Rin Reczek

Rin Reczek is a Professor of Sociology at The Ohio State University, with affiliations in the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, the Institute for Population Research, and the Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Applied Developmental Science. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin (2011), with certificates in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Population Studies.

Her research focuses on family dynamics, health inequities, and LGBTQ+ well-being. Key areas include intergenerational relationships, family estrangement, and the health impacts of childbearing histories. Reczek has authored over 75 articles and book chapters, including the 2022 book Families We Keep: LGBTQ People and their Enduring Ties with Parents and the upcoming Families We Lose: Estrangement in the Democratization of Kinship. Her work is funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD).

Reczek’s current research examines how childbearing biographies influence mid- and later-life health. She employs both qualitative and quantitative methods, including longitudinal surveys and in-depth interviews. Her studies highlight disparities in health outcomes across gender, race, and sexual orientation.

Reczek serves on multiple editorial boards, including Socius, Demography, and Journal of Health and Social Behavior. She previously held roles as Deputy Editor of Journal of Marriage and Family and Editor-in-Charge of Innovation in Aging. Nationally, she is a Past-Chair of the Medical Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association.