Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

Urban Congolese Refugees’ Social Capital And Community Resilience During A Period Of Political Violence In Kenya: A Qualitative Study, Julie A. Tippens

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

Community resilience has been used as a conceptual framework to promote urban refugee protection, integration, and well-being. In the context of this focus on “refugee communities,” it is critical to gain a deeper understanding of the ways urban refugee “communities” function. This study explored urban Congolese refugees’ use of social capital to promote resilience during a period of political violence in Nairobi, Kenya. Findings illustrate how refugees used social capital across different contexts to access and distribute resilience-promoting resources. Women primarily relied on informal bonding forms of capital while men exhibited greater degrees of access to formal bridging and linking …

Youths’ Perspectives Of Experiential Learning Delivery: Findings From A Multistate 4-H Youth Program, Sarah Taylor, K. Anh Do, Shen Qin, Yan Xia, Maria Rosario De Guzman

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

Youths’ perspectives are often unexplored in youth program development and implementation. This article examined youths’ perspectives of a 4-H youth prevention program called “Health Rocks!” that is designed to promote healthful decision-making skills, stress coping, and socioemotional skills related to substance use. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed. Qualitative findings reveal that participants appreciated the fun and engaging curriculum, valued program staff who were interactive, and enjoyed the hands-on program activities. Participants also reported that the program positively impacted their knowledge and skills. Quantitative results show that participants who perceived the program as fun were significantly more likely …

Recognizing And Promoting Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Leadership, And Impact: Award For Interdisciplinary Excellence In Mathematics Education (Ieme Award), Yeping Li, W. James Lewis

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

The presentation of the Award for Excellence in Mathematics Education to Roger E. Howe in 2015 officially launched the award, with the goal of recognizing work of lasting significance and impact in advancing mathematics education as an interdisciplinary field, linking mathematics, educational studies, and practice. From the beginning, this unique award has emphasized interdisciplinarity in mathematics education, highlighting the importance of boundary-crossing collaborations among mathematicians, mathematics educators, scholars in other related fields, and practitioners of mathematics. To emphasize the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in mathematics education, starting in 2019, the name of the award is changed from “Excellence in Mathematics …

Determinants Of Physical Activity For Latino And White Middle School-Aged Children, Aileen Garcia, Shinya Takahashi, Mindy Anderson-Knott, Dipti Dev

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

Background: Physical activity (PA) has long been acknowledged to contribute health benefits among children. However, research has consistently shown that PA declines as children grow older. Thus, this study examined the factors which are associated to children’s PA in order to identify potential barriers to PA.

Methods: Using data from the KidQuest Program, we conducted bivariate and multivariate analyses on survey data collected from fifth to seventh grade students in a small Midwestern city.

Results: We found that food knowledge, eating breakfast, and talking with family about eating healthy foods, are positively related to PA. On the

other hand, screen …

An Innovative, Cross-Disciplinary Approach To Promoting Child Health: The Reggio Emilia Approach And The Ecological Approach To Family Style Dining Program, Dipti Dev, Anna Burton, Brent A. Mcbride, Carolyn Edwards, Aileen Garcia

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

The Reggio Emilia approach is an international example of high-quality early care and education programs and this article offers innovative, practical strategies in which Reggio Emilia-inspired educators can link this approach while implementing the research-based EAT Family Style Dining program to foster a positive mealtime environment and promote better health for children.

The EAT Family Style Dining program presents childcare providers with the knowledge and skills needed for promoting children’s development of healthy eating behaviors while engaging families and communities. Children and adults eat together during mealtime and children serve themselves and select their own portions. This practice is recommended …

Do Not Forget Families And Households When Addressing Urban Refugee Education, Sarah C. Erwin, Jennifer Sewall, Julie A. Tippens, Dulo Nyaoro, Helen M. Miamidian

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

There are currently more than 25.4 million refugees globally, representing the largest number of refugees in recorded history (UNHCR 2018). More than one in three refugees who fall under the auspices of United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) protection are of school age (UNHCR 2019a). Dryden-Peterson (2015, 2016) points out that much of what is known about refugee education stems from research conducted in high-income countries of resettlement, ignoring the reality that the majority of refugees live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) neighboring their countries of origin. Additionally, 60% of refugees globally reside in cities (UNHCR 2019c), where UNHCR coordinates …

Generational Perceptions Of Support Among Congolese Refugees In Urban Tanzania, Julie A. Tippens

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

Urban refugees frequently fall outside of the scope of humanitarian assistance programs. Despite a growing body of research describing the experiences of urban refugees in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) of first asylum, little is known about generational differences in perceived support in these contexts. This phenomenological study used in-depth, semi-structured interviews and small group discussions to identify sources and meanings of support among older adult (50+; n= 23) and younger adult (18–30; n= 11) Congolese refugees in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Family and fictive kin emerged as central sources of support across age groups. However, instrumental support was sought …

Comparison Of Parent And Child Ratings Of Fruit And Vegetable Liking To Assess Parent Accuracy As Proxy Reporters, Virginia C. Stage, Carrie Downing, Archana V. Hegde, Dipti Dev, Amanda D. Peterson, L. Suzanne Goodell

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

This study examined the accuracy of parent-report child fruit/ vegetable (FV) liking. Child/parent dyads (n = 24) were recruited from six Head Start preschools in North Carolina. Liking for 10 FVs was assessed using a validated pictorial tool for children; a similar scale was used for parents. Negative relationships were observed between parent/child for one fruit (grapes) and one vegetable (broccoli). Positive relationships were observed among oranges, grapes, and overall fruit rankings. Parents tended to rank children’s liking of fruits higher than their children, while children ranked liking vegetables higher. Findings suggest parents may not be accurate respondents for …

Supporting Strong Families And Capable Communities Through Cross-National Research, Nathan C. Taylor, Deborah K. Hartman, Richard Bischoff, Alan Hayes, Paul R. Springer, David Perkins

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

Background Mental and behavioral ill-health are growing global problems and while there are promising evidence-based approaches aimed at reducing their impact, availability of services varies greatly, not only across nations, but also between urban, regional, and remote locations. Rural areas face accessibility and acceptability challenges related to mental health services that are similar to barriers experienced in developing countries. Initiatives to address mental health challenges in under-served rural areas can inform global mental health strategies.

Methods Using a public health approach, we illustrate how innovations in rural communities build community capacity and capability in areas that are currently, and are …

Contextual Factors Influence Professional Development Attendance Among Child Care Providers In Nebraska, Dipti Dev, Aileen S. Garcia, Alison Tovar, Holly Hatton-Bowers, Lisa Franzen-Castle, Zainab Rida, Linda Reddish, Jasmin Smith, Christy Burger, Danae Dinkel, Donnia Behrends, Emily Hulse, Susan M. Sheridan

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

Objective: To examine contextual factors that may influence child care providers’ motivators for attending nutrition-related training and their preferences and barriers to attending professional development training.

Design: Cross-sectional survey completed between January and April 2017.

Setting: Licensed child care programs (n = 1,490) across urban and rural Nebraska.

Participants: Child care center directors (n = 336) and family child care home providers (n = 1,154).

Main Outcome Measures: Motivators, preferences, and barriers of child care providers for attending professional development.

Analysis: Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted.

Results: Top motivators for attending nutrition-related training included meeting licensure …

Demography Of Aging, Marc A. Garcia, Catherine García, Kyriakos Markides

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

From 2010-2015, the annual growth rate of older adults was 3.3 percent globally (United- Nations 2017). As the proportion of the world’s population continues to age, the increasing number of older adults in the population presents significant challenges for policy makers in nearly all sectors of society. According to the United Nations Population Ageing Report 2017, the global population of adults 60 years and older increased more than two-fold from 382 million in 1980 to 962 million in 2017, and the number is expected to reach nearly 2.1 billion by 2050 (United Nations 2018). While population aging affects nearly …

Gender And Age Of Migration Differences In Mortality Among Older Mexican Americans, Adriana M. Reyes, Marc A. Garcia

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: Using a gendered life course perspective, we examine whether the relationship between age of migration and mortality is moderated by gender among a cohort of older Mexican-Americans.

Methods: Data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiological Study of the Elderly and recently matched mortality data are used to estimate Cox proportional hazard models.

Results: Our findings indicate the relationship between age of migration and mortality is moderated by gender suggesting a more nuanced perspective of the immigrant mortality paradox. Among men, midlife migrants exhibit an 18 percent lower risk of mortality compared to their U.S.-born …

Give Us A Twirl: Male Baton Twirlers’ Embodied Resistance In A Feminized Terrain, Trenton M. Haltom

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

There is a persistent perception that baton twirling is only for girls. This insight is not unwarranted because more often than not, audiences only see girls twirling. Baton twirling, however, is not exclusive to girls; boys twirl too.

In this chapter, I explore how the participation of men and boys in the sport of baton twirling exemplifies forms of embodied resistance. In defiance of more masculine and male-dominated sports, men and boys who twirl exhibit embodied resistance in three key ways: through their participation in this feminized sport, by redefining components of twirling to downplay gender, and through choreography involving …

Effects Of Stem And Response Order On Response Patterns In Satisfaction Ratings, Jolene D. Smyth, Glenn D. Israel, Milton G. Newberry Iii, Richard G. Hull

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Considerable research has examined the effect of response option order in ordinal bipolar questions such as satisfaction questions. However, no research we know of has examined the effect of the order of presentation of concepts in the question stem or whether stem order moderates response option order. In this article, we experimentally test the main and interaction effects of both stem and response option order for items in self-administered surveys on response distributions and answer changes in eight satisfied/dissatisfied questions. We find consistent evidence that response option order impacts answers. We also find that the order of “satisfied” or “dissatisfied” …

A Red-State View Of Religious Liberty And Nondiscrimination Protection For Lgbt People, Kelsy Burke, Emily Kazyak

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Despite the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015, two issues remain contentious in national debates about LGBT rights: employment non-discrimination and religious liberty. About half of all states in the U.S. offer protection against workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Twenty-one states have religious exemption laws that offer protection for people to refuse services based on their religious beliefs. Debates about such religious exemption laws as they relate to LGBT discrimination have become increasingly common. For instance, a Mississippi law (HB 1523)—passed in April 2016 and implemented in October 2017 after a series of court …

Childhood Misfortune And Handgrip Strength Among Black, White, And Hispanic Americans, Natalie R. Smith, Kenneth F. Ferraro, Blakelee R. Kemp, Patricia M. Morton, Sarah A. Mustillo, Jacqueline L. Angel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective: Although early-life insults may affect health, few studies use objective physical measures of adult health. This study investigated whether experiencing misfortune during childhood is associated with handgrip strength (HGS) in later life.

Method: Data on childhood misfortune and adult characteristics from the Health and Retirement Study were used to predict baseline and longitudinal change in HGS among White, Black, and Hispanic American men and women.

Results: Regression analyses revealed that multiple indicators of childhood misfortune were related to HGS at baseline, but the relationships were distinct for men and women. Over the study, having one childhood impairment predicted steeper …

Avoiding The Major Causes Of Death: Does Childhood Misfortune Reduce The Likelihood Of Being Disease Free In Later Life?, Monica M. Williams, Blakelee R. Kemp, Kenneth F. Ferraro, Sarah A. Mustillo

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: Although previous research reveals the detrimental effects of early misfortune on the development of chronic diseases in later life, few studies have investigated its effects on remaining disease free. This study draws on cumulative inequality theory to investigate whether experiencing childhood misfortune reduces the likelihood of remaining disease free over time.

Method: This study utilizes five waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study to test whether five domains of childhood misfortune predict being disease free at baseline (2004) and developing disease over time (2004–2012).

Results: Respondents reporting risky parental behaviors during childhood were less likely to be …

Partner Congruence On Fertility Intentions And Values: Implications For Birth Outcomes, Karina M. Shreffler, Stacy Tiemeyer, Julia Mcquillan, Arthur L. Greil, Tiffany Spierling

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

In heterosexual couples, both partners’ intentions to have a baby (or not) are associated with the likelihood of a subsequent birth, yet most studies only measure women’s intentions. Therefore, little is known about the potential association of couple agreement or disagreement on intentions or on such values as importance of parenthood, career, and leisure and the implications for childbearing. The goal of this article is to assess whether couple-level agreement or disagreement in fertility intentions and values are associated with the likelihood of a subsequent birth. Guided by the Theory of Conjunctural Action, we use couple data from two waves …

Cohort Differences In Cognitive Impairment And Cognitive Decline Among Mexican-Americans Aged 75 Years Or Older, Brian Downer, Marc A. Garcia, Mukaila Raji, Kyriakos S. Markides

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Research suggests that the prevalence and incidence of cognitive impairment among older adults is decreasing. This analysis used data from 9 waves (1993–2016) of the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly to assess cognitive status and cognitive decline for 2 cohorts of Mexican-Americans aged ≥75 years in 1993–1994 versus 2004–2005. Logistic regression, joint longitudinal survival models, and illness-death models for interval-censored data were used to examine cohort differences in the odds of prevalent cognitive impairment, trajectories of cognitive decline, and the risk of 10-year incident cognitive impairment, respectively. Results indicated that compared with the 1993–1994 cohort, …

Understanding Daily Depression, Drinking, And Marijuana Use Among Homeless Youth Using Short Message Service Surveying, Kimberly A. Tyler, Kristen M. Olson, Colleen M. Ray

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We used short message service surveying (SMS) with 150 homeless youths to examine the time ordering of feeling depressed with drinking alcohol, using marijuana, and using substances with friends. Multilevel binary logistic regression results revealed that youths who were depressed earlier in the day were more likely to drink alcohol later that day. Among depressed youths, heterosexual youths were less likely to drink alcohol than lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youths. Depressed youths had increased odds of using marijuana by a factor of 1.6, while heterosexual youths, compared to LGB youths, were 80% less likely to use marijuana. Females were …

Within-Household Selection Methods: A Critical Review And Experimental Examination, Jolene Smyth, Kristen M. Olson, Mathew Stange

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Probability samples are necessary for making statistical inferences to the general population (Baker et al. 2013). Some countries (e.g. Sweden) have population registers from which to randomly select samples of adults. The U.S. and many other countries, however, do not have population registers. Instead, researchers (i) select a probability sample of households from lists of areas, addresses, or telephone numbers and (ii) select an adult within these sampled households. The process by which individuals are selected from sampled households to obtain a probability-based sample of individuals is called within-household (or within-unit) selection (Gaziano 2005).Within-household selection aims to provide each member …

Social Support Theory, Lisa A. Kort-Butler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

In the study of crime and delinquency, what has come to be called social support theory has. its origins in Drennon-Gala’s research (1994, 1995) and Cullen’s (1994) presidential address to the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. In the address, entitled “Social support as an organizing concept for criminology,” Cullen argued that the notion of social support is threaded through many theories of crime and delinquency. Cullen distinguished between macro-level and interpersonal-level effects of social support, emphasizing how supportive societies and supportive relationships, respectively, can lessen crime rates and individual crime. He also implicated social support in the processes of social …

Media Exposure And Community Perception Of Alcoholism Among Female Adolescents In South-West Nigeria, Rowland Edet, Julianah Babajide

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of alcohol adverts on female adolescents as well as the perception of the community on alcohol consumption among female adolescents. The authors analyzed respondents’ opinions towards media portrayal of alcoholic beverages. Design/

Methodology/ Approach - The study adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey. The methodology based upon semi-structured questionnaire among 500 female adolescents and a qualitative methodology using in-depth interviews with parents and alcoholic beverage sellers.

Findings - The study reveals that television was the major source of information on alcoholic beverages among female adolescents in both rural (36.4%) …

Sexual Behaviours Of Adolescents In Creek Town, Cross River State, Nigeria, Kabiru K. Salami, Rowland E. Edet

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Risky sexual behaviors of adolescents in Creek Town have not been fully profiled. This study investigated the sexual behaviors of adolescents and their various dimensions in Creek Town, in Cross River State, Nigeria. This cross-sectional survey design adopted multi-stage sampling procedure to administer a 112-items questionnaire to 422 adolescents, to elicit information on their sexual behaviors and practices. Four focus group discussion sessions were also conducted with in-school and out-of-school adolescents. The mean age of adolescents was 17 years. Majority (65.4%) of the adolescents were sexually active. The mean age at sexual debut was 15 years for both male and …

Physical Performance Trajectories And Mortality Among Older Mexican Americans, Miriam Mutambudzi, Nai-Wei Chen, Bret Howrey, Marc A. Garcia, Kyriakos S. Markides

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background: We sought to identify distinct trajectory classes of physical performance in Mexican Americans aged 75 years and older and to examine whether these trajectories predict mortality.

Methods: We used four waves of Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) data for adults 75 years and older from 2004–2005 to 2013. Latent growth curve analysis was used to identify distinct trajectory classes. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between baseline characteristics and the newly constructed trajectories. Cox proportional hazards regression models examined the hazard of mortality as a function of Short Physical Performance …

Racial/Ethnic And Nativity Differences In Cognitive Life Expectancies Among Older Adults In The United States, Marc A. Garcia, Brian Downer, Chi-Tsun Chiu, Joseph L. Saenz, Sunshine Rote, Rebeca Wong

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background and Objectives: To document racial/ethnic and nativity differences by gender in cognitive life expectancies among older adults in the United States.

Research Design and Methods: Sullivan-based life tables were used to estimate cognitively normal, cognitively impaired/ no dementia (CIND), and dementia life expectancies by gender for White, Black, U.S.-born Hispanic, and foreign-born Hispanic adults 50 years and older in the Health and Retirement Study.

Results: Among women, the number of years spent living with dementia for Whites, Blacks, U.S.-born Hispanics, and foreign-born Hispanics was 1.6, 3.9, 4.7, and 6.0 years, respectively. For men, Whites lived 1.1 years with dementia …

Understanding Daily Depression, Drinking, And Marijuana Use Among Homeless Youth Using Short Message Service Surveying, Kimberly Tyler, Kristen M. Olson, Colleen M. Ray

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We used short message service surveying (SMS) with 150 homeless youth to examine the time ordering of feeling depressed with drinking alcohol, using marijuana, and using substances with friends. Multilevel binary logistic regression results revealed that youth who were depressed earlier in the day were more likely to drink alcohol later that day. Among depressed youth, heterosexual youth were less likely to drink alcohol than lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth. Depressed youth had increased odds of using marijuana by a factor of 1.6, while heterosexual youth, compared to LGB youth, were 80% less likely to use marijuana. Females were …

Biological Risk Profiles Among Latino Subgroups In The Health And Retirement Study, Catherine García, Jennifer A. Ailshire

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background and Objectives: Latinos residing in the United States exhibit an increased risk for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases compared to non-Latino whites. This elevated risk contributes to a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes and hypertension among Latino adults. Examining biological risk profiles of older Latinos as a “pan-ethnic group” and by Latino subpopulations may help to explain the increased burden of disease in later life among this population. The objective of this study is to document biological risk profiles among a nationally representative sample of older U.S. Latinos by nativity and country of origin.

Research Design and Methods: We use …

Humans In The Loop: Incorporating Expert And Crowd-Sourced Knowledge For Predictions Using Survey Data, Anna Filippova, Connor Gilroy, Ridhi Kashyap, Antje Kirchner, Allison C. Morgan, Kivan Polimis, Adaner Usmani, Tong Wang

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Survey data sets are often wider than they are long. This high ratio of variables to observations raises concerns about overfitting during prediction, making informed variable selection important. Recent applications in computer science have sought to incorporate human knowledge into machine-learning methods to address these problems. The authors implement such a “human-in-the-loop” approach in the Fragile Families Challenge. The authors use surveys to elicit knowledge from experts and laypeople about the importance of different variables to different outcomes. This strategy offers the option to subset the data before prediction or to incorporate human knowledge as scores in prediction models, or …

A Qualitative Study Of Changes In The Traditional Roles Of Housewives In Ibadan, Southwest Nigeria, Rowland Edet, Julianah Babajide, Oluwayimika Ekundina

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although hinged on the principles of patriarchy, the Nigerian society has witnessed appreciable changes in the roles of women. This change is noticed in marriage particularly among married women or housewives. Thus, the phenomenon of full housewife is gradually fading away due to the joint influence of westernization, globalization, and modernization. Thus, this study delved into interrogating the various changes that have taken place in the traditional roles of housewives in selected locations in Ibadan. This study utilized a purely qualitative method of research because the subject matter focuses on making sense of meanings people attach to gender, gender roles, …