Alex Bierman, PhD
PhD in Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
Areas of Research
Alex Bierman’s research is centered on the study of aging and health, but encompasses a number of additional topics, including social psychology, religion, military sociology, and the family. This research is united by an interest in how social inequality conditions both exposure to stress and the consequences of stress as individuals age. Dr. Bierman frequently utilizes advanced methods of longitudinal data analysis in these studies as a means of facilitating a rigorous understanding of the causes and consequences of stress exposure across the life-course. Dr. Bierman is currently engaged in two major research projects. First, the Caregiving, Aging, and Financial Experiences (CAFE) Study is a national longitudinal survey of over 4,000 Canadian older adults between 2021 and 2022. The CAFE Study focuses on how financial strain and related constructs affect the psychological well-being of Canadian older adults. A primary finding of the CAFE Study is that financial strain leads to greater experiences of marginalization, including increased loneliness and powerlessness, as well as lower feelings of mattering to others and Canadian society as a whole. A second project, the Finances, Aging, and Daily Experiences (FADE) Study seeks to examine the processes by which financial strain leads to marginalization experiences. The FADE Study will use a “daily diary” approach to examine a representative survey of older adults over a series of days, with the goal of studying how financial strain influences social experiences and emotions in the daily life of older adults.
Supervising degrees
Working with this supervisor
Dr. Bierman appreciates working with students who seek to understand how social stratification reaches into individual lives and shapes psychological well-being. He especially encourages prospective students to contact him if they are interested in applying quantitative methods of analysis to large-scale social surveys as a means of examining the repercussions of social inequality for mental health. Prior to contacting Dr. Bierman, prospective students should examine work that Dr. Bierman has published in the last five years. When contacting Dr. Bierman, prospective students should make sure to indicate what it is about this work that leads to an interest in supervision. A list of Dr. Bierman's publications can be found on his ResearchGate page or his Google Scholar page.
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