Professor, Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University
Email:
williams.2339@osu.edu
Topics of Expertise:
Cohabitation, Committed Relationships & Marriage / Fertility,Reproduction & Sexual Health / Health & Illness / Marriage & Divorce / Parenthood: Motherhood/Fatherhood / Reproductive Health
Dr. Williams studies the influence of family and other social relationships on health and well-being with particular attention to the way in which these patterns are shaped by social structural factors, including gender, race/ethnicity, and life course position. Her research challenges assumptions about the links between marriage and health by demonstrating that the benefits of marriage and costs of marital dissolution are highly dependent on a range of individual and contextual factors, including marital quality. Her recent work includes an NICHD-funded project that examines the consequences of nonmarital and early fertility for the health of women and their offspring and considers the role that subsequent marriage plays in shaping these outcomes.
