Jennifer Barrett is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Loyola University Chicago. She received her Ph.D. in sociology with a specialization in demography from the University of Texas at Austin  in 2008. Her substantive interests are primarily in the areas of religion, health, demography, and quantitative and qualitative methodologies.
Dr. Barrett is interested in mechanisms linking religious beliefs and behaviors to a variety of health outcomes both in the United States and in post-Soviet contexts. Her mixed methods dissertation project explored relationships between religion and maternal and child health in Uzbekistan. She is currently working on a series of studies examining the influence of religious affiliation, belief, and behavior on multiple aspects of reproductive health in the United States.

Research interests: 

Religion, Health, Demography (Reproductive Health, Fertility, and Mortality), Post-Soviet Societies, Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods

Selected Publications:

• Ellison, Christopher G., Jennifer B. Barrett, and Benjamin E. Moulton. Forthcoming. “Gender, Marital Status, and Alcohol Behavior: The Neglected Role of Religion?” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

• Buckley, Cynthia, Jennifer B. Barrett, and Kristen Adkins. Forthcoming. “Reproductive Health Information for Young Women in Kazakhstan: Disparities in Access by Channel.” Journal of Health Communication.

• Barrett, Jennifer B., Jennifer Pearson, Chandra Muller, and Kenneth Frank. 2007. “Adolescent Religiosity and School Contexts.” Social Science Quarterly, 88(4): 1024-1037.

• Barrett, Jennifer B. and Cynthia Buckley. 2007. “Constrained Contraceptive Choice: IUD Prevalence in Uzbekistan.” International Family Planning Perspectives, 33(2):50-57.

• Barrett, Jennifer B. 2007. “Gender and Sources of Religious Information in Uzbekistan.” Cognition, Brain, Behavior, 11(2):417-435.
  
• Buckley, Cynthia, Jennifer B. Barrett, and Yakov P. Asminkin. 2004. “Reproductive and Sexual Health Among Young Adults in Uzbekistan,” Studies in Family Planning, 35(1):1-14.