Rukmalie Jayakody, Ph.D.

1996, University of Michigan

Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Sociology

Associate Director, Population Research Institute

118A Henderson South
(814) 865-2659
jayakody@pop.psu.edu

Research Interests

My research interests focus on families and social change, and particularly the impacts of public policies on family behavior. My U.S. work examines the consequences of 1996 welfare reforms on low-income families and their children. This research uses both quantitative and qualitative data. Quantitative data come from large, representative surveys, such as the Survey of Income and Program Participation, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, and the Women’s Employment Survey. I am particularly interested in the integration of quantitative and qualitative data. For example, my colleague and I recently completed in-depth qualitative interviews with a sub-sample of panel survey respondents in the Women’s Employment Survey to learn more about former welfare recipients’ transitions into marriage and their views on the benefits and drawbacks of marriage versus cohabitation versus remaining single.

My international work focuses on South East Asia, particularly Vietnam. I am interested in how economic and social transitions, such as Vietnam’s transition from a collectivist, socialist economy to a market-based economy, have impacted families. My colleagues and I recently completed a large, representative survey administered to three marital cohorts to learn more about how families in Vietnam have changed. The first cohort married during the war with the U.S., the second married after the country was reunified under a collectivist economy, and the final cohort married after the transition to a market-based economy. We also recently completed a series of focus group interviews with three different generations (elderly grandparents, adults with living parents and children, and young adults with living parents and grandparents) to investigate intergenerational cohesion and conflict. Projects currently in progress investigate the impact of international television on family attitudes and behavior.

Education

Boston College, Chestnut Hill, B.A., 1989, Sociology
University of Michigan, M.S.W., 1990, Social Work (Social Policy)
University of Michigan, M.A., 1992, Sociology
University of Michigan, Ph.D., 1996, Sociology

Research and Professional Experience

Present: Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Sociology, and Demography
Research Associate, Population Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University
2004- Present: Research Affiliate, National Poverty Center, University of Michigan
2004-2005: Visiting Scholar, National Poverty Center, University of Michigan
Jan.-May, 2002 & 2003: Visiting Professor, Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Social Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam
Jan.-May, 2002-03, 2005: Sociology Faculty for Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) and Social Science Research Council (SSRC) Interdisciplinary Social Science Research Methods Training Program, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Summer 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000: Co-Instructor, Advanced Categorical Data Analysis Workshop, Inter-University Consortium for Social and Political Research (ICPSR)
1989: Summer Program in Quantitative Methods, University of Michigan

Honors and Awards

1989-1994: Michigan Merit Fellowship, Rackham Graduate School, University of Michigan
1989, 1990, 1993: Institute for Social Research Summer Programs Fellowship, University of Michigan
1992: Distinguished Research Partnership Award for "Kin Support to Single Mothers," Rackham Graduate School and the Office for the Vice-President of Research, University of Michigan
1994: Gerontological Society of American's Minority Predoctoral Leadership Development Program
2000-2005: W.T. Grant Foundation Faculty Scholars Award

Publications

Journal Articles

Knodel, J. , V.M. Loi , R. Jayakody and V.T. Huy (2005). "Gender Roles in the Family: Change and Stability in Vietnam." Asian Population Studies 1(1):69-92.
Jayakody, R., & Kalil, A. (2002). "Social fathering in low-income, African American families with preschoolers." Journal of Marriage and the Family , 64(2), 504-516.
Lichter, D., & Jayakody, R. (2002). "Welfare reform: How do we measure success?" Annual Review of Sociology , 28, 117-141.
Pollack, H.A., Danziger, S.H., Jayakody, R., & Seefeldt, K. (2002). "Drug testing welfare recipients: False negatives, false positives, unanticipated opportunities." Women's Health Issues , 12(1), 23-31.
Pollack, H.A., Danziger, S.H., Seedfeldt, K., & Jayakody, R. (2002). "Substance use among welfare recipients: Trends and policy responses." Social Service Review , 76(2), 256-274.
Jayakody, R., & Stauffer, D. (2000). "Mental health problems among single mothers: Implications for welfare reform." Journal of Social Issues , 56, 617-634.
Jayakody, R., Danziger, S.H., and Pollack, H.A. (2000). "Mental health problems, substance abuse and welfare reform." Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law , 25(4), 623-651.
Jayakody,R. (1998). "Race differences in intergenerational financial assistance: The needs of children and the resources of parents." Journal of Family Issues , 19, 508-533.
Jayakody, R., Danziger, S.H., and Kessler, R. (1998). "Psychiatric disorders and socio-economic status. Social Science Research , 27, 371-387.
Taylor, R.J., Chatters, L.M., Levin, J., and Jayakody, R. (1996). "Race differences in religious participation." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion , 35, 403-410.
Chatters, L.M., Taylor, R.J., and Jayakody, R. (1994). "Fictive kin relations in extended black families." Journal of Comparative Family Studies , 25(3), 297-313.
Jayakody, R., Chatters, L.M., and Taylor, R.J. (1993). "Family support to single and married African American mothers." Journal of Marriage and the Family , 55, 261-276.

Books

Jayakody, R. , A. Thornton and W.G. Axinn (Eds.) (2008). International Family Change: Ideational Perspectives. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Book Chapters

Jayakody, R., & Huy, V. T. (in press). From war to reunification to renovation: Mating and marriage in north Vietnam. In Belanger, D., & Barbieri, M. (Eds.), Post-transitional Vietnamese families: The legacy of doi moi . Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Jayakody, R., & Huy, V. T. (2008). Social change and marriage in Vietnam: From Socialist State to Market Reform. In R. Jayakody, A. Thornton, & W.G. Axinn (Eds.), International family change: Ideational perspectives (pp. 199-222). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Jayakody, R., Thornton, A., & Axinn, W. (2008). International family change: an introduction. In R Jayakody, A. Thornton, & W. Axinn (Eds.), International family change: Ideational perspectives. Mawah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.
Jayakody, R., & Cabrera, N. (2002). "What are the choices for low-income families: Cohabitation, marriage and remaining single." In A. Booth and A. Crouter (Eds.), Just living together: Implications of cohabitation for children, families, and social policy.
Burton, L.M., & Jayakody, R. (2001). "Rethinking family structure and single parenthood: Implications for future studies of African American families and children." In Thornton, A. (Ed.), Research and data needs for studying the well-being of children and families . Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Jayakody, R., Chatters, L.M. (1997). "Differences among African American single mothers: Marital status, living arrangements and family support." In Taylor, R.J., Chatters, L.M., and Jackson, J.S. (Eds.), Family life in Black America , Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Taylor, R.J., Chatters, L.M., Tucker, M.B., & Jayakody, R. (1997). "Demographic trends in African American families." In Taylor, R.J., Chatters, L.M., and Jackson, J.S. (Eds.), Family life in Black America , Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Jackson, J.S., Jayakody, R., and Antonucci, T.C. (1996). "The family environmental context model: Exchanges within Black American three generational families." In Harevan, T.K. (Ed.), Aging and generational relational over the life course: A historical and cross-cultural perspective . New York: Walter De Gruyter.
Chatters, L.M., and Jayakody, R. (1995). "Intergenerational support within African American families: Concepts and methods." In Bengston, V.L., Schie, K.W. and Burton, L.M. (Eds.), Intergenerational Issues in Aging . New York: Springer.
Jayakody, R. (1992). "Neighborhoods and neighbor relations." In Jackson, J.S., Chatters, L.M., and Taylor, R.J. (Eds.), Aging in Black America , Newbury Park, CA: Sage.