Affiliation(s):

• Department of Sociology, Wayne State University

I received a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Biology (2002; double majors), and a Masters of Arts (2003), and PhD (2012) in Sociology from the University of Toronto.

My research focus is at the juncture of mental health, work-family conflict, and international migration. A common thread in these papers investigates how mental health status, and trajectories, and evolving work-family conflict, among immigrants, are modified by macro-level (e.g., economic development of countries of origin of immigrants) and micro-level factors (e.g., gender, age at immigration, and visible-minority status). Further, I examine how chronic stressors, including perceived discrimination and underemployment, and personal resources (e.g., mastery) serve as mechanisms that link the change in mental health and work-family conflict of immigrants, as compared to the native-born.

Recently I have examined the impact of job demands, such as commuting distance and overnight work-related travel, and childcare availability on the work-family conflict and mental health of employed adults living in Canada and the United States. In this research, I demonstrate that our commonly held assumptions about impacts of these demands may not always hold. For example, the impacts of job demands may depend on residential attributes (i.e., neighborhood disorder, home ownership, and gender).

Currently, I am working on a collaborative, NSF funded, project to examine how work, family and social well-being among heterosexual, dual-income couples have changed within the context of COVID-19.

Being a child of two immigrant parents, I always knew I wanted to study immigrant mental health. After writing numerous papers on the mental health of this group, I wanted a change. I, thus, decided to study work-family conflict among immigrants because I felt that it was an understudied topic among this group and because it is an important antecedent of mental health problems. My current research, unfortunately, was brought on by the current pandemic. But it continues to focus on two areas I am passionate about: mental health problems and work-family conflict.

I am already involved in an exciting, multidisciplinary project with a team of scholars at Wayne State University that will draw on dyadic analyses, rather than the usual individual-level analysis, to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a number of work, family and health outcomes among employed adults in the United States. This is a longitudinal, mixed methods study using surveys and in-depth interviews with both members of a couple.

I have far too many favorite research papers to list. However, I have been influenced by papers written by such scholars as, Robin Simon, Carol Aneshensel, Blair Wheaton, Leonord Pearlin, Debra Umberson, Catherine Ross, and John Mirowsky.

I do not have a favorite role model. I have many wonderful women in my life that inspire me every day.

I love to explore the outdoors with my two sons. I love seeing the happiness on their faces as we go for long bike rides or trail hikes. I also, love to travel (I can’t wait to be able to do so comfortably again soon), read non-fiction and watch foreign dramas.