Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

From Burlesque To Grand Theft Auto: An Historical Analysis Of The Treatment Of The Media-Crime Relationship In Criminology Texts, Lisa Kort-Butler, Michael Killingsworth

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The degree to which criminological scholarship on the mediacrime relationship has been subject to the tides of moral panics is not well-understood, although there are theoretical reasons to hypothesize about the role of scientists in moral panics. Textbooks are one location in which a discipline chronicles its scholarly history and speaks to the public, making texts an important site for understanding how scholars interpret the media-crime relationship. A content analysis of over 200 criminology texts, ranging in publication dates from 1880 to 2012, was conducted. Almost half the texts covered the media-crime relationship. These texts often appeared to be responding …

Tiers 1, 2 & 3 Intervention: Student Engagement, Amber Olson, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Although it is a broad term which includes many potential components, student engagement is a critical component to both academic and behavioral success. Various research studies have linked positive student engagement to an increase in school success, a decrease in adolescent troubles, and a decrease in dropout risk (Skinner et al., 2008; Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004; O’Farrell & Morrison, 2003; Stout & Christenson, 2009). Increasing teacher engagement and support has been identified as a key way to increase student engagement (Bryson & Hand, 2007). Various instruments can be used to assess the levels of student engagement within schools, …

An Analytic Study Of The Professional Development Research In Early Childhood Education, Rachel E. Schachter

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

The goal of this study was to examine empirical research on the design, delivery, and measurement of the effects of professional development (PD) for early childhood educators in order to provide insight into what the field has accomplished as well as suggest directions for future PD programs and research. Through the use of rigorous inclusion criteria outlined by S. M. Wilson, R. E. Floden, and J. Ferrini-Mundy (2001), 73 studies were included and analyzed. On average, 25% (M = 12.68, SD = 9.99) of references in each study were specifically about PD. The majority of studies (n = …

Getting "Bi" In The Family: Bisexual People's Disclosure Experiences, Kristin S. Scherrer, Emily Kazyak, Rachel M. Schmitz

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

There are many similarities in gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals’ coming out experiences, but bisexual people face unique challenges. Despite this, an explicit focus on bisexual people is missing from family research. Using family systems and cultural sociological perspectives, the authors analyzed how social and cultural factors shape disclosure processes for bisexuals as they come out to multiple family members. After analyzing qualitative data from a diverse group of 45 individuals, they found that bisexual people navigate monosexist and heterosexist expectations in their family relationships. Cultural constructions of bisexuality shape the ways that bisexual people disclose their identities, including how …

Tiers 2 & 3 Intervention: In-School Suspension, Jenna Strawhun, Reece L. Peterson, Scott Fluke, Ana Cathcart

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

According to Dickinson and Miller (2006), “no in-school suspension (ISS) program, or any other discipline program, will be longitudinally effective until educators help students get to the basis of their behavior problems” (page 80). This notion is reflected in the delivery of ISS in a manner that emphasizes therapeutic and academic goals that relate to the function of students’ behavior problems. The research outlined in this brief has suggested that depending on the mode of delivery, there is great variability in the practices and outcomes associated with ISS. In order to diminish the need for assignments to ISS (or …

Tiers 1, 2 & 3 Intervention: Motivation, Scott Fluke, Reece L. Peterson, Amber Olson, Ana Cathcart

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Motivation is central to education. One of the goals of a successful classroom is to motivate students to complete academic work and engage in activities that will lead to learning. Research on motivation has demonstrated, as might be expected, that students who are highly motivated perform better in school, are less likely to dropout, and overall have a more satisfying and engaging school experience. To assist educators with motivating their students, researchers have also identified a number of different strategies to encourage motivation, whether it is extrinsic motivation or intrinsic motivation. Many of these strategies, such as building a …

Parenting Young Children In Contemporary Chinese Society: A Mixed Methods Study, Lixin Ren

Department of Psychology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine contemporary Chinese parents’ childrearing expectations, goals, and practices for their preschool-aged children. Participants included 154 parents with preschool-aged children (children’s mean age was 52.48 months with a standard deviation of 6.84) and 27 teachers recruited from seven preschools located in three small cities in northeastern China. In the quantitative phase, parents completed questionnaires measuring parental expectations (social-emotional and academic expectations), parenting styles, child social competence, and child pre-academic performance. The head teacher of each target child reported the child’s social competence and pre-academic performance. It was hypothesized that parental expectations …

Methodological Considerations For A New Household Panel Survey, Kristen Olson, J. Michael Brick

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This paper identifies new opportunities for innovation and expansion on current survey practice in the design of a new household panel survey, including an increased use of new and mobile technologies, more frequent data collection, modified clustering, and use of non-traditional survey measures such as administrative data, planned missing/matrix sampling questionnaire design, real-time data collection, and biomarkers. These innovative data collection methods require rethinking traditional panel survey methods, but can help reduce respondent burden and expand on current social science knowledge. The paper concludes that a new household panel survey would improve knowledge about important social, economic and health issues …

Tier 1 Intervention: School Values & Expectations, Reece L. Peterson, Jenna Strawhun, Natalie Hoff

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

At present, school value statements are believed to be a useful component of efforts to improve student behavior and school climate. These statements of values or expectations have been particularly emphasized as one of the key components of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports. Although there is strong research related to the overall outcomes of PBIS, there has been virtually no research about these values or expectations independent of PBIS. However, there has been some research on more global school mission statements, which appears to provide promise for future research on these more specific behavioral expectations. Based on the PBIS …

Diverse Perspectives Of Parents, Diverse Concepts Of Parent Involvement And Participation: What Can They Suggest To Researchers?, Carolyn P. Edwards, Traci Shizu Kutaka

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

Diversity of experiences and perspectives, it is widely agreed, should be a source of strength in home-school partnerships, as in other aspects of educational endeavor. Yet often, in the literature, diversity is presented as a complication to be overcome. A limiting mindset often prevails, both in theory and practice, where diversity is regarded as an issue or barrier, even amidst the best of intentions to be inclusive. In this chapter, we argue that this limiting mindset on diversity may in fact derive in part from the conceptual frameworks with which we in the United States contemplate and conduct research on …

Mexican-Origin Parents’ Work Conditions And Adolescents’ Adjustment, Lorey A. Wheeler, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Ann Crouter

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Mexican-origin parents’ work experiences are a distal extra-familial context for adolescents’ adjustment. This two-wave multi-informant study examined the prospective mechanisms linking parents’ work conditions (i.e., self-direction, work pressure, workplace discrimination) to adolescents’ adjustment (i.e., educational expectations, depressive symptoms, risky behavior) across the transition to high school drawing on work socialization and spillover models. We examined the indirect effects of parental work conditions on adolescent adjustment through parents’ psychological functioning (i.e., depressive symptoms, role overload) and aspects of the parent-adolescent relationship (i.e., parental solicitation, parent-adolescent conflict), as well as moderation by adolescent gender. Participants were 246 predominantly immigrant, Mexican-origin, two-parent families …

Strategies To Support Parent Engagement During Home Visits In Early Head Start And Head Start, Lisa Knoche, Christine Marvin, Susan M. Sheridan

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This study explores strategies used by early childhood professionals (ECPs) involved in a school readiness intervention to support parent engagement in young children’s learning. Thirty-two ECPs were recorded during home visits with young children and their families who were enrolled in Early Head Start and Head Start programming. Frequency of strategy use is reported, and strategy use is significantly correlated with rates of parent-ECP interactions during visits but not to parent-child interaction rates nor with overall quality ratings of parent-child engagement. ECPs’ overall success in promoting parent engagement was positively and significantly correlated with ECPs’ efforts to elicit parent observations …

United States Census Summary Chart, Rootsweb

Genealogy Resources

Form used to list names of father, mother, and children according to the United States census from 1790 through 1930. Includes a section to note where the family resided when each census was taken.

Examining The Validity Of The Homework Performance Questionnaire: Multi-Informant Assessment In Elementary And Middle School, Thomas J. Power, Marley W. Watkins, Jennifer A. Mautone, Christy M. Walcott, Michael J. Coutts, Susan M. Sheridan

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Methods for measuring homework performance have been limited primarily to parent reports of homework deficits. The Homework Performance Questionnaire (HPQ) was developed to assess the homework functioning of students in Grades 1 to 8 from the perspective of both teachers and parents. The purpose of this study was to examine the factorial validity of teacher and parent versions of this scale, and to evaluate gender and grade-level differences in factor scores. The HPQ was administered in 4 states from varying regions of the United States. The validation sample consisted of students (n=511) for whom both parent and teacher ratings were …

Parent Engagement During Home Visits In Early Head Start And Head Start: Useful Strategies For Practitioners, Lisa Knoche, Christine Marvin, Susan M. Sheridan

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This study explores strategies used by early childhood professionals (ECPs) involved in a school readiness intervention to support parent engagement in young children’s learning. In this study, we used video recordings to understand the ECP-parent interactions during Early Head Start and Head Start home visits. We coded the videos for the number of parent engagement strategies that were used by ECPs as well as the quality of parent engagement during visits, including the amount of parent-child interaction that took place during the visits. Findings have implications for the implementation of the Head Start Parent, Family and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework, …

Mexican-American Adolescents’ Gender-Typed Characteristics: The Role Of Sibling And Friend Characteristics, Norma J. Perez-Brena, Lorey A. Wheeler, Kimberly A. Updegraff, David R. Shaefer

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This study examined the role of sibling and friend characteristics in Mexican-American youth’s gender-typed characteristics (i.e., attitudes, interests, and leisure activities) in early versus middle adolescence using a sibling design. Mexican-American 7th graders (M = 12.51 years; SD = .58) and their older siblings (M = 15.48 years; SD = 1.57) from 246 families participated in home interviews and a series of seven nightly phone calls. Results revealed that younger/early adolescent siblings reported more traditional gender role attitudes than their older/middle adolescent siblings and older brothers were more traditional in their attitudes than older sisters. When comparing siblings’ …

Religiosity And Social Problems Among Muslim Adolescents In Southern Thailand, Suhaimee Sateemae, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Mahsoom Sateemae

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Substantial commentary has been written about the historical context of the Malay-Muslim minority in the deep south of Thailand. Much of the recent scholarship on the Malay-Muslim minority of Thailand has focused on the ongoing ethnic insurgency in southern Thailand, the region’s troubled history of annexation, and its relevance to Thailand’s political landscape. However, there is little empirical research on the Malay-Muslim population itself, although it is assumed that expressions of their religious identity are a fundamental aspect of collective identity formation. In an effort to fill this gap, this study explored perceptions of religiosity and risk behavior among Muslim …

Tiers 1, 2 & 3 Intervention: Punishment, Ana Cathcart, Reece L. Peterson, Shir Palmon

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

Punishment in school settings has several possible meanings. It can be viewed as retribution for misbehavior, as a behavioral intervention strategy, or as a part of a restorative plan. Punishment can be used effectively, particularly for behaviors that are dangerous or need speedy remediation. However, punishment can have several negative side effects associated with its use including ethical issues, emotional responses by the student, escape and avoidance, misuse and over use by the adult, and undesirable modeling by the adult. There are better options for changing behaviors that are more effective and less harmful to the child. Using punishment …

Tiers 1, 2 & 3 Intervention: Service Learning & Community Service, Shir Palmon, Ana Cathcart, Paige T. Lembeck, Reece L. Peterson

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Conclusion

It is clear that service learning and community service programs in schools may promote student engagement and bolster attempts to reduce school dropout, particularly for at risk or struggling students. Additional benefits include improved leadership skills and increased appreciation for community needs and civic responsibility and engagement. However, offering service learning or community service opportunities is not a common practice in schools today, and many question the relevance it has to students’ academic achievement needed for postsecondary education. Moreover, the push towards schools spending more time on academic instruction seems to diminish opportunities for service learning in schools. More …

Predictors Of Police Reporting Among Hispanic Immigrant Victims Of Violence, Dane Hautala, Kirk Dombrowski, Anthony Marcus

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of police reporting among Hispanic immigrant victims of violence. A sample of 127 Hispanic immigrants was generated through a chain-referral procedure in the city of Hempstead, New York. Participants were asked about their most recent victimization experiences, and detailed information was collected on up to three incidents. The analyses were based on a total of 214 separate victimization incidents, one third of which were reported to the police. Logistic regression analyses indicated that serious injury, multiple-victim incidents, and perceptions of discrimination increase the odds of a police report. Moreover, incidents involving …

Child Abuse, Street Victimization, And Substance Use Among Homeless Young Adults, Kimberly A. Tyler, Lisa A. Melander

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although previous research documents high rates of child abuse, street victimization, and substance use among homeless youth, few studies have investigated these three constructs simultaneously, and thus little is known about how various forms of victimization are uniquely associated with substance use among this population. The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship among child sexual and physical abuse, street victimization, and partner violence with substance use among 172 homeless young adults. Path analysis results revealed that males and those who reported parental drug problems were significantly more likely to have higher rates of substance use. Those who …

Using A Calendar And Explanatory Instructions To Aid Within-Household Selection In Mail Surveys, Mathew Stange, Jolene D. Smyth, Kristen Olson

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although researchers can easily select probability samples of addresses using the U.S. Postal Service’s Delivery Sequence File, randomly selecting respondents within households for surveys remains challenging. Researchers often place within-household selection instructions, such as the next or last birthday methods, in survey cover letters to select respondents. Studies show that up to 30% of selections are inaccurate and samples tend not to represent key demographics. This article tests two design elements—a calendar and explanatory wording of selection instructions in cover letters—to aid and motivate households to carry out selection procedures accurately. We empirically examine these elements in two mail surveys …

Characteristics Of Mothers Caring For Children During Episodes Of Homelessness, Melissa L. Welch-Lazoritz, Les B. Whitbeck, Brian E. Armenta

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study provides a description of the physical, psychological, and substance use problems of adult homeless women who are and are not caring for children. We also examined differences in the characteristics of these two groups of women. Interviews were conducted with 148 homeless women from three mid-sized U.S. cities, 24.3 % of whom were caring for at least one child. Our results showed that women caring for children were more likely to be sheltered and have health insurance. Homeless women caring for children and solitary homeless women were generally similar in terms of substance abuse problems. However, rates of …

Acculturation, Gender, And Active Life Expectancy In The Mexican-Origin Population, Marc A. Garcia, Jacqueline L. Angel, Ronald J. Angel, Chi-Tsun Chiu, Jennifer Melvin

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective—This study examines the potential effects of nativity and acculturation on active life expectancy (ALE) among Mexican-origin elders.

Method—We employ 17 years of data from the Hispanic Established Population for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly to calculate ALE at age 65 with and without disabilities.

Results—Native-born males and foreign-born females spend a larger fraction of their elderly years with activities of daily living (ADL) disability. Conversely, both foreign-born males and females spend a larger fraction of their remaining years with instrumental activities of daily life (IADL) disability than the native-born. In descriptive analysis, women with low acculturation report higher …

“I Want To Leave—Go Far Away—I Don’T Want To Get Stuck On The Res[Ervation]”: Developmental Outcomes Of Adolescent-Aged Children Of Navajo Native American Teen Mothers, Rochelle L. Dalla, Heather R. Kennedy

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

In 1992 and 1995, data were collected from 29 Navajo Reservation teenage mothers. In 2007, 71% (n = 21) of the original sample participated in a follow-up investigation. Then in 2008, data were collected from their children. Here, we present results of the 2008 investigation by describing the developmental outcomes of 14 “at risk” youth—those born to Navajo Native American adolescent mothers. Grounded in Ecological Systems Theory, our primary goal was to identify risk and protective factors across social and physical contexts (e.g., family, peer, school, and reservation community). A supplemental goal was to examine associations among indices of psycho-social …

The Effect Of Cati Questions, Respondents, And Interviewers On Response Time, Kristen Olson, Jolene D. Smyth

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

In this paper, we evaluate the joint effects of question, respondent, and interviewer characteristics on response time in a telephone survey. We include question features traditionally examined, such as the length of the question and format of response options, and features that have yet to be examined that are related to the layout and format of interviewer-administered questions. We examine how these question features affect the time to ask and answer survey questions and how different interviewers vary in their administration of these questions. This paper uses paradata from the Work and Leisure Today survey and uses cross-classified random effects …

Hiv/Aids In Puerto Rican People Who Inject Drugs: Policy Considerations, Luz M. López, Lisa De Saxe Zerden, Philippe Bourgois, Helena Hansen, Roberto Abadie, Kirk Dombrowski, Ric Curtis

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We commend the important work of Deren et al. that underscores the high rates of HIV among Puerto Rican people who inject drugs (PRPWID) and highlights the health, social, and service disparities between Puerto Rico and the Northeast US region. As articulated in their article, HIV/AIDS risk and substance use are not individual problems with individual consequences—the epidemic impacts community and culture, across borders and boundaries. In addition to service disparities, various socioeconomic contextual factors are associated with and may exacerbate the spread of HIV/AIDS in PRPWID, including limited educational and employment opportunities, poverty, and political disenfranchisement. Efforts to reduce …

Patterns Of Substance Use Initiation Among Indigenous Adolescents, Les B. Whitbeck, Brian E. Armenta

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background—The data for this study come from an eight-wave panel study of Indigenous (Canadian First Nations and American Indian) adolescents from three U.S. reservations and four Canadian reserves.

Objectives—Our objective was to investigate variations in patterns of substance use initiation from early adolescence through early adulthood using data collected annually for 8 years.

Method—At baseline the sample included 675 Indigenous adolescents (M age = 11.10, SD = .83; 50.3% girls). First, we calculated cumulative rates of substance use initiation by age. We then examined whether the cumulative initiation rates were moderated by gender using logistic regression …

Alcohol Expectancy, Drinking Behavior, And Sexual Victimization Among Female And Male College Students, Kimberly A. Tyler, Rachel M. Schmitz, Scott A. Adams

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

College students have high rates of heavy drinking, and this dangerous behavior is strongly linked to sexual victimization. Although research has examined risk factors for sexual assault, few studies have simultaneously studied the various pathways through which risks may affect sexual assault and how these pathways may be uniquely different among females and males. As such, the current study uses path analyses to examine whether alcohol expectancies mediate the relationship between social factors (e.g., hooking up, amount friends drink) and drinking behavior and experiencing sexual victimization, and whether drinking behavior mediates the relationship between alcohol expectancies and sexual victimization among …

A Feasibility Test Of Using Smartphones To Collect Gps Information In Face-To-Face Surveys, Kristen Olson, James Wagner

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Survey organizations rely on interviewers to make informed and efficient decisions about their efforts in the field, including which housing units they approach to knock on doors, seeking to make appointments, and obtain interviews. This paper presents initial findings from a feasibility test on a face-to-face survey, the US National Survey of Family Growth, in which the interviewers were equipped with GPS-enabled smartphones. This test included an experiment to determine if the use of the GPS-enabled smartphone altered interviewer behavior. We evaluate interviewer compliance with the GPS request, the effects of using the GPS device on interviewer behavior, and the …