Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

Relationships Between Proximity To Grocery Stores And Oklahoma Early Care And Education Classroom Nutrition Practices, Bethany D. Williams, Susan B. Sisson, Bryce Lowery, Dipti Dev, Diane M. Horm, Janis E. Campbell, Denise Finneran, Jennifer Graef-Downard

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

The study purpose was to determine associations between proximity to grocery stores and Early Care and Education programs’ (i.e., ECEs) classroom nutrition practices and barriers, by ECE context (Head Start, community-based childcare [CBC], and family child care homes [FCCHs]). A statewide cross-sectional survey was implemented in Oklahoma ECEs. Directors reported classroom nutrition practices with the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment tool, and barriers to implementation. Locations of 457 grocery stores statewide were determined by in-person audit. Geocoded ECEs were considered within a “low proximity” area if no grocery stores were available within a 0.25-mile radius for urban, or 10-mile radius …

Implementation Of Federal Waivers For Feeding Children In Early Care And Education During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Dipti Dev, Carly Hillburn, Jordan Luxa, Laura Lessard, Katherine W. Bauer, Caree Cotwright, Alison Tovar

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

Objective: To capture Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) state directors’ experiences implementing federal waivers for feeding children in early care and education (ECE) settings during coronavirus disease 2019.

Design: Qualitative semistructured interviews.

Setting: Virtual interviews with state CACFP directors.

Participants: Child and Adult Care Food Program directors from 21 states from December 2020 to May 2021.

Phenomenon of Interest: Implementation of state-level waivers.

Analysis: Qualitative thematic analysis.

Results: State directors reported that the coronavirus disease 2019 waivers allowed ECE programs to continue feeding children despite being closed or having limited enrollment. The meal pattern, noncongregate feeding, parent/guardian meal …

A Life-Course Perspective Of Sex Trafficking Among The Bedia Caste Of India, Rochelle L. Dalla, Kaitlin Roselius, Victoria J. Johnson, Jessie Peter, Trupti Jhaveri Panchal, Ramani Ranjan, Mrinalini Mischra, Sagar Sahu

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

Thousands of Indian women and girls enter the commercial sex industry (CSI) annually based solely on membership in particular castes (e.g., Bedia, Nat). CSI-involved females bear the burden of sustaining entire family units on money earned in the sex trade; it is a life-long responsibility with negligible social status or personal indemnity. Based on the life-course developmental theory (Elder, Jr. 1994, 1998) this investigation was intended to examine trafficked women’s experiences within the commercial sex industry across time. Beyond the CSI, we were equally interested in experiences with factors that could promote well-being (i.e., social support) and normative developmental transitions …

Isolation, Cohesion And Contingent Network Effects: The Case Of School Attachment And Engagement, G. Robin Gauthier, Jeffrey A. Smith, Sela Harcey, Kelly Markowski

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Isolation and cohesion are two key network features, often used to predict outcomes like mental health and deviance. More cohesive settings tend to have better outcomes, while isolates tend to fare worse than their more integrated peers. A common assumption of past work is that the effect of cohesion is universal, so that all actors get the same benefits of being in a socially cohesive environment. Here, we suggest that the effect of cohesion is universal only for specific types of outcomes. For other outcomes, experiencing the benefits of cohesion depends on an individual’s position in the network, such as …

Factors Associated With Arkansans’ First Use Of Telehealth During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jennifer A. Andersen, Holly C. Felix, Dejun Su, James P. Selig, Shawn M. Ratcliff, Pearl A. Mcelfish

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective. To examine the factors associated with the first use of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic using Andersen’s Model of Healthcare Utilization. Andersen’s Model of Healthcare Utilization allowed the categorization of the independent variables into the following: (1) predisposing factors, including sociodemographic variables and health beliefs; (2) enabling factors, including socioeconomic status and access to care; and (3) need for care, including preexisting or newly diagnosed conditions and reasons to seek out care or to utilize a new mode of care. Methods. Potential respondents (n = 4,077) were identified for recruitment from a volunteer registry in Arkansas. Recruitment emails provided …

Associations Of Rheumatoid Arthritis And Depressive Symptoms Over Time: Are There Differences By Education, Race/Ethnicity, And Gender?, Julia Mcquillan, Jennifer A. Andersen, Terceira A. Berdahl, Jeff Willett

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective. To examine associations between changes in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms and depressive symptoms adjusted for other time-varying characteristics, and to test if these associations differed by education, race/ethnicity, or gender.

Methods. Data from the 1988–1998 US National Rheumatoid Arthritis Study were analyzed (n = 854). Time-varying covariates included year of the study, pain, functional ability, household work disability, parental status, marital status, employment status, and social support. The time-invariant covariates included years since diagnosis, education, race/ ethnicity, and gender. Multivariate multilevel-model analyses were used to estimate associations within people over time.

Results. Patients with RA experience considerable change in …

Pandemic, Politics, And Public Opinion About Crime, Lisa Kort-Butler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Prior scholarship links ontological insecurities, racial tensions, and health issues to public opinion about crime. This project examined these forces in the context of the 2020 pandemic, racial justice demonstrations, and politics using data from the Nebraska 2020 survey (N=2775). Pandemicrelated insecurities and racial animus were associated with avoiding places in the community, worry about crime, and the belief that police in one’s community are underfunded. Trusting politicians but distrusting health leaders, and viewing COVID as an economic threat but not a health threat were associated with the belief police are underfunded. Results suggest that the politicization of the pandemic …

A Message From The Editors Of Journal Of Survey Statistics And Methodology, Kristen Olson, Katherine Jenny Thompson

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

In June 2021, JSSAM received its opening impact factor (1.957 for 2020), ranking JSSAM as 46/125 in Statistics and Probability and 29/52 in Social Sciences Mathematical Methods. This ranking is especially gratifying given the relative youth of this journal, and credit should be shared among the dedicated editors (present and emeritus), associate editors, contributing authors, and readership. Truly, the past few years have brought about personal and professional challenges thanks to the coronavirus disease pandemic. Despite this, JSSAM has maintained its high standards, continuing to make great inroads toward its objective of being “the flagship journal for research on survey …

A Qualitative Comparison Of Parent And Childcare Provider Perceptions Of Communication And Family Engagement In Children's Healthy Eating And Physical Activity, Danae Dinkel, Maggie Rasmussen, John P. Rech, Kailey Snyder, Dipti Dev

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

Background: Parents and childcare providers play a substantial role in the development of health behaviors among the children they care for. In order to ensure the optimal growth and development of children, communication and family engagement in childcare is critical. Previous studies examining parent or provider perceptions about healthy eating or physical activity have explored these concepts individually and/or have only included only parents or providers. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare childcare provider and parent perceptions of communication regarding healthy eating and physical activity as well as use of best practice strategies on family engagement for …

Promising Findings That The Cultivating Healthy Intentional Mindful Educators’ Program (Chime) Strengthens Early Childhood Teachers’ Emotional Resources: An Iterative Study, Holly Hatton-Bowers, Caron Clark, Gilbert R. Parra, Jessica L. Calvi, Michael Yellow Bird, Pearl Avari, Jaclynn Foged, John Smith

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

Findings suggest that an eight-week mindfulness compassion-based program, Cultivating Healthy Intentional Mindful Educators (CHIME), is a feasible professional development intervention for early childhood (EC) teachers to support their emotion regulation and psychological and workplace well-being. We offer preliminary evidence that learning about mindfulness, self-compassion, and social-emotional learning supports EC teachers in strengthening their knowledge and application of practices to be more mindful and less emotionally reactive and emotionally exhausted at work. In analyzing both EC teacher feedback and survey data from two pilot studies, there was promising evidence that participating in CHIME enhanced awareness of emotions and the development of …

Investigating Moderators Of Daily Marital To Parent–Child Spillover: Individual And Family Systems Approaches, Patty X. Kuo, Kejin Lee, Victoria J. Johnson, Emily J. Starr

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

Objective: We tested whether cognitive reappraisal and coparenting quality moderate marital to parent–child spillover in mothers and fathers.

Background: The influence of marital relationship quality on parent–child relationships, referred to as the spillover effect, is well documented. Factors that may attenuate the occurrence of spillover, however, remain unclear. Cognitive reappraisal, an emotion regulation strategy that promotes the reframing of emotional situations as neutral or positive, and coparenting—the intermediate subsystem between the marital and parent–child relationships—may buffer the effects of marital to parent–child spillover.

Method: Using daily diary data from mother–father couples (N = 96) of young children (M_age = …

The Development Of Social Competence In Children With Disabilities, Soo-Young Hong, Elizabeth A. Steed, Lori E. Meyer, İbrahim H. Acar

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

Children with disabilities experience unique challenges in developing social skills critical to achieve their social goals. Although there are individual differences, children with delays and disabilities may struggle to communicate with others, understand gestures, and take other people’s viewpoints. These differences may prevent children with disabilities from initiating and sustaining social interactions and, in turn, from developing high levels of social competence (Hebbeler & Spiker, 2016).

To support social development of children with disabilities, it is important to promote positive relationships within the family system as well as the teaching of social skills in inclusive early learning environments (Mahoney et …

Rural Parent's Experiences Of Stress And Resilience During The Covid-19 Pandemic And School Closure, Emily Wilson, Jungwon Eum, Yuenjung Joo, Martinique A. Sealy, Jentry Stoneman Barrett, Gwen C. Nugent, Joan M. Carraher, Angela G. Hinrichs

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

The COVID-19 pandemic has generated social and economic disruptions, resulting in cascading effects on the health and well- being of global citizens. However, little research has focused on how COVID-19 has affected rural regions, despite rurality being a critical factor for understanding community impact and response to the pandemic. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of rural Nebraskan parents with young children during the COVID-19 pandemic and school shutdown, and the strategies they used to support their families during that time. We conducted individual and group interviews with 22 white, non-Hispanic mothers living in rural …

Co-Use Among Confidants: An Examination Of Polysubstance Use And Personal Relationships In Southeastern Nebraska, G. Robin Gauthier, Kelly Markowski, Jeffrey A. Smith, Sela R. Harcey, Bergen Johnston

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study examines the relationship between personal networks and polysubstance use among people who use drugs (PWUD) in a medium sized city in the Midwest. A large body of work has demonstrated that personal relationships have an ambivalent association with substance use. On the one hand, a supportive network is associated with safer drug use practices and dramatically improves the outlook for recovery. However, individuals whose personal networks are composed of co-drug use partners are more likely to engage in risky practices. We argue that this notion of “supportive” social contacts and “risky” social contacts is ultimately incomplete: risky behaviors …

Why Neighborhoods (And How We Study Them) Matter For Adolescent Development, T.D. Warner, R.A. Settersten

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Adolescence is a sensitive developmental period marked by significant changes that unfold across multiple contexts. As a central context of development, neighborhoods capture—in both physical and social space—the stratification of life chances and differential distribution of resources and risks. For some youth, neighborhoods are springboards to opportunities; for others, they are snares that constrain progress and limit the ability to avoid risks. Despite abundant research on “neighborhood effects,” scant attention has been paid to how neighborhoods are a product of social stratification forces that operate simultaneously to affect human development. Neighborhoods in the United States are the manifestation of three …

Is Perceived Inability To Procreate Associated With Life Satisfaction? Evidence From A German Panel Study, Julia Mcquillan, Jasmin Passet-Wittig, Arthur L. Greil, Martin Bujard

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Most studies of the psychosocial consequences of infertility have focused on those who seek medical treatment, leaving a research gap regarding the psychosocial consequences of perceived inability to procreate in the general population. Moreover, most studies are cross-sectional and the results are thus likely affected by omitted variable bias. Inspired by aspects of the Theory of Conjunctural Action, this study analysed 10 waves of data from the German Family Panel (pairfam) for women and men using fixed effects panel regression and including time-varying control variables suggested by theory and research. This study found that both women and men experienced lower …

Family Violence, Personality Traits, And Risk Behaviors: Links To Dating Violence Victimization And Perpetration Among College Students, Kimberly A. Tyler, Douglas A. Brownridge

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Though dating violence (DV) is prevalent on college campuses, few studies have examined a multitude of risk factors that may better explain this process. As such, we examined the role of family violence (i.e., childhood physical abuse, witnessing parental violence), personality traits (i.e., entitlement, antisocial personality [ASP] and borderline personality [BP]) and risk behaviors (i.e., risky sexual behaviors, heavy drinking, marijuana use, illicit drug use) on DV victimization and perpetration among 783 college students. Path analysis revealed that witnessing parental violence was linked to DV perpetration while experiencing more physical abuse was positively correlated with entitlement (females only), ASP traits, …

Replicating Or Franchising A Stem Afterschool Program Model: Core Elements Of Programmatic Integrity, Nikolaus Stevenson, Amie S. Sommers, Neal Grandgenett, William Tapprich, Julia Mcquillan, Michelle Phillips, Rachael Jensen, Christine Cutucache

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background: Designed in 2012 with a first implementation in 2013, NE STEM 4U is a professional development program for post-secondary students/undergraduates, and serves as a source of outreach, content knowledge generation, and STEM literacy for youth in grades kindergarten through 8th grade (ages 5–14). The model empowers post-secondary students as facilitators of inquiry-based learning within the context of an out-of-school time program. This study investigated the potential for replicating or ‘franchising’ this model by evaluating on the following: (1) Is the model replicable? And, if so, (2) what core elements are necessary for program fidelity? And (3) is there …

The Relationship Between College Student Characteristics And Reporting Sexual Assault Experiences On Two Different Scales, Kimberly Tyler, Colleen M. Ray

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Though high rates of sexual assault are found on college campuses, prevalence rates between studies can vary considerable by gender, sexual orientation, and other student characteristics. Thus, it is unknown whether these are “true” differences for such characteristics or if there are methodological differences to consider. As such the current study examined whether student characteristics including gender, race, sexual orientation, sexual attraction, Greek affiliation, and relationship status are uniquely associated with reporting on two different sexual assault scales. Data were gathered from 783 college students in 2019–2020 at a large Midwestern university. Results revealed that the two different scales consistently …

Familial And Individual Risk Markers For Physical And Psychological Dating Violence Perpetration And Victimization Among College Students, Meagan Kunitzer, Kimberly Tyler, Leslie Gordon Simons

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Dating violence (DV) is a prominent problem among college students that can result in harmful physical and mental health outcomes. Though much research has focused on physical DV, fewer studies have examined psychological DV. As such, the current paper compared early/familial risk markers (e.g., child physical abuse, witnessing parental violence, and maternal relationship quality) and individual risk markers (e.g., alcohol use, marijuana and prescription drug use) for physical and psychological DV among college students. Data were gathered at two large public universities using pencil and paper surveys (N = 1,482). Bivariate results revealed more risk markers for men (e.g., …

“Are You …”: An Examination Of Incomplete Question Stems In Self-Administered Surveys, Nestor Hernandez, Kristen Olson, Jolene D. Smyth

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Questionnaire designers are encouraged to write questions as complete sentences. In self-administered surveys, incomplete question stems may reduce visual clutter but may also increase burden when respondents need to scan the response options to fully complete the question. We experimentally examine the effects of three categories of incomplete question stems (incomplete conversational, incomplete ordinal, and incomplete nominal questions) versus complete question stems on 53 items in a probability webmail survey. We examine item nonresponse, response time, selection of the first and last response options, and response distributions. We find that incomplete question stems take slightly longer to answer and slightly …

U.S. State Policy Contexts And Physical Health Among Midlife Adults, Blakelee R. Kemp, Jacob M. Grumbach, Jennifer Karas Montez

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study examines how state policy contexts may have contributed to unfavorable adult health in recent decades. It merges individual-level data from the 1993–2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (n=2,166,835) with 15 state-level policy domains measured annually on a conservative to liberal continuum. We examined associations between policy domains and health among adults ages 45–64 years and assess how much of the associations is accounted by adults’ socioeconomic, behavioral/lifestyle, and family factors. A more liberal version of the civil rights domain was associated with better health. It was disproportionately important for less-educated adults and women, and its association with adult …

Examining The Influence Of Political Affiliation And Orientation On Political Tolerance, Christopher R. H Garneau, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Political identities are strongly associated with political tolerance. Specifically, previous research shows that American liberals report higher levels of tolerance toward marginalized groups than conservatives. Political orientation, however, varies more among Democrats than Republicans, which might mean that Democrats are relatively diverse in their levels of political tolerance. In this article, the authors ask how the association between political orientation and political tolerance varies across political parties. Using General Social Survey data, the authors find that tolerance is highest among liberals, followed by moderates and conservatives. Regression models with interactions between party and orientation demonstrate that political orientation is consequential …

Substance Use, Injection Risk Behaviors, And Fentanyl‑Related Overdose Risk Among A Sample Of Pwid Post‑Hurricane Maria, Roberto Abadie, Manuel Cano, Patrick Habecker, Camila Gelpí‑Acosta

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background: While natural disasters like hurricanes are increasingly common, their long-term effects on people who inject drugs are not well understood. Although brief in duration, natural disasters can radically transform risk environments, increasing substance use and drug-related harms.

Methods: Based on a study of people who inject drugs (PWID) and injection risk behaviors in rural Puerto Rico, the present study uses data from two different phases of the parent study. Data for 110 participants were collected from December 2015 to January 2017, soon before Hurricane Maria landed in September 2017; the 2019 phase, in the aftermath of the hurricane, included …

Preferences For Paid Paternity Leave Availability, Lengths Of Leave Offerings, And Government Funding Of Paternity Leaves In The United States, Chris Knoester, Qi Li

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study analyzes 2012 General Social Survey data (N = 1,089) about preferences for paid paternity leave availability, lengths of leave offerings, and government funding of leaves. It highlights gender and gendered parenting role attitudes as predictors of leave preferences. Descriptive results revealed sizable (i.e., 53 percent) support for leave availability and moderate (i.e., 33 percent) support for some government funding; still, only modest (i.e., five weeks) lengths of leave offerings were desired. Regression results indicated that women were typically more likely than men to support more generous leave offerings. Consistently, dual-earner expectations were positively associated with preferences for more …

Social Isolation, Residential Stability, And Opioid Use Disorder Among Older Medicare Beneficiaries: Metropolitan And Non-Metropolitan County Comparison, Tse-Chuan Yang, Carla Shoff, Seulki Kim

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Research has shown that the prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD) may rise substantially as society ages, but this issue receives the least attention in the literature. To address this gap, this study utilizes county-level data from multiple data sources (1) to investigate whether social isolation is associated with OUD prevalence among older Medicare beneficiaries, (2) to examine whether and how residential stability moderates the association between social isolation and OUD prevalence in US counties, and (3) to determine if there are any differences in these associations between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties. The results show that social isolation is a …

Your Best Estimate Is Fine. Or Is It?, Jerry Timbrook, Kristen Olson, Jolene D. Smyth

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Providing an exact answer to open-ended numeric questions can be a burdensome task for respondents. Researchers often assume that adding an invitation to estimate (e.g., “Your best estimate is fine”) to these questions reduces cognitive burden, and in turn, reduces rates of undesirable response behaviors like item nonresponse, nonsubstantive answers, and answers that must be processed into a final response (e.g., qualified answers like “about 12” and ranges). Yet there is little research investigating this claim. Additionally, explicitly inviting estimation may lead respondents to round their answers, which may affect survey estimates. In this study, we investigate the effect of …

Comparing Readability Measures And Computer-Assisted Question Evaluation Tools For Self-Administered Survey Questions, Rachel Stenger, Kristen Olson, Jolene Smyth

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Questionnaire designers use readability measures to ensure that questions can be understood by the target population. The most common measure is the Flesch-Kincaid Grade level, but other formulas exist. This article compares six different readability measures across 150 questions in a self-administered questionnaire, finding notable variation in calculated readability across measures. Some question formats, including those that are part of a battery, require important decisions that have large effects on the estimated readability of survey items. Other question evaluation tools, such as the Question Understanding Aid (QUAID) and the Survey Quality Predictor (SQP), may identify similar problems in questions, making …

Associations Between Community Built Environments With Early Care And Education Classroom Physical Activity Practices And Barriers, Bethany D. Williams, Susan B. Sisson, Dipti Dev, Bryce Lowery, Diane Horm, Janis Campbell, Denise Finneran, Jennifer Graef-Downard, Linda Whaley

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

The influence of community-built environments on physical activity (PA) support in Early Childhood Education settings (ECEs) is unknown. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine associations between community PA environments and ECE classroom PA practices. We included licensed Oklahoma ECE directors serving 3-to-5-year-old children. Parks and playground locations were exported from Google Earth. NationalWalkability Index was derived from 2010 US Census data. ArcMap 10.6 was used to geocode ECE locations, which were within an Activity Desert if no parks/playgrounds were located within a 1-mile radius or if Walkability Index was 10.5 or below. Classroom PA practices were determined …

Examining Correlates Of Feeding Practices Among Parents Of Preschoolers, Deepa Srivastava, Lucy R. Zheng, Dipti Dev

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

Background: Parent feeding practices play a critical role in children’s eating behaviors. Limited research has explored child-level correlates of parent feeding practices.

Aim: To identify correlates of feeding practices (responsive and controlling) among parents of preschoolers in the United States.

Methods: Participants included parents (n = 273) of preschoolers (3–5 years), recruited from early care and education settings (n = 24) located in a metropolitan city in the US. Analysis included descriptives, correlations, and multiple regression.

Results: For responsive feeding practices, positive associations included child’s weight with unintentional modeling (β = .17, 95% CI [0.12, 0.53]), child vegetable …