Western University SociologyFaculty of Social Science
Andrea Willson

Photo by Rob Rombouts

Andrea Willson, Associate Professor

Ph.D Sociology, Florida State U.pdf Full CV
Certificate in Gerontology, Florida State U.
M.S. Sociology, Virginia Tech
B.A. Communication Studies, Virginia Tech

Recent Activities

Aug. 15 presented Shuey and Willson, "Trajectories of work disability and economic insecurity approaching retirement" in the Life Course Insecurities: Individuals and Cohorts in Transition session at the American Sociological Association 112th Annual Meeting, Montreal

Aug. 13 presided over Table 08: Health and Well-being Over the Life Course of the Section on Aging and the Life Course Refereed Roundtable Session of the American Sociological Association 112th Annual Meeting, Montreal

May 31  presented Shuey and Willson, "Trajectories of work disability: Linking early-life disadvantage and economic precarity at the transition to retirement" at the 52nd Annual Conference of the Canadian Sociological Association, Toronto

Teaching

9003A-001 Quantitative Research Methods

9268A-001 Social Inequalities in Health

Thesis Supervision

Awards

2009- Outstanding Publication Award, American Sociological Association's Section on Aging and the Life Course (co-recipients Kim Shuey, G. Elder, Jr.) for "Cumulative Advantage Processes as Mechanisms of Inequality in Life Course Health"

Research

Andrea Willson's research interests include studies of social inequality over the life course, particularly social disparities in health. Her current research investigates the cumulative processes linking socioeconomic status to health over the life course and across generations.

Member,  The Canadian Coalition Against LGBTQ+ Poverty

Current Research Projects

Investigating Health Trajectories over the Life Course and Across Generations: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Transmission of Health and Socioeconomic Inequality from Parents to Their Adult Children

 

Recent Publications (Past 5 Years)
>for more see pdf Full CV

Book Chapters

(2016) "Poverty, Income, and Wealth across the Life Course" (with N. Etherington) in M. Harrington Meyer and E.A. Daniele (eds.) Gerontology: Changes, Challenges, and Solutions, Praeger.

(2016) “Disability and Social Inequality in Canada” (with K. Shuey and K. Bouchard) in E. Grabb and N. Guppy (eds.) Social Inequality in Canada: Dimensions of Disadvantage, 6th Edition, Oxford University Press.

(2015) “Health Inequalities among Older Adults in Developed Countries: Reconciling Theories and Policy Approaches” (with A. Quesnel-Vallee and S. Reiter-Campeau) in L. George and K. Ferraro (eds.) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, 8th Edition, NY: Academic Press.

Refereed Journal Publications

(2017) "Trajectories of work disability and economic insecurity approaching retirement" (with Kim Shuey) Journals of Gerontology: Series B

(2016) “Life Course Pathways of Economic Hardship and Mobility and Midlife Trajectories of Health” (with Kim Shuey) Journal of Health and Social Behavior 57(3):407-422.

(2016) “Heterogeneity in Chronic Disease Outcomes among Women and Men in Midlife: Examining the Role of Stability and Change in Childhood Economic Hardship” (with Nicole Etherington and Kim Shuey) Longitudinal and Life Course Studies 7(1):3-24.

(2015) "Patterns of Cumulative Abuse Among Female Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: Links to Women’s Socioeconomic Status" (with Lorraine Davies, Marilyn Ford-Gilboe, Colleen Varcoe, Judy Wuest, Jacquelyn Campbell, Kelly Scott-Storey) Violence Against Women, 21:30-48.

(2014) "Economic Hardship in Childhood and Adult Health Trajectories: An Alternative Approach to Investigating Life-course Processes" (with Kim Shuey) Advances in Life Course Research, 22:49-61.


Thesis Supervision

Supervisory Status:  MA, PhD

PhD Thesis

Currently supervising Loanna Heidinger, The Impact of Cumulative Childhood Adversity on Attainment and Trajectories of Mental Health.

Currently supervising Samantha Skinner, Caregiving for Children with Disabilities

Nicole Etherington, Gender and Health Over the Life Course: Temporal, Contextual, and Intersectional Considerations.

Jinette Comeau (jointly supervised with William R. Avison), Children's Mental Health Over the Early Life Course: The Impact of Economic Resources, Neighborhood Disorder, and Family Processes.

Heather Maddocks (co-supervisor with William R. Avison), Underemployment, Employment, and Mental Health.

MA Thesis

Caitlin Burd, Students' Perception of Mental Health in a Massified Educational System

Andrew English, Opportunity, Constraint, and Capital in Canadian Ice Hockey

Lisa Zaporzan, Health Implications of the Delayed Transition to Adulthood.

MA Research Papers

Travis Hackshaw, "The Influence of Parents and Mentors  on Young Adults' Substance Use Behaviours: Evidence from a National Study"

Ashley Gibson, "Understanding the Relationship between Social Support and Health".

Stephen (Cheng-Chi) Lin, "The Socioeconomic Gradient in Health: Do Age and Immigrant Status Matter?"

Samantha Sinka, "Implications for Care Options in Later Life: A Theoretical Analysis of Challenges Experienced by Immigrant Seniors in Canada"