Jennifer Barber

Professor, Department of Sociology
Senior Scientist, Kinsey Institute
Indiana University

Research Interests: family sociology, social demography, social psychology, reproductive health, intensive longitudinal data collection, mixed-methods analysis. Jennifer Barber is a Professor of Sociology and a Senior Scientist at the Kinsey Institute. Barber's research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of family sociology, demography, and social psychology, with a focus on young pregnancy, intimate relationships, reproductive control, and intimate partner violence. From 2008-2012, she directed the Relationship Dynamics and Social Life (RDSL) project, which was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. It included weekly surveys from 1,000 18- and 19-year-old women for 2.5 years, along with 75+ semi-structured interviews. Ongoing work with the RDSL dataset integrates statistical and qualitative analyses, and focuses on the types of attitudes, intimate relationships, and contraceptive practices that lead to young pregnancy and to women’s control over reproductive processes. Current projects focus specifically on (1) how violent and/or demanding intimate partners derail young women's post-secondary education plans, (2) how and why the dissolution of violent and non-violent intimate relationships during the transition to adulthood varies across sociodemographic groups, and (3) how intimate relationships shape young women’s expectations and ability to control heterosexual intercourse and contraceptive use.

Heather Gatny

Senior Research Associate, Survey Research Center, University of Michigan

Heather Gatny is a Research Associate within the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. She received her master of science from the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology in 2005. She specializes in both survey methodology and family demography, and currently serves as the RDSL project director. In addition to survey data collection methods, Gatny's research interests include teen pregnancy, health behaviors during pregnancy, and adding the collection of biospecimans to social surveys.

Yasamin Kusunoki

Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, University of Michigan Faculty Associate, Population Studies Center and Survey Research Center, University of Michigan

Dr. Kusunoki's research focuses on understanding the sources of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in reproductive health behaviors and outcomes during emerging adulthood. She is particularly interested in the social contexts in which young people are embedded such as their families, romantic and sexual relationships, and neighborhoods. Current RDSL investigations include the role of relationship seriousness, instability, and violence on sexual and contraceptive behaviors and the subsequent risk of undesired pregnancy.