Degree & Year in Program
5th Year PhD Student
Advisors
Philip Schwadel, Jacob Cheadle (UT-Austin), Tara Warner (UA-Birmingham)
Areas of Specialization
Health, inequality, adolescence, social psychology, religion, quantitative methods
Comprehensive Exam Area
Health
About me
I am a 5th year PhD candidate at the university. I received my Masters of Science in Rehabilitation Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2009 and my Bachelors of Science in Sociology and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2005. My research focuses primarily on social contexts that influence health and wellbeing in youth and young adulthood. Specifically, I examine how negative social experiences (e.g., bullying, racial discrimination) are linked with social, developmental, and health outcomes in youth and young adulthood. I address how issues such as bullying and discrimination are linked with the production of broader population health disparities over time. In addition, I have research interests in religion, delinquency, and health in adolescence. My work highlights issues of power and inequality in the achievement of positive health and wellbeing. My research agenda is grounded in a longstanding interest in social dynamics that influence health, wellbeing, and overall quality-of-life.
My dissertation examines religious-related victimization in youth, and its associations with mental health. This work highlights issues of health and stratification in a few key ways. First, I show that non-religious youth and youth belonging to non-Christian faiths have a higher risk of religious victimization than do Christian youth in the United States. Second, while religion often helps people cope with stressful life events, I show that experiencing bullying continues to have mental health consequences even at times when youth use tools of religious coping. Third, I show that religious victimization has distinct mental health implications for youth. I hypothesize that this is due to the unique threats to identity, perceptions of discrimination, and potential for physical harm associated with religious victimization.
My teaching responsibilities have included introduction to social statistics, juvenile delinquency, and introduction to sociology recitation sections. I also provided one-on-one support to students completing their senior research projects. Working with undergraduate students and even publishing with an undergraduate has allowed me to see the benefits of my work for student development by involving students in real research. I enjoy the opportunities and challenges involved in undergraduate and graduate education and see possibilities for including students in research projects. I anticipate continuing to learn from colleagues and professional development opportunities how to best meet the needs of all students so that they get the most out of my courses.
I am also currently working with a number of faculty on projects pertaining to discrimination, identity and health among college students, the emergence of gendered science identities among middle school students, how post-secondary institutional characteristics (e.g., institutional size, percent women faculty) shape women’s baccalaureate degree completions in computer science and engineering fields, and mental health consequences (i.e., dissociation, posttraumatic stress) of childhood sexual abuse among homeless youth and young adults.
Post-graduation, I hope to continue my teaching and research activities in an academic setting. I’ve enjoyed my experience at Nebraska and look forward to continued scholarship and networking in the future.
Courses Taught
Introduction to Social Research II (SOCI206)
Juvenile Delinquency (SOCI311) (online)
Introduction to Sociology (SOCI101) (recitation)
Select Publications
Jochman, Joseph C., Jacob E. Cheadle, Bridget J. Goosby, Cara Tomaso, Chelsea Kozikowski, and Timothy Nelson. 2019. Psychological outcomes of discrimination among college students on a predominately white campus: A prospective study. Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, 5: 1-16.
Jochman, Joseph C., Alexis Swendener, Julia McQuillan, and Luke Novack. 2018. Are science knowledge, interests, and science identity framed by religious and political perspectives in the United States? The Sociological Quarterly, 59(4): 584-602.
Jochman, Joseph C., Jacob E. Cheadle, and Bridget J. Goosby. 2017. Do adolescent risk behaviors mediate health and school bullying? Testing the stress process and general strain frameworks. Social Science Research, 65: 195-209.
Chiu, Chung-Yi, Joseph Jochman, Mayu Fujikawa, David Strand, Gladys Cheing, Gloria K. Lee, and Fong Chan. 2014. Measurement structure of the Coping Strategies Questionnaire-24: A confirmatory factor analysis. Rehabilitation Research, Policy, and Education, 28(2): 80-90.