Trained as a theorist, his interests include mental health, social psychology, emotions, in addition to sociocultural evolution and religion. In short, his work emphasizes synthesizing disparate theories in order to make more robust and comprehensive theoretical principles. His primary research focuses on the elucidating the links between meso-level structural and cultural forces and micro-level dynamics that shape adolescent suicide. His work on suicide can be found in the American Sociological Review, Sociological Theory, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, and Society and Mental Health.