VARIATION IN EFFECTS OF DISRUPTIVE EVENTS

Disruptive events have significant consequences for the individuals and families who experience them, but these effects do not always occur uniformly across the population. While some groups might be strongly affected, others might experience limited consequences. Aquino, Brand, and Florencia Torche (Stanford University) review recent findings of heterogeneity in the impact of disruptive events. We consider heterogeneity based on individual factors such as socioeconomic resources, race/ethnicity, and the likelihood of experiencing disruption and contextual factors such as the normativity of the event in a particular social setting. We focus on micro-level events affecting specific individuals or families, including job loss, divorce, eviction, and incarceration, but also refer to macro-level events such as recession and natural disasters. We also review methodological considerations when examining variation in the effect of disruptive events. Our review article can be found here.

Brand and Torche are also editing a special issue of Russel Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences on Disruptive Events.