Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of Education In The Relationship Between Age Of Migration To The United States And Risk Of Cognitive Impairment Among Older Mexican Americans, Brian Downer, Marc A. Garcia, Joseph Saenz, Kyriakos S. Markides, Rebeca Wong

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Prior research indicates age of migration is associated with cognitive health outcomes among older Mexican Americans; however, factors that explain this relationship are unclear. This study used eight waves from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly to examine the role of education in the risk for cognitive impairment (CI) by nativity, age of migration, and gender. Foreign-born women had a higher risk for CI than U.S.-born women, regardless of age of migration. After adjusting for education, this risk remained significant only for late-life migrant women (risk ratio [RR] = 1.28). Foreign-born men who migrated at …

Latent Risk Subtypes Based On Injection And Sexual Behavior Among People Who Inject Drugs In Rural Puerto Rico, Dane Hautala, Roberto Abadie, Courtney Thrash, Juan Carlos Reyes, Kirk Dombrowski

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background—People who inject drugs (PWID) in Puerto Rico engage in high levels of injection and sexual risk behavior, and they are at high risk for HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) infection, relative to their US counterparts. Less is known, however, about the clustering of risk behavior conducive to HIV and HCV infection among rural Puerto Rican communities.

Objectives—The purpose of this study was to examine concurrent injection and sexual risk subtypes among a rural sample of PWID in Puerto Rico.

Methods—Data were drawn from a respondent-driven sample collected in 2015 of 315 PWID in 4 rural communities approximately 30–40 miles …

Effects Of A Government-Academic Partnership: Has The Nsf-Census Bureau Research Network Helped Improve The U.S. Statistical System?, Daniel H. Weinberg,, John M. Abowd, Robert F. Belli, Noel Cressie, David C. Folch, S. H. Holan, Margaret C. Levenstein, Kristen Olson, Jerome P. Reiter, Matthew D. Shapiro, Jolene Smyth, Leen-Kiat Soh, Bruce D. Spencer, Seth E. Spielman, Lars Vilhuber, Christopher K. Wikle

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The National Science Foundation-Census Bureau Research Network (NCRN) was established in 2011 to create interdisciplinary research nodes on methodological questions of interest and significance to the broader research community and to the Federal Statistical System (FSS), particularly to the Census Bureau. The activities to date have covered both fundamental and applied statistical research and have focused at least in part on the training of current and future generations of researchers in skills of relevance to surveys and alternative measurement of economic units, households, and persons. This article focuses on some of the key research findings of the eight nodes, organized …

Perceived Discrimination And Adolescent Sleep In A Community Sample, Bridget J. Goosby, Jacob Cheadle, Whitney Strong-Bak, Taylor C. Roth, Timothy D. Nelson

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Sleep is a key restorative process, and poor sleep is linked to disease and mortality risk. The adolescent population requires more sleep on average than adults but are most likely to be sleep deprived. Adolescence is a time of rapid social upheaval and sensitivity to social stressors including discrimination. This study uses two weeks of daily e-diary measures documenting discrimination exposure and concurrent objective sleep indicators measured using actigraphy. We assess associations between daily discrimination and contemporaneous sleep with a diverse sample of adolescents. This novel study shows youth with higher average discrimination reports have worse average sleep relative to …

The Political Implications Of Religious Non-Affiliation In Emerging Adulthood, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Religious non-affiliation has increased considerably in the U.S. over the last few decades. The contemporary generation of emerging adults is the first to have a sizable proportion raised with no religious affiliation. This article uses nationally representative, longitudinal survey data to examine how both non-affiliation in adolescence and switching to non-affiliation in emerging adulthood influence political interest, behaviors, orientation, and partisanship. The results show the following: 1) that unaffiliated emerging adults are less politically active than the religiously affiliated; 2) that the unaffiliated are relatively liberal and unlikely to be Republican; 3) that the unaffiliated are more likely than the …

Why Sociology Needs Science Fiction, Daniel Hirschman, Philip Schwadel, Rick Searle, Erica Deadman, Ijlal Naqvi

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Grokking Modernity by Philip Schwadel

Resistance and the Art of Words by Rick Searle

A Planet Without Gender by Erica Deadman

Beware of Geeks with Good Intentions by Ijlal Naqvi

In this issue, our contributors take up these concerns in four short essays. Philip Schwadel applies theories of communicative functions to look at sci-fi ’s potential to shape our social understandings. Ijlal Naqvi returns to Isaac Asimov’s Foundation to argue that dreams of perfect social prediction will remain elusive and perhaps undesirable. Erica Deadman showcases how well LeGuin’s Left Hand of Darkness illustrates ideas from the sociology of gender. And …

The Influence Of Multimorbidity On Leading Causes Of Death In Older Adults With Cognitive Impairment, Nicholas K. Schiltz, David F. Warner, Jiayang Sun, Kathleen A. Smyth, Stefan Gravenstein, Kurt C. Stange, Siran M. Koroukian

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship of leading causes of death with gradients of cognitive impairment and multimorbidity. Method: This is a population-based study using data from the linked 1992- 2010 Health and Retirement Study and National Death Index (n = 9,691). Multimorbidity is defined as a combination of chronic conditions, functional limitations, and geriatric syndromes. Regression trees and Random Forest identified which combinations of multimorbidity associated with causes of death. Results: Multimorbidity is common in the study population. Heart disease is the leading cause in all groups, but with a larger percentage of deaths …

Early Origins Of Adult Cancer Risk Among Men And Women: Influence Of Childhood Misfortune?, Blakelee R. Kemp, Kenneth F. Ferraro, Patricia M. Morton, Sarah A. Mustillo

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective—To examine the effect of five childhood misfortune domains—parental behavior, socioeconomic status, infectious diseases, chronic diseases, and impairments—on all-site and selected site-specific cancer prevalence and all-site cancer incidence.

Method—Panel data from the Health and Retirement Study (2004–2012) were used to investigate cancer risk among adults above the age of 50.

Results—Risky parental behavior and impairment in childhood were associated with higher odds of all-site cancer prevalence, and childhood chronic disease was associated with prostate cancer, even after adjusting for adult health and socioeconomic factors. Moreover, having one infectious disease in childhood lowered the odds of colon cancer. Cancer trends varied …

American Black Bear Den-Site Selection And Characteristics In An Urban Environment, Toryn L. J. Schafer, Stewart W. Breck, Sharon Baruch-Mordo, David L. Lewis, Kenneth R. Wilson, Julie S. Mao, Thomas L. Day

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Selection of den sites is a crucial aspect of American black bear (Ursus americanus) life history. High-quality dens provide thermal insulation, protection from disturbance, suitable environment for parturition and cub development, and proximity to available forage upon emergence. Black bears are increasingly coexisting with people in human-dominated landscapes; however, little is known about whether urban environments influence characteristics of dens and den site selection. Our objective was to determine the effect of housing density (a proxy for human activity and availability of anthropogenic resources) on selection of den sites in years of good and poor natural forage.We additionally …

Essays In Commodities And Freight Markets, Nelson Yap

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Chapter 1: Structural Changes in Functional Curves: Estimation and Testing

Abstract: This paper considers the estimation and testing of structural changes in functional curves that occurs at an unknown date. The functional principal component analysis is applied to the random functional curves, decomposing them into interpretable simple latent functions and random scalars. We model the random scalars using a simple autoregressive model and test for a change in parameters that occur at an unknown date. This method is applied to the crude oil futures market to estimate and date possible structural breaks during OPEC announcement periods from 1984 to 2017.

Three Essays On Social Insurance, Jessica Ya Sun

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This dissertation consists of three chapters on the economics of social insurance. Each chapter explores an aspect of the evaluation and design of social insurance in terms of nutrition, healthcare and unemployment.

The first chapter, Kim, Fleisher and Sun (2016) report evidence of long-term adverse health impacts of fetal malnutrition exposure of middle-aged survivors of the 1959-1961 China Famine using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. We find that fetal exposure to malnutrition has large and long lasting impacts on both physical health and cognitive abilities, including the risks of suffering a stroke, physical disabilities in speech, …

Opening The Gates To Ap Equity: A Case Study Of A Central Virginia High School’S Practices, Policies, And Characteristics Toward Proportional Black Student Representation In Advanced Placement Enrollment, Andrew R. Armstrong

Theses and Dissertations

Advanced Placement (AP) courses engage high school students with college curriculum taught by trained high school teachers, with an opportunity for students to earn college credit by passing the end-of-course AP exam. AP has evolved into an indicator of school quality, instructional rigor, and a consideration in the college admissions process. AP enrollment and exam performance outcomes for White students disproportionately surpass those for Black students. This study attempts to inform practice, policy, and programming toward more equitable enrollment outcomes for Black students through a single case study. The selected case school was the only high school among 38 in …

Can Neuroimaging In Dogs Have Practical Implications?, Tiffani J. Howell

Animal Sentience

Jealousy, or at least aggression, can be observed in dogs using neuroimaging techniques, but this response attenuates quickly following repeated exposure to the aggression-inducing stimulus. This may have a practical application. Early socialisation as a puppy, and habituation as an adult dog, could help prevent undesirable behaviours such as predatory behaviour. It is unclear whether these processes are the same, and affected only by the dog’s age. Neuroimaging could help us understand whether the same neurological processes underlie socialisation and habituation, and whether self-rewarding behaviours such as predatory behaviour could be stopped using socialisation/habituation techniques.

Perception Of Nigerian Immigrants Of Police And Policing In The United States, Akinniyi Ademola Akinropo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nigerian immigrants in the United States exhibit complex and different perceptions of police in the criminal justice system than those of African Americans who are born in the United States. In order for Nigerian immigrants to contribute to improved police-community relations, their views and experiences with local police should be evaluated and applied to police agency decision-making. The purpose of this narrative study was to explore Nigerian immigrants' perceptions of police and policing in the United States (U.S.). Social cognitive theory was utilized as a lens of analysis to understand how prior experiences can influence future behavior and expectations. Structured …

Stress And Coping Abilities Of Swat Personnel In A Metropolitan Area Of Florida, Pedro Corpas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For decades, stress has been scientifically studied and found to have effects on the law enforcement community. Furthermore, scholars have thoroughly studied the correlation between stress and the law enforcement occupation which has been proven to affect their well-being. Although there is currently ample literature on stress and police officers, to date there has been little research on factors associated with stress and SWAT police officers. Using Lazarus and Folkman's cognitive theory of stress and coping as the foundation, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how SWAT police officers cope with stress while on duty and off …

The Relationship Between Transformational Leadership Behaviors And Employee Engagement And Turnover Intent, James Bruce Bright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The fast food industry is experiencing issues related to employee engagement and retention. Researchers have shown that managers' transformational leadership behaviors impact employee engagement and turnover intent in various work environments; however, no research to date has evaluated its influence on the fast food industry's hourly-wage, nonmanagement workforce. Building on the theoretical research of Burns and Bass, this study was conducted to examine the relationships among managers' 5 transformational leadership behaviors of idealized influence attributes, idealized influence behavior, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration and employee engagement and turnover intent. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire , the Utrecht Work Engagement …

Monetary Incentives And Adolescent Males' Athletic Performance, Sean Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although the use of monetary incentives as motivational tools has been studied by previous researchers, the mechanism of the relationship between monetary incentives and behavior/performance remains poorly understood. The purpose of this quasi-experimental investigation was to explore the relationship between 3 levels of monetary incentives ($0, $3, and $10) and the athletic performance of adolescent male soccer players. The moderating effect of perceived physical self-efficacy or intrinsic motivation on the relationship between athletic performance and monetary incentives was also investigated. The framework for the study was comprised of expectancy theory, the theory of planned behavior, and self-determination theory. Study participants …

Family Reunification Among Women In Recovery From Substance Abuse And Complex Trauma, Cesha Tiffany Reese

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For women in recovery from complex trauma and substance abuse, the lack of posttreatment family reunification services such as family engagement, service delivery, and aftercare planning increase the likelihood of parental relapse and children reentering foster care. A primary caregiver's continued relapse can lead to longer out of home placement for minor children and a loss of parental rights, with a negative impact on both children and parents. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of women in recovery, their sobriety practices, and how they reunified their families. The theoretical framework was Herman's trauma …

The Novice Licensed Professional Counselor's Perceived Preparedness To Use Self-Disclosure, Nicole Pfaff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Self-disclosure is used by feminist, humanistic, client-centered, and a variety of other counselors to build therapeutic alliances with clients. However, little research has been conducted on counselors' perceptions of their preparedness to use self-disclosure. This exploratory multiple-case study used attachment theory as a framework to explore the perceptions of novice licensed professional counselors' preparedness to use self-disclosure. The 12 participants who participated in face-to-face interviews practiced as licensed professional counselors in Delaware, New Jersey, or Pennsylvania. The participants described how they learned, practiced, and used self-disclosure. After analyzing interview data through cycle coding and peer review, themes emerged showing participants' …

Comparing Job Satisfaction Between Certified And Noncertified Substitute Teachers, Katie Schkolenko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A rural, mid-sized district is experiencing great difficulty in the recruitment and retention of substitute teachers despite increased recruitment efforts. Such difficulty has resulted in numerous disruptions to the educational process. Despite their integral role in the educational process, research on substitute teachers remains absent from the literature. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess the job satisfaction of substitute teachers with regard to differences between the two subgroups of certified and noncertified substitute teachers. This study was based on the two-factor theory. The research questions addressed the overall job satisfaction of substitute teachers, whether teacher job satisfaction …

Child Sexual Abuse And Prenatal Care: Understanding Screening, Modifications, And Proper Care, Wendy Abbott-Egnor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown that 1 in 9 women in prenatal care have a history of childhood sexual abuse. Pregnant women with a history of childhood sexual abuse are at increased risk of depression, somatization, preterm contractions, posttraumatic stress symptomology, and re-traumatization. The purpose of this study was to bridge the gap in literature between research and practice. Data was collected from practitioners regarding the care and treatment of pregnant women with a childhood sexual abuse history. It was hypothesized that screening practices and modification to care and treatment based on practitioner knowledge of prior sex abuse history will vary by …

The Lived Experiences Of Counselors Working With Youth With Problem Sexual Behaviors, Beverly Crump

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Youth, between the ages of 12 and 17, account for the majority of sexual assaults in the United States. Counselors who work with youth with problem sexual behaviors need to have appropriate clinical skills to the degree to which clinical services increase the probability of effective results and are consistent with current professional knowledge. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of counselors who work with youth with problem sexual behaviors. A purposeful sample of 8 licensed professional clinical counselors employed at a mental health agency in one city in Ohio shared their experiences …

Increasing Permanent Home Placements For Children With Diagnosed Disabilities In Foster Care, Adina Ekwerike

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, 397,000 children received foster care services in 2012. Some states successfully achieved permanent homes for children with diagnosed disabilities who exited care while others were less successful. Using change theory and social ecological theory as the foundations, the purpose of this study was to determine the impact that diagnosed disabilities had on permanent home placements among Pennsylvania's foster care children who were discharged and were between ages of 0 to 6 years in 2012. Hernandez's and Hodges's theory of change was used to evaluate the 1982 standards that license foster care agencies, while Stokol's ecological theory …

Perceptions Of People's Experiences Regarding Gun Violence, Charles M. Ndikum

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gun violence is a problem in many communities across the United States that are characterized by poverty, and lack of quality education, yet little is known about the experiences of victims of gun violence in these places. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to better understand how people who have been victims of gun violence perceive problems and solutions associated with the production, distribution, and ownership of guns. Based on the theoretical framework of Rousseau's social contract theory, this study explored gun violence from the perspectives of 10 victims whose lives were directly or indirectly affected by gun violence …

A Case Study Of Overcrowding In A County Jail In The Southeast United States, Marquice Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For the past several decades, the county jail in a large metropolitan city in the southeast United States has been overcrowded, which has resulted in violence within the jail, excessive costs to the Sheriff's Office, and a requirement of Federal oversight of the jail from 2005 to 2015. In spite of these events, little is understood about why jail overcrowding is prevalent in the county and what impacts overcrowding may have on the communities around the jail. Using Shaw and McKay's social disorganization theory as the foundation, the purpose of this case study was to understand the unique circumstances around …

Changes In Beliefs About Aggression In Baton Rouge Youth Peace Olympics Participants, Shonta Manuel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Youth violence in the Baton Rouge inner-city area continues to create heightened concerns for the communities as well as the financial and healthcare systems. Even though violence prevention programs are in place in the area, no decline has been recorded in those who are being affected by violence. Due to lack of research in this field, a need for a sound research study exists to understand how Youth Peace Olympics (YPO) community-based program may be related to changes in attitudes about aggression and violence. A correlational cross-sectional research design was used to evaluate participants' beliefs about aggression, measured using the …

Religious Orientation And Communication As Predictors On Military Spouses' Perception Of Marital Happiness After A Second Deployments, Stephanie Santana

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Military spouses are often left at home when their service member deploys to areas outside the United States. These deployments can have a lasting impact on the military spouses' perception of marital happiness. Communication problems can occur within the marriage and military spouses may use their religious orientation to alleviate the stress that comes from deployments. This quantitative study used an online survey method to conduct bivariate correlations and multiple regression analysis from a sample of 128 military spouses. This study focused on the family stress theory and used the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale, Extrinsic and Intrinsic Religious Orientation Scale, …

Relational Aggression Among Adolescent African American Females, Latoshia S. Daniels

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Relational aggression includes manipulative behaviors such as gossiping, spreading rumors, or practicing exclusion to intentionally destroy a peer's social reputation. Aggressive behaviors such as those found in relational aggression contribute to unsafe school environments. Research on relational aggression has increased in recent years, yet there is minimal research on relational aggression among African American adolescent females. The research questions were What is social workers' understanding of relational aggression? and How do social workers' cultural awareness and general understanding of African American females' relationships and interpersonal connections impact their ability to connect with their clients in the therapeutic relationship? The purpose …

Individual Growth Through Forgiveness: A Multiple Case Study On The Process Of Forgiveness, Bianca Kazoun

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Psychology researchers have been gathering information regarding the positive effects of forgiveness, demonstrating that they contribute to better overall physical and emotional wellbeing. Individuals who have suffered a transgression can remain in a place of destructive anger and resentment for years. Long-term, these negative states can have deleterious effects emotionally, physically, and socially. Understanding how to help those who are suffering move past their victimization can have a positive impact. It is therefore important to conduct research to better understand forgiveness through the lived experience of individuals who have experienced some form of victimization. Using evolutionary psychology as the theoretical …

Therapists' Comfort Level In Providing Psychotherapy In Home-Based Therapy Settings, Jacqueline A. Ramirez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Home-based psychotherapy has expanded in the mental health community; however, little was known about the therapists' comfort level in a home-based venue. The purpose of this quantitative study was to assess therapists' comfort level (TCL) in providing psychotherapy in a home-based setting and how therapeutic competency (TC), therapeutic relationship (TR), and advanced therapeutic training (ATT) related to the comfort level. The social-ecological systems theory and the theory of comfort served as the theoretical frameworks. The present study used the Therapist Comfort Scale, Counseling Competencies Scale-Revised, the Scale to Assess Therapeutic Relationship in Community Mental Health Care-Clinician, and a demographic questionnaire. …