Social Psychology and Interaction Commons^™

Immunization Strategies In Networks With Missing Data, Samuel F. Rosenblatt, Jeffrey A. Smith, G. Robin Gauthier, Laurent Hébert-Dufresne

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Network-based intervention strategies can be effective and cost-efficient approaches to curtailing harmful contagions in myriad settings. As studied, these strategies are often impractical to implement, as they typically assume complete knowledge of the network structure, which is unusual in practice. In this paper, we investigate how different immunization strategies perform under realistic conditions—where the strategies are informed by partially- observed network data. Our results suggest that global immunization strategies, like degree immunization, are optimal in most cases; the exception is at very high levels of missing data, where stochastic strategies, like acquaintance immunization, begin to outstrip them in minimizing outbreaks. …

Competing Forces Of Withdrawal And Disease Avoidance In The Risk Networks Of People Who Inject Drugs, Elspeth Ready, Patrick Habecker, Roberto Abadie, Bilal Khan, Kirk Dombrowski

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We analyze a network of needle-sharing ties among 117 people who inject drugs (PWID) in rural Puerto Rico, using exponential random graph modeling to examine whether network members engage in partner restriction to lower their risk of contracting HIV or hepatitis C (HCV), or in informed altruism to prevent others from contracting these infections. Although sharing of used syringes is a significant risk factor for transmission of these diseases among PWID, we find limited evidence for partner restriction or informed altruism in the network of reported needle-sharing ties. We find however that sharing of needles is strongly reciprocal, and individuals …

Contextualizing The Covid-19 Era In Puerto Rico: Compounding Disasters And Parallel Pandemics, Catherine Garcia, Fernando I. Rivera, Marc A. Garcia, Giovani Burgos, María P. Aranda

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objectives: The COVID-19 outbreak has worsened the ongoing economic crisis in Puerto Rico by creating "parallel pandemics" that exacerbate socioeconomic and health inequalities experienced by its most vulnerable residents. Unfortunately, conditions on the island have been largely overlooked by national media outlets and the mainland U.S. population. Thus, this research report aims to draw attention to the disparate burden multiple and compounding disasters have on older island-dwelling Puerto Rican adults’ health and well-being.

Methods: We characterize the lived experiences of the older population in Puerto Rico by incorporating data from numerous sources and contextualizing the effects of compounding disasters, the …

“Caballo”: Risk Environments, Drug Sharing And The Emergence Of A Hepatitis C Virus Epidemic Among People Who Inject Drugs In Puerto Rico, Roberto Abadie, K. Dombrowski

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background: Sharing drug injection equipment has been associated with the transmission of HCV among PWID through blood contained in the cooker and cotton used to prepare and divide up the drug solution. While epidemiologists often subsume this practice under the sharing of “ancillary equipment,” more attention should be paid to the fact that indirect sharing takes place within the process of joint drug acquisition and preparation.

Methods: We employed an ethnographic approach observing active PWID (N = 33) in four rural towns in Puerto Rico in order to document drug sharing arrangements involved in “caballo”, as this practice is locally …

Soldiers To Scientists: Military Service, Gender, And Stem Degree Earning, Christina Steidl, Regina E. Werum, Sela R. Harcey, Jacob Absalon, Alice Millermacphee

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The authors use 2014–2018 data from the American Community Survey to answer two questions: To what extent is military service associated with higher rates of earning a bachelor’s degree in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field (vs. a non-STEM field)? To what extent is this relationship gendered? The findings suggest that military service is associated with higher odds of completing a STEM degree and that this association is particularly strong for female veterans. Comparison across multiple STEM definitions suggests that military service does not simply channel women into traditionally female-dominated STEM fields. Instead, the findings show the biggest …

Immunization Strategies In Networks With Missing Data, Samuel Frederick Rosenblatt, Jeffrey A. Smith, G. Robin Gauthier, Laurent Hébert-Dufresne

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Network-based intervention strategies can be effective and cost-efficient approaches to cur- tailing harmful contagions in myriad settings. As studied, these strategies are often impracti- cal to implement, as they typically assume complete knowledge of the network structure, which is unusual in practice. In this paper, we investigate how different immunization strategies perform under realistic conditions—where the strategies are informed by partially-observed network data. Our results suggest that global immunization strategies, like degree immunization, are optimal in most cases; the exception is at very high levels of missing data, where stochastic strategies, like acquaintance immunization, begin to outstrip them in mini- …

The Politics Of Religious Nones, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Americans with no religious affiliation (aka religious “Nones”) are not a politically homogeneous community. Just as there are political differences between groups of Christians, there are political differences between groups of religious Nones. I use nationally representative survey data to examine the political activities and perspectives of atheists, agnostics, and those who are “nothing in particular.” Results show that Americans who report that their religion is nothing in particular are relatively uninterested in politics and unlikely to be politically active; atheists are relatively liberal and likely to experience political conflict and follow political news; and agnostics are particularly likely to …

The Past, Present, And Future Of Research On Interviewer Effects, Kristen M. Olson, Jolene Smyth, Jennifer Dykema, Allyson L. Holbrook, Frauke Kreuter, Brady T. West

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Interviewer-administered surveys are a primary method of collecting information from populations across the United States and the world. Various types of interviewer-administered surveys exist, including large-scale government surveys that monitor populations (e.g., the Current Population Survey), surveys used by the academic community to understand what people think and do (e.g., the General Social Survey), and surveys designed to gauge public opinion at a particular time point (e.g., the Gallup Daily Tracking Poll). Interviewers participate in these data collection efforts in a multitude of ways, including creating lists of housing units for sampling, persuading sampled units to participate, and administering survey …

What Do Interviewers Learn?: Changes In Interview Length And Interviewer Behaviors Over The Field Period, Kristen M. Olson, Jolene Smyth

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Interviewers are important actors in telephone surveys. By setting the pace for an interview, interviewers communicate the amount of time and cognitive effort respondents should put into their task. It is well-established that interviewers vary widely in the time they spend administering a survey, and that this time changes over the course of the data collection period as interviewers gain experience (Bohme and Stohr 2014; Kirchner and Olson 2017; Loosveldt and Beullens 2013a, 2013b; Olson and Bilgen 2011; Olson and Peytchev 2007). In particular, interviewers get faster as they gain experience over the field period of a survey.

The within-survey …

Knowledge Of Breast Cancer And Screening Methods Among Rural Women In Southwest Nigeria: A Mixed Method Analysis, Rowland Edet, Oluwayimika Ekundina, Obasanjo Afolabi Bolarinwa, Julianah Babajide, Juliet Amarachukwu Nwafor

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to assess the awareness of rural women on breast cancer and its screening methods in Southwest Nigeria. Descriptive cross-sectional survey design with the aid of a semi-structured questionnaire was used to generate data among 422 rural women in selected communities in Egbeda local government area of Ibadan. The qualitative data was generated through in-depth interviews among rural women and key informant interviews among health workers in the communities. The study revealed that only 63.7% were aware of breast cancer screening methods compared to 31.6% who were not aware of it. The commonly known screening …

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 …

Migration To The Us Among Rural Puerto Ricans Who Inject Drugs: Influential Factors, Sources Of Support, And Challenges For Harm Reduction Interventions, Roberto Abadie, Patrick Habecker, C. Gelpi-Acosta, Kirk Dombrowski

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Background: While PWID of Puerto Rican origin have been migrating to the US for decades, the range of factors influencing their migration to the US and the resources they draw on to do so are not well understood. This is particularly true for rural Puerto Rican PWID, and the present study is the first empirical research to document migration patterns among this population. The specificities of their migration raise important challenges that need to be documented in order to implement more effective harm reduction policies at home (Puerto Rico) and abroad (US).

Methods: This paper draws from data obtained employing …

Political Polarization And Long-Term Change In Public Support For Environmental Spending, Eric W. Johnson, Philip Schwadel

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Public support for environmental protection has evinced declines in recent years that are widely attributed to growing antipathy among self-identified Republicans. Fractures in what was long considered broad and enduring support for the environment in the United States have called attention to the broader sociopolitical context in which individual opinion on the environment is formed, and especially the role of political parties and their leaders in shaping opinion. Empirical analyses of environmental support, however, remain strongly focused on individual-level correlates of support. We apply recent methodological advances in age-period-cohort models to scrutinize changes in Americans’ willingness to pay more for …

Doing Family: The Reproduction Of Heterosexuality In Accounts Of Parenthood, Emily Kazyak, Nicholas K. Park

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The cultural and legal landscape in the United States has shifted towards increased recognition of LGBQ-parent families. This shift raises questions about the everyday experiences of LGBQ parents and whether the cultural and legal changes also manifest in diminished experiences of discrimination. Drawing on data from 74 interviews with LGBQ parents, we analyze their accounts of whether they are read as a parent by others in their daily interactions. Our findings reveal the ways in which heterosexuality is a key component of how membership to the category of ‘parent’ is produced in social interactions. Our findings also illustrate how assumptions …

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, …

“Money Helps”: People Who Inject Drugs And Their Perceptions Of Financial Compensation And Its Ethical Implications, Roberto Abadie, Brandon Brown, Celia B. Fisher

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study documents how people who inject drugs (PWID) in rural Puerto Rico perceive payments for participating in HIV epidemiological studies. In-depth interviews were conducted among a subset (n = 40) of active PWID older than 18 years of age who had been previously enrolled in a much larger study (N = 360). Findings suggest that financial compensation was the main motivation for initially enrolling in the parent study. Then, as trust in the researchers developed, participants came to perceive compensation as part of a reciprocal exchange in which they assisted researchers by providing a trustful account of their experiences …

Change In Motherhood Status And Fertility Problem Identification: Implications For Changes In Life Satisfaction, Arthur L. Greil, Julia Mcquillan, Andrea R. Burch, Michele H. Lowry, Stacy Tiemeyer, Kathleen S. Slauson-Blevins

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective: To determine whether the association between changes in life satisfaction and becoming a mother (or not) depends on fertility problem identification status.

Background: Evidence and symbolic interactionist theory suggest that, for women who initially perceive a fertility barrier, gaining the valued identity “mother” should be associated with increases and continuing to face a blocked goal (i.e., not becoming a mother) should be associated with decreases in life satisfaction.

Method: This study used the nationally representative two-wave National Survey of Fertility Barriers to conduct a change-score analysis with chained multiple imputation. The focal dependent variable was change in life satisfaction. …

Gender, Millennials, And Leisure Constraints: Exploring Golf’S Participation Decline, Lee Phillip Mcginnis, James W. Gentry, Trenton M. Haltom

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This paper addresses the dearth of research regarding why the golf industry, specifically in the United States, is stagnating and, in some cases, losing participants. We focus on why Millennials are not playing golf to the same extent as previous generations. This is a conceptual paper, drawing upon literature in sports, leisure, gender, and marketing to track the current trends in sports participation, leisure, and household production to determine the constraints that might limit golf participation. In this paper, we highlight gender as an important social structure and conceptual lens for understanding social changes, particularly among Millennials, which could also …

Network Effects In Blau Space: Imputing Social Context From Survey Data, Miller Mcpherson, Jeffrey A. Smith

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

We develop a method of imputing ego network characteristics for respondents in probability samples of individuals. This imputed network uses the homophily principle to estimate certain properties of a respondent’s core discussion network in the absence of actual network data. These properties measure the potential exposure of respondents to the attitudes, values, beliefs, etc. of their (likely) network alters. We use American National Election Survey data (2016 ANES) to demonstrate that the imputed network features show substantial effects on individual level measures, such as political attitudes and beliefs. In some cases, the imputed network variable substantially reduces the effects of …

Review Of How Places Make Us: Novel Lbq Identities In Four Small Cities, By Japonica Brown-Saracino., Emily Kazyak

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Japonica Brown-Saracino’s How Places Make Us is an engaging book that illustrates the centrality of cities in shaping understandings of sexuality. She analyzes the identities and lives of lesbian, bisexual, and queer (LBQ) women in four cities: Ithaca, New York; San Luis Obispo, California; Portland, Maine; and Greenfield,Massachusetts. Despite the fact that these cities are home to a high number of female same-sex couples and are imagined as sites of acceptance for LGBTQ people, Brown-Saracino discovers, through her ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, something surprising: the LBQ women in each city offered radically different narratives about sexuality. The book is devoted …

Economic Hardship During Childhood Increases The Risk Of Premature Death Later In Life, Blakelee R. Kemp

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Experiencing economic hardship during childhood can have long lasting consequences for health. This is especially true for individuals who face multiple forms of hardship early in life. Adults over the age of 50 who reported experiencing several types of childhood economic hardship, such as moving due to financial difficulties or having poor family finances, were more likely to die over the next 10 years than adults who reported no economic hardship during childhood. In fact, experiencing two or more economic hardships during childhood was associated with a 23% increase in the risk of death from any cause. The trend indicates …

Mixed Methods In Body And Embodiment Research, Samantha Kwan, Trenton M. Haltom

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This chapter outlines the foundations of mixed methods research and discusses several examples of mixed methods research in the sociology of the body and embodiment. It begins with a brief history of mixed methods and conceptualizations of this term. To illustrate mixed methods in practice, including its benefits, drawbacks, and relevance to intersectionality research, the authors discuss the first author’s research on body weight (Kwan 2007, 2009a, 2009b, 2010; Kwan and Graves 2013), as well as a study about young women’s contraceptive use (England et al. 2016) and a study about nude embodiment (Weinberg and Williams 2010). The chapter concludes …

A Social Space Approach To Testing Complex Hypotheses: The Case Of Hispanic Marriage Patterns In The United States, Jeffrey A. Smith

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Where do individuals identifying as Hispanic fit in the racial landscape of the United States? The answer offered by past work is complex: The empirical results do not lend themselves to simple interpretation as no single hypothesis fits the Hispanic case very well. Instead, Hispanic integration is described as mixtures of different archetypical hypotheses, like panethnic formation, white assimilation, and racialized assimilation. My goal is to develop a formal framework to help make sense of this complex picture. I extend past work by showing which combination of integration processes (panethnic formation, white assimilation, etc.) best characterizes Hispanic marriage patterns. I …

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 meta- bolic 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 objec- tive 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: …

Culture And The Development Of Traditional Medicine In Africa, Rowland Edet, Oyedolapo Isaac Bello, Julianah Babajide

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Traditional medicine has been the dominant healthcare system in Africa before westernization, civilization and colonialism. For people living in the rural areas, traditional medicine is easily available, accessible and affordable. The purpose of this paper is to examine how the cultural way of the life of Africans has contributed to the emergence and development of traditional therapeutic systems in the continent. By explaining the way Africans perceive illness and disease, this paper argues that various forms of healing were predicated on the sociocultural environment of the people. The paper therefore opts for concerted efforts in the development of traditional medicine …

Disability And The Immigrant Health Paradox: Gender And Timing Of Migration, Marc A. Garcia, Adriana M. Reyes, Sunshine Rote

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Although research has documented better health and longer life expectancy among the foreign-born relative to their U.S.-born counterparts, the U.S. Mexican-origin immigrant population is diverse and the healthy immigrant effect likely varies by key structural and demographic factors such as gender, migration history, and duration in the United States. Using a life course framework, we use data from the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (H-EPESE 1993–2013) which includes Mexican-American individuals aged 65 and older to assess the heterogeneity in the immigrant health advantage by age of migration and gender. We find that age of migration …

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 …

Drawing On Lgb Identity To Encourage Participation And Disclosure Of Sexual Orientation In Surveys, Mathew Stange, Jolene D. Smyth, Kristen M. Olson

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This paper reports an experiment that tested how three survey cover designs—images of traditional families and individuals displaying themselves in typical gender ways; images of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) and heterosexual individuals and families; and no cover images—affected LGB people’s participation and disclosure of LGB identity and non-LGB people’s participation. Analyses showed the LGB-inclusive cover led to significantly more LGB respondents than the other designs, without significantly affecting the demographic, political, and religious makeup of the completed sample. We discuss what these findings mean for addressing two challenges: getting LGB people to respond to surveys and to disclose their …

Short Message Service Surveying With Homeless Youth: Findings From A 30-Day Study Of Sleeping Arrangements And Well-Being, Kimberly A. Tyler, Kristen Olson, Colleen M. Ray

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Little is known about the location and consistency of sleeping arrangements among youth experiencing homelessness (YEH) and how this is linked to their well-being. This study addresses this gap using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) via short message service (SMS) surveying with 150 YEH over 30 days, to examine how various sleeping arrangements are associated with depression, marijuana use, support received, and service utilization. Results revealed that the average number of consecutive days youth stayed at any particular location varied considerably. Youth who stayed more frequently with a friend/partner or in a transitional living facility (TLF) reported fewer days of being …

Late Life Depressive Symptoms And Cognitive Function Among Older Mexican Adults: The Past And The Present, Joseph L. Saenz, Marc A. Garcia, Brian Downer

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective: To evaluate associations between depression and individual cognitive domains and how changes in depressive symptoms relate to cognition three years later in the context of Mexico, a developing country experiencing rapid aging.

Method: Data comes from waves 3 (2012) and 4 (2015) of the Mexican Health and Aging Study (n=12,898, age 50+). Depression is ascertained using a modified Center for Epidemiologic Studies – Depression Scale. Cognition is assessed using verbal learning, verbal memory, visual scanning, verbal fluency, visuospatial ability, visual memory, and orientation tasks. Depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning were both measured in 2012 and 2015. Scores across cognitive …