Media contact: Tehreem Khan, tkhan1@uab.edu
Mieke Beth Thomeer, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology
Areas of expertise:
- Caregiving around Mental and Physical Health Issues
- Same-sex and Different-sex Marriages in Midlife
- Social and Family Relationships and Health
Thomeer’s research topics include aging, family, health, gender, and sexuality. She addresses questions about how relationships influence and are influenced by physical and mental health, with particular attention to gender and sexuality. She uses both qualitative and quantitative methods, emphasizing dyadic methods. For example, past studies consider how one person’s depression impacts his/her spouse’s mental health, what intimacy looks like in gay, lesbian, and straight relationships, how nursing home admission rates differ across racial/ethnic groups, and how parenthood changes health habits. In her current research, she focuses on caregiving within couples in which both spouses have functional limitations, the role of wealth in explaining racial and marital disparities in mortality, and gender identity development among same-sex and different-sex couples. She currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Marriage and Family and Society and Mental Health.
Media appearances:
- The Secret to Keeping Your Brain Young You Can Learn From the Notorious RBGThe Secret to Keeping Your Brain Young You Can Learn From the Notorious RBG, INC
- 'Malicious': Internet Drags Man for Stealing Jewelry From Sick Ex-Wife, Newsweek
- Couples Are More Likely to Divorce When Wives Get Sick, Not Husbands, Yahoo
- Trying to quit smoking? A smoking spouse may not help, Reuters
- Why are men such 'bad patients'?, The Advisory Board
- Why men who are sick insist on going to work, Slate
Policy briefs:
- Culture of Health Blog
- How To Help Older Americans Age In Place — Without Weaking Care Or Wearing Out Family Caregivers
- Same-Sex Couples Devote More Attention to End-of-Life Plans than Heterosexual Couples