Bio

Andrea K. Henderson received her PhD in Sociology at the University of Texas Austin in 2011.  She joined the Department of Sociology at SC in 2012 as a Henri Montcrief Treadwell Research Assistant Professor.  She has been a member of the faculty since 2013. 

Research

Substantive research interests: Religion, health, family, race

Department cluster: Populations and Health; Institutions and Inequalities

Research Overview: Andrea K. Henderson’s research focuses on the influence of psychosocial resources in contemporary health and family life.  She is particularly interested in the role of religion among minoritized populations, especially Black Americans, in the face of major life events, stress and racial discrimination.  To address this line of inquiry her work uses both quantitative and qualitative approaches, and takes an interdisciplinary focus including perspectives from critical theory, social psychology, and public health.  Her work has been published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Journal of Religion and Health, and Journal of Family Issues.  

Current projects:  

Religion and Cognitive Function among Older Adults:  Differences by race and gender

• This research is supported by the National Institute of Health Alzheimer's-related Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (AD-RCMAR) under Award Number 1P30AG059294-01

Religion and Tobacco Use and Policy:  Differences by race and SES

• This research is supported by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R37CA214787-S1.

 Historical Trauma among African Americans Living in the South

• This research is supported by the Office of the Vice President for Research ASPIRE I: Innovation Grant.

Teaching

SOCY 101:  Introduction to Sociology

SOCY 340/568:  Introduction to Social Problems

SOCY 360/568:  Sociology of Health and Medicine

SOCY 368:  Society through Visual Media 

SOCY 307:  Sociology of Religion

Selected Publications

Henderson, Andrea K., Christopher G. Ellison, and Norval D. Glenn. 2017. Religion and Relationship Quality among Cohabiting and Dating Couples. Journal of Family Issues, 39 (7): 1904 – 1932.

Henderson, Andrea K. 2016. The “Long Arm” of Religion: Childhood Adversity, Religion and Self-Perception. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 55(2): 324-348.

Henderson, Andrea K.  2014. Jesus Didn’t Teach Us to Juggle’:  The Role of Religious Involvement on Work-Family Conflict among African Americans.  Journal of Family Issues 37(11): 1558–1584. 

Henderson, Andrea K. and Christopher G. Ellison.  2014. My Body is a Temple:  Eating Disturbances, Religious Involvement and Mental Health among Young Adult Women. Journal of Religion and Health 53(4): 954-976.