Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Community Research Fellows Training Hattiesburg, Ms Evaluation Report, Candace Forbes Bright

Faculty Publications

The Community Research Fellows Training (CRFT) Hattiesburg program took place between January 12^th, 2016 and May 17, 2016. This is the third Mississippi cohort of CRFT and the first Mississippi cohort outside of Jackson, Mississippi. This report reflects the implementation and evaluation of a community based participatory training (CBPR) program for community members in Hattiesburg. The report provides data on the assessment of the program’s effectiveness in promoting the role of underserved populations in research by enhancing the capacity for CBPR. In assessing the social network development of the cohort, we seek to understand effectiveness in bridging many …

Understanding And Predicting Classes Of College Students Who Use Pornography, Cameron C. Brown, Jared A. Durtschi, Jason S. Carroll, Brian J. Willoughby

Faculty Publications

Despite the widespread acceptance and use of pornography, much remains unknown about the heterogeneity among consumers of pornography. Using a sample of 457 college students from a mid-western university in the United States, a latent profile analysis was conducted to identify unique classifications of pornography users considering motivations of pornography use, level of pornography use, age of user, degree of pornography acceptance, and religiosity. Results indicated three classes of pornography users: Porn Abstainers (n = 285), Auto-Erotic Porn Users (n = 85), and Complex Porn Users (n = 87). These three classes of pornography use are carefully …

Revisiting Financial Issues And Marriage, Jeffrey P. Dew

Faculty Publications

This chapter examines research pertaining to the association between financial issues and marriage. The majority of the research reviewed was published after 2008. These studies show that financial issues relate to marriage formation, marital quality, and marital stability (i.e., divorce). Specifically, financial stability is associated with a greater likelihood of marriage. Further, behaviors that financial practitioners would label “sound financial management” are positively associated with marital quality and stability. For example, longitudinal studies found that consumer debt was positively associated with divorce whereas financial assets were negatively associated with divorce. Studies have also found that financial arguments create worse relationship …

Withdrawing To A Virtual World: Associations Between Subtypes Of Withdrawal, Media Use, And Maladjustment In Emerging Adults, Larry J. Nelson, Sarah M. Coyne, Emily Howard, Brandon N. Clifford

Faculty Publications

An approach-avoidance model of social withdrawal (Asendorpf, 1990) identifies 3 types of social withdrawal including shyness, unsociability, and avoidance. Each appears to be uniquely associated with varying indicators of maladjustment in emerging adulthood (Nelson, 2013) but little, if any, work has been done to see how they might be linked to media use in the third decade of life. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine longitudinally the links between subtypes of social withdrawal, connective media (e.g., e-mail, social networking) and problematic (forms of media such as violent video games that, when used in high amounts, have been …

A Common-Fate Analysis Of Pornography Acceptance, Use, And Sexual Satisfaction Among Heterosexual Married Couples, Cameron C. Brown, Jason S. Carroll, Jeremy B. Yorgason, Dean M. Busby, Brian J. Willoughby, Jeffrey H. Larson

Faculty Publications

Using matched, heterosexual couple data from the Relationship Evaluation Questionnaire (RELATE; n = 326 couples), an adapted common-fate approach was used to examine both common and unique attributes of husbands’ and wives’ acceptance of pornography and sexual satisfaction as well as husbands’ and wives’ pornography use. It was expected that spouses’ unique as well as shared variance of pornography acceptance would be significantly associated with husbands’ and wives’ levels of personal pornography use and that these use patterns would be significantly associated with husbands’ and wives’ unique as well as shared variance of sexual satisfaction. It was also expected that …

Economic Pressure, Individual And Family Processes, And Children’S Reticence In Romanian Families, Susanne Olsen Roper, Jennifer George, Larry J. Nelson, Jeremy B. Yorgason, Franklin O. Poulsen

Faculty Publications

Using Conger’s family stress model as a theoretical framework, a series of mediated associations among economic hardship, perceived economic pressure, parental depression, marital conflict, psychologically controlling parenting, and children’s reticent behaviors in Romanian families were studied. The sample consisted of 121 Romanian mothers and fathers of 4–5-year-old children. Children’s kindergarten teachers living in urban and rural locations evaluated child reticence. Findings generally support the family stress model. Structural equation modeling showed that after controlling for living in a rural location, economic pressure was indirectly linked with marital conflict through depression. Depression was indirectly related to psychological control through marital conflict, …

Does Parental Mediation Of Media Influence Child Outcomes? A Meta-Analysis On Media Time, Aggression, Substance Use, And Sexual Behavior, Kevin M. Collier, Sarah M. Coyne, Eric E. Rasmussen, Alan J. Hawkins, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Sage E. Erickson, Madison K. Memmott-Elison

Faculty Publications

The current study examined how parental mediation of media (restrictive mediation, active mediation, and coviewing) influenced child outcomes. Three meta-analyses, 1 for each type of mediation, were conducted on a total of 57 studies. Each analysis assessed the effectiveness of parental mediation on 4 pertinent child outcomes: media use, aggression, substance use, and sexual behavior. The overall results indicated small, but significant relationships between child outcomes and restrictive mediation (r􏰀+ = 􏰁 -􏰂.06), and coviewing (r􏰀+ = 􏰁 .09). Overall active mediation was nonsignificant, though active mediation was individually related to lower levels of aggression (r􏰀 + =􏰁 -􏰂.08), sexual …

Chapter 2: Where The Children Are: Exploring Quality, Community, And Support For Family, Friend And Neighbor Child Care, Eva M. Shivers, Flora Farago

Faculty Publications

This chapter describes two studies examining quality of care in Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) child care settings in two separate communities. The findings from two studies are shared and discussed through the use of a socio-cultural theoretical lens that necessitates an exploration of specific communities’ histories as well as current political context. We explicitly list and describe implications for designing successful and culturally responsive professional development initiatives and policies that are responsive to this hard-to-reach group of providers and the families they serve.

On The Horizon: Marriage Timing, Beliefs, And Consequences In Emerging Adulthood, Brian J. Willoughby, Jason S. Carroll

Faculty Publications

This chapter overviews marriage formation patterns and beliefs about marriage during emerging adulthood. Although marriage is no longer a transition occurring during emerging adulthood for many individuals, this chapter describes how marriage still has an important impact on emerging adult development and trajectories. The authors first note the major international demographic shifts in marriage that have occurred among emerging adults over the past several decades. They then highlight how research findings on beliefs about marriage have offered evidence that how emerging adults perceive their current or future marital transitions is strongly associated with other decisions during emerging adulthood. The chapter …

The Benefit Of Friends: The Importance Of Sexual Restraint And Friendship In Marriage Formation, Jason S. Carroll

Faculty Publications

For young adults today, the word "friend" has multiple and sometimes contradictory meanings. For example, the term "friend" can refer to one's "best friend (BFF)" or "boyfriend" or "girlfriend"–labels that typically convey an ongoing relationship of commitment and concern between two people. But at the time, someone can be "friends" with several hundred people on their Facebook page, many of whom he or she never associates with or barely knows. And even a stranger is considered "friendly" when he is nice or courteous, even though there is no ongoing form of friendship in that association. In our modern society the …

The Fall Of Fertility: How Same-Sex Marriage Will Further Declining Birthrates In The United States, Jason S. Carroll, Walter Schumm

Faculty Publications

The current debate over the definition of marriage is typically portrayed as a decision to "expand" or "extend" the boundaries of marriage to include same-sex couples. This argument, however, rests on the assumption that the basic nature off marriage will remain largely unchanged by granting marriage status to same-sex partnerships and that all this policy change will do is absorb same-se partnerships within the existing boundaries of marriage and emend the benefits of marriage to a wider segment of society. Indeed, the very term "same-sex marriage" implies that same-sex couples in committed relationships are already a type of marriage that …

For Love Or Money? The Economic Consequences Of Delayed Marriage, Jason S. Carroll

Faculty Publications

It has been well documented that over the last few decades we have seen a substantial increase in the median age of marriage in the United States. In fact, we are currently at all-time historic highs in these trends. According to the Current Population Survey from the U.S. Census, the median age of marriage right now is nearly 29 years of age for men and 27 years of age for women. Given the trajectory of this trend over the last several years, we are quickly approaching a time in our culture where half of marriages will occur for individuals after …

“Adulthood” By Whose Definition?: The Complexity Of Emerging Adults’ Conceptions Of Adulthood, Larry J. Nelson, Stephanie S. Luster

Faculty Publications

The beginning of adulthood may well be the most nebulous transition of the life course. It is fair to say that no clear-cut universal marker indicates the beginning of adulthood, leading to widespread cultural and individual diversity in the beliefs of you people aged 18–29 regarding what it means to be an adult and how the transition into adulthood should occur. This chapter examines this complexity. The authors review the literature exploring the conceptions of adulthood of young people begging at age 18 and continuing through the third decade; examining how these conceptions have been linked to beliefs, behaviors, and …

When Multiple Disasters Strike: Louisiana Fishers In The Aftermath Of Hurricanes And The British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Bethany A. Lyon, Pamela F. Nezat, Katie E. Cherry, Loren D. Marks

Faculty Publications

Relatively few studies in the research literature on technological disasters include commercial fishers whose livelihood, culture, and way of life are all deeply tied to bayous and natural waterways for generations. In this chapter, we address the impact of the 2010 British Petroleum (BP) Deepwater Horizon oil spill on commercial fishers sampled from two coastal parishes (counties) in south Louisiana. The individuals who provided the qualitative interviews upon which this chapter is based were participants in a larger study on long-term recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that devastated the US Gulf Coast in 2005. All respondents were exposed to …

Younger And Older Coastal Fishers Face Catastrophic Loss After Hurricane Katrina, Katie E. Cherry, Loren D. Marks, Rachel Adamek, Bethany A. Lyon

Faculty Publications

Hurricanes are associated with environmental destruction and traumatic stress for directly affected communities. In this chapter, we compare and contrast younger and older commercial fishers from two south Louisiana coastal parishes (counties) who experienced profound losses in the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Content analysis of narrative data based on open-ended interview questions yielded three core themes: (1) Materialism and True Colors Revealed: Despicable Deeds and Acts of Grace after the Storm, (2) Helping Efforts Across Denominations: God was Using his People to help His [Other] People, and (3) Historical Ties that Bind: Old Roots and New Connections. Themes 1 …

After The Bp Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Financial And Health Concerns Among Coastal Residents And Commercial Fishers, Katie E. Cherry, Bethany A. Lyon, Loren D. Marks, Pam F. Nezat, Rachel Adamek, S. Devon Walsh, Kristina B. Fitzgerald, Dina R. Anbinder, Claire V. Bernacchio

Faculty Publications

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill is recognized as the largest marine oil spill in U.S. history. In this article, we examine the impact of the BP oil spill on directly affected commercial fishers and indirectly affected residents of the greater New Orleans metropolitan area. A sample of 148 participants responded to an open-ended question on the impact of the oil spill on self, family, and their community at least 12 months after the oil spill began. Content analysis of their narrative text yielded four emergent themes which we present here: 1) Economic Impact on the Seafood Industry and Local …

Looking For The Silver Lining: Benefit Finding After Hurricanes Katrina And Rita In Middle-Aged, Older, And Oldest-Old Adults, Katie E. Stanko, Katie E. Cherry, Kyle S. Ryker, Farra Mughal, Loren D. Marks, Jennifer Silva Brown, Patricia F. Gendusa, Marisa C. Sullivan, John Bruner, David A. Welsh, L. Joseph Su, S. Michael Jazwinski

Faculty Publications

Looking for potentially positive outcomes is one way that people cope with stressful events. In two studies, we examined perceived “silver linings” after the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita among indirectly affected adults. In Study 1, middle-aged (ages 47–64 years), older (ages 65–89 years), and oldest-old (ages 90–95 years) adults in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS) responded to an open-ended question on perceived silver linings in a longitudinal assessment carried out during the immediate impact (1 to 4 months after landfall) and post-disaster recovery phase (6 to 14 months post-storm). Qualitative grounded theory methods were employed to analyze these …

Skin Carotenoid Response To A High-Carotenoid Juice In Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial, Sheryl S. Aguilar, Heidi J. Wengreen, Jeffrey P. Dew

Faculty Publications

Background Previous studies have shown an increase in serum carotenoid status among children when fed carotenoids. This study looked at the effect and dose–response of a known amount of carotenoid consumption on change in skin carotenoid status among children.

Methods Participants were children aged 5 to 17 years from Cache County, UT (n=58). Children were randomly assigned to one of three groups: high (n=18) or low (n=18) dose of a carotenoid-rich juice (2.75 mg carotenoids/30 mL juice), or placebo juice (n=22). Children were asked to drink an assigned dose of the juice (30 to 120 mL/day) based on the weight …

Differences In Pornography Use Among Couples: Associations With Satisfaction, Stability, And Relationship Processes, Brian J. Willoughby, Jason S. Carroll, Dean M. Busby, Cameron C. Brown

Faculty Publications

The present study utilized a sample of 1755 adult couples in heterosexual romantic relationships to examine how different patterns of pornography use between romantic partners may be associated with relationship outcomes. While pornography use has been generally associated with some negative and some positive couple outcomes, no study has yet explored how differences between partners may uniquely be associated with relationship well-being. Results suggested that greater discrepancies between partners in pornography use were related to less relationship satisfaction, less stability, less positive communication, and more relational aggression. Mediation analyses suggested that greater pornography use discrepancies were primarily associated with elevated …

Longitudinal Relations Between Prosocial Television Content And Adolescents’ Prosocial And Aggressive Behavior: The Mediating Role Of Empathic Concern And Self-Regulation, Laura M. Padilla-Walker, Sarah M. Coyne, Kevin M. Collier, Matthew G. Nielson

Faculty Publications

The current study examined longitudinal cross-lagged associations between prosocial TV (content and time) and prosocial and aggressive behavior during adolescence, and explored the mediating role of empathic concern and self-regulation. Participants were 441 adolescents who reported on their 3 favorite TV shows at 2 time points, approximately 2 years apart (M age of child at Time 3 􏰀= 13.31, SD 􏰀= 1.06; 52% female; M age of child at Time 5 =􏰀 15.27, SD =􏰀 1.06). Results suggested that prosocial content at Time 3 was negatively associated with aggressive behavior 2 years later, and aggressive behavior at Time 3 was …

The Association Between Time Spent Using Entertainment Media And Marital Quality In A Contemporary Dyadic National Sample, Jeffrey P. Dew, Sarah Tulane

Faculty Publications

This study used the Actor Partner Interdependence Model and a national sample of married couples (N = 1368) to explore the relationship between entertainment media use and marital satisfaction, conflict, and perceived marital instability. Entertainment media-use included newer types of media (e.g., social networking websites) as well as traditional media (e.g., television). A number of negative relationships between media use and wives’ and husbands’ marital quality emerged. Husbands’ use of social networking websites, in particular, was associated with many of the marital quality variables. The effect sizes of media use were small, however. We also explored whether the relationship …

A Pragmatic, Step-By-Step Guide For Qualitative Methods: Capturing The Disaster And Long-Term Recovery Stories Of Katrina And Rita, Loren D. Marks

Faculty Publications

This paper commences with candid warnings about the difficulties of publishing and funding qualitative research along with a brief discussion regarding why these difficulties persist. The paper then provides a methodological tour of the qualitative portion of the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study (LHAS), a mixed-method study of psychological health, coping, and adjustment during the immediate and longer term aftermath of the 2005 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Next, I provide a proven, pragmatic guide to navigate through a qualitative research project from development to completion. A guide for doing solo qualitative (“monk/nun in a cell”) work is provided (Table 1) but …

Variation In Marital Quality In A National Sample Of Divorced Women, Spencer L. James

Faculty Publications

Previous work has compared marital quality between stably married and divorced individuals. Less work has examined the possibility of variation among divorcés in trajectories of marital quality as divorce approaches. This study addressed that hole by first examining whether distinct trajectories of marital quality can be discerned among women whose marriages ended in divorce and, second, the profile of women who experienced each trajectory. Latent class growth analyses with longitudinal data from a nationally representative sample were used to “look backward” from the time of divorce. Although demographic and socioeconomic variables from this national sample did not predict the trajectories …

Media Violence And Judgments Of Offensiveness: A Quantitative And Qualitative Analysis, Sarah M. Coyne, Mark A. Callister, Douglas A. Gentile, Emily Howard

Faculty Publications

Although many studies examine the behavioral effects of viewing media violence, there is little research on whether such violence is perceived as offensive to viewers. Accordingly, the current study examines whether media violence is offensive to viewers and whether feelings of offense mediate the relationship between viewing media violence and aggressive behavior. Participants consisted of 1,429 emerging adults from 2 different Universities in the United States. Results revealed that compared with other content in the media, media violence is perceived as relatively inoffensive. Certain situational (context, genre, and type of violence) and viewer characteristics (gender and religiosity) influenced feelings of …

Physiological Indicators Of Pathologic Video Game Use In Adolescence, Sarah M. Coyne, W. Justin Dyer, Rebecca Densley, Nathan M. Money, Randal D. Day, James M. Harper

Faculty Publications

Purpose: Pathologic video game use (PVGU) has been associated with a host of negative psychological, physical, and social outcomes during adolescence; however, little research has examined physiological predictors of such use. The purpose of the study was to examine physiological predictors of the development of PVGU across adolescence.

Methods: The article involves a 1-year longitudinal study across midadolescence. Participants were 374 adolescents and their parents from a large metropolitan area in the Northwest United States. PVGU was assessed via questionnaire, as were a number of control variables. A number of physiological indicators including respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and galvanic skin …

"What A View!": Associations Between Young People’S Views Of The Late Teens And Twenties And Indices Of Adjustment And Maladjustment, Larry J. Nelson, Brian J. Willoughby, Adam A. Rogers, Laura M. Padilla-Walker

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in how young people view the period of life from the late teens to the mid-to-late twenties and how different perspectives of the time period may be differentially associated with indices of adjustment and maladjustment. Participants included 772 college students in the United States with an average age of 19.51 years (SD = 1.69). The majority of participants were female (69 %), White (69 %), and not living at home (90 %). Five factors were identified reflecting different views of what the time period should be about including risk- …

Immediate Effect Of Couple Relationship Education On Low-Satisfaction Couples: A Randomized Clinical Trial Plus An Uncontrolled Trial Replication, W. Kim Halford, Christopher A. Pepping, Peter Hilpert, Guy Bodenmann, Keithia L. Wilson, Dean M. Busby, Jeffry Larson, Thomas Holman

Faculty Publications

Couple relationship education (RE) usually is conceived of as relationship enhancement for currently satisfied couples, with a goal of helping couples sustain satisfaction. However, RE also might be useful as a brief, accessible intervention for couples with low satisfaction. Two studies were conducted that tested whether couples with low relationship satisfaction show meaningful gains after RE. Study 1 was a three-condition randomized controlled trial in which 182 couples were randomly assigned to RELATE with Couple CARE (RCC), a flexible delivery education program for couples, or one of two control conditions. Couples with initially low satisfaction receiving RCC showed a moderate …

Flexible Delivery Approaches To Couple Relationship Education: Predictors Of Initial Engagement And Retention Of Couples, Dean M. Busby, Jeffry H. Larson, Thomas B. Holman, W. Kim Halford

Faculty Publications

In this study, using a national recruitment strategy, we tested the different factors that influence retention in four different types of relationship education (RE), a self-directed book, assessment and feedback, and a six session Couple CARE program delivered by email or by phone. Of all the factors considered, required program effort, highly valuing marriage, religiosity, education, and step-family status were able to predict with seventy percent accuracy which couples would complete or not complete their RE experience. Program effort was substantially better at predicting retention than all other variables. Retention was high in the book and assessment conditions but was …

How The Perception Of God As A Transcendent Moral Authority Influences Marital Connection Among American Christians, Toshi Shichida, David C. Dollahite, Jason S. Carroll

Faculty Publications

Dynamics that link individuals' perceptions of God as a transcendent moral authority and marital connection were analyzed in depth using qualitative data from a sample of 48 Christian spouses from California and New England. Thirsty-six individuals expressed their perception of God as a transcendent moral authority, and compared to 12 who did not, they conveyed three distinctive religious-marital dynamics. These were all processes to promote marital unity that engaged God, namely: (1) spouses modified their individual behavior in marriage with reference to their God model, (2) they shared as a couple the goal to obey God together, and (3) they …

Beyond The Expansion Framework: How Same-Sex Marriage Changes The Institutional Meaning Of Marriage And Heterosexual Men's Conception Of Marriage, Alan J. Hawkins, Jason S. Carroll

Faculty Publications

Social institutions profoundly affect human behavior. They provide human relationships with meaning, norms, and patterns, and in doing so encourage and guide conduct; they are the "humanly devised constraints that shape human interaction." That is their function. And when the definitions and norms that constitute a social institution change, the behaviors and interactions that the institution shapes also change.