leading cause of injury to women in the US Although numerous studies have examined... more
Researchers estimate that 3 4 million women are abused by intimate partners each year, and the United States Surgeon General reports physical abuse as the leading cause of injury to women in the US Although numerous studies have examined survivors' perceptions of domestic ...
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Much prior research in social psychology indicates that in many domains of social life, individuals' well-being improves in the latter half of the life course. The reason for this pattern is not well understood, however. We argue... more
Much prior research in social psychology indicates that in many domains of social life, individuals' well-being improves in the latter half of the life course. The reason for this pattern is not well understood, however. We argue that objective changes in family composition ...
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... Affect Affect Affect Balance Happiness Index Competence Index Grand Mean 5.70 3.56 1.53 7.03 2.19 5.93 35.83 1.67 Attractiveness: Very Attractive 6.04 3.72 1.33 7.40 2.34 6.38 38.98 1.33 Above Average 5.83 3.71 1.43 7.28 2.24 6.23... more
... Affect Affect Affect Balance Happiness Index Competence Index Grand Mean 5.70 3.56 1.53 7.03 2.19 5.93 35.83 1.67 Attractiveness: Very Attractive 6.04 3.72 1.33 7.40 2.34 6.38 38.98 1.33 Above Average 5.83 3.71 1.43 7.28 2.24 6.23 38.00 1.53 ...
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Page 1. The Glass Escalator: Hidden Advantages for Men in the "Female" Professions* CHRISTINE L. WIlTl.IAMS, University of Texas at Austin This paper addresses men's underrepresentation in four ...