Professional Bio

Research and Teaching Interests

Causes and consequences of separation and divorce, marriage and marital quality, parent-child relationships, psychological distress and well-being over the life course

Professional Awards and Achievements

• 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award, James Cook University, Australia
• 2013  President, National Council on Family Relations
• 2012  Chair, Sociology of the Family Section, American Sociological Association
• 2008  Ernest Burgess Award for outstanding scholarly and career achievement in the study of families, National Council on Family Relations
• 2008  Reuben Hill Award from the National Council on Family Relations for the best article published in the previous year to combine theory and research on the family
• 2006  Distinguished Career Award, American Sociological Association, Sociology of the Family Section
• 2006  Member of the Sociological Research Association
• 2004  Highly Cited Researcher, Thomson Institute for Scientific Information
• 2003  Distinction in the Social Sciences Award, College of the Liberal Arts, Penn State
• 2003  Stanley Cohen Distinguished Research Award, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
• 2002  Reuben Hill Award from the National Council on Family Relations for the best article published in the previous year to combine theory and research on the family
• 2002  Conference Program Chair, National Council on Family Relations
• 2001  Fellow of the National Council on Family Relations
• 2001  Impact Award, Coalition for Marriage, Family, and Couples Education
• 2000  Reuben Hill Award from the National Council on Family Relations for the best article published in the previous year to combine theory and research on the family
• 1999  Elected Chair, Research and Theory Section, National Council on Family Relations
• 1994  Reuben Hill Award from the National Council on Family Relations for the best article published in the previous year to combine theory and research on the family
• 1992  Fulbright (Indo-American) Fellowship from the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars to conduct research in India

Selected Publications

• Amato, Paul R. and Jennifer B. Kane. 2011. “Parents’ Marital Distress, Divorce, and Remarriage: Links with Daughters’ Early Family Formation Transitions.” Journal of Family Issues 32: 1073-1103.
• Amato, Paul R. and Brett Beattie. 2011. “Does the Unemployment Rate Affect the Divorce Rate? An Analysis of State Data 1960-2005.” Social Science Research 40: 705-715.
• Xu, Anqi, Yuanting Zhang, and Paul R. Amato. 2011. “A Comparison of Divorce Risk Models in China and the United States.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies 42: 289-295.
• Amato, Paul R. and Jennifer B. Kane. 2011. “Life Course Pathways and the Psychosocial Well-Being of Young Adult Women.” Journal of Marriage and Family 73: 279-295.
• Amato, Paul R. 2010. “Research on Divorce: Continuing Trends and New Developments.” Journal of Marriage and Family 72: 650-666.
• Stanley, Scott M., Galena K. Rhoades, Paul R. Amato, Howard J. Markman, and Christine A. Johnson. 2010. “The Timing of Cohabitation and Engagement: Impact on First and Second Marriages.” Journal of Marriage and Family 72: 906-918.
• Cheadle, Jacob, Paul R. Amato, and Valarie King. 2010. “Patterns of Nonresident Father Involvement.” Demography 47: 205-226.
• Amato, Paul R. and Spencer James. 2010. “Divorce in Europe and the United States: Similarities and Differences Across Nations.” Family Science: Journal of the European Society on Family Relations 1: 2-13.
• Amato, Paul R., Catherine E. Meyers, and Robert E. Emery. 2009. “Changes in Nonresident Father-Child Contact From 1976 to 2002.”  Family Relations 58: 41-53.
• Hohmann-Marriott, Bryndl and Paul R. Amato. 2008 “Relationship Quality in Interethnic Marriages and Cohabitations.”  Social Forces 87: 825-856.
• Amato, Paul R., Nancy Landale, Tara Habasevich, Alan Booth, David Eggebeen, Susan McHale, and Robert Schoen. 2008. “Precursors of Young Women’s Family Formation Trajectories.” Journal of Marriage and Family 70: 1271-1286.
• Amato, Paul R. and Jacob Cheadle. 2008. “Parental Divorce, Marital Conflict, and Children’s Behavior Problems: A Comparison of Adopted and Biological Children.” Social Forces 86: 1139-1161.
• Daniel Hawkins, Paul R. Amato, and Valarie King. 2007. “The Relationship Between Nonresident Father Involvement and Adolescent Well-Being: Parent Effects or Child Effects?” American Sociological Review 72: 990-1010.
• Amato, Paul R., Alan Booth, and David Johnson. 2007. Alone Together: How Marriage in America is Changing. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Amato, Paul R. 2007. Strengthening Marriage is an Appropriate Social Policy Goal. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 26: 952-956, 961-963.
• Amato, Paul R. and Rebecca Maynard. 2007. Decreasing Nonmarital Births and Strengthening Marriage to Reduce Poverty. Future of Children17: 117-142.
• Amato, Paul R., and Bryndl Hohmann-Marriott. 2007. A Comparison of High and Low-Distress Marriages that End in Divorce. Journal of Marriage and Family 69: 621-638.