Maureen Waller
Prof Asst
2008
PAMWeb Bio Page
Current Activities
Current Professional Activities
Maureen Waller joined the PAM faculty in 2003. Before coming to Cornell, she was a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.
Current Research Activities
Maureen Waller has examined how disadvantaged parents - who have been directly affected by major changes in family formation, marriage, and fatherhood in the United States - have experienced these changes on the ground level. In particular, this research has investigated how men and women interpret fatherhood and marriage in low-income communities and how these interpretations guide their decisions about parenting and intimate relationships. This work has also considered whether social policies designed to address recent changes in family structure correspond to low-income parents’ perceptions and experiences. In previous research (My Baby's Father, Cornell University Press), Waller conducted intensive interviews with unmarried mothers and fathers whose children receive welfare to examine shared ideas about paternal responsibility, how parents express these ideas through informal practices, and how these ideas and practices conflict with the assumptions and regulations of the child support system. Subsequent research has drawn on longitudinal, qualitative and survey data collected as part of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine early transitions in relationships between unmarried mothers and fathers and between unmarried fathers and their children. Recent papers have focused on such issues as fathers' involvement as caregivers of young children, the implications of fathers' incarceration and other risk factors for family relationships, tensions in the relationships between low-income parents, the link between couples' pregnancy intentions and behavior, unmarried couples' expectations for marriage and their fear of divorce. Funding for this work has been provided by NICHD, the Public Policy Institute of California, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, USDA, and the Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center at Cornell University.
Biography
Education
PhD in Sociology, Princeton University
Courses, Websites, Pubs
Courses Taught
PAM 215: Research Methods
PAM 604: Qualitative, Survey, and Mixed Method Approaches to Policy Research
PAM 335: Low-Income Families: Qualitative and Policy Perspectives
Selected Publications
Book
Waller, Maureen R. (2002). My Baby's Father: Unmarried Parents and Paternal Responsibility. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
Articles
Waller, Maureen R. (Forthcoming, 2009). “Family Man in the Other America: New Motivations, Opportunities, and Supports for Paternal Caregiving.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
Waller, Maureen R. and H. Elizabeth Peters. (2008) “The Risk of Divorce as a Barrier to Marriage among Parents of Young Children.” Social Science Research 37(4): 1188-1199.
Waller, Maureen R. (2008). “How Do Disadvantaged Parents View Tensions in their Relationships? Insights for Relationship Longevity among At-Risk Couples." Family Relations 57(2): 128-143.
Waller, Maureen R. and Marianne Bitler. (2008). “The Link between Couples’ Pregnancy Intentions and Behavior: Does It Matter Who Is Asked? Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 40(4): 194-201.
Swisher, Raymond and Maureen Waller. (2008). “Confining Fatherhood: Incarceration and Paternal Involvement among Nonresident White, African-American and Latino Fathers.” Journal of Family Issues 29(8): 1067-1088.
Crowley, Jocelyn E., Margaret Watson, and Maureen R. Waller. (2008). Understanding "Power Talk:" Language, Public Policy, and Democracy. Perspectives on Politics 6(1): 71-88.
Waller, Maureen R. and Raymond Swisher. (2006). Fathers’ Risk Factors in Fragile Families: Implications for "Healthy" Relationships and Father Involvement. Social Problems. 53 (3): 392-420.
Waller, Maureen R. and Sara S. McLanahan. (2005). “His” and “Her” Marriage Expectations: Determinants and Consequences. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67: 53-67.
Waller, Maureen R. and Robert Plotnick. (2001). "Effective Child Support Policy for Low-Income Families: Evidence from Street Level Research". The Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 20(1): 89-110.
Waller, Maureen R. (2001). "High Hopes: Unwed Parents' Expectations about Marriage." Children and Youth Services Review, 23(6/7): 457-484.