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Substance Use Disorders, Comorbidity, And Arrest Among Indigenous Adolescents*, Kelley J. Sittner Hartshorn, Les B. Whitbeck, Patricia Prentice

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Indigenous adolescents are overrepresented at multiple stages of the justice system, but we know very little about the role that mental health, particularly substance use disorder, plays in Indigenous pathways to arrest. This study examined the association between substance use disorder, its comorbidity with other disorders, and arrest using a longitudinal sample of Indigenous youth from the Northern Midwest and Canada. Of the 16% of youth who reported at least one arrest at Wave 5, half met criteria for substance abuse/dependence, and slightly more for conduct disorder. Substance abuse/dependence and conduct disorder were each associated with an increased risk of …

Adolescent Survival Expectations: Variations By Race, Ethnicity, And Nativity, Tara D. Warner, Raymond R. Swisher

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Adolescent survival expectations are linked to a range of problem behaviors, poor health, and later socioeconomic disadvantage, yet scholars have not examined how survival expectations are differentially patterned by race, ethnicity, and/or nativity. This is a critical omission given that many risk factors for low survival expectations are themselves stratified by race and ethnicity. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we modeled racial, ethnic, and immigrant group differences in trajectories of adolescent survival expectations and assess whether these differences are accounted for by family, neighborhood, and/or other risk factors (e.g., health care access, substance use, exposure …

Attractor-Based Obstructions To Growth In Homogeneous Cyclic Boolean Automata, Bilal Khan, Yuri Cantor, Kirk Dombrowski

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We consider a synchronous Boolean organism consisting of N cells arranged in a circle, where each cell initially takes on an independently chosen Boolean value. During the lifetime of the organism, each cell updates its own value by responding to the presence (or absence) of diversity amongst its two neighbours’ values. We show that if all cells eventually take a value of 0 (irrespective of their initial values) then the organism necessarily has a cell count that is a power of 2. In addition, the converse is also proved: if the number of cells in the organism is a proper …

Improving The Network Scale-Up Estimator: Incorporating Means Of Sums, Recursive Back Estimation, And Sampling Weights, Patrick Habecker, Kirk Dombrowski, Bilal Khan

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Researchers interested in studying populations that are difficult to reach through traditional survey methods can now draw on a range of methods to access these populations. Yet many of these methods are more expensive and difficult to implement than studies using conventional sampling frames and trusted sampling methods. The network scale-up method (NSUM) provides a middle ground for researchers who wish to estimate the size of a hidden population, but lack the resources to conduct a more specialized hidden population study. Through this method it is possible to generate population estimates for a wide variety of groups that are perhaps …

Teen Alcohol Use And Social Networks: The Contributions Of Friend Influence And Friendship Selection, Jacob E. Cheadle, Katrina M. Walsemann, Bridget J. Goosby

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background—We evaluated the contributions of teen alcohol use to the formation and continuation of new and existing friendships while in turn estimating the influence of friend drinking on individuals’ regular use and heavy drinking.

Method—Longitudinal network analysis was used to assess the mutual influences between teen drinking and social networks among adolescents in two large Add Health schools where full network data was collected three times. Friendship processes were disaggregated into the formation of new friendships and the continuation of existing friendships in a joint model isolating friendship selection and friend influences.

Results—Friends have a modest influence …

Sram898 — Special Topics: Survey Informatics, Unl — Fall 2015 Course Syllabus, Adam Eck

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Technology is rapidly changing the way survey researchers collect, manage, and analyze data measuring public opinion. Cutting-edge methods, tools, and data types offer greater insights into both the survey process, as well as the implications of the substantive responses provided by respondents. In this course, we will explore the role of technology throughout data collection, data management, and data analysis within survey research. We will also explore the increasing need for interdisciplinary teams within research to draw from the strengths of different disciplines (e.g., survey research and methodology, computer science and engineering, cognitive psychology, sociology, statistics, etc.) to properly answer …

Reconciling Lgb And Christian Identities In The Rural South, Brandi Woodell, Emily Kazyak, D'Lane Compton

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Drawing on in-depth interviews with rural Christians living in the South who identify as lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB), this study analyzes how they negotiate their religious, geographic, and sexual identities. We find that most interviewees employed two strategies to reconcile their Christian and gay identities: emphasizing a personal connection to an accepting God and finding a local church in their rural community in which they felt accepted. We argue that rural contexts influenced interviewees’ reliance on these strategies and show how individuals can construct multiple interpretations about themselves, which do not always align with existing cultural assumptions. In addition, …

Borderline Personality Disorder And Axis I Psychiatric And Substance Use Disorders Among Women Experiencing Homelessness In Three U.S. Cities, Leslie B. Whitbeck, Brian E. Armenta, Melissa L. Welch-Lazoritz

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Purpose—In this study we report prevalence rates of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Axis I psychiatric and substance use disorders among randomly selected women who were experiencing episodes of homelessness in three U.S. cities.

Methods—The sample consists of 156 women, 79 from Omaha, NE, 39 from Pittsburgh, PA, and 38 from Portland, OR. It included 140 women from shelters and 16 women from meal locations. Latent class analysis was used to evaluate BPD symptoms.

Results—A large majority of the women (84.6%) met criteria for at least one lifetime psychiatric disorder, about three-fourths (73.1%) met criteria for a …

Intimate Partner Violence Risk Among Victims Of Youth Violence: Are Early Unions Bad, Beneficial, Or Benign?*, Danielle C. Kuhl, David F. Warner, Tara D. Warner

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Youth violent victimization (YVV) is a risk factor for precocious exits from adolescence via early coresidential union formation. It remains unclear, however, whether these early unions 1) are associated with intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization, 2) interrupt victim continuity or victim–offender overlap through protective and prosocial bonds, or 3) are inconsequential. By using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (N = 11,928; 18–34 years of age), we examine competing hypotheses for the effect of early union timing among victims of youth violence (n = 2,479)—differentiating across victimization only, perpetration only, and mutually combative relationships and …

Effects Of Abusive Parenting, Caretaker Arrests, And Deviant Behavior On Dating Violence Among Homeless Young Adults., Kimberly A. Tyler, Rachel Schmitz

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Though dating violence is widespread among young adult homeless populations, its risk factors are poorly understood by scholars. To address this gap, the current study uses a social learning theory to examine the effects of abusive parenting and caretaker arrests on dating violence among 172 homeless young adults. Results from path analyses revealed that child physical abuse and caretaker arrests were positively associated with engaging in a greater number of school fights, which, in turn, was strongly and positively correlated with participating in more deviant subsistence strategies (e.g., stealing) since being on the street. Young people who participated in a …

Perceived Discrimination And Markers Of Cardiovascular Risk Among Low-Income African American Youth, Bridget J. Goosby, Sarah Malone, Elizabeth A. Richardson, Jacob Cheadle, Deadric T. Williams

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: Our study examines the relationship between perceived discrimination and levels of C-reactive protein and blood pressure in low-income youth ages 10215 years old.

Methods: Data were collected from 10 to 15 year old focal children and their mothers. Face-to-face interviews were implemented to collect data on stressors including experiences of everyday discrimination from youth. High sensitivity CRP in dried blood spot samples and diastolic and systolic blood pressure were also collected at the time of the interview.

Results: Perceived discrimination among youth was significantly associated with higher levels of CRP, systolic, and diastolic blood pressure. CRP, systolic, and diastolic …

Current Knowledge And Considerations Regarding Survey Refusals: Executive Summary Of The Aapor Task Force Report On Survey Refusals, David Dutwin, John D. Loft, Jill E. Darling, Allyson L. Holbrook, Timothy P. Johnson, Ronald E. Langley, Paul J. Lavrakas, Kristen Olson, Emilia Peytcheva, Jeffery A. Stec, Timothy Triplett, Andrew Zukerberg

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The landscape of survey research has arguably changed more significantly in the past decade than at any other time in its relatively brief history. In that short time, landline telephone ownership has dropped from some 98 percent of all households to less than 60 percent; cell-phone interviewing went from a novelty to a mainstay; address-based designs quickly became an accepted method of sampling the general population; and surveys via Internet panels became ubiquitous in many sectors of social and market research, even as they continue to raise concerns given their lack of random selection.

Among these widespread changes, it is …

Sexual Mixing In Shanghai: Are Heterosexual Contact Patterns Compatible With An Hiv/Aids Epidemic?, M. Giovanna Merli, James Moody, Joshua Mendelsohn, G. Robin Gauthier

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

China’s HIV prevalence is low, mainly concentrated among female sex workers (FSWs), their clients, men who have sex with men, and the stable partners of members of these high-risk groups. We evaluate the contribution to the spread of HIV of China’s regime of heterosexual relations, of the structure of heterosexual networks, and of the attributes of key population groups with simulations driven by data from a cross-sectional survey of egocentric sexual networks of the general population of Shanghai and from a concurrent respondent-driven sample of FSWs. We find that the heterosexual network generated by our empirically calibrated simulations has low …

Review Of Edison Bicudo, Pharmaceutical Research, Democracy And Conspiracy: International Clinical Trials In Local Medical Institutions, Roberto Abadie

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The pharmaceutical industry is—along with the financial and weapons industries—one of the most globalized and profitable business domains. But they wouldn’t make any profits if they weren’t able to recruit research subjects to test an increasing number of drugs. This global trial economy creates its own assemblages of clinical trials, often run by hired contract research organizations (CROs), who fight among each other in a rat-race competition, promising quick and effective trials; at the same time, enterprising countries, hospitals, and doctors jump on the drug trial economy bandwagon by promising quick, endless access to a large pool of research subjects, …

Erratum To: Sexual Mixing In Shanghai: Are Heterosexual Contact Patterns Compatible With An Hiv/Aids Epidemic?, M. Giovanna Merli, James Moody, Joshua Mendelsohn, G. Robin Gauthier

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

In the middle of the paragraph just above Figure 6, there is the following sentence: “The range of the mean of the distribution of the proportion infected generated by the simulations is narrow, between 0.5 % and 0.2 % of all nodes.” This should read “between 0.05 % and 0.2 % of all nodes.”

Exploring The Social Integration Of Sexual Minority Youth Across High School Contexts, Alexa Martin-Storey, Jacob E. Cheadle, Julie Skalamera, Robert Crosnoe

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Mental health disparities between sexual minority and other youth have been theorized to result in part from the effects of the stigmatization on social integration. Stochastic actor-based modeling was applied to complete network data from two high schools in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (mean age =15 years, n=2,533). Same-sex attracted youth were socially marginalized in a smaller predominantly White school but not in a larger, more racially diverse school. For both schools, homophily was a critical network feature, and could represent social support for and social segregation of such youth. These findings emphasize school context in studying …

From Burlesque To Grand Theft Auto: An Historical Analysis Of The Treatment Of The Media-Crime Relationship In Criminology Texts, Lisa Kort-Butler, Michael Killingsworth

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The degree to which criminological scholarship on the mediacrime relationship has been subject to the tides of moral panics is not well-understood, although there are theoretical reasons to hypothesize about the role of scientists in moral panics. Textbooks are one location in which a discipline chronicles its scholarly history and speaks to the public, making texts an important site for understanding how scholars interpret the media-crime relationship. A content analysis of over 200 criminology texts, ranging in publication dates from 1880 to 2012, was conducted. Almost half the texts covered the media-crime relationship. These texts often appeared to be responding …

Global Network Inference From Ego Network Samples: Testing A Simulation Approach, Jeffrey A. Smith

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Network sampling poses a radical idea: that it is possible to measure global network structure without the full population coverage assumed in most network studies. Network sampling is only useful, however, if a researcher can produce accurate global network estimates. This article explores the practicality of making network inference, focusing on the approach introduced in Smith (2012). The method uses sampled ego network data and simulation techniques to make inference about the global features of the true, unknown network. The validity check here includes more difficult scenarios than previous tests, including those that go beyond the initial scope conditions of …

Getting "Bi" In The Family: Bisexual People's Disclosure Experiences, Kristin S. Scherrer, Emily Kazyak, Rachel M. Schmitz

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

There are many similarities in gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals’ coming out experiences, but bisexual people face unique challenges. Despite this, an explicit focus on bisexual people is missing from family research. Using family systems and cultural sociological perspectives, the authors analyzed how social and cultural factors shape disclosure processes for bisexuals as they come out to multiple family members. After analyzing qualitative data from a diverse group of 45 individuals, they found that bisexual people navigate monosexist and heterosexist expectations in their family relationships. Cultural constructions of bisexuality shape the ways that bisexual people disclose their identities, including how …

Methodological Considerations For A New Household Panel Survey, Kristen Olson, J. Michael Brick

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This paper identifies new opportunities for innovation and expansion on current survey practice in the design of a new household panel survey, including an increased use of new and mobile technologies, more frequent data collection, modified clustering, and use of non-traditional survey measures such as administrative data, planned missing/matrix sampling questionnaire design, real-time data collection, and biomarkers. These innovative data collection methods require rethinking traditional panel survey methods, but can help reduce respondent burden and expand on current social science knowledge. The paper concludes that a new household panel survey would improve knowledge about important social, economic and health issues …

"'The Law’S The Law, Right?' Sexual Minority Mothers Navigating Legal Inequities And Inconsistencies.”, Emily Kazyak

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

LGB parents face a number of legal inequities and confront a legal landscape that not only varies drastically by state but also quickly changes. Research has shown that some LGB parents and prospective parents have inaccurate knowledge about the laws relating to parenting. Drawing on data from 21 interviews, I ask how sexual minority mothers gain knowledge about the law. I found that people were very aware of the legal inequities they face and sought to become knowledgeable about the law before they had children. Sexual minority mothers reported using four primary methods to learn about the law: doing independent …

Citizen Volunteers In Prison: Bringing The Outside In, Taking The Inside Out, Lisa Kort-Butler, Sarah E. Malone

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The United States correctional system relies heavily on citizen volunteers, but there is little contemporary research on prison volunteers, which is further limited by sample and geographic region. The purpose of this project was to explore the role of citizen volunteers, including investigating why they volunteer and what their experiences with inmates and prison staff are like. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with citizen volunteers in the penal system of a Midwestern state. Volunteers had altruistic or faith-based motivations, viewing themselves as ‘seed planters’ but not saviors, and placing priority on building relationships. They described how volunteering transformed their views on …

The Recruitment Paradox: Network Recruitment, Structural Position, And East German Market Transition, Richard A. Benton, Steve Mcdonald, Anna Manzoni, David F. Warner

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Economic institutions structure links between labor-market informality and social stratification. The present study explores how periods of institutional change and post-socialist market transition alter network-based job finding, in particular informal recruitment. We highlight how market transitions affect both the prevalence and distribution of network-based recruitment channels: open-market environments reduce informal recruitment’s prevalence but increase its association with high wages. We test these propositions using the case of the former East Germany’s market transition and a comparison with West Germany’s more stable institutional environment. Following transition, workers in lower tiers increasingly turned toward formal intermediaries, active employee search, and socially “disembedded” …

Longitudinal Predictors Of Homelessness: Findings From The National Longitudinal Survey Of Youth-97, Brittany Sznajder-Murray

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Homeless youth represent a vulnerable and understudied population. Little research has prospectively identified factors that may place youth at risk for experiencing homelessness. The current study utilizes data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-97 (NLSY-97) to examine predictors of experiencing homelessness as a young adult (before age 25). The NLSY-97 includes a nationally representative sample of 8,984 youth. Data were first collected from these youth when they were between the ages of 12 to 18 years. The current study examined whether individual and family risk factors reported during adolescence predict homelessness by the age of 25. The findings showed …

Child Abuse, Street Victimization, And Substance Use Among Homeless Young Adults, Kimberly A. Tyler, Lisa A. Melander

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although previous research documents high rates of child abuse, street victimization, and substance use among homeless youth, few studies have investigated these three constructs simultaneously, and thus little is known about how various forms of victimization are uniquely associated with substance use among this population. The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship among child sexual and physical abuse, street victimization, and partner violence with substance use among 172 homeless young adults. Path analysis results revealed that males and those who reported parental drug problems were significantly more likely to have higher rates of substance use. Those who …

Surgical Sterilization, Regret, And Race: Contemporary Patterns, Karina M. Shreffler, Julia Mcquillan, Arthur L. Greil, David R. Johnson

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Surgical sterilization is a relatively permanent form of contraception that has been disproportionately used by Black, Hispanic, and Native American women in the United States in the past. We use a nationally representative sample of 4,609 women ages 25 to 45 to determine whether sterilization continues to be more common and consequential by race for reproductive-age women. Results indicate that Native American and Black women are more likely to be sterilized than non-Hispanic White women, and Hispanic and Native American women are more likely than non-Hispanic White women to report that their sterilization surgeries prevent them from conceiving children they …

Characteristics Of Mothers Caring For Children During Episodes Of Homelessness, Melissa L. Welch-Lazoritz, Les B. Whitbeck, Brian E. Armenta

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study provides a description of the physical, psychological, and substance use problems of adult homeless women who are and are not caring for children. We also examined differences in the characteristics of these two groups of women. Interviews were conducted with 148 homeless women from three mid-sized U.S. cities, 24.3 % of whom were caring for at least one child. Our results showed that women caring for children were more likely to be sheltered and have health insurance. Homeless women caring for children and solitary homeless women were generally similar in terms of substance abuse problems. However, rates of …

Hiv/Aids In Puerto Rican People Who Inject Drugs: Policy Considerations, Luz M. López, Lisa De Saxe Zerden, Philippe Bourgois, Helena Hansen, Roberto Abadie, Kirk Dombrowski, Ric Curtis

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We commend the important work of Deren et al. that underscores the high rates of HIV among Puerto Rican people who inject drugs (PRPWID) and highlights the health, social, and service disparities between Puerto Rico and the Northeast US region. As articulated in their article, HIV/AIDS risk and substance use are not individual problems with individual consequences—the epidemic impacts community and culture, across borders and boundaries. In addition to service disparities, various socioeconomic contextual factors are associated with and may exacerbate the spread of HIV/AIDS in PRPWID, including limited educational and employment opportunities, poverty, and political disenfranchisement. Efforts to reduce …

‘‘We Can Wipe An Entire Culture’’: Fears And Promises Of Dna Biobanking Among Native Americans, Roberto Abadie, Kathleen Heaney

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This paper explores Native American perceptions on DNA biobanking. A qualitative study was conducted among self-declared Native Americans living off reservation in two Midwest cities. Findings demonstrate a paradox: Informants maintain strong hopes for the transformative power of gene-based research while voicing very particular social anxieties. Emerging genomic technologies elicit concerns over the potential for genetic stigmatization or discrimination based on race, preventing access to health insurance or employment. Frequently, social anxieties adopt the narrative form of conspiracy theories which portray powerful agents exploiting or abusing a disenfranchised population. We argue that while Native Americans do not have a monopoly …

Variation In Pregnancy Intendedness Across U.S. Women’S Pregnancies, Karina M. Shreffler, Arthur L. Greil, Katherine Stamps Mitchell, Julia Mcquillan

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

How stable are women’s pregnancy intentions across their reproductive lifespans? Are there demographic, social, or attitudinal characteristics that are associated with differing pregnancy intentions patterns? Patterns of intendedness across pregnancies were examined using a sample of 3,110 women ages 25–45 who have been pregnant at least twice from the National Survey of Fertility Barriers. Multinomial logistic regression analyses assessed associations between patterns of intentions and respondents’ economic/social status, values and ideologies to determine if intentions are a stable characteristic or pregnancy- specific. The majority of women (60%) reported varying intendedness across individual pregnancies, indicating that intendedness tends to be pregnancy-specific. …