Jenjira J. Yahirun

Curriculum Vitae

Ph.D., University of California, 2012

Dr. Yahirun's research examines how the family, as an institution, contributes to social inequality. This work investigates three major themes: 1) how families shape individual health outcomes, 2) how increasing family complexity and diversity challenge the kinship safety net, and 3) how migration affects ties to kin. A cross-cutting theme in this work is that gender, race/ethnicity, and social class stratify access to a variety of resources, with implications for how the “linked lives” of family members contributes to disparities in health and well-being. . 

Recent Publications:

Yahirun, J., Vasireddy, S. & Hayward, M. (Forthcoming). "Black-White Differences in Offspring Educational Attainment and Older Parents’ Dementia Onset." Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Lopez, A., Sheehan, C., & Yahirun, J.  2022. “Interracial unions and sleep duration among heterosexual American adults.” Social Science & Medicine – Population Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101188

Thomeer, M., Moody, M., & Yahirun, J. (2022). “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-022-01284-9

Yahirun, J., Sheehan, C. & Mossakowski, K. 2022. “Black-White Differences in the Association between Offspring College Attainment and Parents’ Depressive Symptoms.” Research on Aging, 44(2), 123-135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027521997999. PMCID: PMC8423861

Arenas, A., Yahirun, J., Teruel, G., & Ruvalcaba, R. 2021. “Gender, Family Separation, and the Mental Health of Recent Mexican Migrants to the United States.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 83(5), 1401-1419. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12776  

Torres, J., Yahirun, J., Sheehan, C., Ma, M., & Sáenz, J. 2021. “Adult Child Socio-Economic Disadvantage and Cognitive Decline among Older Mexican Adults.” Social Science and Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113910. PMCID: PMC8284312

Ma, M., Yahirun, J., Saenz, J. & Sheehan, C. 2021. “Offspring Educational Attainment and Older Parents' Cognition in Mexico.” Demography, 58(1): 75-109. https://doi.org/10.1215/00703370-8931725. PMCID: PMC7894606

Thomeer, M., Yahirun, J., & Lopez, A. 2020. “How Families Matter for Health Inequality during the COVID-19 Pandemic.”  Journal of Family Theory & Review 12(4): 448-463. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12398

Yahirun, J., Vasireddy, S. & Hayward, M. 2020. “The Education of Multiple Family Members and the Life Course Pathways to Cognitive Impairment.” Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. 75(7): e113–e128.https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa039

Yahirun, J., Sheehan, C. & Mossakowski, K. 2020. “Depression in Later Life: The Role of Adult Children’s Education for Older Parents in the United States.” Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. 75(2): 389-402. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gby135   

Yahirun, J. & Kroeger, R. 2019. “Parent-child Relationships and Interracial First Union Formation in the United States.” Advances in Life Course Research. 42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2019.100307  

Yahirun, J. (2019). “Intermarriage and Mother-Child Relationships.” Social Science Research. 78: 203-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2018.12.005

Yahirun, J. & Arenas, E. (2018). “Offspring Migration and Parents’ Emotional and Psychological Well-being in Mexico.” Journal of Marriage and Family. 80(4): 975-991. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12479

Yahirun, J., Park, S. & Seltzer, J. 2018. “Step-grandparenthood in the United States.” Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. 73(6): 1055-1065. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbx164

Yahirun, J., *Sheehan, C. & Hayward, M. 2017. “Adult Children's Education and Changes to Parents' Physical Health in Mexico.” Social Science and Medicine. 181: 93-101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.03.034