Dr. Rainer Gabriel

Personal profile

Position at the ZHAW

Researcher & Lecturer
Member of the advisory board of the ZHAW center for research data

www.researchgate.net/profile/Rainer_Gabriel

Expertise and research interests

Research topics
*Social gerontology
*Poverty and social welfare dependency
*Life course epidemiology & Healthy Aging
*Mortality
*Life course sociology

Research methods
*Quantitative data analysis
*Longitudinal data analysis, notably data mining (sequence analysis)

Educational background

*2022 CAS Higher Education, University of Zurich
*2016 Project Management, Weiterbildungsangebot des Kantons Zürich
*2015 PhD Socio-Economics, Université de Genève
*2010-2015 PhD Programme of the NCCR LIVES - "Overcoming Vulnerability: Life course perspectives"
*2013 Media training for researchers, MAZ Die Schweizer Journalistenschule
*2013 Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis, University of Essex
*2009 CAS Economic and social demography, Université de Genève
*2008 M.A. Socio-Economics, Université de Genève
*2007 B.A. Economic and social history, Université de Genève

Professional milestones

*2019-2021 Member of the departement's staff representation committee (Personalausschuss)
*Since 2018 Docent/Reader, ZHAW
*2017-2018 Head Social welfare statistics unit, Cantonal Statistical Office Zurich
*2015-2017 Lecturer, Institute of demography and socio-economics (IDESO), University of Geneva
*2015-2018 Senior Researcher CIGEV, University of Geneva
*2015 Research assistant CIGEV, University of Geneva
*2010-2014 Project coordinator, Center for interdisciplinary gerontology and vulnerability studies (CIGEV) of the University of Geneva
*2010 Junior Researcher Pro Senectute Schweiz, Zürich
*2008-2009 Research- and teaching assistant, Institute of Environmental Decisions, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH)
*2005-2008 Bicycle messenger "La Vélo Postale" Geneva

Membership of networks

• NCCR LIVES - Overcoming Vulnerability
• Centre interfacultaire de gérontologie et d'études des vulnérabilités (CIGEV)
• Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies (SLLS)
• Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Soziologie
• Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Gerontologie

Projects

• Soziale Integration von geflüchteten Personen / Team member / Project ongoing
• Accompanying evaluation of the Disability Rights Action Plan / Team member / Project ongoing
• DSembedded: Integrating discipline-specific Know How into Data Stewardship / Team member / Project ongoing
• Gesamtauswertung Altersmonitoring von Pro Senectute Schweiz / Project leader / Project ongoing
• Why do some older workers with adverse health conditions remain in the labor force while others exit early? / Project co-leader / Project ongoing
• Pro Senectute Schweiz Altersmonitoring & Alterssurvey / Project co-leader / Project completed
• Interactive Data Visualization Made Easy / Team member / Project completed
• Förderung der Qualifizierung Erwachsener: armutsgefährdete und -betroffene Personen in ihren Lebenswelten erreichen / Team member / Project completed
• The economic situation of widows, widowers and orphans in Switzerland / Project co-leader / Project completed
• Machine learning and algorithms in social work / Team member / Project completed
• Improved Integration for Refugees in Switzerland (IMIRIS) / Project co-leader / Project completed
• Having Little in a Land of Plenty: Economic Vulnerability in Old Age in Switzerland (EVOAS) / Project leader / Project completed
• Linguistische Diskursanalyse zu Sozialhilfe / Team member / Project completed

Publications

• Ihle, Andreas; Gabriel, Rainer; Oris, Michel; Gouveia, Élvio R.; Gouveia, Bruna R.; Marques, Adilson; Marconcin, Priscila; Kliegel, Matthias,

  2022.

  Cognitive reserve mediates the relation between neighborhood socio-economic position and cognitive decline.

  Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra.

  12(2), pp. 90-93.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1159/000521905

• Sieber, Stefan; Cheval, Boris; Orsholits, Dan; van der Linden, Bernadette W A; Guessous, Idris; Gabriel, Rainer; Kliegel, Matthias; von Arx, Martina; Kelly-Irving, Michelle; Aartsen, Marja J.; Boisgontier, Matthieu P; Courvoisier, Delphine; Burton-Jeangros, Claudine; Cullati, Stéphane,

  2020.

  Do welfare regimes moderate cumulative dis/advantages over the life course? : cross-national evidence from longitudinal SHARE data.

  The Journals of Gerontology: Series B.

  75(6), pp. 1312-1325.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbaa036

• Sieber, Stefan; Cheval, Boris; Orsholits, Dan; Van der Linden, Bernadette W.; Guessous, Idris; Gabriel, Rainer; Kliegel, Matthias; Aartsen, Marja J.; Boisgontier, Matthieu P.; Courvoisier, Delphine; Burton-Jeangros, Claudine; Cullati, Stéphane,

  2019.

  Welfare regimes modify the association of disadvantaged adult-life socioeconomic circumstances with self-rated health in old age.

  International Journal of Epidemiology.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyy283

• Aartsen, Marja J.; Cheval, Boris; Sieber, Stefan; Van der Linden, Bernadette W.; Gabriel, Rainer; Courvoisier, Delphine S.; Guessous, Idris; Burton-Jeangros, Claudine; Blane, David; Ihle, Andreas; Kliegel, Matthias; Cullati, Stéphane,

  2019.

  Advantaged socioeconomic conditions in childhood are associated with higher cognitive functioning but stronger cognitive decline in older age.

  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

  pp. 201807679.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1807679116

• van der Linden, Bernadette Wilhelmina Antonia; Cheval, Boris; Sieber, Stefan; Orsholits, Dan; Guessous, Idris; Stringhini, Silvia; Gabriel, Rainer; Aartsen, Marja J.; Blane, David; Courvoisier, Delphine; Burton-Jeangros, Claudine; Kliegel, Matthias; Cullati, Stéphane,

  2019.

  Life course socioeconomic conditions and frailty at older ages.

  The Journals of Gerontology: Series B.

  20(20).

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbz018

• van der Linden, Bernadette Wilhelmina Antonia; Sieber, Stefan; Cheval, Boris; Orsholits, Dan; Guessous, Idris; Gabriel, Rainer; von Arx, Martina; Kelly-Irving, Michelle; Aartsen, Marja J.; Blane, David; Boisgontier, Matthieu P; Courvoisier, Delphine; Oris, Michel; Kliegel, Matthias; Cullati, Stéphane,

  2019.

  Life-course circumstances and frailty in old age within different European welfare regimes : a longitudinal study with SHARE.

  The Journals of Gerontology: Series B.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbz140

• Mella, Nathalie; Vallet, Fanny; Beaudoin, Marine; Fagot, Delphine; Baeriswyl, Marie; Ballhausen, Nicola; Métral, Grégoire; Sauter, Julia; Ihle, Andreas; Gabriel, Rainer; Oris, Michel; Kliegel, Matthias; Desrichard, Olivier,

  2018.

  Distinct effects of cognitive versus somatic anxiety on cognitive performance in old age : the role of working memory capacity.

  Aging & Mental Health.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2018.1548566

• Oris, Michel; Baeriswyl, Marie; Duvoisin, Aline; Gabriel, Rainer; Girardin, Myriam; Henke, Julia; Masotti, Barbara; Tholomier, Aude; Widmer, Eric,

  2023.

  On the sociohistorical construction of social and economic reserves across the life course and on their use in old age

  .

  In:

  Spini, Dario; Widmer, Eric, eds.,

  Withstanding vulnerability throughout adult life : dynamics of stressors, resources, and reserves.

  Singapore:

  Palgrave Macmillan.

  pp. 269-283.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4567-0_17

• Gabriel, Rainer; Oris, Michel; Kubat, Sonja; Adili, Kushtrim; Götzö, Monika,

  2021.

  The role of work before and after retirement on poverty dynamics in old age : evidence from a follow-up study in Switzerland

  .

  In:

  Suter, Christian; Cuvi, Jacinto; Balsiger, Philip; Nedelcu, Mihaela, eds.,

  The Future of Work.

  Zürich:

  Seismo.

  pp. 171-198.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.33058/seismo.30818

• Gabriel, Rainer; Koch, Uwe; Meier, Gisela; Kubat, Sonja,

  2023.

  Pro Senectute Altersmonitor : Nichtbezug von Ergänzungsleistungen in der Schweiz : Teilbericht 2..

  Zürich:

  Pro Senectute Schweiz.

  ISBN 978-3-9525751-3-0.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-27747

• Gabriel, Rainer,

  2023.

  Armes reiches Land.

  Sozial : Magazin der ZHAW Soziale Arbeit.

  (18), pp. 13-17.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-27192

• Gabriel, Rainer; Koch, Uwe; Wanner, Philippe,

  2022.

  Die wirtschaftliche Situation von Witwen, Witwern und Waisen.

  Soziale Sicherheit CHSS.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-25149

• Gabriel, Rainer; Koch, Uwe; Wanner, Philippe,

  2022.

  Die wirtschaftliche Situation von Witwen, Witwern und Waisen : Schlussbericht.

  Beiträge zur sozialen Sicherheit

  ; 6.

  Bern:

  Bundesamt für Sozialversicherungen (BSV).

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-25150

• Gabriel, Rainer; Kubat, Sonja,

  2022.

  Pro Senectute Altersmonitor : Altersarmut in der Schweiz 2022 : Teilbericht 1.

  Zürich:

  Pro Senectute Schweiz.

  ISBN 978-3-9525751-0-9.

  Available from: https://www.prosenectute.ch/dam/jcr:ec5e09c1-1343-4573-8b2c-d1ad9b6ccc87/Altersarmut%20in%20der%20Schweiz.pdf

• Epiney, Elise; Reitz, Maude; Kuehni, Morgane; Gabriel, Rainer,

  2021.

  Parcours d’obstacles - L’intégration des personnes relevant de l’asile dans le canton de Vaud : des normes institutionnelles aux trajectoires individuelles.

  Working paper du LaReSS

  ; 4.

  Laboratoire de recherche santé-social (LaReSS) de la Haute école de travail social et de la santé Lausanne.

  Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-23266

• Bretagne, Alice; Courvoisier, Mélanie; Epiney, Elise; Gabriel, Rainer; Kuehni, Morgane; Reitz, Maude; Steiner, Stéphane; Vuillet, Yann,

  2020.

  «Tout le monde a participé à l’effort général».

  Revue d'information sociale.

  Available from: https://www.reiso.org/document/6540

• Rosenberger Staub, Nicole; Dreesen, Philipp; Krasselt, Julia; Klopfenstein Frei, Nadine; Bubenhofer, Noah; Kehl, Konstantin; Gabriel, Rainer,

  2019.

  Linguistische Diskursanalyse zu «Sozialhilfe».

  Zürich:

  Sozialdepartement der Stadt Zürich.

  Available from: https://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/content/dam/stzh/sd/Deutsch/neu/%c3%9cber%20das%20Departement/Publikationen/Studien%20und%20Analysen/Bericht%20Diskursanalyse%20Sozialhilfe%20ZHAW.pdf

• Gabriel, Rainer,

  2023.

  Armut im Pensionsalter : Momentaufnahme des Forschungsstands.

  In:

  Schwerpunkt Angewandte Gerontologie: Altersarmut in der Schweiz, ZHAW Hochschulbibliothek, Winterthur, Schweiz, 19. April 2023.

  Available from: https://www.zhaw.ch/storage/hochschule/hsb/recherchehilfe-kurse/angewandte-gerontologie/20230419-praesentation-gabriel-altersarmut.pdf

• Oris, Michel; Gabriel, Rainer; Baeriswyl, Marie; Ihle, Andreas,

  2022.

  The accumulation of disadvantages : a critical assessment.

  In:

  The Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES: Overcoming vulnerability: Life course perspectives (NCCR LIVES), Geneva, Switzerland, 17-18 November 2022.

• Oris, Michel; Baeriswyl, Marie; Gabriel, Rainer; Ihle, Andreas,

  2022.

  The accumulation of disadvantages : a critical assessment.

  In:

  Lecture Series of The Spanish National Research Council and the Fundación BBVA: Demography Today, Madrid, Spain, 7 November 2022.

• Gabriel, Rainer; Koch, Uwe,

  2022.

  AHV-Leistungen für Witwen, Witwer und Waisen : gibt es Handlungsbedarf?.

  In:

  Forum Grundlagen & Forschung+ : Präsentationen & Diskussion von Projektresultaten für MItarbeitende der Bundesverwaltung (BSV OFAS), Bern, Schweiz, 20. Oktober 2022.

• Gabriel, Rainer; Strohmeier Navarro Smith, Rahel,

  2022.

  Having little in a land of plenty.

  In:

  Alumni-Forum 2022: "Gutes Alter(n) für alle? Existenzsicherung und gesellschaftliche Teilhabe im Alter", ZHAW Soziale Arbeit, Zürich, 18. Mai 2022.

  Available from: https://www.zhaw.ch/de/sozialearbeit/weiterbildung/fachveranstaltungen/alumni-forum/rueckblick/

• Gabriel, Rainer; Kubat, Sonja; Adili, Kushtrim; Oris, Michel,

  2019.

  Factors affecting poverty trajectories in old age : first results from a Swiss five-year follow-up study.

  In:

  The Dynamics of Inequality Across the Life-course (DIAL), Turku, Finland, 7 June 2019.

• Kubat, Sonja; Gabriel, Rainer; Adili, Kushtrim,

  2019.

  Non take-up of welfare benefits and poverty trajectories in old age in Switzerland : results from a five-year follow-up study.

  In:

  Europe and Beyond: Boundaries, Barriers and Belonging: 14th Conference of the European Sociological Association (ESA), Manchester, UK, 20-23 August 2019.

• Adili, Kushtrim; Kubat, Sonja; Gabriel, Rainer; Oris, Michel,

  2019.

  What role does formal work play on poverty trajectories in old-age? : evidence from a five-year follow-up study in Switzerland.

  In:

  Congress of the Swiss Sociological Association 2019: the future of work : book of abstracts.

  Congress SSA/SGS/SSS 2019, Neuchâtel, 10-12 September 2019.

  Neuchâtel:

  Swiss Sociological Association (SSA).

Publications before appointment at the ZHAW

*Wissenschaftliche Zeitschriften mit Peer review

Gabriel, R., Oris, M., Studer, M., & Baeriswyl, M. (2015). The persistence of social stratification? A life course perspective on poverty in old-age in Switzerland. Swiss Journal of Sociology, 41(3), 465–487.

Oris, M., Gabriel, R., Studer, M., & Baeriswyl, M. (2016). La construction des inégalités économiques et inégalités de genre dans la vieillesse à travers le parcours de vie (Suisse, 1979-2011). In Pennec, S., Girard, Ch. & Sanderson, J.-P. (Ed.) Trajectoires et âges de la vie (pp. 1-14). Paris: AIDELF.

Ihle, A., Gouveia, É. R., Gouveia, B. R., Linden, B. W. A. van der, Sauter, J., Gabriel, R., Kliegel, M. (2017). The Role of Leisure Activities in Mediating the Relationship between Physical Health and Well-Being: Differential Patterns in Old and Very Old Age. Gerontology, 63(6), 560–571. doi.org/10.1159/000477628

Cheval, B., Boisgontier, M. P., Orsholits, D., Sieber, S., Guessous, I., Gabriel, R., ... & Burton-Jeangros, C. (2018). Association of early-and adult-life socioeconomic circumstances with muscle strength in older age. Age and ageing, 47(3), 398-407.

Landös, A., von Arx, M., Cheval, B., Sieber, S., Kliegel, M., Gabriel, R., ... & Courvoisier, D. S. (2018). Childhood socioeconomic circumstances and disability trajectories in older men and women: a European cohort study. European Journal of Public Health.

Ihle, A., Grotz, C., Adam, S., Oris, M., Fagot, D., Gabriel, R., & Kliegel, M. (2016). The association of timing of retirement with cognitive performance in old age: the role of leisure activities after retirement. International Psychogeriatrics, 28(10), 1659–1669. doi.org/10.1017/S1041610216000958

Ihle, A., Mons, U., Perna, L., Oris, M., Fagot, D., Gabriel, R., & Kliegel, M. (2016). The relation of obesity to performance in verbal abilities, processing speed, and cognitive flexibility in old age: The role of cognitive reserve. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 42(1–2), 117–126. doi.org/10.1159/000448916

Morselli, D., Dasoki, N., Gabriel, R., Gauthier, J.-A., Henke, J., & Le Goff, J.-M. (2016). Using life history calendars to survey vulnerability. In M. Oris, C. Roberts, D. Joye, & M. Ernst Staehli (Hrsg.), Surveying human vulnerabilities across the life course (S. 177–199). New York: Springer.

Oris, M., Gabriel, R., Ritschard, G., & Kliegel, M. (2017). Long Lives and Old Age Poverty: Social Stratification and Life-Course Institutionalization in Switzerland. Research in Human Development, 14(1), 68–87. doi.org/10.1080/15427609.2016.1268890

Oris, M., Guichard, E., Nicolet, M., Gabriel, R., Tholomier, A., Monnot, C., Joye, D. (2016). Representation of vulnerability and the elderly. A Total Survey Error perspective on the VLV survey. In M. Oris, C. Roberts, D. Joye, & M. Ernst Staehli (Hrsg.), Surveying human vulnerabilities across the life course (S. 27–64). New York: Springer.


*Dissertation

Gabriel, R. (2015). Inequalities within progress: social stratification and the life course among the elderly population in Switzerland 1979-2011.Université de Genève.


*Berichte

Braun, M., Dubach, M., Gillmann, G., Gabriel, R., Würmli, S., & Page, R. (2017). Sozialbericht des Kantons Zürich 2016. Neuchâtel: Bundesamt für Statistik (BfS).

Braun, M., Gabriel, R., Gerber, B., Von Gunten, L., Page, R., Schwander, S., … Zelgaité, J. (2018). Sozialbericht des Kantons Zürich 2017 - Ergebnisse der Schweizerischen Sozialhilfestatistik. Neuchâtel: Bundesamt für Statistik (BfS).

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