Tanya Koropeckyj-Cox
Assistant Professor
3353 Turlington Hall
352-392.0265 x251
tkcox@soc.ufl.edu
Office
hours (summer)
Monday 12:30 - 2:00 pm
Tuesday 9:30 - 10:45 am
Wednesday 12:30 - 1:30 pm
or by appointment
Research
Implications of Childlessness over the Life
Course
Dr. Koropeckyj-Cox has examined the implications of
childlessness for later life psychological well-being. Using data
from the National Survey of Families and Households, she has compared
the depression and loneliness of childless adults and parents over 50 (Journals of
Gerontology: Social Sciences, 1998). She has also examined the
role of attitudes about childlessness and quality of parent-child
relationships in shaping psychological wel-being (Journal of Marriage and Family,
2002).
A recent article examines the implications of
fertility timing for women's well-being in late midlife. Working
with Dr.
Amy Pienta (ICPSR, University of Michigan) and Tyson H. Brown
(University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), these analyses focus on
the "women of the 1950s" -- the cohort that experienced strong
pro-family and pro-natalist pressures during the Baby Boom. In
their 50s, unmarried mothers reported consistently more
depression and loneliness and lower satisfaction than childless women
or
married mothers (regardless of timing). Lower well-being among
early mothers was related to socio-economic status (International Journal of Aging and Human
Development, 2007).
A third component of this research examines in-depth, life
history interviews with older, childless men and women. This
research is focused on shedding on light on the diverse experiences and
life paths of childless adults.
Singlehood in Midlife and Older Adulthood
With funding from the Anthony Marchionne Foundation, Dr.
Koropeckyj-Cox has been examining the demographic characteristics and
psychological well-being of never-married and long-term single older
adults. Collaborating with psychologist Dr. Susan Bluck, this
study has included in-depth interviews with older, single men and women
in Florida. Drawing on this research, Dr. Koropeckyj-Cox
contributed a commentary on the social stigma of singlehood, published
in Psychological Inquiry
(July 2005), and is currently examing the pros
and cons and experiences of social stigma related to lifelong
singlehood.
Childlessness
in Mid life
Analyzing data from the Survey of Midlife in the United States, Dr.
Koropeckyj-Cox is currently examining the factors that influence the
experience of childlessness and psychological well-being among men and
women (funded by the MIDUS Small Grants Program).
Attitudes
about Family Issues
More recently, Dr. Koropeckyj-Cox has increasingly focused on attitudes
about childlessness as they relate to contemporary fertility trends and
work-family dilemmas. To date, she has published two research
articles analyzing the gender gap in attitudes (Journal of Marriage
and Family, November 2007) and
other correlates of attitudes
about childlessness in the United States (Journal of
Family Issues, August 2007).
Using national survey
data (NSFH, MIDUS, GSS), this project moves beyond just reporting
trends
to explore the characteristics of those who hold more positive or
negative attitudes about childlessness.
She is also conducting a survey of college students' attitudes
about gender, childlessness, and family issues. An
article on students' attitudes about childless individuals and couples
appeared in the journal Sex Roles
in April 2007. A parallel survey, conducted among university
students in Turkey by Dr. Zeynep Copur of Hacettepe University, will
allow for cross-national comparisons of attitudes about marriage,
family, and childbearing.
