Deborah S. Carr, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison 4456 Sewell Social Science Bldg. 1180 Observatory Dr. Phone: (608) 262-9856  Fax: (608) 265-5389 E-mail: carr@ssc.wisc.edu

Curriculum Vitae

Education

• 1997, Ph.D., Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI   
• 1994, M.S., Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
• 1988, B.A., Sociology, Connecticut College, New London, CT

Research and Projects

Carr studies the impact of social roles, relationships, and contexts on psychological well-being among midlife and older adults. One strand of her research focuses on how work and family roles affect psychological well-being among members of different birth cohorts. A second strand of her research focuses on bereavement among older adults. She is particularly interested in how demographic, technological, and social/political changes affect end-of-life experiences of the dying and their families. She recently received a three-year grant from NIA to study end-of-life planning among older adults, and its implications for the well-being of dying patients and their families; this study uses data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. A third strand of her research focuses on the interpersonal consequences of stigma; using MIDUS data, she has explored the psychological consequences of stigmas including obesity, and singlehood.

Carr, Deborah and Michael Friedman. Forthcoming. “Body Weight and Interpersonal Relationships”. Social Psychology Quarterly 69(2). (Expected publication date: June 2006).

Carr, Deborah, Randolph Nesse, and Camille B. Wortman (Eds.). “Spousal Bereavement in Late Life.” New York: Springer Publishing. (Expected publication date: November 2005).

Carr, Deborah and Michael Friedman. 2005. "Is Obesity Stigmatizing?  Body Weight, Perceived Discrimination and Psychological Well-Being in the United States. Journal of Health and Social Behavior 46: 244-259.

Byrne, Anne and Deborah Carr. 2005. “Caught in the Cultural Lag: The Stigma of Singlehood.” Psychological Inquiry 16: 84-90.

Carr, Deborah. 2005. “The Psychological Consequences of Midlife Men’s Social Comparisons with their Young Adult Sons.” Journal of Marriage and Family 67: 240-50.

Carr, Deborah. 2004. “Black/White Differences in Psychological Adjustment to Spousal Loss among Older Adults.” Research on Aging 26(6): 591-622.

Carr, Deborah. 2004. “The Desire to Date and Remarry Among Older Widows and Widowers.” Journal of Marriage and Family 66: 1051-68.

Carr, Deborah. 2004. “‘My Daughter Has a Career - I Just Raised Babies’: Women’s Intergenerational Social Comparisons.” Social Psychology Quarterly 67(2): 132-54.

Carr, Deborah. 2004. “Gender, Pre-Loss Marital Dependence and Older Adults’ Adjustment to Widowhood.” Journal of Marriage and Family 66: 220-35.

Carr, Deborah. 2003. “A ‘Good Death’ for Whom? Quality of Spouse’s Death and Psychological Distress among Older Widowed Persons.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 44(2): 215-32.

Carr, Deborah. 2002. “The Psychological Consequences of Work-Family Tradeoffs for Three Cohorts of Women and Men.” Social Psychology Quarterly 65(2):103-124.