Laurie DeRose

Laurie DeRose is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Catholic University of America and Senior Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies. Prior to joining the Catholic University, she was Research Assistant Professor with the Maryland Population Research Center at the University of Maryland and Adjunct Lecturer of the Department of Sociology at Georgetown University. She is the Director of Research for the World Family Map project. 

Professor DeRose has been researching demographic outcomes and decision-making processes in disadvantaged contexts, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Her research focuses on demographic effects of educational reversals, the meaning of education in underdeveloped settings, and the demography of hunger, expanded to include breastfeeding and related public health issues.

Her current research is focused on global family demography. Her work has shown that maternal union transitions are associated with poorer child health outcomes throughout the Global South, just as they are in contexts with more substantial material resources supporting children’s health. She was co-editor of the book Unequal Family Lives: Causes and Consequences in Europe and the Americas (2018), published by Cambridge University Press.