Race and Ethnicity Commons^™

Friendship Within And Across Borders: Perceptions Of Social Networks Among First-Year International Students Of Color, Kaleb L. Briscoe, Christina W. Yao, Evangela Q. Oates, Jennifer N. Rutt, Kathleen J. Buell

UNL Office of Research and Innovation, Social/Behavioral Sciences Research Consortium

Establishing social networks can be extremely challenging when international students, particularly those of color, move to a new academic and social environment. We examine the perceptions of social networks among first-year international students of color and how these networks affect their experiences at a predominantly White institution (PWI). This study illuminates participants’ relationships with U.S. domestic students and the power of language, culture, and shared experiences through a longitudinal narrative inquiry. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are described in-depth for practitioners.

Revisiting The Complexity Of Racial Understandings And Subjective Experiences Of Race Among Students Of Color In Stem Higher Education: Toward A Racial Reappraisal Framework, Elvira Abrica

Department of Educational Administration: Faculty Publications

Despite significant investment in expanding post-secondary access and success for racially minori­tized populations within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, persistent educational disparities remain. While the literature has importantly identified and described the myri­ad ways in which students of color experience exclusion within STEM fields on the basis of race (and, perhaps, other social identity statuses), this area of scholarship is not always theoretically grounded in an understanding of racial hierarchies, processes of racialization, or theories of race and racism. That is, despite the abundant literature on students of color in STEM, there is comparatively limited theo­retical attention to …

Seeking Clarity In Murky Waters: Nuances Of Equity And Social Justice From A Teacher Perspective, Elaine J. Chan

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

In this study, I examined interactions between an English teacher and her students to illustrate ways in which issues of equity and social justice may play out in nuanced ways in the implementation of school curriculum in a diverse, Midwestern high school. These stories of classroom teacher and student experiences reveal complexities of how equity and social justice might unfold for students, and be understood by a teacher as she works with her students, to build a body of “teacher knowledge” (Clandinin and Connelly, 1996) that grows as the teacher gains experience. Examining complexities of “teacher knowledge” as a classroom …

Childhood Trauma And Substance Use: Differences By Race And Sex In Juvenile Justice Prevention Programs In Nebraska, Sophie Holtz

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This study seeks to analyze whether demographic factors such as gender and race have a relationship to the reporting of trauma symptoms in juveniles. This study also examines whether higher substance use has a relationship to higher reports of trauma symptoms. To gather this data, surveys were administered to juveniles involved in juvenile justice prevention programs across the state of Nebraska. Overall, we found that juvenile girls reported significantly higher amounts of trauma symptoms than boys do. There was also a significant difference in how much juvenile girls report using cannabis compared to juvenile boys. Furthermore, there was not a …

Examining Spatial Inequality In Covid-19 Positivity Rates Across New York City Zip Codes, Tse-Chuan Yang, Seulki Kim, Yunhan Zhao, Seung-Won Emily Choi

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We aim to understand the spatial inequality in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positivity rates across New York City (NYC) ZIP codes. Applying Bayesian spatial negative binomial models to a ZIP-code level dataset (N = 177) as of May 31st, 2020, we find that (1) the racial/ethnic minority groups are associated with COVID-19 positivity rates; (2) the percentages of remote workers are negatively associated with positivity rates, whereas older population and household size show a positive association; and (3) while ZIP codes in the Bronx and Queens have higher COVID-19 positivity rates, the strongest spatial effects are clustered in Brooklyn and …

Mediating Asian-Ness: How And Why Does Asian Identity Salience Vary By Biracial Status?, Kaitlan Wong

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The following study explores how and why Asian identity salience may vary between biracial and monoracial Asians. This study further aims to find potential mediators—including daily Asian contact, linked fate, group solidarity, and microaggressions—that might explain any group differences in Asian identity salience. I used the 2016 Post-Election National Asian American Survey to explore these research aims. Contrary to expectations, I found that biracial Asians have higher Asian identity salience than monoracial Asians. As expected, linked fate and microaggressions were positively associated with Asian identity salience. Surprisingly, daily Asian contact was negatively associated and group solidarity was not significantly associated …

Face Masking Violations, Policing, And Covid-19 Death Rates: A Spatial Analysis In New York City Zip Codes, Tse-Chuan Yang, Seulki Kim, Stephen A. Matthews

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The use of face masks during a pandemic and compliance with state and local mandates has been a divisive issue in the United States. We document variation in face masking violation rates involving police enforcement in New York City and examine the association between police-enforced face masking violations and COVID-19-related death rates. We assemble a Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) code–level data set from the New York City Open Data, Department of Health, and the American Community Survey (2014–2018). We use maps to demonstrate the spatial patterning of police-enforced face masking violation rates and COVID-19-related death rates. Using a Bayesian spatial …

Perceptions Of Human Security Among Islamic School Students, Parents And Teachers In Southern Thailand’S Subnational Conflict Zone, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Mahsoom Sateemae, Suhaimee Sateemae, Sareeha Tayongmat, Stacey Hoffman, Mark Dekraai

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Since 2004, close to 7,000 people have died in Thailand’s domestic insurgency in its three Muslim-majority southern provinces, one of the longest-running, low-intensity conflicts in Southeast Asia. This study assesses perceptions of human security threats in the area among a sample of students, their parents, and teachers of Islamic private schools (n = 427, n = 331, n = 51, respectively), and how they relate to perceptions of government actors and other community institutions. Questionnaire items were drawn from the World Values Survey Wave 6. Focus groups and interviews were also conducted to deepen our understanding of conflict related dynamics.

Testing Traditional Machismo And The Gender Role Strain Theory With Mexican Migrant Farmworkers, Laura M. Acosta, Arthur R. Andrews Iii, M. Natalia Acosta Canchila, Athena K. Ramos

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

The current study examines the moderating role of traditional machismo on mental health outcomes. We hypothesized that machismo would enhance the effects of stressors that are incongruent with traditional machismo beliefs (discrimination, adverse childhood experiences [ACEs], and fear of deportation) on depression and anxiety outcomes but would not enhance stressors that are congruent (harsh working conditions and poverty) on depression and anxiety. Participants were 190 male Mexican migrant farmworkers. As hypothesized, endorsing high traditional machismo was associated with stronger effects of fear of deportation and discrimination on depression outcomes compared with low traditional machismo. The interaction of machismo and …

The Foundations Of A Mexican American Bias Scale, Kendra Quiroz, Cynthia Willis-Esqueda

UCARE: Research Products

Mexican Americans are the largest group of Latino/a/x in the US. The purpose of this study was to provide information on the current stereotypes concerning Mexican American males and females with a university student sample. A total of four hundred and four students volunteered from a large midwestern university. Participants spontaneously provided their notions of unfair advantages, unfair disadvantages, and stereotypes for Mexican American males and females. All data was collected through an online survey. The responses were provided with randomized introduction of the group to be described. In addition, items to measure essentialism were included. Results indicated that there …

Paid Paternity Leave-Taking In The United States, Richard J. Petts, Chris Knoester, Qi Li

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Surprisingly few studies have focused on paternity leave-taking in the United States. This study utilizes data from three national datasets to provide a comprehensive examination of the attitudes, practices, and predictors of paid paternity leave-taking in the US. Specifically, this study focuses on (a) describing attitudes toward fathers receiving a share of paid parental leave, (b) describing rates and lengths of paid paternity leave-taking, and (c) analyzing the extent to which economic capital, cultural capital, social capital, and father identities predict paternity leave-taking practices. The results indicate that most people support fathers receiving a share of paid parental leave in …

The Intergenerational Transmission Of Discrimination: Children’S Experiences Of Unfair Treatment And Their Mothers’ Health At Midlife, Cynthia G. Colen, Qi Li, Corinne Reczek, David R. Williams

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

A growing body of research suggests that maternal exposure to discrimination helps to explain racial disparities in children’s health. However, no study has considered if the intergenerational health effects of unfair treatment operate in the opposite direction—from child to mother. To this end, we use data from mother-child pairs in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 to determine whether adolescent and young adult children’s experiences of discrimination influence their mother’s health across midlife. We find that children who report more frequent instances of discrimination have mothers whose self-rated health declines more rapidly between ages 40 and 50 years. Furthermore, …

The Protective Influence Of Self-Compassion Against Internalized Racism Among African Americans, Alexandra Emery

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Racist experiences and internalized racism may lead to poorer mental health outcomes for African Americans born and socialized in the United States (Graham, West, Martinez & Roemer, 2016; Mouzon & McLean, 2017). Self-compassion has been shown to protect against poor mental health outcomes, but limited research exists with respect to African Americans specifically (Lockard, Hayes, Neff and Locke, 2014). The present study explored whether self-compassion could serve as a protective factor between the relations of internalized racism and racist experiences, and the negative mental health outcomes of anxiety, depression, and stress among (N = 230) African American adults. To …

Islamophobia In U.S. Education, Shabana Mir, Loukia K. Sarroub

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Anti-Muslim sentiment has grown in scale and visibility far beyond its association with the horrific attacks of 2001. The US government’s “War on Terror,” which began after the attacks, often pervades the domestic landscape as a war on Islamic religious “extremism.” The definitions and content of such religious extremism are so extensive that they encompass large numbers of Muslims, and they highlight Muslims as being inherently problematic. For example, the success of the 2016 presidential campaign can be said to have relied significantly on a right-wing Islamophobic fear-mongering that shariah was set to take over the US. As we grappled …

Transforming The Classroom At Traditionally White Institutions To Make Black Lives Matter, Frank Truitt, Chayla Haynes, Saran Stewart

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development

In recent years, many college campuses across the United States witnessed a significant increase in campus activism regarding the range of experiences and conditions facing racially minoritized communities in higher education. As critical and inclusive pedagogues and scholars, we embrace the belief that a focus on making Black Lives Matter in the classrooms of traditionally White institutions (TWIs) provides educators with the best chance to improve the educational outcomes of all students. In this essay, we examine seven principles of critical and inclusive pedagogies that have the potential to make Black Lives Matter in TWI classrooms and identify several implications …

Life Expectancies With Depression By Age Of Migration And Gender Among Older Mexican Americans, Catherine García, Marc A. Garcia, Chi-Tsun Chiu, Fernando I. Rivera, Mukaila Raji

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background and Objectives: Prior studies examining depression among older Mexican Americans suggest both women and immigrants are at higher risk of depressive symptomatology than males and U.S.-born Mexican Americans. We use data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly to examine whether life expectancy with depression and without depression varies by nativity, age of migration, and gender.

Research Design and Methods: Sullivan-based life tables were used to estimate depression life expectancies among Mexican Americans aged 65 years and older residing in the Southwestern United States. Depression is based on the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies …

European Spaces And The Roma: Denaturalizing The Naturalized In Online Reader Comments, Theresa Catalano, Grace E. Fielder

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

With the entry of several Eastern European nations into the European Union (EU), a “third” space has developed in the discourse for nations perceived as not fully integrated “inside” the EU system. This article investigates the construction of this “third space” in the resultant “moral panic” about undesired immigration from other EU countries and its potential drain on the social services of the United Kingdom and links it to Euroskeptic discourse in British media. The article uses construal operations from cognitive linguistics combined with critical discourse studies as a way of denaturalizing the discourse in online comments that focus on …

Investigating Preferences For Patriarchal Values Among Muslim University Students In Southern Thailand, Mahsoom Sateemae, Tarik Abdel-Monem, Suhaimee Sateemae

University of Nebraska Public Policy Center: Publications

Recent research on Muslim populations has offered interesting but limited insights about values preferences. This mixed-methods study examines the prevalence of support for patriarchy among a sample of religious Muslim university students in Southern Thailand using items from the World Values Survey. It also investigates the durability of these preferences by examining correlations between support or opposition to patriarchal values with preferences towards courtship practices, and elements that influence respondents’ views on gender roles, particularly related to the contemporary socioeconomic and political situation facing the Muslim minority of Southern Thailand.

Two Cultures: One Identity, Brisly Carrera

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Mexicans travel to America in order to pursue better opportunities but in order to do so they need to assimilate themselves into the American culture.They assimilate themselves to the American culture but do not leave behind their hispanic culture, they simply blend the two due to their new life in America. This is sometimes difficult for people to balance: whether to live a more American life or stay true to their roots.

I agree with my findings for the reason that I can connect to these people, I am someone who lives between two cultures but try to blend them …

Taking The Weight Out Of Race, Shakuan Smith

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

Eight states have banned Affirmative Action due to the premise that preferential treatment of race in a college application is not fair to all students. The elimination of Affirmative Action policies has caused a significant decline in diversity at major public universities. To counteract this ban, many post-secondary institutions have implemented alternate plans to maintain their diversity. Consequently, Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs) have experienced a resurgence in their admissions.

There has been a noticeable decline in minority enrollment in many post-secondary institutions across the nation, particularly Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Trends show that many of top minority students …

Unaccompanied Children Migration, Ronald Alvarado

Nebraska College Preparatory Academy: Senior Capstone Projects

The way people view immigration has changed over the past few years. Children fleeing to the United States without their parents has been a huge issue lately. Unaccompanied children are kids younger than 18 who are sent alone, in this case to the United States. These kids migrate because of the extreme violence that occurs in their home countries.

Statistics prove that children in their home countries are exposed to much violence. Most are coming from the northern triangle of Central America. I believe they should have more rights here in the United States, and be treated just the same …

Urban Congolese Refugees In Kenya: The Contingencies Of Coping And Resilience In A Context Marked By Structural Vulnerability, Julie A. Tippens

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

The global increase in refugee migration to urban areas creates challenges pertaining to the promotion of refugee health, broadly conceived. Despite considerable attention to trauma and forced migration, there is relatively little focus on how refugees cope with stressful situations, and on the determinants that facilitate and undermine resilience. This article examines how urban Congolese refugees in Kenya promote psychosocial well-being in the context of structural vulnerability. This article is based on interviews (N = 55) and ethnographic participant observation with Congolese refugees over a period of 8 months in Nairobi in 2014. Primary stressors related to scarcity of material …

Social Contexts Of Infant Feeding And Infant Feeding Decisions, Ellen J. Schafer, Natalie A. Williams, Siri Digney, Marion E. Hare, Sato Ashida

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

Background: Infant feeding takes place within a network of social relationships. However, the social context in which infant feeding advice is received remains underresearched.

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the social contexts of infant feeding by examining individual and relationship characteristics of mothers and network members associated with advice to exclusively breastfeed, exclusively formula feed, or use a combination of breast milk and formula.

Methods: Information about 287 network members was reported by 80 low-income mothers during a one-time survey. Characteristics of relationships associated with mothers receiving advice (exclusively breastfeed/formula feed, combination feed) from each network …

Network Support Variation For Black Women In The United States: A Mobility Study Of Immigrant And Non-Immigrant Black Women, Lesa Annette Johnson

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Connections between socioeconomic status, social capital, and social support have been quite prominent in sociological research. However, such research still largely ignores the experiences of recently arrived African immigrants, particularly those who arrive as refugees. Black immigrants who arrived in the United States since 1965 have included an increasing number of refugees from war-torn, sub-Saharan African countries, such as the recently independent South Sudan. The numbers of women in these refugee roles has steadily increased since 1990. Black refugee women, many with children, bring diverse forms of social capital that influence their social networks and economic mobility, distinguishing them from …

Visualizing Abolition: Two Graphic Novels And A Critical Approach To Mass Incarceration For The Composition Classroom, Michael Sutcliffe

SANE journal: Sequential Art Narrative in Education

This article outlines two graphic novels and an accompanying activity designed to unpack complicated intersections between racism, poverty, and (d)evolving criminal-legal policy. Over 2 million adults are held in U.S. prison facilities, and several million more are under custodial supervision, and it has become clearly unsustainable. In the last decade, there has been a shift in media conversations about criminality, yet only a few suggest decreasing our reliance upon incarceration. In meaningfully different ways, the two novels trace the development of incarceration from its roots in slavery to its contemporary anti-democratic iteration and offer an underpublicized alternative.

Critical and community …

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 …

Prevalence And Correlates Of Physical Dating Violence Among North American Indigenous Adolescents, Dane Hautala, Kelley J. Sittner Hartshorn, Brian E. Armenta, Les B. Whitbeck

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study examined the lifetime prevalence of physical dating violence, including victimization, perpetration, and the overlap between the two (mutual violence), among a population sample of 551 reservation/reserve residing Indigenous (i.e., American Indian and Canadian First Nations) adolescents in the upper-Midwest of the United States and Canada. Potential correlates of four dating violence profiles (i.e., no dating violence, perpetration only, victimization only, and mutual violence) relevant to this population also were considered. The clearest pattern to emerge from multinomial logistic regression analyses suggested that adolescents who engage in problem behaviors, exhibit high levels of anger, and perceive high levels of …

The Reluctance Of African-Americans To Engage In Therapy, Monique Estelle Williamson

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis is presented with the intent to explore the reasoning behind why members of the African-American culture are reluctant to enter into therapy. While the numbers of African-Americans who enter therapy continue to rise there are still persistent stigmas that make therapy a taboo option for solving problems. The goal of this qualitative study is to identify (1) if there truly is reluctance in the African-American community, (2) why the African-American community is reluctant, (3) what are the stigmas regarding mental health and therapy from the perspectives of American participants, and (4) what would help break the barriers to …

Parenting Behaviors, Adolescent Depressive Symptoms, And Problem Behavior: The Role Of Self-Esteem And School Adjustment Difficulties Among Chinese Adolescents, Cixin Wang, Yan Ruth Xia, Wenzhen Li, Stephan M. Wilson, Kevin Bush, Gary Peterson

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

Cross-sectional data from 589 Chinese adolescents were used to investigate whether parenting behaviors are directly or indirectly (through self-esteem and school adjustment difficulties) associated with adolescent depressive symptoms and problem behavior. Structural equation modeling results showed that school adjustment difficulties fully mediated the relations between two parenting behaviors (parental punitiveness and paternal monitoring) and adolescent problem behavior and partially mediated the relation between maternal monitoring and adolescent problem behavior. Adolescent self-esteem partially mediated the relations between maternal punitiveness and adolescent depressive symptoms and fully mediated the relations between parental support and adolescent depressive symptoms. Parental love withdrawal was not significantly …

Black Radicals And Marxist Internationalism: From The Iwma To The Fourth International, 1864–1948, Charles R. Holm

Department of History: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This project investigates historical relationships between Black Radicalism and Marxist internationalism from the mid-nineteenth through the first half of the twentieth century. It argues that contrary to scholarly accounts that emphasize Marxist Euro-centrism, or that theorize the incompatibility of “Black” and “Western” radical projects, Black Radicals helped shape and produce Marxist theory and political movements, developing theoretical and organizational innovations that drew on both Black Radical and Marxist traditions of internationalism. These innovations were produced through experiences of struggle within international political movements ranging from the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century to the early Pan-African movements and struggles …