BIOGRAPHY
Jingwen Liu is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Sociology at Rice University. Her research focuses on aging, family, race/ethnicity, and health. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Maryland at College Park. Her dissertation, “The Worst of Times? Aging with Limited Family Ties in the United States,” answers an important question that raises growing concerns in public and scholarship today: can older adults still fare well against drastic marriage and fertility declines in recent decades? It reveals substantial racial/ethnic heterogeneities in vulnerability and resilience of older men and women in face of increased risks of aging alone. Two of her dissertation studies have been published as sole-authored papers in Journal of Marriage and Family and Social Science Research. Her JMF paper received the ASA Best Student Paper Award of Sociology of Mental Health Section in Spring 2025.
In her current role, she works with Dr. Christina J. Diaz, Dr. Jenifer Bratter, and Dr. Sergio Chávez on projects of social institutions, intermarriage, and undocumented immigrants’ social networks. She also collaborates with colleagues outside Rice on community violence, family formation, early maternal well-being, and mid- to later-life cognitive function in the U.S., China, and Mexico.
NEWS
- July 2025: One paper published in Social Science Research
- June 2025: One paper accepted for presentation in GSA 2025
- May 2025: Received the ASA Best Student Paper Award of Sociology of Mental Health Section
- April 2025: Received the PAA Best Poster Award
- April 2025: One paper accepted for presentation in ASA 2025
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Liu, Jingwen. 2025. An Epidemic of Social Isolation? Age and Cohort Trends of Social Connectedness among Older Adults, 2004-2018. Social Science Research. 131, 103212.
Liu, Jingwen. 2024. Racial/Ethnic Differences in Living Arrangement, Distant Relations, and Later-Life Mental Health. Journal of Marriage and Family. 86(2), 309-330.
Caudillo, Monica, Seungwan Kim, Jaein Lee, and Jingwen Liu. 2024. Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Dyadic Pregnancy Intentions Preceding Births in the United States. Population Research and Policy Review.
Liu, Jingwen and Zhiyong Lin. 2023. Race/Ethnicity, Nativity, and Gender Disparities in Mental Health Trajectories from Mid- to Later-Life: A Life Course-Intersectional Approach. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
Liu, Jingwen and Feinian Chen. 2021. Intergenerational Caregiving Patterns, Living Arrangements, and Life Satisfaction of Adults in Mid and Later Life in China. Research on Aging. 44(7-8), 545-559.