I am interested in using social networks as both a data source and an analytic framework to discern the social process that produces health consequences.
My research focuses on examining how changes in, and the form and order of, social connections relate to health inequality over time and across the life course. I place particular emphasis on understanding the heterogeneous meanings brought by social contexts in which well-being is intertwined with social relationships. In my dissertation and other work, I develop the argument that social relationships and interactions are highly structured and regularized – whether in the realms of virtual intimacy, personal networks, daily family interactions, or time spent with other people.
Tianyao Qu. 2024. "A Bridge Too Far? Social Network Structure as a Determinant of Depression in Later Life." Social Science & Medicine
Tianyao Qu. 2023. “Chronic Illness and Social Network Bridging in Later Life.” Social Networks 74:1-12.
In this paper, I explored the direct and indirect roles of chronic health conditions in shaping structural features of interpersonal relationships that grant resources and independence in later life. Through lagged modeling approaches and mediation analysis, I constructed network turnover variables to show that older adults diagnosed with chronic illnesses moved to an endogenous network structure over time in which they have denser networks owing to stable family members, heightened interactions among family and friends and neighbors, as well as the shedding of non-kin ties.
Cornwell, Benjamin, and Tianyao Qu. 2023. “‘I Love You to Death’: Social Networks and the Widowhood Effect on Mortality.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior
In collaboration with Professor Cornwell, this paper investigates whether the spouse’s connections to other network members play a role in mitigating or exacerbating the widowhood effect in later life. Utilizing survival analysis and panel data with proxy mortality records, we revealed that mortality risks are higher among older individuals whose spouses were not well-connected to other members of their networks.
Another aspect of my research leverages structural implications from diverse contexts to explore how social relationships are intertwined with well-being along institutional factors and individual characteristics.
In the second chapter of my dissertation, I adopt a temporal-structural perspective to examine how daily activities are sequenced by gender and yield differential health implications for men and women. Using time-stamped diary data and social sequence analysis, preliminary results show a highly structured nature of everyday interactions and identify four clusters: mostly alone, spouse-based, child-based, and diverse with no child. Notably, females exhibit more frequent switches in interaction partners and report lower instantaneous enjoyment and average mental well-being compared to their male counterparts. This project aims to introduce a temporal dimension to understand the evolving gender disparity in the highly structured nature of everyday behavior and its differential impact on momentary well-being, potentially accumulating to influence long-term health outcomes.
Tianyao Qu. “Digital Use and Social Structure of Everyday Social Interactions.” In progress.
Tianyao Qu. “Social Sequence of Everyday Social Interactions and Daily Well-being.” In progress.
Livestreaming shows have gained immense popularity in China in the past few years, attracting millions of viewers who financially support their favorite streamers through means like virtual gifts. This study explores what is valued and exchanged in the gifting process and how the relational match between live streamers and their patrons is produced through gifting. To delve into these dynamics, this study employs data from online observations at Douyin sibling TikTok, a leading video platform in China, along with 55 in-depth interviews with live streamers, patrons, and guild agents of both genders.
Building on Zelizer’s seminal concept of relational earmarking, I proposed an “earmark of emotions” framework conceptualizing (male) patron’s virtual gifting to live streamers as a way of acquiring virtual intimacy. Using mixed methods, I argue that patrons’ gender positions, intertwined with other socioeconomic factors, shape their emotional needs. These needs are monetized through gifting to live streamers, encompassing aspirations for elevated social status, masculinity ideals, identity recognition, companionship, and romantic fantasies. This project provides an economic lens to comprehend the growing use of communication technology in shaping gendered digitized intimacy due to the lack of connectedness amid the escalating complexity of relationship structures and mental health issues in East Asia.
Tianyao Qu. “Earmarking Emotions: Relational Gifts, Status, and Disposable Intimacy in Chinese Live-streaming.” In progress.
Cornwell, Benjamin, Tianyao Qu, and Erin York Cornwell. 2024. “The Social Connectedness of Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence by Survey Mode and Respondent Dementia.” The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences gbae044.
Wright, L., Muenster, R., Vecchione, B., Qu, T., Cai, S., Smith, A., Student Investigators, Metcalf, J., Matias, J.N. (Jan 22, 2024) Null Compliance: NYC Local Law 144 and the Challenges of Algorithm Accountability. DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/UPFDK
[Media Coverage: Wall Street Journal]
Tianyao Qu. “Is Power Attractive in Later Life? Social Networks and Physical Appearance among Older Adults.” In progress.
Xuewen Yan & Tianyao Qu. 2022. “Linked through the Life Course: Core Family Members’ Infection, COVID-19 Illness Severity, and the Moderating Role of Age.” Chinese Sociological Review 54:482-515.
Xuewen Yan, Tianyao Qu, Nathan Sperber, Jinyuan Lu, Mengzhen Fan, Benjamin Cornwell. 2021. “Tied Infections: How Social Connectedness to Other COVID-19 Patients Influences Illness Severity.” American Behavioral Scientist 65:1901-1928.
Si Min Dai, Tianyao Qu, Zicheng Du. 2017. “Metaphor of Nationwide Online Live Show: Attempt of Youth to Reconstruct Community from Postmodern Perspective.” Youth Exploration 3:5-15.
(1) Social Networks and Health in Later Life
In the first chapter of my dissertation, I investigated how bridging across disparate social domains may influence mental health status among older adults. Using within- and between-person models, I find that bridging unconnected kin and non-kin members in the network could produce interpersonal strain that leads to elevated depressive symptoms over time, especially among older adults in the younger generations. This paper received the 2023 Cornell Sociology Department’s Robin M. Williams, Jr. Best Paper Award.
(2) Temporal-structure of Social Behaviors and Health Implications by Gender
(3) Relational Work in the Chinese Live-streaming Industry
Other Publications and Works in Progress