Cassandra Cotton

Did a little interview with @kjzz.org (our local NPR) about this work on older daters.

This paper is the starting point for a new research agenda for me - I'm now about to start a new study focused explicitly on the interplay between family concerns and legal and economic dimensions of new relationships in mid/later life.

This paper is part of a forthcoming special issue on Families & Wealth edited by @hannakuu.bsky.social @celinebessiere.bsky.social @katiehiggins.bsky.social. They threw a fabulous workshop in Finland last year where I received invaluable advice about how to move this paper forward.

What's striking, though, is how frequently their concerns (and solutions) did not always accurately reflect Arizona's legal landscape (a community property state where pre-marital assets are sole property).

Many older daters (and their kids!) see marriage as a threat to family wealth. Many adopt strategies to avoid "government" marriage by living apart together, getting spiritually (but not legally) married, or holding commitment ceremonies! Others look to legal strategies, like prenups.

Staying Apart for the Kids? Older American Daters and the Preservation of Family Wealth Romantic repartnering in later life has received substantial scholarly and public attention in light of population aging and changes in family dynamics. In the United States, the importance of househ...

Excited to finally share my new paper (w/Raphaël Charron-Chénier) out in BJS! Staying Apart for the Kids looks at how older adults consider preserving family wealth in their new relationships. Drawing on my interviews with mid/late-life daters, we show how accumulated wealth shapes dating decisions.

This flyer has information about upcoming information sessions about the ASU doctoral Sociology program. These are held on Oct 15 at 10 PDT and Nov 14 at 1pm PDT. Sign up through QR code or www.thesanfordschool.asu.edu/soc-info

A good time to announce I’m now running the ASU Sociology PhD program! We are excited to announce we are taking applications for students to start Fall 2026. Folks can sign up to learn more about the program in our info sessions, or interested students can reach out to me directly #sociology

Congratulations Christina! I’m really looking forward to reading this.

I found this so interesting in interviews I did - almost everyone noted that people their age were ‘too old’, both women and men.

It's definitely not without challenges, but I've learned a lot about how to manage and encourage involvement from lots of different students. Happy to chat with you about it at some point! I'm about to do to the same thing this semester.

Introducing students to research is one of the most fun parts of my job. I'm now working on a couple of co-authored manuscripts with some of these students - it's great to take a supporting role to help them move their ideas forward. #sociology

Last spring, I led 13 students in a research capstone where we collaboratively designed an interview study on dating in college. A few students worked with me to write a report on their key findings - ASU wrote a little story about it & their experiences doing research. news.asu.edu/b/20250813-s...

Really glad to hear this news! Congratulations

I'm doing the same but for students across cohorts - my students have been most interested in sessions on navigating sociology in the current climate, learning the publishing process, managing dissertation projects & starting research, and learning how to review literature well.

In “Child Migration in Eastern and Southern Africa,” Menashe-Oren uses HDSS data from 5 countries to examine tied & independent child migration, finding that most first out-migrations are indeed tied but some are related to death or mother’s migration history. read.dukeupress.edu/demography/a...

Loved reading the earlier version last year and excited to see this out! Such a fun read.

I love when I get a paper to review where I can do this!

Thanks so much for writing about my work, Vicki!

This is how I handle those. I'll only point out if there's something really off in the analyses that was missed before, or if I know some literature that would be useful to their framing & that they should be in conversation with.

In Tallinn I had a great cardamom bun at Rost Bakery (walkable from Old Town or the ferry terminal) and great pelmeni at a place in Old Town I *think* was called Pelmeni Kohvik. Also I felt like I saw more babies everywhere in Helsinki than I do in the US - lots of places seemed accessible for kids.

For Helsinki: the Oodi library and the Finnish Orthodox cathedral were both really interesting. For baked goods (especially cardamom buns!): Way Bakery, Layers Bakery (no seating). I had an excellent 12(ish?) course meal at Natura which I highly recommend. Honestly all the food in Helsinki was good

Received a little seed grant to start a new line of my work on older adults & dating! I really appreciate these small internal grants that can kickstart a bunch of qualitative data collection.

Of course, Vicki! I'm sending you a private message.

Congratulations, Doctor! I hope you plan to celebrate yourself!

This is often gendered in (unsurprising) ways - after lifetimes of carework, many older women wanted to be a partner's priority, not "second fiddle" or "fourth on the list". This meant that many avoided "family men" though other research shows women find this attractive. Happy to share a copy! 3/3

While many folks enjoy their own children's support for dating decisions, the specter of a partner's children looms over the possibility of dating other parents/grandparents. It's not just minor children, but boomerang kids back home & the complications of intensive parenting/grandparenting. 2/3

The Specter of Kin: Older Americans’ Considerations of Family in Later-Life Dating and Repartnering - Canadian Studies in Population Shifts in union formation and dissolution coupled with aging populations across the Americas have fundamentally reshaped the experiences of adults interested in repartnering. Dating and repartnering i...

A new paper to share - part of special issue on Demographic Change & Challenges in the Americas. This uses data from my Romance & Dating in Later Life project, showing how older adults think (very!) differently about their families vs. the kin of potential partners. 1/3 doi.org/10.1007/s426...

So sad I'm missing out on #PAA2025! I wish I was there to present some of my work on older adult dating and to hear all the things people are working on! I hope everyone is having a great time.

Congratulations!

This is the only way I've down posters for years - so much easier and affordable!