Dr. Debra Umberson

Dr. Umberson's research focuses on structural determinants of psychological and physical health with a particular focus on the effects of gender and relationships on health behavior and health. Recent publications consider how marital quality and the effect of marital quality on health change over time. Her current research, funded by the National Institute on Aging, considers how different types of social ties affect a range of health behaviors over the life course and how these linkages vary by race and gender.

She teaches undergraduate courses in Research Methods and Sociological Perspectives on Death and Dying. She teaches graduate courses on Gender and Health, Gender and Family, and Research Methods.

Debra's Vita

Research Assistants

Cathy (Hui) Liu

Cathy Liu's research interests are focused on the relationships between family and mortality, especially the historical trends of this association. Her quantitative method interests center primarily on modeling forces of mortality, as well as modeling heaping or inflated count data, as well as Bayesian statistical methods, a useful skill for studies in the social sciences, especially demography.

Corinne Reczek

Corinne Reczek is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology and a Ph.D. Portfolio student in the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Corinne is also the advisory editor of the graduate student run journal Intersections: Women’s and Gender Studies in Review across Disciplines. Her current research explores the connection between gender, intimate relationships, and health. Her dissertation will analyze health and health behaviors in heterosexual, gay, and lesbian long-term couples.

Corinne's Web Page