Department of Sociology

Dr. David Russell is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Appalachian State University. He earned his PhD in sociology from Florida State University and completed a National Institute of Mental Health Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mental Health Services and Systems at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University. His teaching and research interests include medical sociology, aging and the life-course, stress and mental health. Some of the courses he has recently taught include Senior Capstone, Social Statistics & Data Analysis, and Medical Sociology. His current research cuts across these areas and explores several topics, including factors impacting family caregiving for older adults with needs for functional assistance, the role of state capacity in shaping vaccination uptake across distinct phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, and identification of social and cultural forces underlying rampage school shootings.

Courses Taught

SOC 1000: The Sociological Perspective
SOC 2600: Medical Sociology
SOC 3100: Gerontology
SOC 3895: Social Statistics and Data Analysis
SOC 4450: Senior Capstone

Research Interests

Medical Sociology
Aging & the Life Course
Sociology of Stress and Mental Health
Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods

Recent Publications

Russell, D., Gordon, J., & Thames, K. M. (2025). The New Social Roots of School Shootings: A Refined Constellation Theory of Rampage Attacks. Socius.

Prigerson, H. G., Russell, D., & Maciejewski, P. K. (2025). Associations between positive and negative social experiences and epigenetic aging. Scientific Reports, 15(1).

Russell, D., Miyawaki, C. E., Reckrey, J. M., & Bouldin, E. D. (2025). Unmet Needs and Factors Impacting Home-and Community-Based Service Use Among Rural Appalachian Caregivers of People With Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 44(4), 628-637.

Spence, N. J., Russell, D., Bouldin, E. D., Tumminello, C. M., & Schwartz, T. (2023). Getting back to normal? Identity and role disruptions among adults with Long COVID. Sociology of Health & Illness, 45(4), 914-934.