- William Julius Wilson Distinguished Professor
Biography
Honors and Fellowships
- William Julius Wilson Distinguished Professor – WJW Summer Fellowship
- Elected Member, Washington State Academy of Sciences, 2025
Education
Ph.D., University of Colorado, 2010
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. 2026. “Food Security by Racial and Ethnic Identity Among Lower-Income Adults.” American Journal of Public Health. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2026.308508
- Denney, Justin T., Jason D. Boardman, and Philip M. Pendergast. 2026. “Hearing Impairment and Adult Mortality: The Role of Co-Impairments in Understanding Risk.” Forthcoming in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbag050
- 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. DOI: 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. DOI: 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. DOI: 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. DOI: 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. DOI: 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. DOI: 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. DOI: 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. DOI: 10.1007/s11113-018-9461-9
2018 IPUMS Research Award, Minnesota Population Center