D'Lane Compton
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. Texas A & M

Dr. Compton has two primary branches of research—social psychology and social demography. However, her work uses both approaches to examine issues of inequalities and methodologies. Her social psychological research is concerned with the generation and effects of stigmas in small group interaction. The term “stigma” has a wide variety of meanings in sociological studies and her research is directed at one kind of stigma—the stigma that arises from a label about past behavior. Drawing from theories on status generalization and affect, she investigates how a person can become stigmatized even if he or she has no knowledge of the stigma possessed.

Dr. Compton also conducts research exploring issues of sexual orientation, focusing primarily on same-sex, unmarried partners and families. Her work applies various demographic methodologies to the 2000

U.S. Census same-sex, unmarried partner category, enabling her to conduct quantitative analyses about the gay and lesbian households—including how accurately the data capture gays and lesbians living in the U.S and how useful it is for demographic analyses. These kinds of analyses previously have not been possible because of the absence of statistically representative data on same-sex partnered individuals. This research, coupled with research examining other demographic aspects of sexual orientation, is the subject of a book coauthored with Amanda K. Baumle and Dudley L. Poston, Same-Sex Partners: The Demography of Sexual Orientation, to be published by SUNY Press in 2009. Dr. Compton has taught at Texas A&M University and Davidson College before coming to UNO.