- William Julius Wilson Distinguished Professor
Biography
William Julius Wilson Distinguished Professor
Ph.D., University of Colorado, 2010
Elected Member, Washington State Academy of Sciences, 2025
Areas
Health and Mortality Disparities, Family, Contextual Effects, Stratification
Research Interests
I am principally interested in understanding how families and the places that individuals spend time in shape health and mortality disparities. My current projects are focused on better understanding how the social and physical characteristics of the places children and adults live, work, and play impact outcomes such as household food insecurity, child health, and adult mortality; how family formations and socioeconomic resources matter independently and in combination with place-based characteristics for overall health; and how intimate relationships, socioeconomic status, gender, and race / ethnicity, contribute to sexual minority health disparities. My work often involves multi-disciplinary collaborations and has been supported by the Health Disparities Scholar Program at the National Institutes of Health, the University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research, the Foundation for Child Development, and the Houston Endowment.
Selected Recent Publications
Denney, Justin T. forthcoming. “Food Security by Racial and Ethnic Identity Among Lower-Income Adults.” American Journal of Public Health.
Amiri, Solmaz, Jonae I. Keffeler, Dennis R. Crain, Justin T. Denney, and Dedra S. Buchwald. 2024. “Racial, Ethnic, and Rural Disparities in Distance to Physicians among Decedents with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias in Washington State.” Alzheimer’s and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13756
Denney, Justin T., Anna Zamora-Kapoor, Devon A. Hansen, and Paul Whitney. 2023. “Race/Ethnicity, Sleep Duration, and Mortality Risk in the United States.” Social Science & Medicine – Population Health 21:101350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101350
Denney, Justin T., Gregory Sharp, and Rachel Tolbert Kimbro. 2022. “Community Social Environments and Cigarette Smoking.” Social Science & Medicine – Population Health 19(September): 101167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101167
Denney, Justin T., Zhe Zhang, Bridget K. Gorman, and Caleb Cooley. 2021. “Substance Use, Mental Well-Being, and Suicide Ideation by Sexual Orientation Among U.S. Adults.” Advances in Medical Sociology Volume 21: 39-63. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1057-629020210000021008
Denney, Justin T. and Jason D. Boardman. 2021. “Hearing Impairment, Household Composition, Marital Status, and Mortality Among U.S. Adults.” Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences 76(1): 201-208. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbz157
2020 IPUMS Research Award, Minnesota Population Center
Denney, Justin T., Mackenzie Brewer, and Rachel Tolbert Kimbro. 2020. “Food Insecurity for Households with Young Children: A Test of Contextual Congruence.” Social Science & Medicine 263: 113275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113275
Monsivais, Pablo, Solmaz Amiri, Justin T. Denney, and Ofer Amram. 2020. “Area deprivation amplified racial inequities in premature mortality: Analysis of 242,667 deaths in Washington State, USA 2011-2015.” Health & Place 61: 102261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102261
Denney, Justin T., Rachel Tolbert Kimbro and Gregory Sharp. 2018. “Neighborhoods and Food Insecurity in Households with Young Children: A Disadvantage Paradox?” Social Problems 65:342-359. https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spw054
Denney, Justin T., Jarron M. Saint Onge, and Jeffrey A. Dennis. 2018. “Neighborhood Disadvantage and Mortality: Insights for Racial and Ethnic Differences.” Population Research & Policy Review 37:301-321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11113-018-9461-9
2018 IPUMS Research Award, Minnesota Population Center