Digital Commons Network^™

Experienced And Vicarious Victimization: Do Social Support And Self-Esteem Prevent Delinquent Responses?, Lisa A. Kort-Butler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This article extended research that views violent victimization as a stressor that may lead to delinquency. Following general strain theory, the analysis considered the mediating role of fearfulness, depression, and anxiety. The analysis also examined whether social support and self-esteem conditioned the relationship between victimization and delinquency. Results indicated that negative emotions did not substantially mediate the effect of victimization on delinquency. Among those with lower levels of both social support and self-esteem, experiencing violent victimization and witnessing victimization led to general delinquency. Victimization was unrelated to general delinquency among those with higher levels of both these resources. Experiencing victimization …

Birth Weight, Cognitive Development, And Life Chances: A Comparison Of Siblings From Childhood Into Early Adulthood, Jacob Cheadle, Bridget J. Goosby

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Child Sample (CNLSY79), we sought to elaborate the complex interplay between childhood health and educational development over the early life course. Our approach made use of sibling comparisons to estimate the relationship between birth weight, cognitive development, and timely high school completion in models that spanned childhood, adolescence, and into early adulthood. Our findings indicated that lower birth weight, even after adjusting for fixed-family characteristics and aspects of the home environment that varied between siblings, was associated with decreased cognitive skills at age 5 and marginally significantly slower growth rates into …

Advice When Children Come Out: The Cultural “Tool Kits” Of Parents, Karin A. Martin, David J. Hutson, Emily Kazyak, Kristin S. Scherrer

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The family is one of the main areas of social life where the normalization of gay and lesbian identity is incomplete. Most research analyzes the individual and psychological aspects of how families respond to children’s disclosure of a gay or lesbian identity and ignores the social, cultural, and historical contexts. An examination of the cultural discourses, tools, and strategies that are available to parents is necessary for a full understanding of how families respond to gay and lesbian children. The authors conduct an interpretive content analysis of 29 advice books to assess this cultural field and its institutional resources. They …

Optimism And Pessimism In Children With Cancer And Healthy Children: Confirmatory Factor Analysis Of The Youth Life Orientation Test And Relations With Health-Related Quality Of Life, Natalie A. Williams, Genevieve Davis, Miriam Hancock, Sean Phipps

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

Objective To test the measurement equivalence of the Youth Life Orientation Test (YLOT) in children with cancer (N = 199) and healthy controls (N = 108), and to examine optimism and pessimism as predictors of children's health-related quality of life (HRQL).

Methods Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to establish the two factor structure of the YLOT and to test for metric invariance.

Results A two-factor structure for the YLOT was confirmed and found to be stable across our study groups. There were no differences in mean levels of optimism and pessimism between cancer patients and controls after controlling for …

A Comprehensive Index For Assessing Environmental Stress In Animals, Terry L. Mader, Leslie J. Johnson, John B. Gaghan Dr

Nebraska Extension: Faculty and Staff Publications

Numerous models and indices exist that attempt to characterize the effect of environmental factors on the comfort of animals and humans. Heat and cold indices have been utilized to adjust ambient temperature (Ta) for the effects of relative humidity (RH) or wind speed (WS) or both for the purposes of obtaining a “feels-like” or apparent temperature. However, no model has been found that incorporates adjustments for RH, WS, and radiation (RAD) over conditions that encompass hot and cold environmental conditions. The objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive climate index (CCI) that has application under a wide range …

Modern Slavery: A Regional Focus, Amanda J. Gould

Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking: 2nd (2010)

Kevin Bales, through his study in Understanding Global Slavery: A Reader, provides an important quantitative analysis on the predictive factors of modern slavery. Upon examining his study though, several issues arise including too few observations for several of the variables and the lack of a regional variable. The author decided to rerun his study with replacements for the problematic variables used previously. Upon obtaining the results from this, the author examined development theory (development is believed to be closely liked to slavery), and began creating an alternative model, which eventually included the addition of a regional variable. This model …

A Comparison Of Homeless And High-Risk Young Adults: Are They One And The Same?, Kimberly A. Tyler, Katherine A. Johnson, Lisa A. Melander

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although experiencing poor parenting has been linked to high-risk behaviors and negative outcomes among different populations, very little research has been conducted on whether inadequate parenting has the same detrimental consequences for homeless and high-risk young adults. As such, this article compares homeless and marginally housed young adults to see if the associations between poor parenting (e.g. lower monitoring, neglect and physical abuse) and negative outcomes including depressive symptoms, victimization, delinquency, and substance use are similar for these two groups. The sample consisted of 199 homeless and high-risk young adults from the Midwestern United States. Multivariate results revealed that childhood …

Foster Care Placement, Poor Parenting, And Negative Outcomes Among Homeless Young Adults, Kimberly A. Tyler, Lisa A. Melander

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although homeless youth with and without foster care histories both face adverse life circumstances, little is known about how these two groups compare in terms of their early histories and whether they face similar outcomes. As such, we compared those with and without a history of foster care placement to determine if the associations between a history of poor parenting and negative outcomes including depression, delinquency, physical and sexual victimization, and substance use, are similar for these two groups. The sample consisted of 172 homeless young adults from the Midwestern United States. Multivariate results revealed that among those previously in …

“Trying” Times: Medicalization, Intent, And Ambiguity In The Definition Of Infertility, Arthur L. Greil, Julia Mcquillan

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Researchers studying infertility from the perspective of anthropology and other the social sciences seldom examine the assumptions embedded in the biomedical definition of infertility. Implicit in the biomedical definition is the assumption that people can be divided straightforwardly into those who are trying to conceive and those who are not trying to conceive. If being infertile implies “intent to conceive,” we must recognize that there are various degrees of intent and that the line between the fertile and the infertile is not as sharp as is usually imagined. Drawing on structured interview data collected from a random sample of Midwestern …

The Lived Experience Of Empowered Volunteers: A Study Of Christian Church Volunteers, Adam K. Peters

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

Psychological empowerment has been thoroughly studied in the workplace context. Volunteerism has also been thoroughly studied through a multitude of different facets. However, little research could be found bridging the empowerment construct into volunteerism. Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the experience of empowerment among volunteers. Volunteer empowerment was discovered through four primary themes, make a difference, rewarding, lifestyle of service, and passion, and three secondary themes, autonomy, awareness, and ability. Other relevant findings included and revolved around volunteer time and balance, challenges, propelling forces, and getting started. Current …

Using The Internet To Survey Small Towns And Communities: Limitations And Possibilities In The Early 21st Century, Jolene D. Smyth, Don A. Dillman, Leah Melani Christian, Allison C. O'Neill

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Researchers who are interested in small towns and rural communities in the United States often find that they need to conduct their own sample surveys because many large national surveys, such as the American Community Survey, do not collect enough representative responses to make precise estimates. In collecting their own survey data, researchers face a number of challenges, such as sampling and coverage limitations. This article summarizes those challenges and tests mail and Internet methodologies for collecting data in small towns and rural communities using the U.S. Postal Service’s Delivery Sequence File as a sample frame. Findings indicate that the …

Learned Workers: Predicting Adult Education In The Labor Force, Alian S. Kasabian

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In a highly competitive labor force, human capital is a marketable resource. However, the human capital model fails to explain the substantial number of adults pursuing education after they enter the workforce. Not only are increasing numbers of adult students pursuing credentials in the form of degrees and certificates, they pursue other types of education as well. Using the 2005 National Household Education Survey on adult education, I predict participation patterns in workers over the age of 25 using queuing and intersectionality theories to explain gender, race and age variations. For adults pursuing education, employer support demonstrates racial/ethnic differences across …

Specifying The Effects Of Religion On Medical Helpseeking: The Case Of Infertility, Arthur L. Greil, Julia Mcquillan, Maureen Benjamins, David R. Johnson, Katherine M. Johnson, Chelsea R. Heinz

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Several recent studies have examined the connection between religion and medical service utilization. This relationship is complicated because religiosity may be associated with beliefs that either promote or hinder medical helpseeking. The current study uses structural equation modeling to examine the relationship between religion and fertility-related helpseeking using a probability sample of 2183 infertile women in the United States. We found that, although religiosity is not directly associated with helpseeking for infertility, it is indirectly associated through mediating variables that operate in opposing directions. More specifically, religiosity is associated with greater belief in the importance of motherhood, which in turn …

He Said, She Said: (Dis)Agreement About The Occurrence Of Intimate Partner Violence Among Young Adult Couples, Harmonijoie Noel

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Using a sample of 1,269 dating, cohabitating, and married young adult couples, my dissertation explores the extent of disagreement about violence between heterosexual romantic partners, how the prevalence and common predictors of intimate partner violence (IPV) change because of disagreement, and how errors in the cognitive response process can explain disagreement. Disagreement occurs when one partner reports physical violence in their relationship but the other partner does not. Male and female-perpetrated violence are analyzed separately because disagreement may operate differently for these two types of violence. As a result of disagreement among partners, estimates of violence based on individual assessments …

Explaining College Partner Violence In The Digital Age: An Instrumental Design Mixed Methods Study, Lisa Melander

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Intimate partner violence is prevalent in contemporary society and certain groups of individuals such as college students are particularly at high risk for becoming involved in aggressive relationships. Despite the detailed body of literature that examines the risk factors for in-person partner violence, researchers have been criticized for their lack of attention to other behaviors that may be considered abusive. One new area of research is cyber aggression, which refers to the use of newer forms of technology (e.g., cell phones and computers) to facilitate repeated harassing behavior with the intention of harming others. Few scholars, however, examine these behaviors …

Using Proxy Measures And Other Correlates Of Survey Outcomes To Adjust For Non-Response: Examples From Multiple Surveys, Frauke Kreuter, Kristen M. Olson, James Wagner, Ting Yan, Trena M. Ezzati-Rice, Carolina Casas-Cordero, Michael Lemay, Andy Peytchev, Robert M. Groves, Trivellore E. Raghunathan

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Non-response weighting is a commonly used method to adjust for bias due to unit non-response in surveys. Theory and simulations show that, to reduce bias effectively without increasing variance, a covariate that is used for non-response weighting adjustment needs to be highly associated with both the response indicator and the survey outcome variable. In practice, these requirements pose a challenge that is often overlooked, because those covariates are often not observed or may not exist. Surveys have recently begun to collect supplementary data, such as interviewer observations and other proxy measures of key survey outcome variables. To the extent that …

The Genetic Heritability
 Of
 Survey
 Response 
Styles, Levente Littvay

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

This study assesses the genetic heritability of various survey response styles using a classical twin design. The National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) collected in 1995-96 included an oversample of twins with self-reported zygosity along with a large number of survey items that allowed for the assessment of acquiescent and extreme response style. The MIDUS singleton sample was used for the careful development of appropriate and reliable measures of these traits. The second wave of the MIDUS (2005-06), was used to assess the sources of survey response trait stability. Acquiescence appears to have a sizable and …

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (Nasis) 2010 Methodology Report, Bureau Of Sociological Research

Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS)

CONTENTS

Introduction 1

Mode Selection 1

Design & Item Selection 1

Sampling Design 1

Experimental Design Treatment 2

Data Collection Process 2

Response Rate 3

Data-Entry Training, Supervision, and Quality Control 3

Processing of Completed Surveys 3

Data Cleaning 4

Representativeness of the Survey 4

NASIS Sample Weights 5

Questions 5

Appendix A: Cover Letter 9

Appendix B: Formatted Mail Survey 11

Appendix C: Future Research Interest Card 20

Appendix D: Reminder Postcard 21

Appendix E: City and County FIPS Codes 22

Appendix F: Variables and Descriptions 27

Conceptions Regarding Children’S Health: An Examination Of Ethnotheories In A Sending And Receiving Community, Maria Rosario De Guzman, Jennifer Deleon, Gloria Gonzalez-Kruger, Rodrigo Cantarero

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

Ethnotheories are beliefs that adults hold about children and the factors that impact upon their development. Scholars suggest that “ethnotheories” serve as cultural models that underlie motivations for parenting practices and the way adults organize children’s early experiences. This study examines Mexican adults’ ethnotheories about children’s health in two communities that are linked by transnational migrants and serve as sending and receiving communities for workers. Forty-four Mexican adults in six focus groups discussed well-being issues affecting children in their communities. Qualitative analyses using grounded theory revealed a complex conception of children’s health issues that included physical, psychological, and behavioral components …

Economic Outlook 2010: Innovation, Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Presentations and White Papers

This article discusses the importance of innovation to individuals and the overall economy.

Patterns Of Nonresident Father Contact*, Jacob E. Cheadle, Paul R. Amato, Valarie King

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We used the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort (NLSY79) from 1979 to 2002 and the Children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (CNLSY) from 1986 to 2002 to describe the number, shape, and population frequencies of U.S. nonresident father contact trajectories over a 14-year period using growth mixture models. The resulting four-category classification indicated that nonresident father involvement is not adequately characterized by a single population with a monotonic pattern of declining contact over time. Contrary to expectations, about two-thirds of fathers were consistently either highly involved or rarely involved in their children’s lives. Only one group, …

Campus Safety: Assessing And Managing Threats, Mario Scalora, Andre Simons, Shawn Vanslyke

Mario Scalora Publications

Since the shootings at Virginia Tech, academic institutions and police departments have dedicated substantial resources to alleviating concerns regarding campus safety. The incident in Blacksburg and the similar tragedy at Northern Illinois University have brought renewed attention to the prevention of violence at colleges and universities.

Campus professionals must assess the risk posed by known individuals, as well as by anonymous writers of threatening communications. The authors offer threat assessment and management strategies to address the increased demands faced by campus law enforcement, mental health, and administration officials who assess and manage threats, perhaps several simultaneously.

Connection To Nature In Park Visitors: A Look At Structured And Unstructured Recreational Activities, Chelsea D. West

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There is evidence that park visitation is on the decline (Pergams & Zaradic, 2008) and if this is the case, and budgets decrease proportionately, there is a chance park land will be lost. Definitive explanations of the decline in park visits and time spent in nature are not available. In addition, there has been some discussion and research pertaining to the possible effects on people of not going into the natural environment and experiencing a connection with nature.

This study represents the first research known to focus on connectedness to nature and its relationship to structured and unstructured recreational activities. …

Sharing Stories, Songs And Books. G1986, Janet S. Hanna, Kayla M. Hinrichs, Carla J. Mahar, John Defrain, Tonia Renee Durden

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

StoryQUEST’s Vision: High-quality early relationships and experiences throughout their daily routines provide each infant and toddler with the tools and skills to build a strong foundation for future school readiness. Families, caregivers, and communities as a whole collaborate to enable all children to become highly competent in language and literacy. This series was developed as part of a national research project — StoryQUEST — through the California Institute on Human Services, Sonoma State University.

Learn to share stories, songs and books as a way to help your child’s literacy development. This is the third publication in a series of nine.

An Entrepreneurial Approach To Career Development, Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Presentations and White Papers

This article explains how people can use an entrepreneurial approach to career development in and effort to advance their careers and employment opportunities.

Jacob Singer (1883-1964): Bio-Bibliography Of A Jewish-Latvian-Nebraskan Sociologist, Michael R. Hill, Natalja Callahan

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The professional life of Jacob Singer was deeply entwined with religion and thus exemplifies the sociological life histories of many early sociologists in the United States and elsewhere. Numerous Protestant sociologists, such as Charles A. Ellwood (1988) and the religious men of the early Chicago School, e.g., Albion Small, Charles R. Henderson, George Vincent and Charles Zeublin (Deegan 1988: 71- 104), interpenetrated the boundaries between sociology and religion as did several Catholic sociologists, including, for example, Eva J. Ross (Hill 1999) and the members of the Christus Rex Society in Ireland (Daly 2006). Adding to the religious diversity of this …

Age, Period, And Cohort Effects On U.S. Religious Service Attendance: The Declining Impact Of Sex, Southern Residence, And Catholic Affiliation, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

I use repeated, cross-sectional data from 1972 to 2006 to analyze age, period, and cohort effects on Americans’ frequency of religious service attendance with cross-classified, random-effects models. The results show that the frequency of religious service attendance is relatively stable, with a modest period-based decline in the 1990s and little overall cohort effect. Although aggregate rates of attendance are stable, there are large changes across cohorts and periods in differences in attendance between men and women, southerners and non-southerners, and Catholics and mainline Protestants. These results serve as a reminder that aggregate trends can mask substantial changes among specific groups, …

Thomas Carlyle’S Lost Translation Of Saint-Simon’S Nouveau Christianisme: An Epistolary Account, Michael R. Hill

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The first-known (and now lost) translation of Saint-Simon’s Nouveau christianisme was prepared by the well-known Scotch-born prose writer, Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881). Carlyle was considerably interested in the Saint- Simonian movement (Cofer 1931; Murphy 1936; Shine 1941) and undertook to translate Saint-Simon’s last work during the latter half of 1830. The following excerpts from Carlyle’s correspondence reveal that he was unable to find a willing publisher for his translation, and the manuscript subsequently disappeared, presumably in France. This unfortunate chain of events accounts in part for the circumstance that Nouveau christianisme was not better-known among Englishspeaking sociologists and lay readers. Although …

Assessing Key Informant Methodology In Congregational Research, Philip Schwadel, Kevin D. Dougherty

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Surveying key informants is a common methodology in congregational research. While practical and cost-effective, there are limitations in the ability of a single informant to speak for an entire organization. This paper explores potential limitations empirically. Using the 1993 American Congregational Giving Study, we compare demographic descriptions provided by pastors to demographic information taken from random samples of members in the same congregations. Significant differences in congregational profiles appear along dimensions of gender, age, race/ethnicity and, most notably, education and income. The amount of discrepancy between pastor and member profiles varies by congregational factors such as denominational affiliation and employment …

Pregnancy Intentions Among Women Who Do Not Try: Focusing On Women Who Are Okay Either Way, Julia Mcquillan, Arthur L. Greil, Karina M. Shreffler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: Are women who are intentional about pregnancy (trying to or trying not to get pregnant) systematically different from women who are “okay either way” about getting pregnant?
Methods. We use a currently sexually active subsample (n = 3,771) of the National Survey of Fertility Barriers, a random digit dialing telephone survey of reproductive-aged women (ages 25–45) in the United States. We compare women who are trying to, trying not to, or okay either way about getting pregnant on attitudes, social pressures, life course and status characteristics using bivariate analyses (chi-square tests for categorical and ANOVA tests for continuous variables). …