Natalia Sarkisian Associate Professor of Sociology Boston College

Background

I received my Ph.D. (2005) and M.A. (2001) in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Previously, I earned a B.A. in Sociology from the State Academy of Management in Moscow, Russia.

I am an Associate Professor in the Sociology Department of Boston College since 2005. I am also affliated with the Sloan Center on Aging and Work/Workplace Flexibility. My research interests include race, gender, and class, family sociology, and quantitative methods.

Selected Publications

Collins, Amy L., Natalia Sarkisian, and Ellen Winner. Forthcoming. “Flow and Happiness in Later Life: An Investigation into the Role of Daily and Weekly Flow Experiences.” Journal of Happiness Studies. Abstract

Garroutte, Eva, Natalia Sarkisian, Dedra Buchwald, Jack Goldberg, and Jan Beals. 2008. “Perceptions of Medical Interaction between Providers and American Indian Older Adults.” Social Science and Medicine, 67, 4 (August), 546-556. Abstract

Shen, Ce, Natalia Sarkisian, and Thanh Tran. 2008. “Child Mortality, Economic Development, and Social Inequality in Less Developed Countries: A Cross-National Analysis.” China Journal of Social Work, 1, 2 (July), 172-188. Abstract

Sarkisian, Natalia, and Naomi Gerstel. 2008. “Till Marriage Do Us Part: Adult Children’s Relationships with Parents.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 70, 2 (May), 360-376. Abstract

Gerstel, Naomi, and Natalia Sarkisian. 2008. “The Color of Family Ties: Race, Class, Gender, and Extended Family Involvement.” Pp. 447-453 in Stephanie Coontz, Maya Parson, and Gabrielle Rayley (Eds.), American Families: A Multicultural Reader. 2nd edition. New York: Routledge.

Sarkisian, Natalia. 2008. “Neural Networks as an Emergent Method in Quantitative Research: An Example of Self-Organizing Maps.” Pp. 625-654 in Sharlene Hesse-Biber and Patricia Leavy (Eds.), The Handbook of Emergent Methods. New York: Guilford Press.

Sarkisian, Natalia. 2007. “Street Men, Family Men: Race and Men’s Extended Family Involvement.” Social Forces, 86, 2 (December), 763-794. Abstract

Gerstel, Naomi, and Natalia Sarkisian. 2007. “Intergenerational Care and the Greediness of Adult Children’s Marriages.” Pp. 153-188 in Timothy J. Owens and J. Jill Suitor (Eds.), Interpersonal Relations across the Life Course. Advances in Life Course Research, volume 12. Greenwich, CT: Elsevier/JAI Press.

Sarkisian, Natalia, and Naomi Gerstel. 2007. “Race, Class, and Extended Family Involvement.” National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) Report: Family Focus, 52, 1 (March), 14-15. Download

Sarkisian, Natalia, Mariana Gerena, and Naomi Gerstel. 2007. “Extended Family Integration among Euro and Mexican Americans: Ethnicity, Gender, and Class.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 69, 1 (February), 40-54. Abstract
*** Winner of the 2008 Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Award from the Race, Gender, Class Section of the American Sociological Association ***

Sarkisian, Natalia. 2006. “'Doing Family Ambivalence': Nuclear and Extended Families in Single Mothers’ Lives.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 4 (November), 804-811.

Gerstel, Naomi, and Natalia Sarkisian. 2006. “Marriage: The Good, the Bad, and the Greedy.” Contexts, 5, 4 (November), 16-21. Abstract, Download

Sarkisian, Natalia, Mariana Gerena, and Naomi Gerstel. 2006. “Extended Family Ties among Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Whites: Superintegration or Disintegration?” Family Relations, 55, 3 (July), 331-344. Abstract

Garroutte, Eva, Natalia Sarkisian, Lester Arguellos, Jack Goldberg, and Dedra Buchwald. 2006. “Cultural Identity and Perceptions of Health Status among American Indian Older Adults and Their Healthcare Providers.” Journal of General Internal Medicine, 21, 2 (February), 111-116. Abstract

Gerstel, Naomi, and Natalia Sarkisian. 2006. “A Sociological Perspective on Families and Work: The Import of Gender, Class, and Race.” Pp. 237-266 in M. P. Catsouphes, E. Kossek, and S. Sweet (Eds.), The Work and Family Handbook: Multi-disciplinary Perspectives, Methods, and Approaches. New York: Routledge.

Sarkisian, Natalia, and Naomi Gerstel. 2004. “Kin Support Among Blacks and Whites: Race and Family Organization.” American Sociological Review, 69, 4 (December), 812-837. Abstract

Sarkisian, Natalia, and Naomi Gerstel. 2004. “Explaining the Gender Gap in Help to Parents: The Importance of Employment.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 66, 2 (May), 431-451. Abstract, Download
***Winner of the 2005 Rosabeth Moss Kanter International Award for Research Excellence in Families and Work***

Courses Taught at BC

SC704: Topics in Multivariate Statistics
The major topics of the course include OLS regression diagnostics, binary, ordered, and multinomial logistic regression, models for the analysis of count data (e.g., Poisson and negative binomial regression), treatment of missing data, and the analysis of clustered and stratified samples. All analyses in the course are conducted using Stata, but no previous Stata experience is necessary.

SC705: Advanced Statistics
The major topics of the course include hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and structural equation modeling (SEM). The analyses in the course are conducted using HLM 6.04 and LISREL 8.8.

SC706: Longitudinal Data Analysis
The major topics of the course include event history analysis (also known as survival analysis), time series analysis (ARIMA models), and pooled time-series of cross-sections analysis (fixed effects, random effects, and mixed effects models). All analyses in the course are conducted using Stata, but no previous Stata experience is necessary.

SC781: Dissertation Seminar
This is a continuing research workshop which covers all stages of the research process, from conceptualization and theory development through data analysis and writing. The workshop is intended primarily for sociology graduate students working on dissertation proposals and dissertations. Others will be welcomed on a case-by-case basis. The group meets bi-weekly, with individual meetings with the professor as necessary. All students who are writing dissertations are strongly recommended to enroll in this workshop, at least for one semester.

SC008: Marriage and the Family
This course explores the family from the sociological perspective, questioning many common beliefs about our past and our present. We study the family “across the life course” and discuss dating and mating, marriages and partnerships, mothering, fathering, and childhood, “uncoupling” and “recoupling” (separation, divorce, widowhood, and remarriage), as well as extended families and family experiences of older adults.

Contact Information

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Updated: June 9, 2009