Overview
My academic interests are focused geographically in Southeast Asia and substantively in the areas of family sociology and population dynamics. My research examines how both are influenced by changing social, economic, and environmental conditions.
Research Focus
My academic interests fit under the general headings of family sociology, development sociology, and demography, and my work is typically focused geographically in the United States and Southeast Asia. My most recent published research examines (1) issues surrounding family formation (for example, changing attitudes toward marriage in the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam), (2) issues surrounding fertility attitudes, intentions, and behavior (most recently among couples in the Philippines, and previously regarding both women`s and men`s experiences with unplanned pregnancy in the United States), and (3) theory and methods in the study of the educational attainment of children (most recently in Thailand and the Philippines). My current focus is on overseas labor migration from the Philippines, particularly the effects of that migration on children who stay behind when their parents take positions, often on extended year contracts, abroad. I have also published work with former graduate students on understanding the practice of transnational marriage in East and Southeast Asia.
