Linda Waite Explained

Linda Waite
Workplaces:University of Chicago
Alma Mater:Michigan State University (BA), University of Michigan (MA, PhD)
Thesis Title:Working Wives and the Life Cycle
Thesis Url:https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/
Thesis Year:1976
Doctoral Advisor:Ronald Freedman
Academic Advisors:Malmcolm S. Cohen, Karen Oppenheim Mason, Paul M. Siegel
Known For:Contributions to research on life-course theory, marriage patterns, and family formation
Notable Students:Marin Clarkberg, Benjamin Cornwell, Kara Joyner, Sanyu Mojola, Jaclyn Wong, Erin York Cornwell

Linda Joan Waite is a sociologist and social demographer. She is the George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago. Waite is also a Senior Fellow at the NORC at the University of Chicago and Principal Investigator on the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP). In 2018, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Education and career

Waite has a B.A. from Michigan State University (1969), and an M.A. (1970) and a Ph.D. (1976) from the University of Michigan.[1] She was named the George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service professor in 2020. At the University of Chicago, Waite has served as Chair of the Department of Sociology, the director of the Center on Aging [2] at NORC at the University of Chicago, and was Co-Director of the Center on Parents, Children, and Work at the Alfred P. Sloan Working Families Center (1997-2006).[3] Waite is currently a Senior Fellow at NORC at the University of Chicago and is the Principal Investigator for the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), where her work on biomarkers and pharmaceutical data on population-based aging research has yielded groundbreaking knowledge about the sexual behavior of older Americans. She also serves as Co-Director of the University of Chicago's MD/PhD Program in Medicine, the Social Sciences, and Aging. Waite was the director of several centers and programs at RAND and past president of the Population Association of America.[4]

Work

Waite’s work uses empirical data to study the dynamics underlying major social changes that impact the life courses of individuals and families. Waite's research topics have covered women’s entry into the labor market,[5] patterns of marriage[6] and family formation,[7] [8] and, more recently, population aging[9] and health.[10] A central focus of Waite’s research on aging is the examination of marital quality and sexuality as critical components of health and well-being in later life.[11] Waite’s early work on marriage showed it improves health and lengthens life.[12] This early research led to the development of the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP), which provides data used by Waite to examine public discourse on later life sexuality,[13] [14] and demonstrates that sexuality is not just the province of the young.[15]

Selected publications

Press

A collection of podcasts and webinars Waite has been featured on can be found below.

Awards and honors

In 2012, Waite received the Matilda White Riley Award from the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Research.[16] In 2016, she received the Matilda White Riley Award for career achievement from the Section on Aging and the Life Course of the American Sociological Association.[17] She was elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018.[18] Waite also received a MERIT Award from the National Institute on Aging during the years 2013 through 2018 for her work on NSHAP, and she was presented the Section on Aging and the Life Course’s Matilda White Riley Distinguished Scholar Award in 2017 as well as the Family Section’s Distinguished Career Award in 2019 by the American Sociological Association.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Linda Waite Sociology The University of Chicago . 2021-05-06 . sociology.uchicago.edu . en.
  2. Web site: Center on Aging. 2021-11-16. coa.norc.org.
  3. Web site: The Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children & Work. 2021-06-21. sloanworkingfamilies.educ.msu.edu.
  4. Web site: PAA Officers & Board Members - Population Association of America . 2021-11-10 . www.populationassociation.org . en.
  5. Waite. Linda J.. 1980-09-01. Working Wives and the Family Life Cycle. American Journal of Sociology. 86. 2. 272–294. 10.1086/227239. 153401139. 0002-9602.
  6. Waite. Linda J.. 1995-11-01. Does Marriage Matter?. Demography. 32. 4. 483–507. 10.2307/2061670. 2061670. 8925942. 3776982. 0070-3370. free.
  7. Book: Goldscheider. Frances K.. New families, no families? : the transformation of the American home. Waite. Linda. 1991. University of California Press. 0-520-07222-7. Berkeley. 23655262.
  8. News: Family Trees Are Turning Into Family Beanstalks. en-US. Slate. 2021-11-16. 1091-2339.
  9. Book: Committee on Population. Future Directions for the Demography of Aging: Proceedings of a Workshop. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018-06-21. National Academies Press. 978-0-309-47410-8. Hayward. Mark D.. Mark D. Hayward. Washington, D.C.. 10.17226/25064. 29989766. 242049613 . Majmundar. Malay K..
  10. Cornwell. Erin York. Waite. Linda J.. 2009-03-01. Social Disconnectedness, Perceived Isolation, and Health among Older Adults. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. en. 50. 1. 31–48. 10.1177/002214650905000103. 0022-1465. 2756979. 19413133.
  11. Waite. L. J.. Laumann. E. O.. Das. A.. Schumm. L. P.. 2009-11-01. Sexuality: Measures of Partnerships, Practices, Attitudes, and Problems in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Study. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. en. 64B. Supplement 1. i56–i66. 10.1093/geronb/gbp038. 1079-5014. 2763521. 19497930.
  12. Book: Waite, Linda J.. The case for marriage : why married people are happier, healthier, and better off financially. 2000. Doubleday. Maggie Gallagher. 0-385-50085-8. 1st. New York. 43615291.
  13. Lindau . Stacy Tessler . Schumm . L. Philip . Laumann . Edward O. . Levinson . Wendy . O'Muircheartaigh . Colm A. . Waite . Linda J. . 2007-08-23 . A Study of Sexuality and Health among Older Adults in the United States . New England Journal of Medicine . en . 357 . 8 . 762–774 . 10.1056/NEJMoa067423 . 0028-4793 . 2426743 . 17715410.
  14. Cornwell . Erin York . Waite . Linda J. . 2009-11-01 . Measuring Social Isolation Among Older Adults Using Multiple Indicators From the NSHAP Study . The Journals of Gerontology: Series B . 64B . suppl_1 . i38–i46 . 10.1093/geronb/gbp037 . 1079-5014 . 2800811 . 19508982.
  15. Web site: Law . Sally . 2010-01-26 . Seniors Have Rewarding Sex Lives . 2021-11-16 . livescience.com . en.
  16. Web site: 6th Matilda White Riley Honors . 2021-06-21 . Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research . en-US.
  17. Web site: 2011-03-07 . Aging and the Life Course Award Recipient History . 2021-06-21 . American Sociological Association . en.
  18. Web site: Linda J. Waite . 2021-05-06 . American Academy of Arts & Sciences . en.

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