Leora Lawton - UC Berkeley Social Networks Study

In addition to managing UCNets, she is Executive Director Emerita of the Berkeley Population Center (BPC) as of July 2022, and now conducts research on a variety networks and/or family structure and lately has become involved in research on pets in the family. She worked for many years in the private sector as a survey research methodologist before returning to academia and still is occasionally available for consulting. She is interested more broadly in family demography–especially intergenerational relations. She received an AB in Economics (UC Berkeley, 1978), an MA in Demography (Hebrew University, 1985), and a Ph.D. in Sociology with an emphasis in social demography (Brown University, 1991).

360 Barrows Hall, MC 2120. Email: llawton@berkeley.edu; Ph: 510-928-7572.

Selected Publications

Lawton, L.E. (2025). Married Men’s Co-residence with Parents or In-Laws and Later Life Mortality. Populations. 1(3): 21. https://doi.org/10.3390/populations1030021

Lawton, L. E. (2025). All in the Family: Pets and Family Structure. Populations, 1(2), 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/populations1020008. https://www.mdpi.com/3042-4372/1/2/8/pdf

Soria, Christopher and Leora Lawton (2022). Connecting Fathers: Fathers’ Impact on Adult Children’s Social Networks. International Journal of Human Development. 96(1):19-32. NIHMSID 1810822. https://doi.org/10.1177/00914150221106645

Weiss, Jordan, Lawton, Leora and Fischer, Claude (2022) Life course transitions and changes in network ties among younger and older adults. Advances in Life Course Research, vol. 22, Article 100478. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2022.100478. PMC9519061

Child, Stephanie, Ruppel, Emily, Albert, Michelle and Leora Lawton (2021). Network Support and Negative Life Events Associated with Chronic Cardiometabolic Disease Outcomes. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 62(1): E21-E28, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.06.022. 2021 May; 55(5): 446–459. PMC8122471

Child, Stephanie, Ruppel, Emily, Zhong, Mia and Leora Lawton (2020). Direct and moderating causal effects of network support on sleep quality: Findings from the UC Berkeley Social Networks Study. (2021). Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 55(5): 446–459. PMC8122471

Child, Stephanie and Leora Lawton (2020). Personal networks and associations with psychological distress among young and older adults. Social Science and Medicine, v. 246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112714.

Child, Stephanie and Leora Lawton (2017). Loneliness and social isolation among young and late middle-age adults: Associations with personal networks and social participation. Aging and Mental Health, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2017.1399345 PMC5967985

Lawton, L. (2015). Jewish Deadheads: A cultural demographic story. Journal of Popular Music Studies. 27(1): 69-89. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpms.12111

Chowdhury, A.A., Mielnika, T.C. Lawton, L., Sullivan, M. and Katz, A. (2005). System reliability worth assessment at a midwest utility—survey results for residential customers. International Journal of Electrical Power & Energy Systems, 27(9, 1)): 669-673 http://doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.ijepes.2005.08.009.

Lawton, L. & Bures, R. (2001). Parental divorce and the switching of religious identity. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 99-111. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/0021-8294.00041

Goldscheider, F. & Lawton, L. (1998). Family experiences and the erosion of support for intergenerational coresidence. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 60, 623-632. www.jstor.org/stable/353533.

Silverstein, M., Bengtson, V., & Lawton, L. (1997). Intergenerational solidarity and the structure of adult child-parent relationships in American families. American Journal of Sociology, 103: 429-460. (See Authorship Change, 2001, 106(4)). https://doi.org/10.1086/231213 and https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/519983.

Lawton, L., Silverstein, M. & Bengtson, V. (1994). Affection, contact and geographic distance between adult children and their parents. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56, 57-68. www.jstor.org/stable/352701.

Speare, A. Jr., Avery, R. & Lawton, L. (1991). Disability, residential mobility, and changes in living arrangements. Journal of Gerontology: 46(3): S133-S142. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronj/46.3.S133

Avery, R., Speare, A. Jr. & Lawton, L. (1989). Social support, disability and independent living in the United States. Journal of Aging Studies 3(4): 279-293. https://doi.org/10.1016/0890-4065(89)90002-9.