Jessica Pfaffendorf
About Jessica Pfaffendorf
Jessica is a PhD candidate in the School of Sociology at the University of Arizona. Her research explores the social psychological and cultural underpinnings of inequality among individuals. Active projects use qualitative and experimental methods to consider how status and stigma operate in new ways to reinforce existing socio-cultural hierarchies. She has examined these issues in new, costly therapeutic programs for privileged youth as well as in employment outcomes for ex-offenders and individuals with mental illnesses.
Jessica holds an MA in sociology from the University of Arizona and a BA in sociology from Augsburg College where she was a Ronald E. McNair fellow.
Areas of Study
Inequality, Social Psychology, Culture, Gender, Qualitative Methods, Experimental Methods
Selected Publications
Pfaffendorf, Jessica. Forthcoming. “Wayward Elites: From Social Reproduction to Social Restoration at a Therapeutic Boarding School.” Social Psychology Quarterly.
- Honorable mention, Award for Best Graduate Student Paper, American Sociological Association Social Psychology Section, 2018.
- Winner, Raymond Bowers Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper, University of Arizona, 2015.
Bjorklund, Eric, Andrew Davis, and Jessica Pfaffendorf. 2018. “Urine or You’re Out: Racialized Economic Threat and The Determinants of State-Level Drug Testing Requirements for Welfare Applicants in the United States, 2009-2015.” The Sociological Quarterly 59(3):407-423.
- Featured in The Society Pages.
Pfaffendorf, Jessica. 2017. “Sensitive Cowboys: Privileged Young Men and the Mobilization of Hybrid Masculinities in a Therapeutic Boarding School.” Gender & Society 31(2):197-222.
- Reprinted in Men’s Lives (10th Edition), edited by Michael Kimmel and Michael Messner. New York: Oxford University Press.
- Honorable mention, Sally Hacker Award for Best Graduate Student Paper, American Sociological Association Sex and Gender Section, 2018.
- Winner, Raymond Bowers Award for Outstanding Graduate Student Paper, University of Arizona, 2016.
- In the Press: Science Daily, Science Magazine, Psychology Central, MEL Magazine, Healio, UA News
Pfaffendorf, Jessica. 2017. “Reflections on Rehab: Navigating the Disparate System of Substance Abuse Treatment.” In Negotiating the Challenges of Conducting Deeply Personal Research in Health, edited by Alexandra Nowakowski and J.E. Sumerau. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Publishing Group.
REVIEWS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Pfaffendorf, Jessica. Forthcoming. Review of Hegemonic Masculinity: Formulation, Reformulation, and Amplification by James Messerschmidt. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group. Men and Masculinities.
Pfaffendorf, Jessica. 2017. “From Typical Dudes to Sensitive Men: Gender Dilemmas in a Therapeutic Boarding School.” Sociologists for Women in Society’s Gender & Society blog. (invited post)
Contact Information
Please find an updated CV here.
Courses Taught
Research Methods
Gender Identities, Interactions, and Relationships
Juvenile Delinquency
Individuals, Groups, and Society
