Research

I am currently conducting research in three areas: health and aging, law and legal institutions, and social capital. In the area of health and aging, I am concerned with how social context and social relationships shape older adults’ health and well-being. I am developing a sociological framework for the study of the household environment as a physical and social context that is nested within the neighborhood environment and is independently consequential for individuals’ health and well-being. My research suggests that household conditions, such as clutter, noise, odor, and a lack of cleanliness, are a key mechanism through which social relationships affect health. Related research distinguishes the separate health risks posed by social disconnectedness and loneliness for older adults.

My research on health and aging stems from my collaboration with the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), a national, population-based survey of older adults. This survey, funded by the National Institutes on Aging, is pathbreaking in its collection of a wide variety of social indicators alongside biological indicators of health, such as blood spots and saliva samples. The data have recently been made publicly available. For more information, see: www.norc.org/nshap.

My interest in the legal process centers on the layperson’s role in the legal system, and, in particular, how law and the legal process are affected by social status. For example, my research on jury deliberations indicates that upper-class jurors have more influence than lower-class jurors, which challenges American ideals of jury unanimity and egalitarian deliberations. In ongoing work, I am examining how jury compensation affects jurors’ participation and influence in deliberations, as well as the process of jury decision-making.

My research on social capital joins my interests in health and law. I examine access to specialized knowledge, such as legal and medical expertise, as a unique form of social capital. For example, having a doctor or lawyer among one’s family or friends facilitates access to medical or legal information. I have found that there are growing race-based inequalities in such personal contact with experts. My continuing research in this area seeks to identify how disparities in access to expertise affect both individual-level outcomes and processes of stratification.

Publications

Cornwell, Erin York and Linda J. Waite. 2009. “Social Disconnectedness, Perceived Isolation, and Health among Older Adults.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Forthcoming.

Cornwell, Erin York and Benjamin Cornwell. 2009. “Access to Expertise as a Form of Social Capital: An Examination of Race- and Class-Based Disparities in Network Ties to Experts.” Sociological Perspectives. Forthcoming.

York, Erin. 2008. “Reconsidering Social Status and Jury Deliberations: How Does Social Class Determine Influence in the Jury Room?” Court Manager 23(1):6-13.

York, Erin and Benjamin Cornwell. 2006. “Status on Trial: Social Characteristics and Influence in the Jury Room.” Social Forces 85(1):455-477.