Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Individual And Social Network Sexual Behavior Norms Of Homeless Youth At High Risk For Hiv Infection, Kimberly A. Tyler, Lisa A. Melander

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although previous research shows that homeless youth engage in numerous risky sexual behaviors, little is known about whether or not specific rules govern this conduct within their social networks and how group norms influence subsequent sexual actions. The current study utilizes 19 in-depth interviews with homeless youth to investigate different elements of their sexual behavior. Findings reveal that their decision to have sex generally depends on chemistry and physical appearance whereas a potential partner’s risky sexual history and heavy substance use discourages youth from engaging in sex. Both males and females discuss condom usage as it relates to unknown sexual …

Midwest Or Lesbian? Gender, Rurality, And Sexuality, Emily Kazyak

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Research suggests a gendered dimension to the geography of sexual minorities, as gay couples are more likely to live in cities than are lesbian couples. Using data from 60 interviews with rural gays and lesbians, this article employs an intersectional analysis of the mutually constitutive relationships among place, gender, and sexuality in order to assess how acceptance of gays and lesbians in small towns is gendered. Findings indicate that femininity aligns with gay sexuality but not rurality. In contrast, masculinity underpins both the categories “rural” and “lesbian.” Furthermore, both lesbian women and gay men gain acceptance in rural areas by …

"Leadership Is Behaving And Acting Like A Leader": A Narrative Exploration Of The Life Stories Of Three Latino Leaders In Healthcare, Kevin L. Flores

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

There is a dearth of Latino leaders holding executive positions in healthcare. The purpose of this study was to provide a privileged platform for the voice of Latino leaders in healthcare who, by definition, emanated from a marginalized population. This study began with the assumption that the stories of Latino leaders were different than leaders of the majority population due to their ethnicity. Latino critical theory asserts that concepts like leadership need to be viewed through an ethnic lens. The overarching question that guided this study was: What do the stories of three Latino leaders reveal about their development as …

Congruence Within The Parent-Teacher Relationship: Associations With Children’S Functioning, Elizabeth Moorman Kim, Kathleen M. Minke, Susan M. Sheridan, Natalie A. Koziol, Ji Hoon Ryoo, Kristin M. Rispoli

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Meaningful interactions between families and schools benefit multiple facets of children’s functioning including their academic, social, and behavioral adjustment (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001).

Positive relationships between parents and teachers predict children’s enhanced social-emotional functioning and academic adjustment across time (Izzo, Weissberg, Kasprow, & Fendrich, 1999).

Studies of parent-teacher relationships often focus on the association of child outcomes with separate parent or teacher reports of their relationship quality. Little attention has focused on the congruence of perceptions within parent-teacher dyads.

It may be the case that when parents and teachers view their relationship in a similar positive light, better connections or …

Widening The Social Context Of Disablement Among Married Older Adults: Considering The Role Of Nonmarital Relationships For Loneliness, David F. Warner, Scott A. Adams

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Utilizing the stress process and life course perspectives, we investigated the influence of non-spousal social support on the associations between marital quality, physical disability, and loneliness among married older adults. Using data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), we found that the association between physical disability and loneliness was partially accounted for by the fact that physical disability was associated with less supportive nonmarital relationships. While physically-disabled older adults in higher-quality marriages were buffered from loneliness, supportive non-martial relationships did not offset elevated loneliness among those in low-quality marriages. These associations were largely similar for men …

Neural Responses To Infants Linked With Behavioral Interactions And Testosterone In Fathers, Patty X. Kuo, Joshua Carp, Kathleen C. Light, Karen M. Grewen

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Few fMRI studies have investigated the brain-behavioral basis of parenting in human fathers. Ten fathers were videotaped and gave salivary testosterone samples while interacting with their 2–4 month old infants, and viewed video clips of their own infant and an unfamiliar age-, ethnicityand sex-matched other infant during an fMRI protocol. Infant stimuli activated a network of prefrontal and subcortical brain regions. Furthermore, a subset of these regions activated significantly more to own (OWN) than other (OTHER) infants. Finally, neural responses to OWN versus OTHER were linked with paternal sensitivity, paternal reciprocity, and testosterone. In sum, our results provide a novel …

Evaluating The Role Of Latinidad And The Latino Threat In The State Of Missouri, Joel Jennings, J.S. Onésimo Sandoval

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Growing Latino populations in midwestern cities of the United States are leading to the creation of contested ethnic spaces and urban landscapes. In this article we examine the historical, demographic, and social contexts associated with a growing sense of Latinidad and the countervailing Latino threat narrative in Kansas City and St. Louis, the two largest metropolitan areas in Missouri. Latinidad, or a notion of belonging based on ethnic identity in Missouri, is being challenged by nativist discourses that frame the growing Latino population as a threat. We highlight the different historical trajectories and geographical characteristics that have created distinct demographic …

Age, Period And Cohort Effects On Social Capital, Philip Schwadel, Mike Stout

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Researchers hypothesize that social capital in the United States is not just declining, but that it is declining across generations or birth cohorts. Testing this proposition, we examine changes in social capital using age-period-cohort intrinsic estimator models. Results from analyses of 1972–2010 General Social Survey data show 1) that informal association with neighbors declined across periods while informal association with friends outside of the neighborhood increased across birth cohorts; 2) that formal association was comparatively stable with the exception of relatively high levels of formal association among the early 1920s and early 1930s birth cohorts; and 3) that trust declined …

Marijuana Use Development Over The Course Of Adolescence Among North American Indigenous Youth, Jacob E. Cheadle, Kelley J. Sittner Hartshorn

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study investigated the links between marijuana use trajectories and marijuana abuse/ dependence (DSM-IV) using five waves of data from 718 North American Indigenous adolescents between 10 and 17 years from eight reservations sharing a common language and culture. Growth mixture models indicated that 15% of youth began using by 11–12 years of age and that another 20% began shortly thereafter. These early users had odds of abuse/dependence 6.5 times larger than abstainers. Girls were also unexpectedly found to be particularly at risk of early use, and this did not reflect other background and psychosocial factors, including friend use. While …

Natural Resources In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Use And Priorities: 2012 Nebraska Rural Poll Results, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Natural resources are vital to Nebraska’s economy and quality of life. Policies to protect these valuable natural resources – such as soil and water – ensure that they will be available for future generations. However, development of natural resources for economic gain must often be balanced with these policies. Developing such a compromise is often difficult. What barriers are preventing rural Nebraskans from recycling more? What collection methods are they using to recycle? How do they feel about some of the issues surrounding the Keystone XL pipeline? What priorities do rural Nebraskans give for various uses of land and natural …

Numeric Estimation And Response Options: An Examination Of The Measurement Properties Of Numeric And Vague Quantifier Responses, Mohammad T. Al Baghal

Survey Research and Methodology (SRAM) Program: Dissertations and Theses

Many survey questions ask respondents to provide responses that contain quantitative information. These questions are often asked requiring open ended numeric responses, while others have been asked using vague quantifier scales. How these questions are asked, particularly in terms of the response format, can have an important impact on the data. Therefore, the response format is of particular importance for ensuring that any use of the data contains the best possible information. Generally, survey researchers have argued against the use of vague quantifier scales. This dissertation compares various measurement properties between numeric open ended and vague quantifier responses, using three …

Perceived Stigma And Stigma Management Of Midwest Seculars, Christopher R. H. Garneau

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Prior work demonstrates that atheists and other secular individuals experience especially low trust among the American public. This line of research suggests that those with no religious belief encounter societal stigma related to their non-belief. Yet it is unknown how non-believers perceive and manage stigma. I explore perceived stigma and stigma management strategies employed by atheists, agnostics, and other secular individuals in the Midwest using a mixed methods approach. Results from survey data from more than 2,200 secular individuals as well as 24 in-depth interviews with seculars living in the Midwest show that prejudice and discrimination are common experiences for …

The Leadership Of Sustainable Cities: A Multiple-Case Study Of Two Oregon Cities, Kenneth L. Weaver

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Scholarship

In order for cities to become more sustainable it is necessary for the leaders of the efforts to change the organizations and governments so that they understand and embrace what it means to be more sustainable. This study examined the change processes of two Oregon Cities, Corvallis and Eugene, that had made the choice to become more sustainable as a community. The approaches that the participant leaders used demonstrated the use of different ways of thinking about the leadership of change. The ways of thinking of the community leaders were formed by their unique personal backgrounds, knowledge, skills, and abilities. …

Quality Of Life In Nonmetropolitan Nebraska: Perceptions Of Well-Being And Church Life: 2012 Nebraska Rural Poll Results: A Research Report, Rebecca J. Vogt, Cheryl A. Burkhart-Kriesel, Randolph L. Cantrell, Bradley Lubben, Philip Schwadel

Publications from the Center for Applied Rural Innovation (CARI)

Nebraska’s unemployment rate has been one of the lowest in the nation in recent years. The agricultural economy has also been strong with record levels of farm income in 2011. Given the challenges and uncertainties of recent years, how do rural Nebraskans believe they are doing and how do they view their future? Have these views changed over the past seventeen years? How satisfied are they with various items that influence their well-being? Most rural Nebraskans have also reported high satisfaction levels with their religion/spirituality in previous polls. How often do they attend church? How do they view their church? …

A Survey Of Non-Classical Polyandry, Kathrine E. Starkweather, Raymond Hames

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

We have identified a sample of 53 societies outside of the classical Himalayan and Marquesean area that permit polyandrous unions. Our goal is to broadly describe the demographic, social, marital, and economic characteristics of these societies and to evaluate some hypotheses of the causes of polyandry. We demonstrate that although polyandry is rare it is not as rare as commonly believed, is found worldwide, and is most common in egalitarian societies. We also argue that polyandry likely existed during early human history and should be examined from an evolutionary perspective. Our analysis reveals that it may be a predictable response …

Portuguese Translation And Validation Of The Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Cody S. Hollist, Olga G. Falceto, Luciane M. Ferreira, Richard B. Miller, Paul R. Springer, Carmen L. C. Fernandes, Nalu A. Nunes

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

The absence of a translated and validated instrument for measuring marital satisfaction in Brazil, the largest country in South America and fifth most populous country in the world, is a significant barrier for research and mental health service delivery. The purpose of this study was to translate and validate a marital satisfaction scale into Portuguese that would have both empirical credibility and cultural relevance in Brazil. A six-step serial approach was used to simultaneously translate and culturally validate the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS). The translated instrument (RDAS-P) demonstrated good psychometric properties during field testing.

Reversing The Brain Drain, Milan Wall

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Reversing the Brain Drain, presentation slides.

Includes a summary of demographic research conducted by Ben Winchester of the University of Minnesota, including information about the "newcomer trend." Also covers Buffalo Commons research conducted by Randy Cantrell or the University of Nebraska.

Southwest Nebraska Community Builders, Graduate Reunion Meeting, May 1, 2012, Craig Schroeder

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Introduction:

2012 marks 20 years since Dr. Bob Manley brought Community Builder to Southwest Nebraska, as the region emerged from the devastation of the 1980's Ag Crisis. On May 1st, a group of former participants from communities through out the region came together to reflect on the impact Community Builders had on them personally, and on their communities and the region overall. Based upon this reflection it was unanimously determine that a new generation of emerging leaders would greatly benefit from Community Builders. The group then went through the process of evaluating what had been most valuable in the original …

Modern Quilting: Diy Discourse, Ellen Rushman

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study explores the modern quilting movement from the perspective of members of the Modern Quilt Guild (MQG), a new guild that includes both online and in-person elements. Twenty-six members of seven MQG’s across the United States were interviewed. The interviews focused on the factors that draw participants into the MQG as well as how the art/craft debate shapes the experiences of modern quilters. This study concludes that modern quilting is both an attitude and an aesthetic. The attitude of modern quilting encompasses common themes among participants like the lack of rules dictating their quilting practices and an open and …

Methods And Baseline Characteristics Of A Randomized Trial Treating Early Childhood Obesity: The Positive Lifestyles For Active Youngsters (Team Play) Trial, Marion Hare, Mace Coday, Natalie A. Williams, Phyllis Richey, Frances Tylavsky, Andrew Bush

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

There are few effective obesity interventions directed towards younger children, particularly young minority children. This paper describes the design, intervention, recruitment methods, and baseline data of the ongoing Positive Lifestyles for Active Youngsters (Team PLAY) study. This randomized controlled trial is designed to test the efficacy of a 6-month, moderately intense, primary care feasible, family-based behavioral intervention, targeting both young children and their parent, in promoting healthy weight change.

Participants are 270 overweight and obese children (ages 4 to 7 years) and their parent, who were recruited from a primarily African American urban population. Parents and children were instructed in …

Abortion And Distress: The Role Of State-Level Restrictive Policies Regarding Reproduction, Elizabeth Straley

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Does state legal context modify the association between abortion and distress among women in the United States? Adjusting for individual characteristics that could be associated with distress based on stress and stigma frameworks, I examine if state legal context modifies the association between abortion and distress using a nationally representative sample of American women ages 25-45. The use of state-level factors as a proxy for social context in this research has not been part of previous studies of the consequences of abortion. In order to appropriately examine the cross-level modifying effects of state level legal context on abortion status with …

Generativity In Young Adults: Comparing And Explaining The Impact Of Mentoring, Lindsay J. Hastings

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this embedded explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to examine the impact of mentoring relationships on generativity in college students. Generativity refers to concern for establishing and guiding the next generation The first, quantitative phase compared generatvity levels among general college students, college student leaders who do not mentor, and college student leaders who mentor through a program called Nebraska Human Resources Institute (NHRI) at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Data were collected via surveys (N = 273) using the Loyola Generativity Scale (LGS), the Generativity Behavior Checklist (GBC), and the Personal Strivings measure. A multivariate …

Interactive Effects Of Church Attendance And Religious Tradition On Depressive Symptoms And Positive Affect, Philip Schwadel, Christina D. Falci

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Using a survey of adults in Nebraska, we find that the association between church attendance and mental health varies across religious traditions and across two distinct dimensions of mental health—depressive symptoms and positive affect. Specifically, the association between church attendance and depressive symptoms differs for mainline Protestants, evangelical Protestants, and Catholics. Of these three religious traditions, only mainline Protestants report significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms when they attend church more often. Comparing across religious traditions, we find that among high attendees, evangelical Protestants report considerably more depressive symptoms than do Catholics; among low attendees, evangelicals report fewer depressive symptoms …

Influences Of Farming Background On Farm Women’S Employment Motivations, Alexis Swendener

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

An important change in the dynamics of family farming is the financial difficulties they have encountered and the resulting solution of sending a family member to earn a wage in off-farm employment. This study utilizes survey data from Washington family farm women to explore how they navigate their unique social context concerning the decision and reasons they choose to work off-farm. In particular, I examine whether women who grew upon a farm or have spent a large percentage of their lives on farms are more or less likely to work off-farm. An identity theory approach is utilized to hypothesize that …

The Sociology Of Harriet Martineau In Eastern Life, Present And Past: The Foundations Of The Islamic Sociology Of Religion, Deborah A. Ruigh

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This paper is a critical analysis of Harriet Martineau’s philosophical stance and epistemological modes, her systematic sociological methodology, her use of this methodology, and her sociology of religion. How to Observe Morals and Manners (1838), Eastern Life, Present and Past (1848), and other relevant works will be used to examine Martineau’s evolving epistemological modes as well as her sociology of religion. How to Observe, Martineau’s treatise on systematic sociological methodology and cultural relativism, will serve as an exemplar for analysis of Martineau’s methodological practice as evidenced in Eastern Life. The research problem herein is three-fold: (1) to examine …

Superstars And Misfits: Two Pop-Trends In The Gender Culture Of Contemporary Evangelicalism, Kelsy Burke, Amy Mcdowell

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This paper examines gender in two forms of mediated contemporary Protestant evangelicalism in the United States: a male-dominated punk network, called Misfits United, and a women’s group studying Beth Moore’s Bible study, It’s Tough Being a Woman (ITBAW). While the appearance and performance styles of these two groups are drastically different, both support gender hierarchies in similar ways. Misfits United and Moore’s ITBAW present the gender of their Christian God as flexible, even transformative, and in effect open up discursive space to conceptualize gender on non-traditional grounds. Paradoxically, however, both reinforce traditional gender roles by emphasizing what distinguishes God from …

Extracurricular Activity Involvement And Adolescent Self-Esteem, Lisa Kort-Butler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Extracurricular activities figure prominently in the lives of adolescents, as most youth report participating at some level in a school-based extracurricular activity (Feldman & Matjasko, 2005). Scholars, practitioners, educators, and policy makers alike promote the potential benefits of extracurricular involvement for personal and prosocial development among adolescents. Researchers from a variety of fields have taken an interest in how participation influences health, well-being, and social development. This research has demonstrated a connection between structured activity involvement and several indicators of positive youth development (Busseri & Rose-Krasnor, 2009). Of particular interest in this article is the relationship between activity participation and …

A Phenomenology Of The Meaning Of Motherhood For African American And Hispanic Women Who Do Not Have Children In The United States, Amy M. Clark

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the meanings that childfree African American and Hispanic women place on motherhood and to better understand what impact these meanings may or may not have on the changing demographic of minority women who do not have children. This study used qualitative interviews and the method of phenomenology to elicit descriptions from a sample of African American and Hispanic women who do not have children. Specifically, the goal of this study was to explore how African American and Hispanic childfree women conceptualize their understanding of motherhood and to understand how these conceptualizations …

Hard Work, Overcoming, And Masculinity: An Ethnographic Account Of High School Wrestlers' Bodies And Cultural Worlds, Bryan Snyder

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The dissertation explores the cultural worlds of high school wrestlers at an inner-city school in the Mountain West region of the United States. The data upon which this dissertation is based come from a ten-month ethnography, where I conducted “observant participation” (Wacquant 2011) and semi-structured, open-ended interviews with members of this school’s wrestling team. I approached both my data collection and analysis through cultural-sociological frames. Although I intend to contribute to a number of areas of specialization, in this dissertation I use high school wrestling as a site to ask basic questions about key sociological themes such as meaning, identity, …

External Validity Reporting In Behavioral Treatment Of Childhood Obesity, Lisa M. Klesges, Natalie A. Williams, Kara S. Davis, Joanna Buscemi, Katherine M. Kitzmann

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Context—To aid translation of childhood obesity research interventions evidence into practice, research studies must report results in a way that better supports pragmatic decision making. The current review evaluated the extent to which information on key external validity dimensions, participants, settings, interventions, outcomes, and maintenance of effects, was included in research studies on behavioral treatments for childhood obesity.

Evidence acquisition—Peer-reviewed studies of behavioral childhood obesity treatments published between 1980 and 2008 were identified from: (1) electronic searches of social science and medical databases, (2) research reviews of childhood obesity interventions, and (3) reference lists cited in these reviews. …