Justin Denney
William Julius Wilson Distinguished Professor
Ph.D., University of Colorado, 2010
Areas
Health and Mortality Disparities, Family, Contextual Effects
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
Stanley, Sandte L. and Justin T. Denney. “All-cause Mortality Risk for Men and Women in the United States: The Role of Partner’s Education Relative to Own Education.” Forthcoming in Health Sociology Review. https://doi.org/10.1080/14461242.2022.2113907
Ridgeway, Sadie O. and Justin T. Denney. 2023. “A Comprehensive Examination of Discrimination and the Impact on Health in Young Adults.” Social Science & Medicine 320:115728. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.115728
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
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. doi: 10.1007/s11113-018-9461-9
2018 IPUMS Research Award, Minnesota Population Center
