Bussarawan (Puk) Teerawichitchainan holds joint appointments as Associate Professor and Graduate Studies Chair in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and Co-Director of the Centre for Family and Population Research. Prior to joining NUS in 2019, she was an Associate Professor of Sociology in the School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University where she served as Associate Dean (Research) during 2016-17. She received a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Washington. She was a past fellowship recipient of Fulbright, the Social Science Research Council, and the Population Council.
Her research interests lie at the intersection of family demography, social gerontology, population health, and social stratification. Her current research examines the roles of family, policy, and social structure in explaining the life course and well-being of older adults in the Asia Pacific region, particularly Southeast Asia. This includes an ongoing study funded by the National Institute on Aging-National Institutes of Health (NIA-NIH) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) on the long-term impacts of war and trauma exposure on the health and well-being of older Vietnamese war survivors and another study funded by the Ministry of Education's Tier 2 grant on childless aging in Singapore and Thailand. She is Deputy Editor of Demography and serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, Asian Population Studies and BMC Geriatrics.
Modules taught at the National University of Singapore
Modules taught at Singapore Management University
Ph.D. Dissertations
Dissertations advised at the National University of Singapore:
Master's Theses
These advised at the National University of Singapore:
Undergraduate Theses
Honors theses advised at the National University of Singapore:
Seniors theses advised at Singapore Management University:
Health and aging post conflict: War’s enduring effects among survivors in Vietnam (2017-2022), funded for US$2,475,790 (direct cost) by the National Institue on Aging - National Institutes of Health, Co-Principal Investigator (PI: Kim Korinek)
Population aging, intergenerational support, and the well-being of older persons in Southeast Asia: Insights from comparative and country-specific analyses (2019-2023) funded by NUS Start-up grant, Principal Investigator
Childless aging in Singapore and Thailand: A comparative mixed methods study (2020-2023), funded for S$676,572 by the Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 2, Principal Investigator
The long-term effects of war on biological aging: The case of Vietnam (2021-2024), funded for C$1,200,000 by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Co-Investigator (PI: Zachary Zimmer)
Social Demography, Sociology of Family, the Life Course and Aging, Population Health, Social Stratification, Southeast Asia
ARTICLES IN JOURNALS
Pothisiri, W., Teerawichitchianan, B., & Kaewbuadee, N.* (Forthcoming). Remarriage in Thailand: A study of emerging trends, correlates, and implications for women's well-being. Journal of Family Issues. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X231155659
Teerawichitchainan, B., Zimmer, Z., Low, T.*, & Tran, T. (2023). Respiratory health among older adults in Vietnam: Does earlier-life military role and war exposure matter? Journal of Aging and Health, 35 (3-4), 168-181. DOI: 10.1177/08982643221118445
Ho, C., Teerawichitchainan, B. [corresponding author], Tan, J., & Tan, E*. (2022). Risk attitudes in late adulthood: Do parenthood status and family size matter? Research on Aging.
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Low, T*. (2021). The Situation and well-being of custodial grandparents in Myanmar: Impacts of cross-border and internal migration. Social Science & Medicine, 277(2021), 113914. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.113914
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Pothisiri, W. (2021). Expansion of Thailand’s social pension policy and its implications for family support for older persons. International Journal of Social Welfare. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ijsw.12481
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Knodel, J. (2021) Parental migration and care for left-behind children in Myanmar’s Dry Zone. Journal of Social Issues. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12477
Kovnick, M.*, Young, Y.*, Tran N.*, Teerawichitchainan, B., Tran T., Korinek, K. (2021). Early life war exposure and mental health among older adults in northern and central Vietnam. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221465211039239
Zimmer, Z., Korinek, K., Young, Y.*, Teerawichitchainan, B., & Tran, T. (2021) Early life war exposure and later-life frailty among older adults in Vietnam: Does war hasten aging? Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbab190
Korinek, K., Young, Y.*, Teerawichitchainan, B., Nguyen, C.T.H., Kovnick, M.*, & Zimmer, Z. (2020). Is war hard on the heart? Gender, wartime stress and late life cardiovascular conditions in a population of Vietnamese older adults. Social Science & Medicine, 265, 113380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113380
Teerawichitchainan, B. (2020). Older persons in Thailand: An update from a recent survey. Asian Population Studies, 16(3), 243-247. https://DOI: 10.1080/17441730.2020.1794311
Teerawichitchainan, B., Prachuabmoh, V., & Knodel, J. (2019). Productive aging: Comparative analysis between Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Social Science & Medicine, 221, 161-171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.09.053
Korinek, K., Teerawichitchainan, B., Zimmer, Z., Brindle, E., Nguyen, TKC., Nguyen, HM., & Tran, KT. (2019). Design and measurement in a study of war exposure, health, and aging: Protocol for the vietnam health and aging study. BMC Public Health, 19, 1351. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-019-7680-6
Knodel, J., Teerawichitchainan, B., & Pothisiri, W. (2018). Caring for Thai older persons with long-term care needs. Journal of Aging and Health, 30(10), 1516-1535. DOI: 10.1177/0898264318798205
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Knodel, J. (2018). Long-term care needs in the context of poverty and population aging: The case of older persons in Myanmar. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 33(2), 143-162. DOI: 10.1007/s10823-017-9336-2
Knodel, J. & Teerawichitchainan, B. [corresponding author, equal authorship]. (2017). Aging in Myanmar. The Gerontologist, 54(4), 599-605. DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnw211
Korinek, K., Loebach, P.*, & Teerawichitchainan, B. (2017). Physical and mental health consequences of war-related stressors in older adulthood: An analysis of posttraumatic stress disorder and arthritis in northern Vietnamese war survivors. Journal of Gerontology, Series B: Social Sciences, 72(6), 1090-1102. DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbv157
Teerawichitchainan, B., Pothisiri, W., & Giang, L. (2015). How do living arrangements and intergenerational support matter for psychological health of elderly parents? Evidence from Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand. Social Science & Medicine, 136-137, 106-116. DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.05.019
Yamada, K. & Teerawichitchainan, B. (2015). Living arrangements and psychological wellbeing of the elderly after the economic transition in Vietnam. Journal of Gerontology, Series B: Social Sciences, 70(6), 957-968. DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbv059
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Knodel, J. (2015). Economic status and old-age health in poverty-stricken Myanmar. Journal of Aging and Health, 27(8), 1462-1484. DOI: 10.1177/0898264315584577
Teerawichitchainan, B., Knodel, J., & Pothisiri, W. (2015). What does living alone really mean for older persons? A comparative study of Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Demographic Research, 32(48), 1329-1360. DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2015.32.48
Knodel, J. & Teerawichitchainan, B. (2015). Population ageing and the need for research on ageing: Correcting a misconception. Population Horizons, 12(2), S.4-S.6. DOI 10.1515./pophzn-2015-0014 (a publication of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing)
Korinek, K. & Teerawichitchainan, B. (2014). Military service, exposure to trauma and health in older adulthood: An analysis of northern Vietnamese survivors of the Vietnam War. American Journal of Public Health, 104(8), 1478-1487. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.301925
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Korinek, K. (2012). The long-term impact of war on health in northern Vietnam: Some glimpses from a recent survey. Social Science & Medicine, 74(12), 1995-2004. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.01.040
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Knodel, J. (2012). Tradition and change in marriage payments in Vietnam, 1960-2000. Asian Population Studies, 8(2), 151-172. DOI: 10.1080/17441730.2012.675677
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Amin, S. (2010). The role of abortion in the last stage of fertility decline in Vietnam. International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 36(2), 80-89. DOI: 10.1363/IPSRH.36.080.10
Teerawichitchainan, B., Knodel, J., Vu, M.L., & Vu, T.H. (2010). Gender division of household labor in Vietnam: Cohort trends and regional variations. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 41(1), 57-85. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41604338
Teerawichitchainan, B. (2009). Trends in military service in northern Vietnam, 1950-1995: A socio-demographic approach. Journal of Vietnamese Studies, 4(3), 61-97. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/vs.2009.4.3.61
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Phillips, J. (2008). Ethnic differentials in parental health seeking for childhood illness in Vietnam. Social Science & Medicine, 66(5), 1118-1130. DOI: 10.1016/J.SOCSCIMED.2007.10.020
Teerawichitchainan, B. (2004). Modernization and divorce in Thailand: 1940s to 1970s. Journal of Population and Social Studies, 13(1), 15-41. http://www.popline.org/node/557258
Hirschman, C. & Teerawichitchainan, B. (2003). Cultural and socioeconomic influences on divorce during modernization: Southeast Asia, 1940s to 1960s. Population and Development Review, 29(2), 215-253. DOI: 10.1111/j.1728-4457.2003.00215.x
CHAPTERS IN BOOKS
Teerawichitchainan, B. (2021). Family roles in caring for older persons with long-term care needs in China and Thailand. In M. Silverstein (Ed.), Aging Families in Chinese Society (pp. 26-52). Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781003015529-2
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Knodel, J. (2020) Family and old-age well-being in developing Southeast Asia: Gendered perspectives of Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand. In S. Huang & K. Ruwanpura (Eds.), Handbook on gender in Asia (pp. 65-87). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Low, T*. (2019). Causes of population aging. In D. Gu & M.E. Dupre (Eds.), The Encyclopaedia of gerontology and population aging. Switzerland: Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_654-1
Pothisiri, W. & Teerawichitchainan, B. (2019). National survey of older persons in Thailand. In D. Gu & M.E. Dupre (Eds.), The Encyclopaedia of gerontology and population aging. Switzerland: Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69892-2_974-1
Knodel, J. & Teerawichitchainan, B. (2018). Grandparenting in developing Southeast Asia: Comparative perspectives from Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. In V. Timonen (Ed.), Grandparenting practices around the world (pp.65-87). Bristol: Policy Press at the University of Bristol.
Teerawichitchainan, B. (2014). Gender and health status among older adults in Vietnam. In T. Devasahayam. (Ed.), Gender and ageing: Southeast Asian perspectives (pp.122-149). Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
Teerawichitchainan, B. (2009). Household headship in the Red River Delta, Vietnam: The political construction of the family. In M. Barbieri & D. Belanger (Eds.), Reconfiguring families and gender in contemporary Vietnam (pp. 329-361). Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
PUBLISHED REPORTS
He, W., Goodkind, D., Kowal, P., Almasarweh, I., Giang, T.L., Islam, M.M., Lee, S., Teerawichitchainan, B., & Tey, N.P. (2022). Asia Aging: Demographic, Economic, and Health Transition. US Census Bureau, International Population Reports, P95/22-1. Washington, DC. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2022/demo/p95-22.html
Teerawichitchainan, B., Pothisiri, W., Knodel, J. & Prachuabmoh, V. (2019). Thailand’s Older Persons and Their Well-being: An Update Based on the 2017 Survey of Older Persons in Thailand. Chiangmai, Thailand: HelpAge International East Asia and Pacific Regional Office. http://ageingasia.org/thailand-older-persons-wellbeing-2019/
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Knodel, J. (2017). Impacts of migration on households in the Dry Zone, Myanmar. Chiangmai, Thailand: HelpAge International East Asia and Pacific Regional Office. http://ageingasia.org/migration-impact-dry-zone-myanmar-report/
Knodel, J. & Teerawichitchainan, B. (2017). Family support for older persons in Thailand: Challenges and opportunities. Thailand: United Nations Development Programme. (Also published as University of Michigan’s Population Studies Center Research Report No. 17-879. http://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/pubs/abs/10804)
Knodel, J., Teerawichitchainan, B., Prachuabmoh, V., & Pothisiri, W. (2015). The situation of Thailand’s older population: An update based on the 2014 Survey of Older Persons in Thailand. Chiangmai, Thailand: HelpAge International East Asia and Pacific Regional Office. http://ageingasia.org/situation-of-thailand-older-population-2015/
Teerawichitchainan, B. & Knodel, J. (2015). Data mapping on ageing in low- and middle-income countries in Asia and the Pacific. Chiang Mai, Thailand: HelpAge International East Asia and Pacific Regional Office. http://ageingasia.org/data-mapping/
Amin, S. & Teerawichitchainan, B. (2009). Ethnic minority fertility differentials in Vietnam and their proximate determinants. Poverty, Gender, and Youth Working Papers No. 18. Population Council, New York. http://www.popcouncil.org/uploads/pdfs/wp/pgy/018.pdf
Teerawichitchainan, B., Hac, V.V., & Nguyen, T.P.L. (2007). Transitions to adulthood in Vietnam’s remote northern uplands: A focus on ethnic minority youth and their families. Hanoi and New York: Population Council. http://www.popcouncil.org/uploads/pdfs/Viet_YFStudy_FinalReport_Ch1.pdf