Gender, Family, and Social Change
Broad changes in recent decades, including economic restructuring and the stagnation of male wages, the gender revolution and the entry of women into labor force, and the aging of most populations, have transformed family life in ways that are still not well understood. MPRC researchers are leaders in the study of how these larger changes affect families and individuals in both the U.S. and in other countries. Many aspects of family life (how they form, their size, composition and stability, and inequalities in family experiences) have direct impact on larger demographic processes underlying the composition, geographic distribution, and growth of the population. Thus the study of family life is of central concern to population research.
Areas of focus include :
- Transition to adulthood and family formation
- Parenting over the life course
- Intersection between gender, work, and family
Examples of current projects in these areas can be found below.
Fertility differences by gender in racially and ethnically mixed U.S. couples
Study by MPRC Director Michael Rendall and colleagues reveals support for male-predominant patterns
Gatekeeping in telephone surveys of female migrants in India
The rise of telephone surveys has increased "gatekeeping" of women
Differences in out-of-pocket spending for maternity care by race and ethnicity
Asian, Black, and Hispanic individuals had higher out-of-pocket spending overall
The nexus of the risk of depression and residential mobility for urban poor mothers in Nairobi
Residential mobility is associated with dislocation and stress
The modern mortgage set the stage for the US baby boom
The dramatic changes in the accessibility of home ownership may have “set the stage” for the baby boom
Preterm birth during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico
Protective behaviors subject to heterogeneous socioeconomic and structural constraints may lead to unequal health outcomes during health emergencies.
Differential convergence in twenty-first-century gender gaps in home tasks
Faculty Associate Liana Sayer finds that gendered norms associated with different forms of unpaid labors may be becoming redefined
The introduction of Medicaid abortion coverage in Illinois
Abortion rates increase and birth rates decrease in Illinois after Medicaid coverage
The relationship between familial deaths and one's own mortality among Black Americans
Familial loss increases midlife mortality risk among Black Americans
The impact of education on fertility in the U.S. over five decades
Philip Cohen examines the educational gradient in completed fertility
Grandmothers' support and its effect on mental health among young mothers in Nairobi
Madhavan and colleagues examine grandmothers' employment and living status impact on support to daughters and grandchildren
Examination of pregnancy related deaths in Georgia
Mokhtari and colleages examine Georgia's high maternal mortality rate, disparities, and data needs
Examining the effects of maternal smoking on offspring depression
Maternal smoking quantity seen as vital factor
Temporal trends in mental health disparities among sexual minorities
Research shows persistent mental health disparities among sexual minority populations
Improving mental health for older adults
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) could reduce health disparities
Medication and procedural abortions before 13 weeks gestation and risk of psychiatric disorders
Faculty Associate Julia Steinberg and colleaguse set out to test risks associated with having a medication or procedural abortion prior to 13 weeks of pregnancy
Dyadic patterns in childbirth intention
Monica Caudillo, with MPRC affiliate colleagues, uses National Survey of Family Growth Data for Population Research and Policy Review article
Wildfires and Child Health
Faculty Associate Michel Boudreaux leads an R01 to measure impact of increasing particulant pollution on child health
"Rosie" learns Spanish: The AI-powered chatbox bridging disparities in maternal and infant health
Nguyen and Aparicio receive $200k from NIH to expand access to healthcare information
A cross-national investigation of women's empowerment
Desai and Yu tap into dimensions of empowerment in household, work, and education across 28 countries