Jeylan Mortimer

Jeylan T. Mortimer
Born
United States
Occupation(s)Sociologist, academic and author
Academic background
EducationB.A., Sociology
M.A., Sociology
PHD, Sociology
Alma materTufts University
University of Michigan
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity of Minnesota

Jeylan T. Mortimer is an American sociologist. She is Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota,[1] where she founded the Life Course Center and served as its Director from 1986 to 2006.[2]

Early life and education

Mortimer was born August 12, 1943, in Chicago. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Jackson College, Tufts University (1965) and her Master's (1967) and PhD (1972) degrees in sociology from the University of Michigan.[1]

Career

Mortimer began her academic career at the University of Maryland as Instructor and then assistant professor of sociology from 1971 to 1973. She then moved to the University of Minnesota where she progressed through the ranks from Visiting Assistant Professor to Professor (1973–1982). In 2021, she retired as professor emeritus of Sociology at the University of Minnesota.[1]

Mortimer served as the Founding Director of the Life Course Center from 1986 to 2006, while concurrently holding the position of Associate Chair of Sociology at the University of Minnesota during the periods 1984 to 1987, 1993 to 1996, and 1999 to 2002. Additionally, she served as the Director of Graduate Studies in Sociology from 2016 to 2020.[2]

Scholarly contributions

Mortimer and her collaborators have authored more than 200 publications spanning the fields of sociology, social psychology, the life course, developmental psychology and family studies.[1] She is Principal Investigator of the longitudinal, three-generation Youth Development Study, which has followed a cohort of youth over three decades from mid-adolescence to mid-life.[3][4] Among her authored and edited works are publications in leading academic journals as well as research monographs and edited volumes.[5]

Multigenerational attainment processes

Mortimer's early research examined the impacts of parental occupations on the occupational choices of college students, focusing on key dimensions of work (entrepreneurial-bureaucratic, work with people vs. data or things).[6] Subsequently, she found pervasive effects of parental work experiences and hardship on children's achievement orientations,[7][8] intrinsic and extrinsic work values,[9] and occupational destinations.[10] Her research has also examined educational attainment, including the impacts of grandparents' and parents' educations on parents' expectations for their children,[11] the transmission of educational plans and advantage across three generations,[12][13] and the determinants of upward educational mobility.[14] Moreover, her research revealed differences in educational attainment processes across contemporary parent and child cohorts.[15][16]

The developmental impacts of work experience

Mortimer's early research showed that adult work experiences influence psychological development, including occupational values,[17] a sense of personal efficacy,[18] commitment to work,[19] political orientation,[20] and the interrelations of prominent work attitudes (job satisfaction and involvement).[21]

Mortimer's book, Working and Growing Up in America revealed developmental benefits of teenage employment, contrary to the common notion that adolescent work is problematic.[22] Her Youth Development Study followed teens from ninth grade to adulthood, finding that those who worked moderately during high school (20 hours or fewer per week in most months of observation) had higher levels of educational attainment[23] than those who worked more intensively, who moved quickly into jobs they considered "careers".[24] More problematic outcomes were experienced by adolescents who worked sporadically, without a consistent pattern of schooling and working. Early work experiences were found to influence adolescent self-esteem,[25][26] control orientation,[27][28] occupational values,[29] and vocational development,[30][31] as well as adolescent depressed mood,[32][33] behavioral adjustment,[34] and family relationships.[35][36] Her research also revealed that teenage employment is reflected in the response to work experiences during the transition to adulthood.[37] Her more recent studies show substantial continuity of work quality from adolescence to mid-life (in work autonomy, opportunities for learning and advancement, wage satisfaction, and work stressors). Moreover, her research also revealed positive developmental consequences of another form of adolescent work, volunteering.[38][39]

Attitudinal stability through the life course

Mortimer has contributed to the understanding of stability in the self-concept and other attitudes through the life course, including the conceptualization and measurement of stability.[40] Additionally, her research has demonstrated the differential responsiveness of attitudes to work experiences across phases of life.[41][42]

The transition to adulthood

Much of Mortimer's work has focused on the transition to adulthood, including the timing of leaving home,[43] the school to work transition,[44][45] the process of developing an identity as an adult,[46] and the attainment of financial independence from parents.[47] Her work has shown how parents provide safety nets for their transitioning children[48] and how youth unemployment and parental assistance threaten young adult self-efficacy.[49][50] Her longitudinal study documented the relative value of educational attainments (high school diplomas, some college, Associates' and BA degrees) in the labor market.[51] Finally, her research has identified transitional experiences that contribute to the motherhood wage penalty.[52]

Awards and honors

  • 1984 – Sociological Research Association
  • 1987 – Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • 2004 – Dean's Medal, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota
  • 2011 – Cooley-Mead Award, Section on Social Psychology, American Sociological Association[53]
  • 2016 – Distinguished Career Award, Section on Children and Youth, American Sociological Association[54]
  • 2020 – John Bynner Distinguished Scholar Award, Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies[55]

Personal life

Mortimer is married to Jeffrey Broadbent, professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota.[56]

Bibliography

Books

  • Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Lorence, Jon; Kumka, Donald S. (1986). Work, Family, and Personality: Transition of Adulthood. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-0-89391-293-2.
  • Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Shanahan, Michael J., eds. (2003). Handbook of the Life Course. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. doi:10.1007/b100507. ISBN 978-0-306-47498-9.
  • Mortimer, Jeylan T. (2003). Working and Growing up in America. doi:10.4159/9780674041240. ISBN 978-0-674-04124-0.
  • Shanahan, Michael J.; Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Johnson, Monica Kirkpatrick, eds. (2016). Handbook of the Life Course. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-20880-0. ISBN 978-3-319-20879-4.

Selected articles

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Jeylan Mortimer". College of Liberal Arts.
  2. ^ a b "Life Course Center". Experts@Minnesota.
  3. ^ "Youth Development Study". College of Liberal Arts.
  4. ^ "Youth Development Study, 1988–2011 [St. Paul, Minnesota]". www.icpsr.umich.edu.
  5. ^ "Jeylan Mortimer". scholar.google.com.
  6. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T. (1974). "Patterns of Intergenerational Occupational Movements: A Smallest-Space Analysis". American Journal of Sociology. 79 (5): 1278–1299. doi:10.1086/225678. JSTOR 2776794. S2CID 144697663.[non-primary source needed]
  7. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Zhang, Frank Lei; Hussemann, Jeanette; Wu, Chen-Yu (September 21, 2014). "Parental Economic Hardship and Children's Achievement Orientations". Longitudinal and Life Course Studies: International Journal. 5 (2): 105–128. doi:10.14301/llcs.v5i2.271. PMC 4358300. PMID 25774223.[non-primary source needed]
  8. ^ Johnson, M. K.; Mortimer, J. T. (2015). "Reinforcement or Compensation? The Effects of Parents' Work and Financial Conditions on Adolescents' Work Values during the Great Recession". Journal of Vocational Behavior. 87: 89–100. doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2014.12.005. PMC 4303901. PMID 25624527.[non-primary source needed]
  9. ^ Johnson, Monica Kirkpatrick; Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Heckhausen, Jutta (February 2020). "Work Value Transmission From Parents to Children: Early Socialization and Delayed Activation". Work and Occupations. 47 (1): 83–119. doi:10.1177/0730888419877445. S2CID 204371174.[non-primary source needed]
  10. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Kumka, Donald (January 1982). "A Further Examination of the 'Occupational Linkage Hypothesis'". The Sociological Quarterly. 23 (1): 3–16. doi:10.1111/j.1533-8525.1982.tb02216.x.[non-primary source needed]
  11. ^ Mortimer, J. T.; Lee, M. (2021). "How do grandparents' and parents' educational attainments influence parents' educational expectations for children?". Longitudinal and Life Course Studies. 13 (4): 551–574. doi:10.1332/175795921X16160914636911. PMC 9334709. PMID 35900888.[non-primary source needed]
  12. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Zhang, Lei; Wu, Chen-Yu; Hussemann, Jeanette; Johnson, Monica Kirkpatrick (March 2017). "Familial Transmission of Educational Plans and the Academic Self-Concept: A Three-Generation Longitudinal Study". Social Psychology Quarterly. 80 (1): 85–107. doi:10.1177/0190272516670582. PMC 5384102. PMID 28396611.[non-primary source needed]
  13. ^ Burger, Kaspar; Mortimer, Jeylan; Johnson, Monica Kirkpatrick (February 21, 2020). "Self-esteem and self-efficacy in the status attainment process and the multigenerational transmission of advantage". Social Science Research. 86: 102374. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2019.102374. PMC 7026146. PMID 32056563.[non-primary source needed]
  14. ^ Lee, Mark; Mortimer, Jeylan T. (March 2021). "Believing and Achieving: Gendered Pathways Toward Upward Educational Mobility in the United States". Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 50 (3): 423–436. doi:10.1007/s10964-020-01263-5. PMC 7968472. PMID 32506352.[non-primary source needed]
  15. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T; Mont’Alvao, Arnaldo; Aronson, Pamela (12 June 2020). "Decline of 'the American Dream'? Outlook toward the Future across Three Generations of Midwest Families". Social Forces. 98 (4): 1403–1435. doi:10.1093/sf/soz130. PMC 7299541. PMID 32595238.[non-primary source needed]
  16. ^ Burger, Kaspar; Mortimer, Jeylan T. (September 2021). "Socioeconomic origin, future expectations, and educational achievement: A longitudinal three-generation study of the persistence of family advantage". Developmental Psychology. 57 (9): 1540–1558. doi:10.1037/dev0001238. PMC 8694581. PMID 34929097.[non-primary source needed]
  17. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Lorence, Jon (1979). "Work Experience and Occupational Value Socialization: A Longitudinal Study". American Journal of Sociology. 84 (6): 1361–1385. doi:10.1086/226938. JSTOR 2777896. S2CID 143580550.[non-primary source needed]
  18. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Lorence, Jon (1979). "Occupational Experience and the Self-Concept: A Longitudinal Study". Social Psychology Quarterly. 42 (4): 307–323. doi:10.2307/3033802. JSTOR 3033802.[non-primary source needed]
  19. ^ Lorence, Jon; Mortimer, Jeylan T. (August 1981). "Work Experience and Work Involvement". Sociology of Work and Occupations. 8 (3): 297–326. doi:10.1177/073088848100800302. S2CID 143812519.[non-primary source needed]
  20. ^ Lorence, Jon; Mortimer, Jeylan T. (1979). "Work Experience and Political Orientation: A Panel Study". Social Forces. 58 (2): 651–676. doi:10.2307/2577611. JSTOR 2577611.[non-primary source needed]
  21. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Lorence, Jon (1989). "Satisfaction and Involvement: Disentangling a Deceptively Simple Relationship". Social Psychology Quarterly. 52 (4): 249–265. doi:10.2307/2786990. JSTOR 2786990.[non-primary source needed]
  22. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T. (30 June 2009). Working and Growing Up in America. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-04124-0. OCLC 652223153.[page needed][non-primary source needed]
  23. ^ Staff, J.; Mortimer, J. T. (March 2007). "Educational and Work Strategies from Adolescence to Early Adulthood: Consequences for Educational Attainment". Social Forces. 85 (3): 1169–1194. doi:10.1353/sof.2007.0057. PMC 1858630. PMID 17468782.[non-primary source needed]
  24. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Vuolo, Mike; Staff, Jeremy; Wakefield, Sara; Xie, W (February 2008). "Tracing the Timing of 'Career' Acquisition in a Contemporary Youth Cohort". Work and Occupations. 35 (1): 44–84. doi:10.1177/0730888407309761. PMC 2423322. PMID 18542713.[non-primary source needed]
  25. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Finch, Michael D. (May 1986). "The Development of Self-Esteem in the Early Work Career". Work and Occupations. 13 (2): 217–239. doi:10.1177/0730888486013002003. S2CID 144645893.[non-primary source needed]
  26. ^ Owens, Timothy J.; Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Finch, Michael D. (1996). "Self-Determination as a Source of Self-Esteem in Adolescence". Social Forces. 74 (4): 1377–1404. doi:10.2307/2580355. JSTOR 2580355.[non-primary source needed]
  27. ^ Finch, Michael D.; Shanahan, Michael J.; Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Ryu, Seongryeol (1991). "Work Experience and Control Orientation in Adolescence". American Sociological Review. 56 (5): 597–611. doi:10.2307/2096082. JSTOR 2096082.[non-primary source needed]
  28. ^ Call, Kathleen Thiede; Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Shanahan, Michael J. (February 1995). "Helpfulness and the Development of Competence in Adolescence". Child Development. 66 (1): 129–138. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.1995.tb00860.x. PMID 7497820.[non-primary source needed]
  29. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Pimentel, Ellen Efron; Ryu, Seongryeol; Nash, Katherine; Lee, Chaimun (1996). "Part-Time Work and Occupational Value Formation in Adolescence". Social Forces. 74 (4): 1405–1418. doi:10.2307/2580356. JSTOR 2580356.[non-primary source needed]
  30. ^ Stone, James R.; Mortimer, Jeylan T. (October 1998). "The Effect of Adolescent Employment on Vocational Development: Public and Educational Policy Implications". Journal of Vocational Behavior. 53 (2): 184–214. doi:10.1006/jvbe.1998.1663.[non-primary source needed]
  31. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Zimmer-Gembeck, Melanie J.; Holmes, Mikki; Shanahan, Michael J. (December 2002). "The Process of Occupational Decision Making: Patterns during the Transition to Adulthood". Journal of Vocational Behavior. 61 (3): 439–465. doi:10.1006/jvbe.2002.1885.[non-primary source needed]
  32. ^ Shanahan, Michael J.; Finch, Michael; Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Ryu, Seongryeol (1991). "Adolescent Work Experience and Depressive Affect". Social Psychology Quarterly. 54 (4): 299–317. doi:10.2307/2786843. JSTOR 2786843.[non-primary source needed]
  33. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Harley, Carolyn; Staff, Jeremy (May 2002). "The Quality of Work and Youth Mental Health". Work and Occupations. 29 (2): 166–197. doi:10.1177/0730888402029002003. S2CID 145777665.[non-primary source needed]
  34. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Finch, Michael; Shanahan, Michael; Ryu, Seongryeol (January 1992). "Adolescent Work History and Behavioral Adjustment". Journal of Research on Adolescence. 2 (1): 59–80. doi:10.1207/s15327795jra0201_3.[non-primary source needed]
  35. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Shanahan, Michael J. (November 1994). "Adolescent Work Experience and Family Relationships". Work and Occupations. 21 (4): 369–384. doi:10.1177/0730888494021004002. S2CID 145499993.[non-primary source needed]
  36. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Finch, Michael D., eds. (1996). Adolescents, Work, and Family: An Intergenerational Developmental Analysis Understanding Families. Sage. ISBN 978-0-8039-5125-9.[page needed][non-primary source needed]
  37. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Staff, Jeremy (December 2004). "Early work as a source of developmental discontinuity during the transition to adulthood". Development and Psychopathology. 16 (4): 1047–1070. doi:10.1017/s0954579404040131 (inactive 1 November 2024). PMID 15704827. S2CID 9256253.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)[non-primary source needed]
  38. ^ Johnson, Monica Kirkpatrick; Beebe, Timothy; Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Snyder, Mark (July 1998). "Volunteerism in Adolescence: A Process Perspective". Journal of Research on Adolescence. 8 (3): 309–332. doi:10.1207/s15327795jra0803_2.[non-primary source needed]
  39. ^ Oesterle, Sabrina; Johnson, Monica Kirkpatrick; Mortimer, Jeylan T. (2004). "Volunteerism during the Transition to Adulthood: A Life Course Perspective". Social Forces. 82 (3): 1123–1149. doi:10.1353/sof.2004.0049. JSTOR 3598368. S2CID 145442197.[non-primary source needed]
  40. ^ Mortimer, J. T.; Lorence, J. (1981). "Self-concept stability and change from late adolescence to early adulthood". Research in Community & Mental Health. 2: 5–42.[non-primary source needed]
  41. ^ Lorence, Jon; Mortimer, Jeylan T. (October 1985). "Job Involvement Through the Life Course: A Panel Study of Three Age Groups". American Sociological Review. 50 (5): 618. doi:10.2307/2095378. JSTOR 2095378.[non-primary source needed]
  42. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T. (March 2012). "The Evolution, Contributions, and Prospects of the Youth Development Study: An Investigation in Life Course Social Psychology". Social Psychology Quarterly. 75 (1): 5–27. doi:10.1177/0190272511434911. PMC 3404601. PMID 22844173.[non-primary source needed]
  43. ^ Cooney, Teresa M.; Mortimer, Jeylan T. (October 1999). "Family Structure Differences in the Timing of Leaving Home: Exploring Mediating Factors". Journal of Research on Adolescence. 9 (4): 367–393. doi:10.1207/s15327795jra0904_1.[non-primary source needed]
  44. ^ Vuolo, Mike; Staff, Jeremy; Mortimer, Jeylan T. (2012). "Weathering the great recession: Psychological and behavioral trajectories in the transition from school to work". Developmental Psychology. 48 (6): 1759–1773. doi:10.1037/a0026047. PMC 3298729. PMID 22059449.[non-primary source needed]
  45. ^ Vuolo, M.; Mortimer, J. T.; Staff J (2013). "Adolescent Precursors of Pathways from School to Work". Journal of Research on Adolescence. 24 (1): 145–162. doi:10.1111/jora.12038. PMC 4004182. PMID 24791132.[non-primary source needed]
  46. ^ Eliason, S. R.; Mortimer, J. T.; Vuolo, M. (2015). "The Transition to Adulthood: Life Course Structures and Subjective Perceptions". Social Psychology Quarterly. 78 (3): 205–227. doi:10.1177/0190272515582002. PMC 4591543. PMID 26441473.[non-primary source needed]
  47. ^ Lee, J. C.; Mortimer, J. T. (2009). "Family Socialization, Economic Self-Efficacy, and the Attainment of Financial Independence in Early AdulthoodC". Longitudinal and Life Course Studies. 1 (1): 45–62. PMC 3198812. PMID 22025928.[non-primary source needed]
  48. ^ Swartz, T. T.; Kim, M.; Uno, M.; Mortimer, J.; O'Brien, K. B. (2011). "Safety Nets and Scaffolds: Parental Support in the Transition to Adulthood". Journal of Marriage and the Family. 73 (2): 414–429. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00815.x. PMC 3109900. PMID 21660216.[non-primary source needed]
  49. ^ Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Kim, Minzee; Staff, Jeremy; Vuolo, Mike (November 21, 2016). "Unemployment, Parental Help, and Self-Efficacy During the Transition to Adulthood". Work and Occupations. 43 (4): 434–465. doi:10.1177/0730888416656904. PMC 5102391. PMID 27840554.[non-primary source needed]
  50. ^ Swartz, T. T.; McLaughlin, H.; Mortimer, J. T. (2016). "Parental Assistance, Negative Life Events, and Attainment During the Transition to Adulthood". The Sociological Quarterly. 58 (1): 91–110. doi:10.1080/00380253.2016.1246898. PMC 5321230. PMID 28239198.[non-primary source needed]
  51. ^ Vuolo, Mike; Mortimer, Jeylan T.; Staff, Jeremy (May 1, 2016). "The value of educational degrees in turbulent economic times: Evidence from the Youth Development Study". Social Science Research. 57: 233–252. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.12.014. PMC 4792031. PMID 26973042.[non-primary source needed]
  52. ^ Staff, Jeremy; Mortimer, Jeylan T. (1 February 2012). "Explaining the Motherhood Wage Penalty During the Early Occupational Career". Demography. 49 (1): 1–21. doi:10.1007/s13524-011-0068-6. PMC 3272159. PMID 22037996.[non-primary source needed]
  53. ^ "Social Psychology Award Recipient History | American Sociological Association".
  54. ^ "Children and Youth Award Recipient History | American Sociological Association".
  55. ^ "Professor Jeylan Mortimer Named Recipient of the 2020 John Bynner Distinguished Scholar Award". College of Liberal Arts. September 25, 2020.
  56. ^ "Jeffrey Broadbent website". sites.google.com.