Research

For a complete list of publications, see the CV tab.

* denotes student coauthor

In Print

Thompson, Amber D., Max E. Coleman, Donald A. Godfrey, Eli Iacob, Catherine Sparks, and Rebecca L. Utz. “Caregiver Burden: Changes over Time and Associations with Anxiety and Depression Symptoms.” Aging and Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/
13607863.2026.2662508

Wei, Yehua Dennis, Yu Wang, Meitong Liu, Yue Zhang, Max Coleman, and Ming Wen. 2026. “Natural Environment, Neighborhood Contexts, and Intra‐Urban Suicidal Behavior.” GeoHealth 10(6):e2025GH001567. doi:10.1029/2025GH001567

Hamilton, Lucas J., Siyun Peng, Max E. Coleman, Liana G. Apostolova, Anne C. Krendl, and Brea L. Perry. 2026. “Distinct Social Network Structures and Their Cognitive and Psychological Correlates.” Scientific Reports 16:10642.

Hamilton, Lucas J., Max E. Coleman, Anne Sprecher, and Lauren A. Rutter. 2026. “Dementia Stigma in the United States: Variation by Target Gender, Degree of Impairment, and Respondent Characteristics.” Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. doi:10.1002/dad2.70260

Andersson, Matthew A., Max E. Coleman, Catherine E. Harnois, and Markus H. Schafer. 2026. “Higher Educational Attainment and Later-Life Cognition: Twentieth-Century Linkages by Gender and Race in the United States.” Social Science & Medicine 391:118883. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.118883

Meerts-Brandsma, Lisa, *Carly Knudson, Bryn Spielvogel, Dorothy L. Schmalz, *Lexi Golestani, Julie Lucero, *Sasha Mader, Max Coleman, Monisha Pasupathi, and LeeAnn Powell. 2026. “How Parks and Recreation Professionals Communicate Their Health Contributions: Insights from the Multi-Level Leisure Mechanisms Framework.” Journal of Leisure Research, 1–21. doi:10.1080/00222216.2026.2613155.

Andersson, Matthew, Catherine E. Harnois, and Max E. Coleman. 2025. “Midlife Gender Discrimination and Later-Life Cognition: Results from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States.” The Journals of Gerontology, Series B. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbaf143.

Coleman, Max E., Donald A. Godfrey, Amber Thompson, Catherine Sparks, and Rebecca L. Utz. 2025. “Improving Respite Outcomes for Caregivers: Who Benefits and Under What Conditions?” Journal of Applied Gerontology. doi:10.1177/07334648251324270.

Coleman, Max E. 2025. “5 Ways College Instructors Can Help Students Take Care of Their Mental Health.” Pp 175-180 in The Conversation on Higher Ed, edited by Mary L. Churchill. Baltimore, MD: JHU Press.

Smith, Nicholas C., and Max E. Coleman. 2024. “Beyond Empathy: Familial Incarceration, Stress Proliferation, and Depressive Symptoms Among African Americans.” Social Forces (2024): soad151. doi.org/10.1093/sf/soad151.†

† Winner, Graduate Student Paper Award, ASA Social Psychology Section

Coleman, Max E., and Matthew A. Andersson. 2023. “Hurt on Both Sides: Political Differences in Health and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 2023:1–16. doi.org/10.1177/00221465231200500.

Perry, Brea L., Nicholas C. Smith, Max E. Coleman, and Bernice A. Pescosolido. 2023. “Social Networks, the COVID-19 Pandemic, and Mental Health: Resiliency Through Social Bonding and Cohesion.” American Journal of Public Health 2023:e1-e10. doi.org/
10.2105/AJPH.2023.307426.

Hamilton, Lucas J., Max E. Coleman, and Anne C. Krendl. 2023. “Contact Reduces SubstanceUse Stigma through Bad Character Attributions, Especially for US Health Care Professionals.” Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 37(6):734–45.

Coleman, Max E., *Meghann E. H. Roessler, Siyun Peng, Adam R. Roth, Shannon L. Risacher, Andrew J. Saykin, Liana G. Apostolova, and Brea L. Perry. 2023. “Social Enrichment on the Job: How Complex Work with People Preserves Cognitive Function, Promotes Brain Reserve, and Reduces the Risk of Dementia.” Alzheimer’s & Dementia 2023:1–11. doi.org/10.1002/alz.13035.

Coleman, Max E. 2022. “Mental Health in the College Classroom: Best Practices for Instructors.” Teaching Sociology 50(2):168–82. doi.org/10.1177/0092055X221080433.† ‡

Coleman, Max E., *Mohit K. Manchella, Siyun Peng, Adam R. Roth, and Brea L. Perry. “What Kinds of Social Networks Protect Older Adults’ Health During a Pandemic? The Tradeoff Between Preventing Infection and Promoting Mental Health.” Social Networks 70(2022): 393–402.

McLeod, Jane and Max E. Coleman. 2022. “Mental Health Inequalities.” Pp. 113–23 in The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Inequalities and the Life Course, edited by Magda Nico and Gary Pollock. New York: Routledge.

Perry, Brea L., William R. McConnell, Max Coleman, Adam Roth, Siyun Peng, and Liana Apostolova. 2021. “Why the Cognitive ‘Fountain of Youth’ May Be Upstream: Pathways to Dementia Risk and Resilience Through Social Connectedness.” Alzheimer’s & Dementia. doi.org/10.1002/alz.12443

Perry, Brea L, William R McConnell, Siyun Peng, Adam Roth, Max Coleman, *Mohit Manchella, *Meghann Roessler, Heather Francis, Hope Sheean, and Liana Apostolova. 2021. “Social Networks and Cognitive Function: An Evaluation of Social Bridging and Bonding Mechanisms.” The Gerontologist, XX(XX):1–11. doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnab112.

Roth, Adam R., Siyun Peng, Max E. Coleman, Evan Finley, and Brea L. Perry. 2020. “Network Recall among Older Adults with Cognitive Impairments.” Social Networks 64(2021):99-108.

Roth, Adam R., Siyun Peng, Max E. Coleman, Liana G. Apostolova, and Brea L. Perry. 2022. “Do Subjective or Objective Cognitive Measures Better Predict Social Network Type Among Older Adults?” Biodemography and Social Biology, 67(1):84–97.