My research examines cohort changes in the transition to adulthood, partnership trajectories in the early life course, and intergenerational exchanges between adult children and their older adult parents.

My research program is motivated by a desire to understand changes in the institution of family, the impact of these changes for different social groups, and how these changes interact with other social structures to create inequalities. I rely heavily on longitudinal methods, which allow me to capture both historical changes, and changes across individuals’ life courses. I also use in-depth qualitative interviews in my research to enrich our understanding of how agency and structure interact in decisions about family transitions.

February 2022 Interview on "The Agenda with Steve Paikin": Is COVID Causing Canada's Birth Rate to Fall?

Teaching:

• SOC 841.6 - Advanced Methodologies (2021-22)
• SOC 225.3 - An Introduction to Survey Research and Data Analysis in Sociology (Fall 2021)
• SOC 210.3 - Families, Social Structure and Social Change (Winter 2022)
• SOC 325.3 - Applied Quantitative Research in Sociology

Publications:

Peer-Reviewed Articles

(2021) "Consequences of Teen Parenthood for Teen Mothers and Fathers in Canada." (with Sarah Knudson and Matthew Johnson) Canadian Studies in Population. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42650-021-00060-0.

(2020) "Tobacco Smoking Among First Nations Youth Living On-Reserve and in Northern Communities: A Mixed Methods Study." (with Colleen Dell and FNIGC) International Indigenous Policy Journal, 11(4).

(2019) "‘If you want to have a future and a life, do an apprenticeship’: The expectations and realities of tradesmen’s transition to adulthood." (with Wolfgang Lehmann and Alison Taylor) Journal of Youth Studies. 

(2019) "Union Transitions and Fertility within First Premarital Cohahitations in Canada: Diverging Trends by Education?" Demography, 56:151-167.

(2017) "Healthy Grandparenthood: How long is it and how has it Changed?" (with Rachel Margolis) Demography, 54:2037-2099.

(2017) "Emerging Adulthood, Emergent Health Lifestyles: Sociodemographic Determinants of Trajectories of Smoking, Binge Drinking, Obesity, and Sedentary Behavior." (with Jonathan Daw and Rachel Margolis) Journal of Health and Social Behavior. doi. 10.1177/0022146517702421. 

(2017) "Older Adults with Three Generations of Kin: Prevalence, Correlates, and Transfers." (with Rachel Margolis) Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 72(6):1067-1072.

(2016) "Type and Timing of First Union Formation in Quebec and the Rest of Canada: Continuity and Change across the 1930-1979 Birth Cohorts." Canadian Studies in Population, 43(3-4):234-348.

(2016) "Better off Alone than with a Smoker: The influence of partner's smoking behavior in later life." (with Rachel Margolis)  Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 71: 687-697.

(2014) "Youth Apprenticeships in Canada: on their inferior status despite skilled labour shortages." (with Wolfgang Lehmann and Alison Taylor) Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 66(4):572-589. 

(2013) "Government Student Loan Default: Differences between Graduates of the Liberal Arts and Applied Fields in Canadian Colleges and Universities." (with David Walters and David Zarifa) Canadian Review of Sociology, 50(1):89-115. 

(2012) "Developing Oil and Gas Resources On or Near Indigenous Lands in Canada: An Overview of Laws, Treaties, Regulations and Agreements." (with Jerry P. White) International Indigenous Policy Journal, 3(2).

Books and Book Chapters

(2021) “Healthy Grandparenthood: How Long is it, and How has it Changed?” in Care, Retirement & Wellbeing of Older People Across Different Welfare Regimes edited by Bruno Arpino. NIUSSP. https://www.niussp.org/ebooks/6989/

(2020)  Data Analyses for Qualitative and Quantitative Research (with Trisha Einmann, Dylan Reynolds & David Walters) Pearson Education Canada.

(2017)  “Quantitative Data Analysis Using SPSS.” In L. Neuman & K. Robson The Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Pearson Education Canada. (with Anthony Jehn & David Walters)

(2017) “Developing Oil and Gas Resources On or Near Indigenous Lands in Canada: An Overview of Laws, Treaties, Regulations and Agreements.” In Indigenous Peoples and Resource Development in Canada, edited by R.M Bone and R.B. Anderson. Concord, ON: Captus Press. (with Jerry P. White) (Reprint).

(2010) "Analyzing and Interpreting Quantitative Data using SPSS." In The Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Pearson Education Canada. (with Melinda Vasily and David Walters)

(2010) "Qualitative Data Analysis Using NVivo Software: An Introduction." In The Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Pearson Education Canada. (with Melinda Vasily and David Walters)

Reports

(2017) "First Nations youth smoking: Factors associated with resilience-based on FNIGC data and relevant community tobacco initiatives." First Nations Information Governance Centre: Ottawa. 62 pages. (with Colleen Dell)

Families Life Course and Aging Partnership Trajectories Quantitative Methods Romantic Unions Social Demography Transitions to Adulthood

PhD (2016) University of Western Ontario

MA (2011) University of Guelph

BA (2009) McMaster University