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Cassandra Cotton

@cassandracotton.bsky.social

480 followers 500 following 49 posts

Family sociologist & demographer. Assistant Professor at Arizona State University🌵Kinship, motherhood, romantic relationships across the life course

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · 17h

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.

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...

doi.org

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · 17h

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.

Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · 17h

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.

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · 17h

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).

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · 17h

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.

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · 17h

Staying Apart for the Kids? Older American Daters and the Preservation of Family Wealth

doi.org

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · 15d

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

Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Aug 29

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

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Aug 20

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

Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Aug 20

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.

Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Aug 20

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

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Aug 20

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...

Sociology students study dating culture among young adults | ASU News

What does dating look like for young adults in 2025?For a group of sociology undergraduates at Arizona State University, the answers to the above question covered a lot more ground than texting and ap...

news.asu.edu

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Aug 13

Really glad to hear this news! Congratulations

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Aug 7

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.

Reposted by Cassandra Cotton

Demography - the flagship journal of PAA @readdemography.bsky.social · Jul 30

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...

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Jul 23

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

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Jun 24

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

Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Jun 4

Thanks so much for writing about my work, Vicki!

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Apr 30

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.

Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Apr 28

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.

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Apr 28

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

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Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Apr 24

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.

Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Apr 15

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

Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Apr 14

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

Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Apr 14

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

Cassandra Cotton @cassandracotton.bsky.social · Apr 14

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

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