Professional Bio

Research Interests

Professor Landale's research focuses on family patterns and health outcomes of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States. In 2017, she completed a six-year project investigating the health and development of Mexican children of immigrants, which emphasized links between immigration and assimilation processes, family contexts and multiple dimensions of health. Professor Landale has also written extensively about the roles of migration and assimilation in the family patterns and infant health outcomes of Puerto Ricans; early family formation patterns; and the financial and non-financial contributions of fathers.

Most Recent Research Grant

• National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.  “Mexican Children of Immigrants Program Project.” (2009-2017) Total Direct Costs: $3,851,858. Total Costs: $5,158,193.  Principal Investigator of overall P01 and of sub-project, “Health and Development of Mexican Children of Immigrants.”  Co-Investigators on P01: Jennifer Van Hook, R.S. Oropesa, Michelle Frisco, Molly Martin, Marianne Hillemeier, Gordon DeJong, Deborah Graefe.

Professional Awards and Achievements

• Raymond Lombra Award for Distinction in the Social Sciences. 2017
• Vice President, Population Association of America. 2014
• Member, Board on Children, Youth and Families, The National Academies. 2010–2013
• Member, Panel on Transforming Our Common Destiny: Hispanics in the U.S., National Research Council, The National Academies.  2003–2005
• Distinction in the Social Sciences Award, College of the Liberal Arts, Penn State, 2001
• Board of Overseers, General Social Survey, 1999–2003
• Council Representative (Population Section), American Sociological Association, 1998–2000
• Editorial Board, American Sociological Review, 1998–2000
• Board of Directors, Population Association of America, 1996–1998
• Member, Committee on the Health and Adjustment of Immigrant Families and Children, National Research Council, 1996–1998
• Dorothy Thomas Award Committee, Population Association of America.1993–1996 (Chair 1996)
• Editorial Board, American Journal of Sociology, 1987–1990.

Selected Publications

• Landale, Nancy S., R.S. Oropesa, and Aggie J. Noah. (2017). Experiencing Discrimination in Los Angeles: Latinos at the Intersection of Legal Status and Socioeconomic Status. Social Science Research 67: 34-48.
  
• Landale, Nancy S., R,S, Oropesa, Aggie J. Noah, and Marianne Hillemeier. (2016). Early Cognitive Skills of Mexican-Origin Children: The Roles of Parental Nativity and Legal Status. Social Science Research 58: 198-209.
• Landale, Nancy S., Jessica Halliday Hardie, R.S. Oropesa, and Marianne M. Hillemeier. (2015). "Behavioral Functioning among Mexican-Origin Children: Does Parental Legal Status Matter?" Journal of Health and Social Behavior 56: 2-18.
• Oropesa, R.S., Nancy S. Landale, and Marianne M. Hillemeier. (2015) "Family Legal Status and Health: Measurement Dilemmas in Studies of Mexican-origin Children." Social Science & Medicine 138:57-67.
• Landale, Nancy S., R.S. Oropesa, and Aggie J. Noah. (2014). "Immigration and the Family Circumstances of Mexican-Origin Children: A Bi-National Longitudinal Analysis." Journal of Marriage and Family 76: 24-36. (PMC4163147)
• Landale, Nancy S., Stephanie T. Lanza, Marianne M. Hillemeier, and R.S. Oropesa. (2013) “Health and Development of Mexican, Black and White Preschool Children: An Integrative Approach Using Latent Class Analysis.” Demographic Research 28: 1302-1338. (PMC4105264)
• Hardie, Jessica and Nancy S. Landale. (2013) “Cumulative Disadvantage, Maternal Health, and Children’s Well-Being.” Journal of Marriage and Family 75: 651-666. (PMC3685849)
• Pong, Suet-ling and Nancy S. Landale. (2012)  “Academic Achievement of Legal Immigrants’ Children: The Roles of Parents’ Pre- and Post-migration Characteristics in Origin-group Differences.” Child Development 83(5): 1543-1559. (PMC3442927)
• Landale, Nancy S., Kevin J.A. Thomas, and Jennifer Van Hook. (2011). "The Living Arrangements of Children of Immigrants." The Future of Children 21: 43-70. (PMC3442927)
• Landale, Nancy S., Robert Schoen, and Kimberly Daniels. (2010). "Early Family Formation among White, Black, and Mexican American Women." Journal of Family Issues 31: 445-474.
• Cheng, Yen-hsin Alice and Nancy S. Landale. (2011). "Adolescent Precursors of Early Union Formation among Asian American and White Adolescents." Journal of Family Issues 32: 209-236. (PMC3380364)
• Schoen, Robert, Nancy S. Landale, Kimberly Daniels, and Yen-hsin Alice Cheng. (2009). "Social Class Differences in Early Family Behavior." Journal of Marriage and Family 71: 384-395.
• Oropesa, R.S. and Nancy S. Landale. (2009). “Why Do Immigrant Youth Who Never Enroll in U.S. Schools Matter? An Examination of School Enrollment among Mexicans and Non-Hispanic Whites” Sociology of Education 82: 240-266. (PMC3358791)
• Landale, Nancy S. and R.S. Oropesa. (2007). “Hispanic Families: Stability and Change.”  Annual Review of Sociology 33: 381-405.
• Landale, Nancy S. and R.S. Oropesa.  (2005). “What Does Skin Color Have To Do With Infant Health?  An Analysis of Low Birth Weight among Mainland and Island Puerto Ricans.” Social Science and Medicine 61: 379-391.
• Landale, Nancy S. and R.S. Oropesa. (2002).  “White, Black or Puerto Rican? Racial Self-Identification among Mainland and Island Puerto Ricans.”  Social Forces 81: 231-254.
• Landale, Nancy S. and R.S. Oropesa  (2001).  “Father Involvement in the Lives of Mainland Puerto Rican Children: Contributions of Nonresident, Cohabiting and Married Fathers.”  Social Forces 79: 945-968.
• Landale, Nancy S. and R.S. Oropesa. (2001). “Migration, Social Support and Perinatal Health: An Origin-Destination Analysis of Puerto Rican Women.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 42: 166-183.
• Landale, Nancy S., R.S. Oropesa, and Bridget K. Gorman. (2000). “Migration and Infant Death: Assimilation or Selective Migration among Puerto Ricans?” American Sociological Review 65: 888-909.
• Landale, Nancy S., R.S. Oropesa, Daniel Llanes, and Bridget K. Gorman. (1999). “Does Americanization Have Adverse Effects on Health?: Stress, Health Habits, and Infant Health Outcomes Among Puerto Ricans.”  Social Forces 78: 613-642.
• Singley, Susan and Nancy S. Landale. (1998). "Incorporating Origin and Process in Migration-Fertility Frameworks: The Case of Puerto Rican Women."  Social Forces 76(4): 1437-1464.