Sociology Commons^™

7.6 Million Fewer Births And Still Counting, Kenneth M. Johnson

Carsey Publications

In this data snapshot, author Kenneth Johnson reports that new data for 2020 show a 3.8 percent decline in births since 2019 and the fewest since 1979. There were 16.5 percent fewer births last year than in 2007, just before the Great Recession began to influence births. The cumulative effect of this sustained decline in births means over 7.6 million fewer babies were born in the last 13 years than might have been expected. This is unlikely to change in the short-term because of the pandemic’s adverse impact on fertility.

A critical long-term question is: how many births are being …

Deaths Exceeded Births In A Record Number Of States In 2020, Kenneth M. Johnson

Carsey Publications

In this data snapshot, author Kenneth Johnson reports that in 2020, the impact of COVID-19 contributed to a record 3,376,000 deaths in the United States: 18 percent more than in 2019. In addition, births diminished by 4 percent to 3,605,000 in 2020. The surplus of births over deaths added just 229,000 to the population in 2020 compared to 892,000 in 2019: a decline of 74 percent.

This decline coupled with diminished immigration produced the United States’ smallest annual population gain in at least 100 years. Deaths exceeded births in 25 states in 2020, far more than in any previous year.

2020 Census Reflects Lagging U.S. Population Growth, Kenneth M. Johnson

Carsey Publications

In this brief, author Kenneth Johnson reports that the first data from the 2020 Census reveal a significant slowdown in U.S. population growth. Population change varied considerably from state to state. Fourteen states had population gains exceeding 10 percent, 20 had population gains of less than 5 percent, and 3 lost population. States’ population changes were influenced both by migration and the balance between births and deaths.

Looking ahead, the short-term prospects for substantial population increase appear limited. Even aside from the COVID-19-related deaths following the April 2020 Census, mortality is likely to rise among an aging U.S. population and …

Research-To-Practice, Pirc's Spring Newsletter, Prevention Innovations Research Center

PIRC Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Bringing Solar Energy To Low- And Moderate-Income Communities, Eric Hangen, Rebecca Regan, Sarah Boege

Carsey Publications

The U.S. solar photovoltaics industry has taken off over the past decade, but without deliberate action low- and moderate-income communities could be left behind in the transition to clean energy.

Drawing on substantial literature related to multiple dimensions of low-income solar finance and interviews with key informants in the field, authors Eric Hangen, Rebecca Regan, and Sarah Boege recommend public investments and policy changes that could help scale the provision of equitable solar finance.

The Slow Dawn Of Climate-Change Awareness, And Its Challenge For A Sustainable Planet, Lawrence C. Hamilton

Carsey Publications

In this perspectives brief, author Larry Hamilton summarizes his research on public perceptions of climate change, drawing on a decade of nationwide and New Hampshire surveys.

He reports that public awareness of human-caused climate change rose slowly over the past decade, showing no sudden jumps after climate-related events such as major storms. Awareness rose twice as fast among members of Generation Z compared with older generations, although increases occurred within each of those generations too. Faster change among young adults fits with other research showing people at that life stage tend to be more active in updating their beliefs with …

Four-In-Five Adults Are Vaccinated Or Intend To Get A Vaccine, Sarah Boege

Carsey Publications

In this data snapshot, author Sarah Boege reports that by March 29, one-quarter of U.S. adults reported that they had already received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, 39.1 percent hadn’t yet been vaccinated but reported that they will “definitely” get one when available and another 17.4 percent said that they “probably” will. However, 10.1 percent of adults will “probably not” and 8.2 percent will “definitely not” get a vaccine.

These data suggest that a large majority of adults could be vaccinated in the coming months, but experts see risks in having a sizeable group remain …

Share Of Childless Adults Eligible For Eitc Triples Under American Rescue Plan, Jess Carson

Carsey Publications

In this fact sheet, author Jess Carson explores how changes to the Earned Income Tax Credit in 2021 affect childless tax filers.

Findings show that the share of childless adults who can claim a credit has tripled under the new provisions, and that the biggest driver of widened access is lowering the minimum age for eligibility. Childless filers in different areas of the country and of different racial-ethnic groups all have wider access, but gains are larger in some groups than others.

Policymakers considering whether to retain all or part of the EITC expansions in future years should consider how …

2020 New Hampshire Civic Health Index, Quixada Moore-Vissing, Bruce L. Mallory

Carsey Publications

In this report, authors Quixada Moore-Vissing and Bruce Mallory build on previous Indexes published in 2006, 2009, and 2013 to take stock of New Hampshire's civic well-being in light of the changes the state has experienced in recent years. Their research draws on data from the U.S. Census, the Social Capital Community Benchmarks survey, and the UNH Granite State Poll.

Designing And Conducting A Community-Based Civic Health Index: A Primer For Local Leaders, Quixada Moore-Vissing, Bruce L. Mallory

Carsey Publications

In this report, authors Quixada Moore-Vissing and Bruce Mallory build on previous Indexes published in 2006, 2009, and 2013 to take stock of New Hampshire's civic well-being in light of the changes the state has experienced in recent years. Their research draws on data from the U.S. Census, the Social Capital Community Benchmarks survey, and the UNH Granite State Poll.

Peer Conversation About Substance Use, Danielle M. Pillet-Shore

Communication

What happens when a friend starts talking about her own substance use and misuse? This article provides the first investigation of how substance use is spontaneously topicalized in naturally occurring conversation. It presents a detailed analysis of a rare video-recorded interaction showing American English-speaking university students talking about their own substance (mis)use in a residential setting. During this conversation, several substance (mis)use informings are disclosed about one participant, and this study elucidates what occasions each disclosure, and how participants respond to each disclosure. This research shows how participants use casual conversation to offer important substance (mis)use information to their friends …

Research-To-Practice, Pirc's Winter Newsletter, Prevention Innovations Research Center

PIRC Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Improving Staff Communication For Small Non-Profits: Girls' Empowerment Program Case Study, Elizabeth Schwaner

Carsey Publications

In this white paper, author Elizabeth Schwaner discusses challenges faced by Girls' Empowerment Program, a non-profit organization based in the northeast U.S. that serves at-risk girls in its community through a year-round mentoring program paired with a residential social summer camp. Despite its undeniable strengths, issues with communication are a persistent challenge. Like many small organizations staffed by a few paid employees and many volunteers, identifying specific practices that lead to miscommunication or helpful informational pathways can be a challenge. This case study elucidates some of those challenges and opportunities for Girls' Empowerment, but with the expectation that other small, …

Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate And The Racial Multiplier: Clinical Implications And Current Attitudes, Brittney A. Spooner

Honors Theses and Capstones

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with high morbidity and mortality and has high and increasing incidence worldwide. CKD is characterized by a reduction in glomerular filtration rate (GFR), but as GFR is difficult to measure directly, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) equations have been created to measure serum creatinine levels as a function of GFR. Some eGFR equations contain a racial multiplier that increases the eGFR of black patients, causing a spurious increase in reported kidney function. This study included a literature search that collected information on the rationale behind the multipliers usage and a survey that gathered information …

Understanding The Factors That Influence Tweet Popularity, Kyle A. Jalbert

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

New Hampshire's Estimated Population Gain Is The Largest In New England, Kenneth M. Johnson

Carsey Publications

In this data snapshot, author Kenneth Johnson reports that the population of New Hampshire grew by 5,500 to 1,366,000 between July of 2019 and July of 2020, according to new Census Bureau estimates. This was the largest population percentage increase in New England. In contrast, the region as a whole and four of its six states lost population between July 2019 and July 2020, due in part to mortality associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Migration Gains To New Hampshire From Other U.S. States Are Growing, With The Largest Gains Among Young Adults, Kenneth M. Johnson

Carsey Publications

In this data snapshot, author Kenneth Johnson discusses how New Hampshire is now gaining significantly more migrants from other U.S. destinations than earlier in the decade. The largest gains are among young adults.

Biden's Victory Due To Increased Support Along The Entire Rural-Urban Continuum, Kenneth M. Johnson, Dante Scala

Carsey Publications

Joseph Biden won the 2020 presidential election because Democratic support increased across the entire rural–urban continuum. The incremental gains at each point along the continuum were modest, but in a tightly contested election small changes in the vote matter.

In this brief, Carsey School senior demographer Ken Johnson and Carsey fellow Dante Scala conclude that voting trends in rural and urban America reflect a continuum rather than a dichotomy. At one pole of the continuum are large, densely settled urban cores, where Democrats have consistently been the most successful. At the other end are remote rural counties far from a …

Fall 2020 Prevention Matters Newsletter, Prevention Innovations Research Center

PIRC Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Voting And Attitudes Along The Red Rural–Blue Urban Continuum, Kenneth M. Johnson, Dante Scala

Carsey Publications

Political commentary often divides the nation into two partisan zones, urban and rural, but new analysis demonstrates that the rural–urban gradient is a continuum, not a dichotomy. In this study of the 2018 congressional midterms, authors Kenneth Johnson and Dante Scala confirm their earlier analysis of the 2016 presidential election and demonstrate how voting patterns and political attitudes vary across the spectrum of urban and rural areas.

New Data Show One-In-Six Children Were Poor Before Covid-19 Pandemic, Jess Carson, Sarah Boege

Carsey Publications

New American Community Survey (ACS) data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on September 17, 2020 show child poverty at 16.8 percent in 2019, down from 18 percent in 2018. Sub-national patterns in child poverty remain intact; for example, higher in rural and urban places than in the suburbs. Importantly, 2019 child poverty declines are likely now outdated due to the COVID-19-related recession, the effects of which may last years. For instance, child poverty had still not yet returned to pre-Great Recession rates from 2007 in all states by 2019, illustrating that recovery in child poverty can be a long …

Is Rural America Failing Or Succeeding? Maybe Both, Kenneth M. Johnson, Daniel T. Lichter

Carsey Publications

In this brief, authors Kenneth Johnson and Daniel Lichter summarize their peer reviewed article in Demography that provides cautionary lessons regarding the commonplace narrative of widespread rural decline and urban growth.

Johnson and Lichter report that since 1970, 25 percent of counties containing 22 percent of the current U.S. population have been reclassified from nonmetropolitan to metropolitan status because of population and economic growth. All of the growth in the share of the population that lives in metropolitan counties is due to nonmetropolitan counties transforming into metropolitan counties. This transfer of population and territory through reclassification calls into question the …

Conservative Media Consumers Less Likely To Wear Masks And Less Worried About Covid-19, Lawrence C. Hamilton, Thomas G. Safford

Carsey Publications

In this brief, authors Lawrence Hamilton and Thomas Safford discuss the results of a new UNH Granite State Panel survey asking questions to a statewide poll of New Hampshire residents to learn about their perceptions and behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Health Conditions And An Older Population Increase Covid-19 Risks In Rural America, Kenneth M. Johnson

Carsey Publications

In this brief, author Kenneth Johnson discusses the likely influence that the age structure and the incidence of pre-existing health conditions have on the risks of those exposed to COVID-19 in rural and urban counties in the United States.

Johnson reports that the rural population is at higher risk from COVID-19 because it is older and has higher rates of pre-existing health conditions. Rural areas currently have lower COVID-19 case and death rates, but these rates are rising faster than in urban areas. Nearly 32 percent of the rural counties at high risk from COVID-19 still have relatively few cases …

Covid-19 Didn't Create A Child Care Crisis, But Hastened And Inflamed It, Jess Carson, Marybeth J. Mattingly

Carsey Publications

In this Carsey Perspective, authors Jess Carson and Marybeth Mattingly describe the ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has strained the nation’s already-fragile early childhood care systems.

Child care providers are struggling to address revenue losses associated with closures, fewer enrollments, and new safety guidelines. Meanwhile, demand for formal child care is shifting in yet-unknown ways, with unemployment, telework, uncertain school reopenings for older children, and health-related concerns all playing a part.

The authors conclude that the child care system requires significant policy support to regain lost footage, but encourage policymakers to utilize the pandemic’s disruption as an opportunity to rebuild …

The Inequities Of Job Loss And Recovery Amid The Covid-19 Pandemic, Rogelio Saenz, Corey Sparks

Carsey Publications

In this policy brief, authors Rogelio Sáenz and Corey Sparks discuss the wide variations in unemployment and the level of job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic across the nation’s demographic groups that have historically suffered disparities in the workforce, including persons of color, women, and immigrants. It is particularly unfortunate that the calamity of the pandemic comes on the heels of major improvements in job prospects that these groups made over the last decade, as the workforce emerged from the Great Recession.

The benefits associated with the CARES Act of March 2020 expired in July, leaving tens of millions of …

Why People Move To And Stay In New Hampshire, Kenneth M. Johnson, Kristine Bundschuh

Carsey Publications

Migration is important to New Hampshire’s demographic future. Traditionally, the state has grown both because of migration into it and because of the surplus of births over deaths. However, recently all of New Hampshire’s population growth has been due to migration.

In this brief, authors Kenneth Johnson and Kristine Bundschuh analyze data from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center’s Granite State Poll to examine the characteristics of two groups of current New Hampshire residents—recent migrants and established residents—to understand why people move to and choose to stay in the state. Their findings illustrate that migration decisions are influenced by …

Why People Move To And Stay In New Hampshire, Kenneth M. Johnson, Kristine Bundschuh

Carsey Publications

Migration is important to New Hampshire’s demographic future. Traditionally, the state has grown both because of migration into it and because of the surplus of births over deaths. However, recently all of New Hampshire’s population growth has been due to migration.

In this brief, authors Kenneth Johnson and Kristine Bundschuh analyze data from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center’s Granite State Poll to examine the characteristics of two groups of current New Hampshire residents—recent migrants and established residents—to understand why people move to and choose to stay in the state. Their findings illustrate that migration decisions are influenced by …

Affordability Challenges Drive Food Insufficiency In The Pandemic, Jess Carson, Sarah Boege

Carsey Publications

In this data snapshot, authors Jess Carson and Sarah Boege find that getting food is a problem for people experiencing food insufficiency during the pandemic, but affording food is the biggest challenge.

U.S. Population Growth Slows, But Diversity Grows, Kenneth M. Johnson

Carsey Publications

In this brief, author Kenneth Johnson reports that in 2019 the U.S. population grew at the lowest rate in a century because there were fewer births, more deaths, and less immigration. Fertility rates diminished regardless of race or Hispanic origin and immigration declines were also widespread. As a result, the growth rate of both the minority and non-Hispanic White population diminished. Yet, the racial diversity of the population continued to grow, according to Census Bureau estimates released on June 25, 2020.

This increasing diversity reflects two important demographic trends. The minority population is growing, and the non-Hispanic White population is …