Xi Zhu
Health and Society
Education
Ph.D., Sociology, Baylor University, Expected May 2024
M.A. Sociology, Baylor University, 2021
M.A. American Studies, Brown University, 2015
M.A. International Journalism, Beijing Foreign Studies University, 2016
B.A. Journalism and Communication, Beijing Foreign Studies University, 2013
Biography
Xi is a fifth-year student in the Sociology Ph.D. program. She graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University with a B.A. in Journalism and Communication and an M.A. in International Journalism. She has also earned a master’s degree in American Studies at Brown University. Before coming to Baylor, Xi worked in the news industry for one year in New York and spent nearly three years as a brand communication specialist in a pharmaceutical company in Shanghai. Her working experience has led her to find an interest in sociology and passion for a career in academia.
Xi’s research interests include aging, life course, health, and family. Her master’s thesis focused on age differences in the effects of social media use on mental health in the United States. Her recent work looks at the cognitive health of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the impact of early-life experience and religion.
In her free time, she enjoys swimming, badminton, and music.
Recent Publications
Upenieks, Laura, and Xi Zhu. Forthcoming. “Life Course Religious Attendance and Cognitive Health at Midlife: Exploring Gendered Contingencies.” Research on Aging.
Zhu, Xi, and Laura Upenieks. 2022. “Age Differences in Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Assessing the Buffering Role of Attachment to God.” Journal of Aging and Health https://doi.org/10.1177/08982643221112141