Measuring and understanding inequalities in parental loss: new methods and estimates
There have been recent increases in young- and middle-age adult mortality in the United States, with substantial inequalities by race/ethnicity. What is less understood is how these increases in mortality have impacted trends and patterns in young children who have lost a parent. This talk discusses two recent projects that study different aspects of parental loss by race/ethnicity in the United States.

The first project estimates youth experiencing parental death due to drug poisoning and firearm violence. We estimate that between 1999 and 2020, over 1 million US youth had a parent die by drug poisoning or firearms, with non-Hispanic Black youth experiencing a disproportionate burden. Motivated by this finding, the second project develops a Bayesian statistical model to estimate the years an individual can expect to live without one or more parents.

Drawing on both survey and demographic data, we find that people can expect to live almost half their life without a parent, with important differences by race/ethnicity. This research contributes to understanding racial/ethnic inequalities of parental loss in the United States, and develops new methods to quantify parental deaths in statistically rigorous ways while accounting for uncertainty.

Please join either in person or online. For in-person attendees, the talk will be preceded by a light lunch at 12.15pm.

Please email comms@sociology.ox.ac.uk with any questions or to receive the Microsoft Teams link.
Date: 10 March 2025, 12:45
Venue: Seminar Room, Department of Sociology
Speaker: Monica Alexander (University of Toronto)
Organising department: Department of Sociology
Organiser contact email address: comms@sociology.ox.ac.uk
Part of: Sociology Department Weekly Seminar
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Laurel Quinn