Sociology Commons^™

The Impact Of Incarceration On Food Insecurity Among Households With Children, Sally Wallace, Robynn Cox

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

This study seeks to determine the role that parental incarceration plays on the probability of food insecurity among families with children and very low food security of children using micro-level data from the Fragile Families and Child Well Being Study (FFCWS). The data set contains the 18-question food security module which allows us to explore the link between incarceration and food insecurity and very low food security among children, families, and adults. The incidence of very low food security in our data is somewhat higher than the national average, but the incidence of other levels of food security is similar …

The Effect Of Safety Net Programs On Food Insecurity, Lucie Schmidt, Lara Shore-Sheppard, Tara Watson

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

Does the safety net reduce food insecurity in families? In this paper we investigate how the structure of benefits for five major safety net programs – TANF, SSI, EITC, SNAP, and Medicaid – affects low food security in families and very low food security among children. We build a calculator for the years 2001-2009 to impute eligibility and benefits for these programs in each state, taking into account cross-program eligibility rules. To identify a causal effect of the safety net, we instrument for imputed eligibility and benefits using simulated eligibility and benefits for a nationally representative sample. Focusing on non-immigrant, …

Family Structure, Work Patterns And Time Allocations: Potential Mechanisms Of Food Insecurity Among Children, Kelly Balistreri

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

Over 469 thousand households in the U.S. experienced very low food security among children, a severe condition characterized by reductions in food intake due to an inability to afford enough food. But food insecurity is not simply about economic resources. There exists a paradox in which some poor households with children are food secure while some non-poor households with children are food insecure. This study moves beyond a singular focus on income and considers how the family context may protect or generate risk of food insecurity for children. The goals of the proposed project were to: 1) to provide a …

Identifying The Effect Of Wic On Very Low Food Security Among Infants And Children, Brent Kreider, John V. Pepper, Manan Roy

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

The Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) is considered a crucial component of the social safety net in the United States, yet there is limited supporting evidence on the effects of WIC on the nutritional well-being and food security of infants and young children. Two key identification problems have been especially difficult to address. First, the decision to take up WIC is endogenous as households are not randomly assigned to the program; recipients are likely to differ from nonrecipients in unobserved ways (e.g., prior health) that are related to associated outcomes. Second, survey respondents often fail to report receiving public …

Perlecan Domain V Induces Vegf Secretion In Brain Endothelial Cells Through Integrin Α5Β1 And Erk-Dependent Signaling Pathways, Douglas N. Clarke, Abraham Al Ahmad, Boyeon Lee, Christi Parham, Lisa Auckland, Andrezj Fertala, Michael Kahle, Courtney S. Shaw, Jill Roberts, Gregory J. Bix

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Perlecan Domain V (DV) promotes brain angiogenesis by inducing VEGF release from brain endothelial cells (BECs) following stroke. In this study, we define the specific mechanism of DV interaction with the α(5)β(1) integrin, identify the downstream signal transduction pathway, and further investigate the functional significance of resultant VEGF release. Interestingly, we found that the LG3 portion of DV, which has been suggested to possess most of DV's angio-modulatory activity outside of the brain, binds poorly to α(5)β(1) and induces less BEC proliferation compared to full length DV. Additionally, we implicate DV's DGR sequence as an important element for the interaction …

Two Can Live As Cheaply As One...But Three’S A Crowd, Christopher Bollinger, Cheti Nicoletti, Stephen Pudney

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

To measure poverty, incomes must be equivalized across households with different structures. In this paper, we use a very flexible ordered response model to analyze the relationship between income, demographic structure and subjective assessments of financial wellbeing drawn from the 1991-2008 British Household Panel Survey. Our results suggest the existence of large scale economies within marital/cohabiting couples, but substantial diseconomies from the addition of children or further adults. This pattern contrasts sharply with commonly-used equivalence scales, and is consistent with explanations in terms of the capital requirements associated with additions to the core couple.

Was There A ‘Race To The Bottom’ After Welfare Reform?, Sarah K. Burns

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

Leading up to the passage of the 1996 welfare reform, there was much speculation and debate over the possibility that states would "race to the bottom" in setting welfare generosity if given more control over their individual programs. In the fifteen years after welfare reform, did such a race to the bottom ensue? Using a spatial dynamic econometric approach I investigate welfare competition across multiple policy instruments and across three distinct welfare periods - the AFDC regime, the experimental waiver period leading up to the reform, and the TANF era. Results suggest strategic policy setting occurs over multiple dimensions of …

Is Earnings Nonresponse Ignorable?, Christopher R. Bollinger, Barry T. Hirsch

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

Earnings nonresponse in the Current Population Survey is roughly 30% in the monthly surveys and 20% in the March survey. If nonresponse is ignorable, unbiased estimates can be achieved by omitting nonrespondents. Little is known about whether CPS nonresponse is ignorable. Using sample frame measures to identify selection, we find clear-cut evidence among men but limited evidence among women for negative selection into response. Wage equation slope coefficients are affected little by selection but because of intercept shifts, wages for men and to a lesser extent women are understated, as are gender gaps. Selection is least severe among household heads.

The Child And Adult Care Food Program And Food Insecurity, Colleen Heflin, Irma Arteaga, Sara Gable

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

High rates of food insecurity are a significant problem in the United States. It is currently estimated that more than 48.8 million people live in food insecure households, meaning that at some time during the previous year, they were unable to acquire or were uncertain of having enough food to meet basic needs due to inadequate household resources (Coleman-Jensen, Nord, Andrews, & Carlson, 2011). Rates of food insecurity are substantially higher among those in households with incomes below the poverty line (40.2%) and in households with children headed by a single woman (35.1%). Levels of food insecurity increased across U.S. …

Childhood Income Volatility And Adult Outcomes, Bradley Hardy

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

Using data linked across generations in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, I estimate the relationship between exposure to volatile income during childhood and a set of socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood. The empirical framework is an augmented intergenerational income mobility model that includes controls for income volatility. I measure income volatility at the family level in two ways. First, instability as measured by squared deviations around a family-specific mean, and then as percent changes of 25 percent or more. Volatility enters the model both separately and interacted with income level. I find that family income instability during childhood has a …

Decomposing Trends In Income Volatility: The ‘Wild Ride’ At The Top And Bottom, Bradley Hardy, James P. Ziliak

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

We provide a detailed accounting of the trend increase in family income volatility in recent decades by quantifying the contributions of household head earnings, spouse earnings, non-transfer non-labor income, transfer income, and tax payments (inclusive of the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit), along with covariances among the income components. Using twoyear matched panels in the Current Population Survey from 1980 to 2009, we find that the volatility of family income, as measured by the variance of the arc percent change, doubled over the past three decades. The increase in volatility was most pronounced among the top 1% of the income …

Early Stage Drug Treatment That Normalizes Proinflammatory Cytokine Production Attenuates Synaptic Dysfunction In A Mouse Model That Exhibits Age-Dependent Progression Of Alzheimer's Disease-Related Pathology, Adam D. Bachstetter, Christopher M. Norris, Pradoldej Sompol, Donna M. Wilcock, Danielle Goulding, Janna H. Neltner, Daret St. Clair, D. Martin Watterson, Linda J. Van Eldik

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines in the CNS has been implicated as a key contributor to pathophysiology progression in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and extensive studies with animal models have shown that selective suppression of excessive glial proinflammatory cytokines can improve neurologic outcomes. The prior art, therefore, raises the logical postulation that intervention with drugs targeting dysregulated glial proinflammatory cytokine production might be effective disease-modifying therapeutics if used in the appropriate biological time window. To test the hypothesis that early stage intervention with such drugs might be therapeutically beneficial, we examined the impact of intervention with MW01-2-151SRM (MW-151), an experimental therapeutic that …

Social Network Dynamics And Biographical Disruption: The Case Of “First-Timers” With Mental Illness, Brea Perry, Bernice A. Pescosolido

Sociology Faculty Publications

This study examines how dynamics surrounding biographical disruptions compare to more routine fluctuations in personal social networks. Using data from the Indianapolis Network Mental Health Study, the authors track changes in patients’ social networks over three years and compare them to a representative sample of persons with no self-reported mental illness. Overall, individuals at the onset of treatment report larger and more broadly functional social networks than individuals in the population at large. However, the number of network ties among the latter increases over time, whereas network size decreases slightly among people using mental health services. As individuals progress through …

Sustainable Agriculture Education And Civic Engagement: The Significance Of Community-University Partnerships In The New Agricultural Paradigm, Kim L. Niewolny, Julie M. Grossman, Carmen J. Byker, Jennifer L. Helms, Susan F. Clark, Julie A. Cotton, Krista L. Jacobsen

Horticulture Faculty Publications

Universities and colleges across the United States are making innovative strides in higher education programming to catalyze a more sustainable era of agriculture. This is clearly exemplified through the formation of community-university partnerships as critical illustrations of civic engagement (CE) for sustainable agriculture (SA) education. This paper explores the praxis of CE for SA education by focusing on the ways in which five land-grant universities (LGUs) with undergraduate programs in SA have developed and put into practice community-university partnerships. Drawing upon these programs and supportive literature, this article specifically attempts to describe the role and significance of CE for SA …

Gender Identity, Ethnic Identity, And Smoking Among First Nations Adolescents, Lorraine Greaves, Joy Johnson, Annie Qu, Chizimuzo T.C. Okoli, Natalie Hemsing, Lucy Barney

Nursing Faculty Publications

Smoking rates among Aboriginal adolescents are the highest of any population group in British Columbia, Canada. Recent studies suggest that substance use is affected by gender and ethnic identity among youth. The purpose of our study was to explore the association of gender and ethnic identity with smoking behaviour among First Nations adolescents. This study is based on a convenience sample (i.e., an on-hand, readily available sample) of 124 youth (123 First Nations and 1 Métis) recruited at youth drop-in centres, health fairs, and cultural activities. We obtained information on demographics, smoking history, Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), composite measure …

Lithium Treatment Of Appswdi/Nos2−/− Mice Leads To Reduced Hyperphosphorylated Tau, Increased Amyloid Deposition And Altered Inflammatory Phenotype, Tiffany L. Sudduth, Joan G. Wilson, Angela Everhart, Carol A. Colton, Donna M. Wilcock

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

Lithium is an anti-psychotic that has been shown to prevent the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein through the inhibition of glycogen-synthase kinase 3-beta (GSK3β). We recently developed a mouse model that progresses from amyloid pathology to tau pathology and neurodegeneration due to the genetic deletion of NOS2 in an APP transgenic mouse; the APPSwDI/NOS2-/- mouse. Because this mouse develops tau pathology, amyloid pathology and neuronal loss we were interested in the effect anti-tau therapy would have on amyloid pathology, learning and memory. We administered lithium in the diets of APPSwDI/NOS2-/- mice for a period of eight months, followed by water maze …

Conformational Altered P53 As An Early Marker Of Oxidative Stress In Alzheimer's Disease, Laura Buizza, Giovanna Cenini, Cristina Lanni, Giulia Ferrari-Toninelli, Chiara Prandelli, Stefano Govoni, Erica Buoso, Marco Racchi, Maria Barcikowska, Maria Styczynska, Aleksandra Szybinska, D. Allan Butterfield, Maurizio Memo, Daniela Uberti

Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Faculty Publications

In order to study oxidative stress in peripheral cells of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, immortalized lymphocytes derived from two peculiar cohorts of patients, referring to early onset AD (EOSAD) and subjects harboured AD related mutation (ADmut), were used. Oxidative stress was evaluated measuring i) the typical oxidative markers, such as HNE Michel adducts, 3 Nitro-Tyrosine residues and protein carbonyl on protein extracts, ii) and the antioxidant capacity, following the enzymatic kinetic of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GRD). We found that the signs of oxidative stress, measured as oxidative marker levels, were evident only in ADmut …

Child Food Security And The Food Stamp Program: What A Difference A Month Makes, Yiran Li, Bradford Mills, George Davis, Elton Mykerezi

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

Most Americans believe that children should not have either persistent concerns about the quality and quantity of food to eat or lack of actual access to food due to low household resources. However, in 2007, approximately 3.3 million households (8.3 percent of households with children) had food insecure children who did not have consistent access to adequate and safe foods (Nord and Golla, 2009). This implies less than complete coverage of children by the food-assistance safety net.

The United States’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), historically and commonly known as the Food Stamp Program (FSP), is a federal-assistance program designed …

Low Income Preschoolers' Non-Parental Care Experiences And Household Food Insecurity, Colleen Heflin, Irma Arteaga, Sara Gable

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

Rates of food insecurity in households with children have significantly increased over the past decade. The majority of children, including those at risk for food insecurity, participate in some form of non-parental child care during the preschool years. To evaluate the relationship between the two phenomenon, this study investigates the effects of child care arrangements on food insecurity in households with children. To address the selection bias problem that arises from the fact that enrollment in different types of child care is not a random process, this study uses propensity scores techniques. The authors compare outcomes across five child care …

Youth And Adult Perceptions Of Their Relationships Within Community-Based Youth Programs, Kenneth R. Jones, Daniel F. Perkins

Community & Leadership Development Faculty Publications

This study examined perceptions and experiences of youth and adults engaged in various types of community-based youth-adult relationships. Involvement and interaction rating scales were completed by 108 participants involved in community groups from 12 communities in 10 states. The rating scale measured three constructs: youth involvement, adult involvement, and youth- adult interaction. Significant gender differences in participants’ perceptions were found on all three constructs, with females being more positive. Rural participants were found to be significantly more positive than urban participants on the construct of youth involvement. Finally, significant differences were found between all participants within categories of the youth-adult …

Leading Through Listening: Racial Tensions In 1968 New York, Janice W. Fernheimer

Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Families With Hungry Children And The Transition From Preschool To Kindergarten, Colleen Heflin, Irma Arteaga, Sara Gable

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

This paper exploits a source of variation in the eligibility for federal nutrition programs to identify the program effects on food insecurity. Children are eligible for the WIC program until the day before they turn 61 months old. The result is an age discontinuity in program participation at the 61-month cutoff. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth-cohort dataset, we find strong evidence of a sizeable increase in household food insecurity at the 61- month cutoff. Our findings are robust to different model specifications, datasets, and various bandwidth choices using various non-parametric estimations.

Three Studies To Investigate Biopsychosocial Influences On Marital Conflict, Claire Kimberly

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Research is beginning to find a positive and significant relationship between marriage and health. Even though the current literature shows that separation and divorce have strong negative consequences for the mental and physical health of both spouses (Dush & Amato, 2005), the answer to why and how this occurs has yet to be solved.

A comprehensive perspective that could greatly benefit the analysis of this connection is the use of social neuroscientific methods in a biopsychosocial model. By including biological factors, social elements, and psychological variables in analyzing marriages, researchers would be able to further understand both the intra- and …

On Persistent Poverty In A Rich Country, T.M. Tonmoy Islam, Jenny Minier, James P. Ziliak

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

We examine differences in income within the U.S., and the regions of persistent poverty that have arisen, using a newly assembled dataset of counties that links historical 19th century Census data with contemporaneous data. The data, along with an augmented human capital growth model, permit us to identify the roles of contemporaneous differences in aggregate production technologies and factor endowments, in conjunction with the historical roles of institutions, culture, geography, and human capital. We allow for possible cross-county factor mobility via a correlated random effects GMM estimator that identifies simultaneously the coefficients on time varying and time-invariant determinants of income. …

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (Stds), Donald E. Greydanus, Jane Seyler, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

High rates of unprotected sexual behavior in adolescents result in millions of cases of STDs in the world. This chapter reviews factors inducing high STD rates, specific STDs, and their management based on 2010 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) STD guidelines. Clinicians should screen all their sexually active adolescent patients for STDs and provide preventive education as well as treatment measures.

Clients’ Experiences Of Spirituality In Couple’S Therapy: A Phenomenological Approach, Jillian M. Puckett

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

While spirituality has been an increasingly researched topic within the field of marriage and family therapy, it has been largely overlooked within the context of couple’s therapy. The goal of the present study is to enhance the understanding of the role of spirituality in therapy by describing clients’ experiences of spirituality in couple’s therapy. The study utilized a phenomenological approach to come to a better understanding of the essence of clients’ experiences of spirituality in couple’s therapy. Semi-structured interviews with couples enrolled in couple’s therapy were conducted and analyzed. Four major themes emerged: spiritual experiences in couple’s therapy, perception of …

Contraception In Adolescents, Donald E. Greydanus, Carolyn M. Lentzsch-Parcells, Hatim A. Omar

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The age of adolescence is the time when most adolescents in the world begin to be sexually active with resultant millions of pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). This chapter considers methods of contraception for these adolescents, including oral contraceptives, transdermal contraception, minipills, intra-vaginal ring, injectable contraception, intrauterine devices (IUDs), barrier contraceptives, implants, and others. It is important for clinicians caring for sexually active youth to provide information regarding contraception and appropriate contraceptive prescriptions.

Adolescence And Contraception, Donald E. Greydanus, Carolyn M. Lentzsch-Parcells, Hatim A. Omar, Colleen B. Dodich

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

The age of adolescence is the time when most adolescents in the world become sexually active with resultant millions of pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. This paper considers methods of contraception for these adolescents, including oral contraceptions, transdermal contraception, mini-pills, intravaginal ring, injectable contraception, intrauterine devices, barrier contraceptives, implants, and others. It is important for clinicians caring for sexually active youth to provide information regarding contraception and appropriate contraceptive prescriptions.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases In Adolescence, Donald E. Greydanus, Jane Seyler, Hatim A. Omar, Colleen B. Dodich

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

High rates of unprotected sexual behavior in adolescents result in millions of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the world. This paper reviews factors inducing high STD rates, specific STDs, and their management based on 2010 US Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) STD guidelines. Clinicians should screen all their sexually active adolescent patients for STDs and provide preventive education as well as treatment measures.

What Rocks The Vote? Citizens' Views Of Community Leaders And Political Engagement, Cecil J. Shelton

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

Political engagement has an established body of research. However, one key area that has not been investigated in the field is the relationship between political engagement and type of community lived in. This study explores this relationship between type of community, past political engagement, perceptions of community leaders, attitude about political engagement, and socieodemographic characteristics. A conceptual model was developed based on existing literature. Utilizing a statewide survey conducted in 2009 that yielded 1,154 respondents with a response rate of 30.2% was used to explore these relationships. Using statistical procedures that test correlation were utilized to investigate the relationship between …