Shannon Shen joined the Department of Sociology and Social Work in 2023. Prior to coming to Hope, Shannon taught sociology at Texas A&M University-San Antonio for five years. Shannon’s research focuses on two population groups: college students and older adults. Shannon is the lead investigator on a multi-institutional research project that examines how first-year students’ social, behavioral, cognitive, and biophysical factors interact to impact their academic success, with a focus on Mexican American students.

Shannon’s work on older adults primarily explores how sexuality is associated with health. In this area, Shannon has investigated the relationship between sexuality and cognitive impairment risk over time, identified connections between sexuality and biomarkers of cardiovascular disease and examined gender differences in how marital quality is associated with a lower risk of diabetes. Shannon's current research focuses on how sexual activity and sexual quality are related to diabetes among older adults.

Shannon also teaches in the Global Health and Women’s and Gender Studies programs.

Areas of Expertise

• Health and Medicine
• Aging and the Life Course
• Gender and Sexuality
• Marriage and Family
• Quantitative Methods

Education

• B.A., Sociology and Political Science, Hope College, 2011
• M.A., Sociology, Michigan State University, 2015
• Ph.D., Sociology, Michigan State University, 2018

Grants & Honors

• “Sexuality as a Social Determinant of Health: Sexual Activity, Sexual Quality and Diabetes” Hope College Global Health Faculty-Student Summer Collaborative Research Project, $10,000, 2024
• “Student Health and Success Initiative (SHASI).” Meadows Foundation. $77,000, 2021-2023
• National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) Fellow, National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, 2021-2023
• Quantitative Reasoning Faculty Research & Teaching Fellow, Texas A&M University-San Antonio, 2020-2022

Selected Publications

• “Is Sex Good for your Brain? A National Longitudinal Study on Sexuality and Cognitive Function among Older Adults in the United States,” Shen, Shannon, and Hui Liu, Journal of Sex Research 60(9):1345-1355, 2023 
• “Cognitive Impairment Leads to Increased Feelings of Sexual Obligation among a National Longitudinal Sample of Sexually Active Adults Age 62 and Older,” Shen, Shannon, and Hui Liu, The Gerontologist 63(2):297-307, 2023
• “‘Went Along With’: Acquiescence during First Sexual Experience and Late-Life Health,” Liu, Hui, Shannon Shen, and Megan Penzkofer, Archives of Sexual Behavior 51:1591-1605, 2022 
• “Sexual Obligation and Perceived Stress: A National Longitudinal Study of Older Adults,” Shen, Shannon, and Hui Liu, Clinical Gerontologist. 44(3):259-272, 2021
• “Chronic Disease Burden, Sexual Frequency, and Sexual Dysfunction in Partnered Older Adults,” Shen, Shannon, Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 45(8):706-720, 2019
• “A National Dyadic Study of Oral Sex, Relationship Quality, and Well-Being among Older Couples,” Liu, Hui, Shannon Shen, and Ning Hsieh, The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences. 74(2):298-308, 2019