Tirth R. Bhatta (Sociology), Nirmala Lekhak (Nursing), and Sfurti Rathi (Public Health) have published an article, "The Intersection of Race and Financial Strain: The Pain of Social Disconnection among Women in the United States," in the Journal of Women and Aging.

They used their nationwide Web-based survey to examine the effects of financial strain on loneliness among Black and white women and assessed the role of emotional support in contributing to such effects. Prior studies have paid considerable attention to increased social isolation and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic and their impact on later-life psychological well-being. Yet, we do not know how racial status and financial strain intersect to impact later-life loneliness amid immense uncertainty, social isolation, and anxiety induced by the pandemic. Findings show that Black women face significantly more financial strain than white women but also receive more emotional support and experience less loneliness. Despite shared vulnerability and social isolation across the general population, our findings suggest that negative effects of financial strain on loneliness among women continue to differ across race, even amid the pandemic.