Faculty
 | Debra J. Umberson |
Office: BUR 516
Phone: 512-232-6330
umberson@mail.la.utexas.edu
CV (PDF format)
Education: Ph.D., Vanderbilt University
M.A., Vanderbilt University
M.S.W., University of Arkansas at Little Rock
B.A., University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Field(s) of Study: Health Disparities, Children, Youth and Families
Research interests:
Dr. Umberson's research focuses on structural determinants of psychological and physical health with a particular focus on the effects of gender and relationships on health behavior and health. Recent publications consider how marital quality and the effect of marital quality on health change over time. Her current research, funded by the National Institute on Aging, considers how different types of social ties affect a range of health behaviors over the life course and how these linkages vary by race and gender.
Courses taught:
Dr. Umberson teaches undergraduate courses in Research Methods and Sociological Perspectives on Death and Dying. She teaches graduate courses on Gender and Health, Gender and Family, and Research Methods.
Recent Publications:
Liu, Hui and Debra Umberson (forthcoming, 2008). “The Times They Are A Changin’: Marital Status and Health Differentials From 1972 to 2003.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior.
Elliott, Sinikka and Debra Umberson (forthcoming, 2008). “The performance of desire: Gender and sexual negotiation in long-term marriages.” Journal of Marriage and Family.
Reczek, Corinne, Sinikka Elliott and Debra Umberson (forthcoming, 2008). “Commitment without marriage: Union formation of long-term gay and lesbian couples.” Journal of Family Issues.
Umberson, Debra, Hui Liu and Corinne Reczek (forthcoming, 2008). “Stress and Health Behaviors,” to appear in Advances in Life Course Research: Stress Processes Across the Life Course (Heather Turner and Scott Schiemann, Editors), Elsevier.
Umberson, Debra (2006). “Parents, adult children, and immortality.” Contexts 5(4): 48-53.
Umberson, Debra, Kristi Williams, Daniel P. Powers, Hui Liu, and Belinda Needham (2006). “You Make Me Sick: Marital Quality and Health Over the Life Course.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 47: 1-16.
Umberson, Debra, Kristi Williams, Daniel P. Powers, Hui Liu, and Belinda Needham (2005). “Stress in Childhood and Adulthood: Effects on Marital Quality Over Time. Journal of Marriage and Family 67: 1332-1347.
Umberson, Debra, Kristi Williams, Daniel P. Powers and M.D. Chen (2005). “As Good As It Gets? A Life Course Perspective on Marital Quality.” Social Forces 84:493-511.
Umberson, Debra and Kristi Williams (2005). “Marital Quality, Health and Aging: Gender Equity?” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 60B