Markus Schafer

Education

Ph.D., Sociology, Purdue University, 2011
M.A., Sociology, Purdue University, 2007
B.A., Psychology and Sociology, Grove City College, 2005

Biography

Markus Schafer is an associate professor of sociology. He completed his PhD in sociology and in gerontology at Purdue University in 2011. His research lies mainly in the area of health and aging. Some of the topics that interest him include adult health problems associated with childhood adversity, the association between health and social networks among older adults, the role of the physical environment in shaping older adults’ social connectedness and health, and the intersection of personal networks and religion. Schafer’s work on networks and health has been funded by the Province of Ontario’s Early Research Award program and by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. He currently serves as an associate editor of Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences and on the editorial board of several other interdisciplinary journals.

Recent Publications

Kyeremeh, Emmanuel and Markus H. Schafer. Forthcoming . “Keep Around, Drop, or Revise? Exploring What Becomes of Difficult Ties in Personal Networks.” Social Networks.

Sun, Haosen and Markus H. Schafer. Forthcoming. “Distance in Disconnection: The Varied Impact of Core Network Losses on Loneliness among Older Europeans.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences.

Dubash, Soli and Markus H. Schafer. Forthcoming. “Social Network Negativity and Physical Activity: New Longitudinal Evidence for Young and Older Adults, 2015-2018.” Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport

Sun, Haosen and Markus H. Schafer. 2023. “Isolation or Replenishment? The Case of Partner Network-Exclusivity and Partner Loss in Later Life.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 78:705-717.

Lee, Jin A. and Markus H. Schafer. 2023. “Social Network Characteristics and HIV Testing among older adults in South Africa.” Ageing & Society 43:499-515.

Andersson, Matthew A., Lindsay R. Wilkinson, and Markus H. Schafer. 2023. “The Long Arm of Childhood: Does It Vary According to Healthcare System Quality?” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 64:79-97.

Schafer, Markus H., and Laura Upenieks. 2023. “Do Sexual Expectations Matter for Older Men and Women? Anticipated Sexual Futures and Late-Life Sexuality over Two Decades.” The Gerontologist 63:240-250.

Silva e Silva, Vanessa, Janine Schirmer, Bartira D’Aguiar Roza, Aimee Sarti, Michael Hickey, Sonny Dhanani, Joan Almost, Markus Schafer, and Joan Tranmer. 2022. “Understanding Organ Donation Processes and Structures in Ontario: A Social Network Analysis Approach.” Social Science & Medicine 310:115243.

Cohn-Schwartz, Ella, Markus H. Schafer, and Liat Ayalon. 2022. “Age Integration in Later Life Social Networks and Self-Perceptions of Aging: Examining Their Reciprocal Associations.” European Journal of Ageing 19:1145-1153.

Schafer, Markus H., Haosen Sun, and Jin A. Lee. 2022. “Compensatory Connections? Living Alone, Loneliness, and the Buffering Role of Social Connection among older American and European Adults.” Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences 77:1550-1560.

Sun, Haosen and Markus H. Schafer. 2022. “Close Ties, Near and Far Away: Patterns and Predictors of Geographic Network Range among Older Europeans.” European Journal of Ageing 19:699-716.

Upenieks, Laura, Jeremy E. Uecker, and Markus H. Schafer. 2022. “Couple Religiosity and Well-Being among Older Adults in the United States?” Journal of Aging and Health. 34(2), pgs. 266-282. https://doi.org/10.1177/08982643211042159

Schafer, Markus H. and Haosen Sun. 2022. “There at Any Distance? Geographic Proximity and the Presence of Adult Children in Older Europeans’ Core Discussion Networks.” Social Science Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2021.102643

Upenieks, Laura and Markus H. Schafer. 2022. “Keeping 'In Touch': Demographic Patterns of Interpersonal Touch in Later Life.” Research on Aging. 44:22-33.

Sendroiu, Ioana, Laura Upenieks, and Markus Schafer. 2021. “The Divergent Mental Health Effects of Dashed Expectations and Unfulfilled Aspirations: Evidence from American Lawyers’ Careers.” Social Psychology Quarterly. 84:376-397.

Upenieks, Laura, Matthew A. Andersson, and Markus H. Schafer. 2021. “God, Father, Mother, Gender: How Are Religiosity and Parental Bonds During Childhood Linked to Midlife Flourishing?” Journal of Happiness Studies. 22:3199–3220.

Schafer, Markus H. and Laura Upenieks. 2021. “Functional Disability and the Role of Children in U.S. Adults’ Core Discussion Networks.” Network Science 9:194-212.

Silva e Silva, Vanessa, Janine Schirmer, Bartira D’Aguiar Roza, Priscilla Caroliny de Oliveira, Sonny Dhanani, Joan Almost, Markus Schafer, and Joan Tranmer. 2021. “Defining Quality Criteria for Success in Organ Donation Programs: A Scoping Review.” Canadian Journal of Kidney Health and Disease. https://doi.org/10.1177/2054358121992921

Lee, Haena and Markus H. Schafer. 2021. “Are Positive Childhood Experiences Linked to Better Cognitive Functioning in Later Life? Examining the Role of Life Course Pathways.” Journal of Aging and Health 33:217-226.

Schafer, Markus H., Laura Upenieks, and Julia DeMaria. 2021. “Do Older Adults with HIV Have Distinctive Personal Networks? Stigma, Network Activation, and the Role of Disclosure in South Africa.” AIDS and Behavior 25:1560-1572.

Upenieks, Laura, Markus H. Schafer, and Andrea Mogosanu. 2021. “Does Childhood Religiosity Delay Death?” Journal of Religion and Health 60:420-443.