University of Wisconsin–Madison

Author: aewatzka

Inclusive but Not Integrative: Ethnoracial Boundaries and the Use of Spanish in the Market for Rental Housing

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Sociological Science (2023) Authors: Ariela Schachter, John Kuk, Max Besbris, Garrett Pekarek Abstract: Increasing Spanish fluency in the United States likely shapes ethnoracial group boundaries and inequality. We study a key site for group boundary negotiations—the housing market—where Spanish usage may represent a key source of information exchange between landlords and prospective renters. Specifically, we examine the use …

A Rapidly Changing Ecology of Aid: Accepting Help and Stigma in the Aftermath of Disaster

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Qualitative Sociology (2024) Authors: Anna Rhodes, Max Besbris Abstract: Drawing on the human ecology framework, which describes social structure as dynamic and social action as environmentally contingent, this article examines behavior and attitudes around accepting help after disaster. Through two years of longitudinal in-depth interviews with 59 households in one community whose homes flooded during Hurricane Harvey, …

Pandemic Housing: The Role of Landlords, Social Networks, and Social Policy in Mitigating Housing Insecurity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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RSF: The Russel Sage Foundation Journal of Social Sciences (2024) Authors: Max Besbris, Sadie Dempsey, Brian McCabe, Eva Rosen Abstract: This article uses a subsample of low-income American Voices Project respondents who rent their homes to examine how households coped with housing insecurity at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. First, some renters reported more housing stability because …

Mortality Rate and Age of Death Among Medicare-Enrolled Autistic Older Adults

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Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (2023) Authors: Morgan Krantz, Djhenne Dalmacy, Lauren Bishop, Madison Hyer, Brittany N. Hand Abstract: An emerging body of evidence suggests that autistic people are at greater risk for mortality than non-autistic people. Yet, relatively little is known about mortality rates among autistic people during older adulthood (i.e., age 65 or older). We …

“I’m dealing with a health care system that doesn’t get it”: Barriers and Facilitators to Inclusive Healthcare for Autistic Adults

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Autism (2024) Authors: Kiley J. McLean, Meghan Hass, Jamie Koenig, Megan Horvath, Mariah Vigil, Nicole E. Werner, Lauren Bishop Abstract: Emerging research points to high rates of major psychiatric disorders and chronic medical conditions among autistic adults. However, the unique healthcare needs of autistic adults are often overlooked, perhaps due to limitations in population-level surveillance and widespread …

Evaluation of Equity in Hospice Care Utilization Among Medicare-Enrolled Autistic Older Adults

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Autism in Adulthood (2025) Authors: Lauren Bishop, Melica Nikahd, Bethany J. Wolf, Brian W. Patternson, Anne Longo, Deondray Radford, Emma Krantz, J. Madison Hyer, Brittany N. Hand Abstract: Better identification of autistic people and increased life expectancy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have given rise to an urgent need to better understand end-of-life care in …

Using National Survey Data to Estimate Healthcare Communication Disparities for Adults With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

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Journal of Intellectual Disability Research (2025) Authors: Jamie Koenig, Lauren Bishop Abstract: Previous studies have identified considerable health outcome disparities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) as well as poor or ineffective communication between adults with IDD and their medical providers. Using National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data, this paper uses logistic regression to estimate …

Health Disparities Persist for Adults with Developmental Disabilities: NHIS insights, 1999-2018

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Health Affairs Scholar (2025) Authors: Kiley J. McLean, Jamie Koenig, Samara Wolpe, Wei Song, Lauren Bishop Abstract: This study assesses changes in self-reported health and healthcare status among adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) over the past 20 years, utilizing data from the National Health Interview Survey. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 601 464 adults …

Challenging Neurotypical Norms: Autistic Adults’ Understandings of Health

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Autism (2025) Authors: Jamie Koenig, Kiley J. McLean, Meghan Haas, Megan Horvath, Mariah Vigil, Nahime G. Aguirre Mtanous, Sarah Effertz, Lauren Bishop Abstract: This study examined how autistic adults conceptualize health and whether their conceptualizations differed substantively from those of their emergency contacts (people who helped with health or healthcare management). We conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 dyads …

Stuck on Intergroup Attitudes: The Need to Shift Gears to Change Intergroup Behaviors

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Perspectives on Psychological Science (2024) Author: Markus Brauer Abstract: Decades of research on how to improve intergroup relations have primarily examined ways to change prejudiced attitudes. However, this focus on negative intergroup attitudes has yielded few effective solutions. Because intergroup relations are shaped by behavior during intergroup interactions, it is necessary to identify constructs that have a …