Research Program

My research and teaching interests center on the sociology of health and illness, aging and the life course, social networks, gender, and economic sociology. Methodologically, my work combines demographic and statistical approaches with specialized tools such as social network analysis, multilevel and longitudinal modeling, and sequence analysis. Broadly, I aim to understand how social structures and micro-level processes shape health and well-being over time, with a particular emphasis on later life. Across projects, I investigate how social networks reflect and contribute to population-level health disparities, how the (in)stability and sequencing of daily routines regulate stress and cognitive well-being, and how environmental, temporal, and market contexts shape access to care and emotional resources.

Specifically, I use social networks as both a data source and an analytic framework to identify social processes that produce health consequences. My work examines how changes in—along with the form and order of—social connections relate to health inequality over time and across the life course, with particular attention to the heterogeneous meanings that emerge from social contexts. In my dissertation and related projects, I argue 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 others.

(1) Social Networks and Health in Later Life

Tianyao Qu. 2024. “A Bridge Too Far? Social Network Structure as a Determinant of Depression in Later Life.” Social Science & Medicine.

In the first chapter of my dissertation, I investigate how bridging across disparate social domains influences mental health among older adults. Using within- and between-person models, I find that bridging unconnected kin and non-kin network members can produce interpersonal strain that elevates depressive symptoms over time, especially among younger cohorts of older adults. This paper received the 2023 Cornell Sociology Department’s Robin M. Williams, Jr. Best Paper Award.

Tianyao Qu. 2023. “Chronic Illness and Social Network Bridging in Later Life.” Social Networks 74: 1–12.

This paper examines direct and indirect roles of chronic conditions in shaping network structures that grant resources and independence in later life. Using lagged models and mediation analysis, I construct network turnover variables showing that older adults diagnosed with chronic illness move toward more endogenous network structures over time—denser networks driven by stable family members, heightened interactions among family/friends/neighbors, and the pruning 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.

With Ben Cornwell, we test whether the spouse’s connections to other network members mitigate or exacerbate the widowhood effect. Leveraging survival analysis and panel data with proxy mortality records, we show that mortality risks are higher among older individuals whose spouses were weakly connected to others in their networks.

(2) Temporal Structure of Social Behaviors and Health Implications by Gender

My second line of research investigates how the temporal organization of social life—structured vs. fragmented, stable vs. shifting—shapes momentary well-being and cumulative cognitive load.

One dissertation chapter using American Time Use Survey diaries shows that individuals with structured weekday schedules (e.g., 9–5) report better cognitive health and life satisfaction. Temporal embeddedness—alignment with widely shared social rhythms—confers health benefits, whereas time spent alone undermines health primarily among those lacking regular routines.

“Tianyao Qu. Stay Connected or Regulated? Social Sequences of Everyday Activities and Health during the Global Pandemic.” In preparation for submission.

This line of research extends beyond traditional health metrics to examine how gender influences the experience of social connectedness and daily social interactions, as well as their relationships with health and well-being across diverse contexts. In a first-authored project using EMA data from a state representative sample, I find that older women report significantly greater cognitive effort than men when entering new social interactions, revealing a subtle but persistent form of hidden gendered cognitive labor embedded in everyday life that reproduces inequalities in wellbeing.

Qu, Tianyao, Maleah Ann Fekete, Siyun Peng, Brea Perry, and Adam Roth. “Hidden Gendered Costs: Cognitive Effort in Real‑Time Social Interaction.” Under review

Extending this work, a first-authored postdoctoral project uses sequence data from ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in a state-representative sample to show that older adults with more stable daily routines report lower cognitive effort in real time than those with fragmented schedules. Moreover, older adults with poorer cognitive functioning (e.g., reduced working memory) are more likely to exhibit repetitive daily schedules across the week.

Tianyao Qu. “Daily Routines and Cognitive Health: An Innovative Use of Ecological Momentary Assessment Data.” In progress.

(3) Relational Work in the Chinese Live-Streaming Industry

Livestreaming has surged in China, with viewers financially supporting streamers through virtual gifts. This project examines what is valued and exchanged in gifting and how relational matching between streamers and patrons is produced. Data come from online observations on Douyin (TikTok’s sibling) and 55 in-depth interviews with streamers, patrons, and guild agents of all genders.

Building on Zelizer’s concept of relational earmarking, I propose an “earmark of emotions” framework: (male) patrons’ virtual gifting as acquisition of virtual intimacy. Using mixed methods, I show how gender positions and socioeconomic factors shape emotional needs that are monetized through gifting— aspirations for status elevation, masculinity ideals, identity recognition, companionship, and romantic fantasy. This work provides an economic lens on gendered, digitized intimacy amid weakening connectedness and rising mental-health concerns in East Asia.

Tianyao Qu. “Paying for Affection, Intimacy, or Status? Virtual Gifting and Emotional Value in Chinese Live-Streaming.” Under review.

Other Publications and Works in Progress

I believe in open science. Code files that produce most of my work can be found here.