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Steven Schmidt

@stevenschmidt.bsky.social

527 followers 636 following 44 posts

Assistant professor of sociology at Boston University. I study families, housing, and health. (Mostly) qualitative researcher: Tell me more about that! stevenschmidt.info

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Steven Schmidt @stevenschmidt.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

New at Social Problems! Lora Phillips and I use panel data from LA to look at the prevalence and predictors of anticipatory stress around housing loss, i.e., worry over the possibility of experiencing displacement.

An extensive literature finds that forced moves erode well-being and widen family inequality. Fewer studies examine how worries over potential future displacement may also stratify families. Using survey data from a probability sample of Los Angeles County residents, we examine socially-patterned disparities in the prevalence and duration of anticipatory stress around housing loss, the association between such stress and health behaviors, and the role of doubling up in buffering anticipatory housing loss stress. We find that immigrants, renters, and lower-income households report significantly more anticipatory housing loss stress, even after controlling for multiple individual event stressors associated with displacement risk. We also find evidence that anticipatory housing loss stress is associated with present-day food cutbacks and that doubling up with relatives may shield against such stress. These findings advance past work on the housing crisis by demonstrating that its total impact extends beyond the downstream consequences of involuntary moves. Our results also contribute to research on socio-demographic disparities in anticipatory stress, the relationship between anticipatory stress and health behavior, and how doubling up shapes family well-being.

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Steven Schmidt @stevenschmidt.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Second, we find that cog labor process for this group is often stalled and recursive, rather than flowing smoothly across stages. Women are often stuck in the anticipating/identifying stages and have limited decision-making power. They must regularly improvise new plans.

The left side is the original model of cognitive labor, adapted from Daminger (2019). The right side outlines the four stages of cognitive labor that emerge from family member incarceration. We show that incarceration leads to both redistributed tasks and new tasks, both of which start the process of cognitive labor. The uncertainty of the criminal legal system means that women spend considerable time in the first two stages of cognitive labor (anticipating needs and identifying options) and less time in the last two stages (making decisions and monitoring results). Due to constraints in the decision-making phase, cognitive labor is often recursive, generating new tasks or otherwise prompting women to restart this process.

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Steven Schmidt @stevenschmidt.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Our latest paper from the Jail & Family Life Study, "One More Thing on My Mental List," is now online at @socprobsjournal.bsky.social (with Kristin Turney, Ashley Torres, Isha Bhallamudi, and Amy Gong Liu)! 🧵

Abstract:

Cognitive labor, disproportionately undertaken by women, is central to household functioning and is likely a critical aspect of managing the fallout of family member incarceration. We use 279 interviews with mothers and romantic partners of incarcerated men to describe the scope and process of cognitive labor stemming from family member incarceration. First, we show that the tasks stemming from
family member incarceration involve the four stages of cognitive labor (anticipating needs, identifying options, making decisions, and monitoring results). Second, the uncertainty of the criminal legal system means family members spend extensive time in the first two stages. Third, constraints of the decision-making stage both
stall and redirect cognitive labor. Fourth, family members undertake cognitive labor regardless of their relative’s incarceration history. These findings show that the cognitive labor process unfolds distinctly and is more burdensome for disadvantaged groups, who are disproportionately routed through institutions that reorient family life to demand intensive cognitive labor.

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