The Social Organization of Family and Intimate Life
Family - Intimate Relationships - Gender - Technology - Life Course
Welcome! I’m an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Oregon. My research examines family and intimate relationships across the life course, from sex and dating to marriage and parenthood. I study how broader social and structural forces—such as digital technologies, substance use, and incarceration—shape how people form, maintain, and experience relationships. Methodologically, I draw on both quantitative and qualitative approaches, analyzing nationally representative and cross-national data. My work has been published in journals such as American Sociological Review, Social Science Research, Criminology, and Journal of Family Issues.
Selected Publications
The Carceral Contradictions of Motherhood: How Mothers of Incarcerated Sons Parent in the Shadow of the Criminal Legal System
MacKenzie A. Christensen, Kristin Turney, Suyeon Jang | American Sociological Review | 2025 | Article PDF
Tracing the Gendered Confidence Gap in Computing: A Cross-National Meta-Analysis of Gender Differences in Self-Assessed Tech Ability
MacKenzie A. Christensen | Social Science Research | 2023 | Article PDF
“Tindersluts” & “Tinderellas”: Examining the Digital Affordances Shaping the (Hetero)Sexual Scripts of Young Womxn on Tinder
MacKenzie A. Christensen | Sociological Perspectives | 2020 | Article PDF
About
As a first-generation college student from Spokane, Washington, I began my academic journey at age 16 through a dual-enrollment program that allowed me to attend Spokane Falls Community College while still in high school. It was there that I took my first Sociology of Gender course and discovered the power of the sociological imagination.
After completing my A.A., I transferred to Washington State University, Vancouver, where I earned my B.A. in Sociology. I later received my M.S. in Sociology from Portland State University in 2018. My master’s thesis used in-depth interviews to explore the dating app experiences of women and non-binary young adults.
I earned my Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Irvine in 2024. My dissertation used quantitative methods to examine how digital technologies shape gender inequality across the transition to adulthood. Now, as an assistant professor of sociology, I build on this line of inquiry to examine the structural forces shaping intimate and family life, including, but not limited to, digital technologies.
