Joseph D. Wolfe

University of Alabama at Birmingham | UAB · Department of Sociology

This study extends health disparities research by examining racial differences in the relationships between multigenerational attainments and mortality risk among “Silent Generation” women. An emerging literature suggests that the socioeconomic attainments of adjacent generations, one’s parents and adult children, provide an array of life-extending...

Objective This study identifies which midlife economic resources reduce the association between divorce and mortality risk among older Black and White women. Background Despite evidence that divorce increases mortality risk due to economic losses, research has not established which among several common economic resources related to divorce are mos...

Although studies observe heterogeneity in the effects of adolescent childbearing on schooling, we currently know little about when this pattern emerged or how it changed across cohorts of women who lived in distinct periods of U.S. history. This article identifies the potential origins of effect heterogeneity in the educational costs of adolescent...

Childbearing histories matter for multiple health outcomes across the life course. Further, there is growing evidence that childbearing may also shape mid- and later-life cognitive health, although previous research is limited due to difficulty in accounting for the role of selection. Multiple factors that place women at risk for specific childbear...

Objectives Childbearing histories—for example, parity and age at first birth—matter for the health outcomes of mid- and later-life women. There is growing evidence that childbearing may shape cognitive outcomes. However, previous research is not definitive due to its inability to account for selection. Selection is critical to address given that mu...

Although studies observe heterogeneity in the effects of adolescent childbearing on schooling, little is currently known about when this pattern emerged or how it changed across cohorts of women who lived in distinct periods of US history. This article identifies the potential origins of effect heterogeneity in the educational costs of adolescent c...

We test whether the negative association between socially “early” childbearing and women's health in later adulthood, well-established in prior research, differs across distinct historical contexts in the U.S.We further examine whether socioeconomic status explains this shift in the impact of childbearing timing and poor health and whether there ar...

Objective: This study examines the relationship between wealth and obesity among adults entering midlife and whether this relationship varies by gender, race, and measure of wealth.Methods: The data were obtained from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY-79). Population-averaged models were used to examine the associations between m...

Introduction: This study explored the associations between midlife obesity and an array of common financial stressors related to wealth loss, debt, and bankruptcy. Methods: The analysis was conducted in 2022 with data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. The final sample included 36,122 observations on 8,059 respondents as they a...

Objectives Financial stressors such as wealth loss, indebtedness, and bankruptcy have gained the attention of public health scholars since the Great Recession. In this study, we extend this area of research by comparing the mental and physical impact of multiple financial stressors during midlife, a pivotal period in the life course for wealth accu...

Medical sociology is a diverse field in terms of methodological approaches. A researchable question in medical sociology is one that can be answered with empirical evidence collected and analyzed using acceptable research methods among contemporary medical sociologists. Human capital is a widely referenced concept in medical sociology, especially a...

Prior research finds evidence of an effect of negative economic shocks on health, but this growing area has not fully investigated variation in this effect. A large number of people from diverse backgrounds experience a substantial financial setback of some type, and differences related to one’s gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES...

Objective: This study identifies which midlife economic resources reduce the association between divorce and mortality risk among older Black and White women. Background: Despite evidence that divorce reduces longevity due to economic losses, research has not established which among several common economic resources related to divorce are most impo...

Disparities in epilepsy treatment have previously been reported. In the current study, we examine the role of socioeconomic status, health insurance, place of residence, and sociodemographic characteristics in past-year visit to a neurology or epilepsy provider and current use of antiseizure medications. Multiple years of data were compiled from th...

A growing body of work identifies distinct health lifestyles among children, adolescents, and young adults and documents important social correlates. This study contributes to that line of research by identifying the health lifestyles of U.S. adults entering late middle age, assessing structural predictors of membership in different health lifestyl...

A growing body of work identifies distinct health lifestyles among children, adolescents, and young adults and documents important social correlates. This study contributes to that line of research by identifying the health lifestyles of U.S. adults entering late-middle age, assessing structural predictors of membership in different health lifestyl...

Objective: This study examines the relationship between wealth and obesity among adults entering midlife and whether this relationship varies by sex, race, and measure of wealth. Methods: The data were obtained from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY-79). Population-averaged models were used to examine the associations between...

Objective: This study examines the relationship between wealth and obesity among adults entering midlife and whether this relationship varies by gender, race, and measure of wealth. Methods: The data were obtained from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY-79). Population-averaged models were used to examine the associations between...

Recent work in stratification and demography argues for the importance of multiple familial generations in status attainment and other transmission processes. Health disparities research in this area generally assumes that the rewards of attainment are paid forward across generations, meaning grandparent and parent achievements give children a heal...

A large body of research finds that the association between educational attainment and health is at historic highs for White women. Rapid changes in labor force participation, access to high-paying jobs, and gender attitudes have radically altered the meaning of education for women’s lives and their dependence on the socioeconomic attainments of th...

A large body of research finds that the association between educational attainment and health is at historic highs for white women. Rapid changes in labor force participation, access to high-paying jobs, and gender attitudes have radically altered the meaning of education for women's lives and their dependence on the socioeconomic attainments of th...

This study extends health disparities research by examining racial differences in the relationships between multigenerational attainments and mortality risk among "Silent Generation" women born between the 1920s and 1940s. An emerging literature suggests that the socioeconomic attainments of adjacent generations, one's parents and adult children, p...

BACKGROUND Recent work in stratification and demography argues for the importance of multiple familial generations in status attainment and other transmission processes. Health disparities research in this area generally assumes that the rewards of attainment are paid forward across generations, meaning grandparent and parent achievements give chil...

Sociologists have had a long interest in health and medicine. Unlike other medical researchers, medical sociologists emphasize variation in social conditions and cultural attitudes to explain differences in health and medical care across societies. Research in medical sociology has helped develop meaningful ways of thinking about the complex social...

Purpose Despite millions of children living in the turmoil of their parents’ active alcoholism or the aftermath of past abuse, research to date has not (1) provided a comprehensive examination of the effects of maternal alcohol use disorders (AUDs) on children’s social ties outside of their relationships with parents, or (2) considered whether the...

Increases in women's labor-force participation and the time families spend at work have reduced the time families have available to care for one another. Recent evidence suggests that responses to these challenges vary for different types of care. While time spent on housework has declined, time devoted to care of children has increased. This paper...

Prior research has established a link between SES and early life health without providing clear theoretical or empirical evidence for using any particular conceptualization or operationalization of SES. Researchers refer to almost any combination of variables related to families’ economic, educational, or occupational circumstances as SES. This abu...

Stata includes a powerful set of tools for constructing a wide array of graphs. Stata's graphing capabilities are well suited for exploratory or preliminary descriptions of analyses of data as well as the production of publication quality graphics. Currently, however, Stata does not have a built-in suite of commands for constructing various types o...

A health disparity is an unnecessary and unjust difference in health across two or more socially meaningful groups. In its brief history, health disparities research has considered the relationship between many different indicators of social inequality, including socioeconomic status (SES), social class, race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientati...

Two theoretical perspectives, role incompatibility and stress proliferation, suggest that age at first birth is associated with alcohol use, but each theory offers distinct predictions about the effect of relatively early parenthood on alcohol use. This study examines the applicability of these perspectives using data spanning over twenty years (19...

The study of emotions in the workplace is a vibrant area of research that has grown considerably over the last 25 years. This research has traveled far, but it has not run its course. This article maps the different paths that have been explored, beginning with Hochschild's classic work on emotional labor in the form of surface and deep acting, and...