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Scott Schieman, Ph.D.
- Professor
Department of Sociology of the University of Toronto
Toronto , Ontario M5S 2J4, Canada
Education:
- Ph.D., Sociology, University of New Hampshire, May 1997.
- Concentrations: Medical Sociology and Applied Sociology/Social Policy.
- Dissertation Title: “Psychosocial and Sociostructural Determinants of Mastery: The Context of Age and Physical Disability.”
- Advisor: Dr. Heather A. Turner.
- M.A., Sociology, University of New Hampshire, August 1993.
- Thesis Title: “Social Distance and Perceived Susceptibility to HIV/AIDS.”
- Advisor: Dr. Heather A. Turner.
- B.A., Psychology, Millersville University of Pennsylvania, May 1990.
Biography:
Recent Accomplishments
Schieman’s main areas of interest are located in social psychology, medical sociology, and social stratification/work. Broadly, his research focuses on the structural arrangements of individual lives, as they are situated in core social roles and contexts, and their influences on stress processes and health. For example, one area of focus examines work-related conditions and their effects on the work-nonwork interface. This work results from a primary data collection effort of a national sample of 2,000 currently employed adults interviewed twice approximately 20 months apart. He also examines the social demography of the workplace and its influence on supportive versus conflictive workplace relations. In addition, other topics of interest involve the stratification-based influences on religious precepts and practices. From these and other efforts, Schieman has published manuscripts in an array of journals, including Social Forces, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Social Psychology Quarterly, Sociological Quarterly, Research on Aging, and the Journal of Aging and Health.
Funded Research
In 2004 while still at Maryland, Schieman was awarded a National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) R01 grant entitled “Origins and Health Impact of Relational Conflict at Work.? Len Pearlin serves as co-investigator on this grant. Schieman also completed work as co-investigator (with Pearlin) on an R01 for research related to Status Inequality, Stress, and Health among Older Adults (2000-2004) funded by NIA.
Future Plans
Schieman will continue his work on the effects of interpersonal relationships in the workplace on anger and physical health. His on going work centers on the types of conflict involving actions that are particularly evocative of anger such as violations of self, perceived injustice or inequity, goal impediments, and experienced aggression. He focuses on the worker's relationships with superordinates (managers or supervisors), subordinates (people managed or supervised), customers or clients (the recipients of service), and other peers (coworkers). By employing a wide lens to assess the entire role-set, he investigates the different sources and effects of conflict while accounting for the complexity of organizational and authority structures. He will continue to write manuscripts that result from this project. These will focus on new ways of considering the work-nonwork interface, interpersonal conflict in the workplace, and the effects of social stratification on emotions and psychosocial resources. In a second area, Schieman plans to write a book that will explore religious beliefs in the United States and Canada, focusing attention on the sense of divine control, that is, how the belief that God determines the good and bad, affects the successes and failures of individual lives.