Department of Sociology

OBJECTIVES: Understanding the role of structural racism and discrimination is crucial for understanding persistent social disparities across many domains, but a key concern remains: how does it operate at different spatial scales, and does that affect how it should be measured? We explore both empirical and theoretical differences between structural racism measures at meso and macro scales in the United States. We construct two different measures of structural racism at the meso-level (that is, neighborhoods), one capturing absolute measures of neighborhood blight, the other relative indicators of Black-White inequality. We test four different scales of these meso-level measures, each defined by a buffer centered on a block with four different radii. We simultaneously measure relative racial inequality at the macro level (that is, the county). METHODS: We compared the relationship between structural racism measures on life expectancy at varying meso-scales. The structural racism measures include traditional indicators like residential segregation, as well as novel ones capturing neighborhood blight, such as eviction rates, housing vacancies, home loan denials, and proximity to toxic waste, fringe banks, liquor stores, and bars. We estimate multilevel linear models in which the outcome measure was the average life expectancy at the meso-level. RESULTS: We found consistent evidence that neighborhood- and county-level structural racism are associated with lower average life expectancy in neighborhoods. For our combined neighborhood structural racism measure (Black/White inequality and neighborhood blight), we detected a nonlinear relationship in which life expectancy is even more sharply lower for higher concentrations of multidimensional structural racism. The novel neighborhood blight measure had stronger relationships with life expectancy than did Black/White inequality, and they were stronger in high concentration Black neighborhoods. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding how structural racism operates at different spatial scales is important for exploring its mechanisms and informing targeted multilevel interventions to address health disparities.

This paper presents an explanation for globalization centred around a relatively-novel area of inquiry in the study of the phenomenon: American foreign policy. We trace the transformation in how American foreign policy makers approached globalization from the late 1960s to the early 1990s; from a multilateral strategy called ‘Trilateralism’ in the 1970s, to a strategy called ‘Enlargement’ in the early 1990s, based around American dominance. Where proponents of Trilateralism sought to build a global political-economic architecture to govern markets, proponents of Enlargement supported economic liberalization as a means of fostering democratization. We show that, rather than being purely a story of market liberalization, globalization was in large part a product of this shift in American foreign policy. This argument has implications for the contemporary political backlash to globalization, which we argue represents the continued rejection of multilateralism in American foreign policy.

Disability is predominantly understood as a medical problem. Since the 1980s, disability scholars have critiqued the medicalization of disability to illuminate disability’s social and political dimensions. Building on this tradition, the present article analyzes the Paralympic movement to call sociological attention to how medicalization affects disabled social movements, cultural production, and cultural practices. The author draws from interviews with Paralympic athletes and coaches alongside primary historical sources to identify and evaluate medicalization’s effects on the Paralympic movement. Findings show that medicalization both enabled and constrained the Paralympic movement. The medicalization of spinal cord injuries developed lifesaving treatments and mobilized disability sport as rehabilitative treatment to mold patients into healthy, productive “taxpayers.” Framing disability sport as rehabilitation catalyzed the medicalization of the Paralympic movement, as the medical profession facilitated the formation and maintenance of the movement. This understanding of disability sport reflected the clinical nature of medicine and rehabilitation’s approach to disability. However, the clinical approach to Paralympic sport conflicted with Paralympians’ desire for high-performance disability sport and recognition as elite athletes. Medical governance subsequently marginalized Paralympians within Paralympic organizations and limited Paralympians’ ability to develop their sports beyond mere rehabilitation. These findings are consistent with Mauldin’s conceptualization of medicalization as “ambivalent.”

This paper examines how a politics of solidarity is forged between Puerto Ricans and Latinos in Orlando metro. To do so, it focuses on how Puerto Ricans in Orlando think about immigration rights and how Puerto Ricans negotiate the issue of immigration with issues affecting Puerto Ricans. To conduct the analysis, I draw on in-depth interviews and participant observations I conducted in Orlando metro during the 2016 election cycle. I find a politics of solidarity between Puerto Ricans and Latinos in Orlando metro is cultivated and challenged at various levels: by Latino political elites, organizations and funders, and individual views on immigration. I contend these findings capture the complexity of forging and enacting a politics of solidarity on-the-ground—that is, they elucidate tensions, negotiations, and cooperation in the bridging of Puerto Rican and Latino politics in a critical region of the state and one that is consequential for national politics.

SIGNIFICANCE: Past studies show rising mortality and morbidity among middle-aged white Americans since the 21st century. This research analyses trends in declining self-rated health (SRH) across demographic groups, focusing on shifts in SRH inequalities by gender, race, and socioeconomic status (SES). It sheds light on declining health trends in the United States and deepens our understanding of health inequalities and their dynamics in high-income countries. METHOD: We analyse 29 waves of cross-sectional data from the General Social Survey (1972-2018, N = 46,133) using Bayesian Hierarchical Age-Period-Cohort Cross-Classified Random Effect models (BHAPC-CCRM) to estimate age, period, and cohort effects, and changes in health gaps over time as interactions between period and race, gender, or SES. RESULTS: SRH improved until the 21st century but then declined across all gender, race, income, education, and employment groups after controlling for age and cohort effects. The racial health gap has continued since 2000, with a slight erosion of white health privilege. Nonwhite, low-income, non-college-educated, unemployed, and unmarried individuals have seen further declines in SRH. Baby Boomers' health advantage was wiped out after 2000. INTERPRETATION: In line with the health reversal literature in the U.S. and the U.K., SRH has deteriorated in the 21st century for all racial, gender, and SES groups in the U.S. The diminishing SRH advantage for whites results from a faster decline compared to Blacks and other non-white groups. However, significant racial and SES disparities in SRH persist, with disadvantaged groups experiencing poorer SRH. We discuss the policy implications.

Despite dramatic changes since the 1970s, gender and educational gaps in gender egalitarian attitudes have persisted while the racial gap (with Blacks leading) has narrowed. We apply interest-based and socialization mechanisms to predict the differential influences of labor market influences on changing gender attitudes for different races, genders, and educational groups. Using 21 waves of the General Social Survey, 1977–2018 (N = 27,662), and cross-classified age-period-cohort models, we examine the effects of two known labor market dynamics that shifted Americans’ gender attitudes, gender equality in the labor force and men’s overwork, on egalitarian gender attitudes among different racial, gender, and educational groups. The findings indicate that rising labor force gender equality is associated with stronger shifts toward gender egalitarianism among whites, bringing their attitudes more in line with Blacks and closing the racial gap. The rise of men’s overwork in the mid-1990s coincided with the “stalled gender revolution” and is associated with rising conservatism among whites and the college-educated. The gender gap in attitudes has persisted in the last four decades and neither of these labor market dynamics has exerted any impact. Results align with the socialization perspective that individuals respond to labor market dynamics more in accordance with their socially prescribed roles than their self-interests.

Drawing on forty-five interviews, this study contributes to discussions on refugee well-being and liminal legality by exploring how international protection status (IPS), a liminal legal status, shapes the well-being of Afghan refugees in Türkiye. IPS provides work authorisation and access to social services but restricts refugees' spatial settlement to Turkish satellite provinces, introducing spatial immobility. I employ the concept of ‘spatial liminal legality’ to analyse how the well-being of undocumented Afghan refugees in Istanbul and Afghan refugees with IPS in Trabzon varies in terms of economic integration, social integration, and future plans. As a spatialised liminal legality, the IPS work permit does not alleviate economic precarity for Afghan refugees who find employment in the labour market. The IPS independent work permits mitigate economic precarity for those establishing businesses, primarily small local shops in Trabzon. IPS is key to accessing education and bolsters neighbourhood relations, enhancing the well-being of Afghan refugees. However, access to healthcare services is temporary, negatively affecting long-term health outcomes. IPS allows Afghan refugees to be resettled in a third country, but resettlement is a prolonged and uncertain process that may fail. Türkiye's policymakers should formulate rights-based policies for Afghan refugees to grapple effectively with discrimination and inequality.

Many invasive non-native species gradually become embedded within local cultures. Such species can increasingly be perceived by society as familiar or even native elements of the social-ecological system and become an integral part of local cultures. Here, we explore this phenomenon and refer to it as the cultural integration of invasive species. Although culturally integrated species can positively contribute to people’s lives and well-being, and provide new or lost ecosystem services, their acceptance can also hinder the ability of conservation managers to successfully manage invasive species by reducing public support for their management. Cultural integration can infringe upon social values and cultural identities, and contribute to the erosion and homogenization of biocultural diversity. It can also modify or displace the cultural uses and values of native species, and may disrupt social-ecological legacies and dynamics. We present the main mechanisms of cultural integration, its drivers and major implications, and provide key recommendations for the management and conservation of biological and cultural diversity.

OBJECTIVES: Older Vietnamese adults are among the most underserved groups in the United States, despite being at high risk for stress and other negative experiences (e.g., access to same-language practitioners, transportation barriers, lack of health care). Minimal progress has been made in decreasing treatment barriers for this underserved population. One promising approach involves using indigenous, culturally based interventions to enhance psychological and physical well-being. Such interventions may reduce utilization and quality of care disparities because they emphasize a more holistic approach to health, thereby limiting the shame and face loss often experienced due to the stigma associated with mental illness. The present study examined the efficacy of lishi, a traditional East Asian movement form of exercise, in promoting mental and physical health outcomes for older Vietnamese immigrant adults. METHOD: Seventy-one older Vietnamese adults participated in this randomized waitlist control study. Participants were between 60 and 75 years old. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to determine posttest outcomes differences between the intervention and control groups. RESULTS: Intervention group participants experienced significantly higher levels of self-efficacy and physical energy, less bodily pains, and better body balance at posttest compared to the control group. CONCLUSIONS: Lishi may be an effective culturally valid intervention for older Vietnamese adults and demonstrated promise at engaging this hard-to-reach population in treatment and services. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

We examine three axes of racial stratification in contemporary US schooling: segregation, exclusionary discipline, and on-campus policing. Analyzing nationwide survey and administrative data from the US Department of Education linked with crime data from the FBI, we estimate associations among schools’ student ethnoracial compositions, on-campus presence of law enforcement officers and private security guards, use of surveillance and control tactics, and number of suspensions issued. Schools’ concentrations of Latinx and Black students are positively associated with their use of surveillance and social control practices and odds of employing sworn law enforcement officers and security guards. Moreover, higher shares of Black students are associated with greater use of exclusionary discipline. In models including statistical adjustment for local crime incidence, the estimated association between Black student enrollment and student suspension rates is substantially attenuated following the introduction of covariates measuring police and security presence.