Families & Mental Health

Introduction

Umberson, Debra, and Mieke Beth Thomeer. 2020. “Family Matters: Research on Family Ties and Health, 2010 to 2020.” Journal of Marriage and Family 82(1):404–19. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12640.

Gauthier, Anne H., and Stuart Gietel-Basten. 2024. “Family Policies in Low Fertility Countries: Evidence and Reflections.” Population and Development Review. doi: 10.1111/padr.12691.

† Schieman, Scott. 2019. “Ordinary Lives and the Sociological Character of Stress: How Work, Family, and Status Contribute to Emotional Inequality.” Society and Mental Health 9:127–42. doi: 10.1177/2156869319844805.

Guest lecture – Philip Cohen

Ruan, Hangqing, Melody Ge Gao, Yajie Xiong, and Philip N. Cohen. 2024. “Marital Status and Deaths from Alcohol, Drug Overdose, and Suicide in the United States: 2000–2021.” Socius 10:23780231241275429. doi: 10.1177/23780231241275429.

Cohen, Philip N. 2024. “Turning the Tide: A Value-Laden Proposition.” Contemporary Sociology 53(3):212–18. doi: 10.1177/00943061241240874d.

Cohen, Philip N. 2025. “Doing Description.” Pp. 43–79 in Citizen Scholar: Public Engagement for Social Scientists. New York: Columbia University Press.

Family policy

Wray, Dana. 2020. “Paternity Leave and Fathers’ Responsibility: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Canada.” Journal of Marriage and Family 82(2):534–49. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12661.

Gerson, Kathleen. 2023. “Why No One Can ‘Have It All’ and Why That Matters for Everyone.” Sociological Forum 38(4):1423–31. doi: 10.1111/socf.12959.

Fasang, Anette Eva, and Silke Aisenbrey. 2022. “Uncovering Social Stratification: Intersectional Inequalities in Work and Family Life Courses by Gender and Race.” Social Forces 101(2):575–605. doi: 10.1093/sf/soab151.

† Tong, Yuying, and Bingdao Zheng. 2024. “Policy-Induced Fertility Suppression and Marital Satisfaction: Evidence From a Natural Experiment in China.” Demography 61(6):2027–51. doi: 10.1215/00703370-11686478.

Fertility

Williams, Kristi, and Brian Karl Finch. 2019. “Adverse Childhood Experiences, Early and Nonmarital Fertility, and Women’s Health at Midlife.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 60(3):309–25. doi: 10.1177/0022146519868842.

Cohen, Philip. 2016. “Maternal Age and Infant Mortality for White, Black, and Mexican Mothers in the United States.” Sociological Science 3:32–38. doi: 10.15195/v3.a2.

Luppi, Francesca, Bruno Arpino, and Alessandro Rosina. 2020. “The Impact of COVID-19 on Fertility Plans in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.” Demographic Research 43:1399–1412. doi: 10.4054/DemRes.2020.43.47.

Parenthood

Nomaguchi, Kei, and Melissa A. Milkie. 2020. “Parenthood and Well-Being: A Decade in Review.” Journal of Marriage and Family 82(1):198–223. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12646.

Ugur, Zeynep B. 2020. “Does Having Children Bring Life Satisfaction in Europe?” Journal of Happiness Studies 21(4):1385–1406. doi: 10.1007/s10902-019-00135-5.

Musick, Kelly, Ann Meier, and Sarah Flood. 2016. “How Parents Fare: Mothers’ and Fathers’ Subjective Well-Being in Time with Children.” American Sociological Review 81(5):1069–95. doi: 10.1177/0003122416663917.

† Fingerman, Karen L., Yen-Pi Cheng, Kira Birditt, and Steven Zarit. 2012. “Only as Happy as the Least Happy Child: Multiple Grown Children’s Problems and Successes and Middle-Aged Parents’ Well-Being.” The Journals of Gerontology: Series B 67B(2):184–93. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbr086.

Marital status

Perelli-Harris, Brienna, Stefanie Hoherz, Trude Lappegård, and Ann Evans. 2019. “Mind the ‘Happiness’ Gap: The Relationship Between Cohabitation, Marriage, and Subjective Well-Being in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, and Norway.” Demography 56:1219–46. doi: 10.1007/s13524-019-00792-4.

Moss, Eden, and Brian J. Willoughby. 2018. “Associations between Beliefs about Marriage and Life Satisfaction: The Moderating Role of Relationship Status and Gender.” Journal of Family Studies 24:274–90. doi: 10.1080/13229400.2016.1187658.

Pepin, Joanna R., Liana C. Sayer, and Lynne M. Casper. 2018. “Marital Status and Mothers’ Time Use: Childcare, Housework, Leisure, and Sleep.” Demography 55:107–33. doi: 10.1007/s13524-018-0647-x.

† Carlson, Daniel L. 2012. “Deviations From Desired Age at Marriage: Mental Health Differences Across Marital Status.” Journal of Marriage and Family 74:743–58. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.00995.x.

Relationship transitions

Tumin, Dmitry, and Hui Zheng. 2018. “Do the Health Benefits of Marriage Depend on the Likelihood of Marriage?” Journal of Marriage and Family 80:622–36. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12471.

Reczek, Corinne, Tetyana Pudrovska, Deborah Carr, Mieke Beth Thomeer, and Debra Umberson. 2016. “Marital Histories and Heavy Alcohol Use among Older Adults.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 57:77–96. doi: 10.1177/0022146515628028.

Julian, Christopher A., and Susan L. Brown. 2024. “A National Portrait of the Well-Being of Remarried and Previously Married Cohabiting Older Adults.” Aging & Mental Health 0(0):1–12. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2024.2438834.

Relationship quality

Karney, Benjamin R., and Thomas N. Bradbury. 2020. “Research on Marital Satisfaction and Stability in the 2010s: Challenging Conventional Wisdom.” Journal of Marriage and Family 82(1):100–116. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12635.

Brown, Susan L., Wendy D. Manning, and Huijing Wu. 2021. “Relationship Quality in Midlife: A Comparison of Dating, Living Apart Together, Cohabitation, and Marriage.” Journal of Marriage and Family. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12813.

Gillespie, Brian Joseph, Gretchen Peterson, and Janet Lever. 2019. “Gendered Perceptions of Fairness in Housework and Shared Expenses: Implications for Relationship Satisfaction and Sex Frequency.” PLOS ONE 14(3):e0214204. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214204.

† Johnson, Matthew D., Scott M. Stanley, and Galena K. Rhoades. 2023. “Does Income Moderate Basic Relationship Processes?” Journal of Marriage and Family 85(1):72–91. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12877.

† Miller, Richard B., Cody S. Hollist, Joseph Olsen, and David Law. 2013. “Marital Quality and Health Over 20 Years: A Growth Curve Analysis.” Journal of Marriage and Family 75:667–80. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12025.

Partner spillover

Kowalewska, Helen, and Agnese Vitali. 2023. “The Female-Breadwinner Well-Being ‘Penalty’: Differences by Men’s (Un)Employment and Country.” European Sociological Review. doi: 10.1093/esr/jcad034.

Garcia, Michael A., and Debra Umberson. 2019. “Marital Strain and Psychological Distress in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples.” Journal of Marriage and Family 81(5):1253–68. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12582.

Glauber, Rebecca, and Melissa D. Day. 2018. “Gender, Spousal Caregiving, and Depression: Does Paid Work Matter?” Journal of Marriage and Family 80:537–54. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12446.

† Joel, Samantha, et all. 2020. “Machine Learning Uncovers the Most Robust Self-Report Predictors of Relationship Quality across 43 Longitudinal Couples Studies.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117(32):19061–71. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1917036117.

Intimate partner violence

Hardesty, Jennifer L., and Brian G. Ogolsky. 2020. “A Socioecological Perspective on Intimate Partner Violence Research: A Decade in Review.” Journal of Marriage and Family 82(1):454–77. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12652.

Sweet, Paige L. 2019. “The Paradox of Legibility: Domestic Violence and Institutional Survivorhood.” Social Problems 66:411–27. doi: 10.1093/socpro/spy012.

Richie, Beth E., and Valli Kanuha. 1993. “Battered Women of Color in Public Health Care Systems: Racism, Sexism, and Violence.” Pp. 288–99 in Wings of Gauze: Women of Color and the Experience of Health and Illness, edited by B. Bair and S. E. Cayleff. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press.

† Einiö, Elina, Niina Metsä-Simola, Mikko Aaltonen, Elina Hiltunen, and Pekka Martikainen. 2023. “Partner Violence Surrounding Divorce: A Record-Linkage Study of Wives and Their Husbands.” Journal of Marriage and Family 85(1):33–54. doi: 10.1111/jomf.12881.

Work & family interface

Oshio, Takashi, Akiomi Inoue, and Akizumi Tsutsumi. 2017. “Does Work-to-Family Conflict Really Matter for Health? Cross-Sectional, Prospective Cohort and Fixed-Effects Analyses.” Social Science & Medicine (1982) 175:36–42. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.12.039.

Lu, Zhuofei, Shuo Yan, Jeff Jones, Yucheng He, and Qigen She. 2023. “From Housewives to Employees, the Mental Benefits of Employment across Women with Different Gender Role Attitudes and Parenthood Status.” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20(5):4364. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20054364.

Chai, Lei, and Scott Schieman. 2023. “What Happens at Home Does Not Stay at Home: Family-to-Work Conflict and the Link Between Relationship Strains and Quality.” Journal of Family and Economic Issues 44(1):175–92. doi: 10.1007/s10834-022-09821-8.

Divisions of labor

Carlson, Daniel L., Amanda J. Miller, and Stephanie Rudd. 2020. “Division of Housework, Communication, and Couples’ Relationship Satisfaction.” Socius 6:2378023120924805. doi: 10.1177/2378023120924805.

Schieman, Scott, Leah Ruppanner, and Melissa A. Milkie. 2018. “Who Helps with Homework? Parenting Inequality and Relationship Quality Among Employed Mothers and Fathers.” Journal of Family and Economic Issues 39:49–65. doi: 10.1007/s10834-017-9545-4.

Gordon, Amie M., Emily Cross, Esra Ascigil, Rhonda Balzarini, Anna Luerssen, and Amy Muise. 2022. “Feeling Appreciated Buffers Against the Negative Effects of Unequal Division of Household Labor on Relationship Satisfaction.” Psychological Science 33(8):1313–27. doi: 10.1177/09567976221081872.

† Carlson, Daniel L., Richard J. Petts, and Joanna R. Pepin. 2021. “Flexplace Work and Partnered Fathers’ Time in Housework and Childcare.” Men and Masculinities 1097184X211014929. doi: 10.1177/1097184X211014929.

Notes:
Reading is included on a UofT comprehensive exam reading list

† Optional but recommended reading