Sara McLanahan explained
Sarah McLanahan |
Birth Name: | Sara Frances Smith |
Birth Date: | December 27, 1940 |
Birth Place: | Tyler, Texas, U.S. |
Death Place: | Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
Workplaces: | Princeton University, University of Wisconsin |
Alma Mater: | University of Houston, University of Texas |
Main Interests: | motherhood, marriage, divorce, family structure, children, social stratification |
Awards: | American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow of 2019 |
Website: | https://sociology.princeton.edu/people/sara-mclanahan |
Sara McLanahan (née Smith; December 27, 1940December 31, 2021) was an American sociologist.[1] She is known for her work on the family as a major institution in the American stratification system. Her early work examined the consequences of divorce and remarriage for parents and children, and her later work focused on families formed by unmarried parents. She was interested in the effects of family structure on social inequality and the roles that public policies can play in addressing the needs of families and children.
Early life and education
Sara Frances Smith was born on 27 December 1940 in Tyler, Texas.[2] After graduating from Bennet Junior College in 1959 with highest honors, McLanahan attended Smith College from 1961 to 1962.[3] She married Ellery McLanahan in 1962. They divorced in 1972.
She continued her education at the University of Houston where she received an undergraduate degree in sociology. She went on to earn her PhD in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin while a single parent to her children.[3] McLanahan then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the department of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin[3]
Career
McLanahan was the William S. Tod Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University.[4] She previously taught at the University of Wisconsin.[5]
At Princeton, McLanahan was the founding director of the Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, a principal investigator of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, director of the Education Research Section, and director of the Joint Degree Program in Social Policy.[6]
McLanahan was editor-in-chief of the journal The Future of Children[7] and a trustee of the Russell Sage Foundation.[8] She served as president of the Population Association of America in 2004,[9] was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science in 2005,[10] and, in 2011, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.[11] She was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2016.[12]
McLanahan published more than 125 research articles, 59 book chapters, and 7 books and edited volumes.[3] More than 915 articles have been published which rely on data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, which she co-founded.[3]
McLanahan died of lung cancer on 31 December 2021 at her residence in Manhattan, New York.
Honors and awards
She was elected as an American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow in 2019.[13]
Selected works
- Web site: Vol. 25, No. 2, FALL 2015 of The Future of Children on JSTOR. www.jstor.org. en.
- McLanahan. Sara. Tach. Laura. Schneider. Daniel. The Causal Effects of Father Absence. Annual Review of Sociology. 39. 1. 2013. 399–427. 0360-0572. 10.1146/annurev-soc-071312-145704. 24489431. 3904543.
- Web site: Vol. 20, No. 2, FALL 2010 of The Future of Children on JSTOR. www.jstor.org. en.
- McLanahan. Sara. Fragile Families and the Reproduction of Poverty. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 621. 1. 2009. 111–131. 0002-7162. 10.1177/0002716208324862. 20204078. 2831755.
- McLanahan. Sara. Percheski. Christine. Family Structure and the Reproduction of Inequalities. Annual Review of Sociology. 34. 1. 2008. 257–276. 0360-0572. 10.1146/annurev.soc.34.040507.134549.
- Meadows. Sarah O.. McLanahan. Sara S.. Brooks-Gunn. Jeanne. Stability and Change in Family Structure and Maternal Health Trajectories. American Sociological Review. 73. 2. 2008. 314–334. 0003-1224. 10.1177/000312240807300207. 20333277. 2843941.
- Carlson. Marcia. McLanahan. Sara. England. Paula. Union Formation in Fragile Families. Demography. 41. 2. 2004. 237–261. 1533-7790. 10.1353/dem.2004.0012. 15209039. 3169423.
- McLanahan. Sara. Diverging Destinies: How Children Are Faring Under the Second Demographic Transition. Demography. 41. 4. 2004. 607–627. 1533-7790. 10.1353/dem.2004.0033. 15622946. 6063666. free.
- Book: McLanahan, Sara. Growing up with a single parent : what hurts, what helps. Sandefur, Gary D.. 1994. 0-674-36407-4. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 94019995. 30474392. OL1095466M.
- Book: Garfinkel, Irwin. Single mothers and their children : a new American dilemma. McLanahan, Sara. Irv Garfinkel. 1986. Urban Institute Press. 0-87766-404-8. Washington, D.C.. 86023413. 14240910. OL2729409M.
- McLanahan. Sara. Family Structure and the Reproduction of Poverty. American Journal of Sociology. 90. 4. 1985. 873–901. 0002-9602. 10.1086/228148. 143515771.
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Sara McLanahan . sociology.princeton.edu. 2015-12-28.
- News: Williams. Annabelle. 2022-01-19. Sara McLanahan, Who Studied Single Motherhood, Dies at 81. en-US. The New York Times. 2022-01-20. 0362-4331.
- Web site: Sara McLanahan | December 27, 1940 – December 31, 2021. Department of Sociology.
- Web site: Sara McLanahan. Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. 2015-12-28. 2013-09-19.
- Curriculum Vitae,Sara McLanahan, Princeton University, 2011.
- Web site: Sara S. McLanahan – Home. www.princeton.edu. 2015-12-28.
- Web site: People The Future of Children. www.futureofchildren.org. 2015-12-28.
- Web site: Who We Are . russell sage foundation . 2015-12-28.
- Web site: Past Presidents . Population Association of America. 2015-12-28.
- Web site: Sara McLanahan. The American Academy of Political and Social Science. 2015-12-28.
- Web site: Sara McLanahan. National Academy of Sciences. 2015-12-28.
- Web site: Newly Elected – April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160513163439/https://amphilsoc.org/members/electedApril2016. 2016-05-13. American Philosophical Society.
- Web site: 2019 Fellows and International Honorary Members with their affiliations at the time of election . members.amacad.org. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20200302174101/https://members.amacad.org/content/members/newFellows.aspx. 2020-03-02.