Meet our faculty: G. Robin Gauthier
Robin Gauthier joined the Department of Sociology as an assistant professor during Fall 2017. She came to UNL after completing her Ph.D. in Sociology at Duke University and postdoc at the Research, Evaluation, and Analysis for Community Health lab at UNL.
Dr. Gauthier is an expert in gender, family, health, and social networks. She has three primary areas of research, examining how peer groups reinforce or challenge established gender norms in a social setting, how patterns of social connections affect risk for health outcomes, and how social network models can uncover how social roles are enacted in every day life. Since starting as an assistant professor, her wide ranging research has appeared in journals including PloS One, the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Social Sciences, and the Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse.
Recent important findings by Dr. Gauthier show that complex relationships, where people report experiencing both strong emotional attachment and conflict, are a common feature of family life. Further, these complex relationships occur whether the relationship is with someone who is traditionally thought of as kin, or with a close friend or other non-relative the respondent considers part of their family. She is currently investigating the network correlates of complex relationships, finding generally that people who report that their family members have complex relationships with each other are more likely to themselves have complex relationships.
Dr. Gauthier regularly teaches the core undergraduate theory course (SOCI 355). She also recently taught the graduate seminar (SOCI 902) on social networks.
Welcome, Dr. Robin Gauthier, to UNL Sociology!
