Dr. Alex Bierman
Positions
Professor
Contact information
Background
Educational Background
Doctor of Philosophy Sociology, University of Maryland, 2007
M.A. Sociology, University of Maryland, 2002
Biography
Alex Bierman’s research is centered on the study of aging and health, but encompasses a number of additional topics, including social psychology, religion, military sociology, and the family. This research is united by an interest in how social inequality conditions both exposure to stress and the consequences of stress as individuals age. Dr. Bierman frequently utilizes advanced methods of longitudinal data analysis in these studies as a means of facilitating a rigorous understanding of the causes and consequences of stress exposure across the life-course.
Dr. Bierman's research has been published in a number of prominent outlets, including journals dedicated to health (Journal of Health and Social Behavior; Social Science and Medicine; Society and Mental Health), aging (The Gerontologist; Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences), religion (Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion; Sociology of Religion), and social psychology (Social Psychology Quarterly). He previously co-edited the second edition of the Handbook of Sociology of Mental Health, which has been accessed over three-quarters of a million times worldwide. Dr. Bierman also co-edited the journal Society and Mental Health, which is sponsored by the American Sociological Association’s Section on the Sociology of Mental Health, and during his tenure Society and Mental Health was ranked in the top ten of Sociology journals by Journal Citation Reports.
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| SOCI 611 | Introduction to the General Linear Model | Fall 2025 |
| SOCI 311 | Introduction to Social Statistics I | Fall 2025 |
Projects
The CAFE Study is a national longitudinal survey of over 4,000 Canadian older adults between 2021 and 2022 that examines how caregiving and financial conditions influence the mental health of Canadian older adults. The CAFE Study focuses on how financial strain and related constructs affect the psychological well-being of Canadian older adults. A primary finding of the CAFE Study is that financial strain leads to greater experiences of marginalization, including increased loneliness and powerlessness, as well as lower feelings of mattering to others and Canadian society as a whole. The CAFE Study is funded by an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, with Dr. Bierman as Principal Investigator.
With funding from the O’Brien Institute for Public Health and the University of Calgary Faculty of Arts, Dr. Bierman is expanding on research from the CAFE Study to examine how financial strain and related constructs lead to experiences of marginalization among older adults. Dr. Bierman is leading a cross-national team of researchers to conduct a “daily diary “ study using a representative sample of Albertan older adults. In this research, respondents will be surveyed over a series of days, with a focus on the ways that financial strain degrades the social and emotional experiences of older adults in daily life.
Awards
- Established Scholar Research Award, Faculty of Arts, University of Calgary. 2018
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