CONCEPTUALIZING CONTEMPORARY HEALTH LIFESTYLES:

The intent of this article is to move beyond the work of Weber and construct a concept of health lifestyles applicable to the current phase of modernity. Beginning with the early twentieth-century work of Simmel and Weber on lifestyles generally, we move to mid-century to examine Bourdieu's perspective and turn to Giddens for an analysis of late century conditions. We find that Weber's insight concerning the dialectical interplay of choice and chance remains the central feature of the lifestyle concept. We also suggest that in rapidly changing late or postmodern situations, lifestyles not only provide self-identity but also promote a sense of stability and belonging for an individual by providing an anchor in a particular social constellation of style and activity. Our discussion leads us to define health lifestyles as collective patterns of health-related behavior based on choices from options available to people according to their life chances. Consistent with Bourdieu's notion of habitus, we assign priority to chance (structure) over choice.     

How is participation related to well-being of homeless people? An explorative qualitative study in a Dutch homeless shelter facility

The majority of homeless people is socially excluded which negatively affects their well-being. Therefore, participation-based programs are needed. The current research is conducted within a Dutch homeless shelter facility that offers educational, recreational, and labor activities to clients in an environment which is designed to feel safe (an enabling niche). The main aim of these activities is to facilitate social participation. We conducted two qualitative studies consisting of 16 semi-structured interviews, to explore clients’ experiences with participation in activities in relation to their well-being. The findings showed that clients experienced that participation had led to an improvement of physical, social, and mental well-being. In general, clients reported that due to participation in activities they have strengthened their social support network, improved their (mental and physical) health, self-esteem and personal growth. We concluded that in order to facilitate long-term positive outcomes of participation in practice, it is necessary to focus on group cohesion, and on the social worker’s behavior and attitude.     

Negotiating Homelessness through the Saliency of Family Ties: The Personal Networking Practices of Latino and African American Men

Abstract

This paper examines the role family networks play in the daily survival of homeless Latino and African American men. Using a qualitative research design and a semi-structured interview technique, I examine how these men initiate, participate in and maintain kin-based social networks and how their networks function. The analysis is carried out comparatively for Latinos and African Americans. Two research questions guide the analysis. First, how do the personal networks of homeless men operate? Second, how do the personal networks of homeless African American men differ from those of homeless Latino men? Key findings suggest differences in provisions for social support available within the respective networks of these men. Overall, participants commonly activated social capital within their personal networks, through the practice of filial fluidity which relaxes expectations of social debt and obligations and thus, facilitates the flow of resources vital to the well-being of these homeless men. These findings support a more empowering view of homeless men as active, rational and competent actors engaged in negotiating their situations of homelessness by maintaining active family-based networks.     

Cost, convenience and quality in child care demand

This paper presents an economic analysis of child care use by employed women with children under six years of age. Observations of actual child care choices are used to estimate the relative importance assigned by parents to cost, convenience and quality in child care. On the basis of these estimates, the chances that each type of child care arrangement will be used are predicted. Projections of child care use are presented for a range of potential costs, travel times, child-staff ratios, and family circumstances. This study is unique in employing information not only on child care arrangements already used, but also on the alternative arrangements available to individual families. The child care data were collected in a 1977 survey of New York City employees. Overall, the model correctly predicted 78% of the observed child care choices. The results of the analysis show strong effects of cost in child care choice. The demand for day care centers is especially sensitive to user cost; if centers were available free of charge, for example, there is a 65% chance that the average single working mother in the sample would use one. Travel time and child-staff ratios have small but statistically significant effects on the choice of child care arrangements. Weekend work schedules and presence of infants are also important choice factors. Once costs are accounted for, family income has no significant effect on the type of child care chosen.     

Getting it together: Social and institutional obstacles to getting off the streets

Avoiding macrostructural or individualistic explanations as to why homeless individuals cannot get off the streets, this paper examines the social structure of street life as it impinges on a sample of homeless persons' chances of obtaining nonshelter housing. Specifically, by interviewing 42 homeless individuals about a housing grant offered by New York State and the possibility of obtaining shared housing arrangements with such a grant, this study documents possible ways in which the social relations homeless people have with institutions and each other may dash potential efforts to obtain nonshelter housing. The research finds that distrust of the homeless among landlords and a high level of contingency with respect to welfare cases interact with distrustful personal relations among the sample of homeless themselves to reduce the likelihood of successful utilization of the housing grant. Due to sample limitations, findings from this study cannot be generalized to all homeless; nonetheless they offer insight into a dynamic which may be similar to those at work among other homeless sub-populations as well. An earlier version of this paper was presented at a regular session of the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting on August 9, 1994.     

Attitudes Toward Control in Uncontrollable Situations: The Multidimensional Impact of Health Locus of Control on the Well-Being of Mothers of Children with Disabilities

This study examines the additive and interactive impact of four dimensions of health locus of control (internality, desire for information, powerful others, and chance) on two measures of well-being (perceived social support and subjective caregiver burden) among 81 mothers of children with disabilities. Narrative accounts and interactive interviews with such mothers are used to interpret and contextualize the quantitative results. Findings clearly support the multidimensionality of health locus of control. Among these mothers, internality is uncorrelated with both of the dimensions of externality often treated as its polar opposite. It is also uncorrelated with desire for information—often used as its indicator. Complex individual, additive and interactive affects on the measures of well-being were found for dimensions of health locus of control. Desire for information is negatively correlated with subjective burden. Mothers who do not want information about health feel greater burden of care. Internality and chance interact in their relationships to both aspects of well-being. Mothers who believe that both their own actions and chance affect health outcomes report the highest levels of social support. Where internality is low, the belief in chance increases perceived social support. Conversely, where chance is low, internality increases support. For highly internal mothers, belief in chance serves to reduce perceived subjective burden. Mothers high in chance but low in internality, on the other hand, feel more burdened by their parenting task. Implications for research and policy are discussed.     

Problems associated with choice and quality of life for an individual with intellectual disability: a personal assistant's reflexive ethnography

A gap exists between research and practice within the field of intellectual disability. In particular, researchers suggest that personal choice enhances quality of life. Following Bourdieu's suggestion to focus on improving the practice of theory rather than the theory of practice, this paper is a reflexive ethnography detailing my struggles to provide choice to an individual who, it turned out, cannot think in the ways necessary to make choices that would improve his subjective quality of life. A narrative is included with the hope of revealing social processes outside and within the field of intellectual disability and to provoke discussion regarding problems with choice and quality of life in the field.     

Evolution of human mate choice

This article provides a review of evolutionary theory and empirical research on mate choices in nonhuman species and uses it as a frame for understanding the how and why of human mate choices. The basic principle is that the preferred mate choices and attendant social cognitions and behaviors of both women and men, and those of other species, have evolved to focus on and exploit the reproductive potential and reproductive investment of members of the opposite sex. Reproductive potential is defined as the genetic, material, and/or social resources an individual can invest in offspring, and reproductive investment is the actual use of these resources to enhance the physical and social well- being of offspring. Similarities and differences in the mate preferences and choices of women and men are reviewed and can be understood in terms of similarities and differences in the form of reproductive potential that women and men have to offer and their tendency to use this potential for the well-being of children.     

The Effects of Neighborhood Density and Social Control on Resident Satisfaction*

This study examines neighborhood density and other social factors which limit environmental control. It is hypothesized that the combined effects of high density and low social control result in the least resident satisfaction. Lower and higher densities are thus considered in combination with differences in tenure status, income levels, and life cycle status. National survey items which evaluate the residence, social life, and well-being are analyzed. The results offer only limited evidence of interaction effects between dense neighborhoods and the predicted low social control dimensions of renting, low income, and having children. There is, however, support for the choice of these environmental control factors when the additive effects of neighborhood density and each social control variable on resident dissatisfaction are considered. The contributions to the crowding literature and suggestions for new research are outlined.     

Quality of life among unemployed and employed people in northern Sweden. Are there any differences?

This study analysed self-assessed quality of life (QoL), using a QoL questionnaire (H?rnquist's QLcs) covering the life spheres, somatic health, mental well-being, cognitive ability, social and family life, activity, financial situation, meaning in life and a global score "entire life", in 487 unemployed subjects and 2917 employed subjects aged 25-64, in a population-based cross-sectional study in northern Sweden. In line with previous findings, results showed that unemployed people exhibited poorer QoL. Unemployed women scored higher in existential life domains than unemployed men did. Unemployed men were worst off in terms of general life situation. Employed respondents benefited in QoL by a university/college education, while unemployed respondents with a university/college education did not. Close social relations and money reserve were associated with higher QoL generally. It was concluded that further research is needed to differentiate various aspects of QoL and unemployment, and to compare with other samples.     

Unfair treatment, neighborhood effects, and mental health in the Detroit metropolitan area

Why do racial differences in many indicators of mental and emotional well-being show inconsistent patterns? We propose that mental and emotional well-being are influenced by aspects of the social context, including experiences of unfair treatment and the concentration of households with incomes below the poverty level, and that differential exposure to these factors influences racial differences in mental well-being. We analyze the reporting of psychological distress and life satisfaction in a multistage area probability sample of 1,139 African American and white residents of the Detroit metropolitan area aged 18 and older. Both psychological distress and life satisfaction are significantly associated with exposure to unfair treatment and with the proportion of households in the census block group that were below the poverty level. Racial differences in psychological distress and life satisfaction were eliminated or reversed once differentials in the percent of households living below the poverty line and exposure to unfair treatment were accounted for. These findings contribute to a growing body of evidence that "race" effects operate through multiple pathways that include race-based residential segregation and its attendant economic disinvestment at the community level, and interpersonal experiences of unfair treatment.     

Facilitative Aspects of Field Research with Deviant Street Populations*

The authors examine facilitative aspects of field research with deviant street populations. Based on the authors' research with the homeless and with male street prostitutes, the facilitative aspects include access to settings, social relationships, acquisition of information, and the maintenance of researcher interest. The authors argue that in each of these aspects street deviants may in some ways be easier to study than other populations. The paper concludes with suggestions for maximizing the efficiency and quality of fieldwork with specific deviant populations.     

Evaluating the heterogeneity of street life and homelessness in adolescent research

Researchers of homelessness have been careful to delineate the heterogeneity of adolescent homelessness and street involvement when defining and differentiating street life experiences around the globe. Understanding these experiences poses challenges to researchers as adolescents across these locations come to the street at various stages of transition and homelessness yet share similarities. In this article, we review homeless research to understand both the heterogeneous characteristics and experiences adolescents have when they become involved in street life and homelessness around the world, as well as the similarities and differences they globally share. We review and compare general definitions of street life and homelessness presented in observations of young people on the street in the developed and developing worlds. We then explore interrelated characteristics outlined by researchers across these studies and locations, namely, the homeless status of street life participants and their socialization to street life as well as their network affiliations. Although this collected body of work reveals a complex heterogeneity of street involvement among all those that participate, it also shows how the young and street involved around the globe share these commonalities with one another which challenges the frameworks and classifications that guide contemporary global research among the homeless.     

HOMELESSNESS AND AFFILIATION

Sociological theory portrays affiliation as an important source of personal power. Accordingly, some students of homelessness suggest that the extreme poverty and powerlessness of homeless individuals can be traced to a lack of social ties. Using data from a quota sample of 150 homeless persons in Birmingham, Alabama, this study examines (1) whether the homeless are disaffiliated and (2) the relationship between affiliation and power-related life experiences (personal efficacy). A 26-item scale measures affiliation; subscales assess expressive ties, instrumental supports, and acquaintances. Personal efficacy outcomes studied are depressive symptoms, anomie, mastery, physical and mental health, service knowledge, environmental satisfaction, and monthly income. Evidence suggests that many homeless persons have a network of confidants, friends, relatives, and acquaintances. However, these networks differ from those described in past research on general populations. Additionally, multiple regression results assign networks, at best, only modest effects on personal efficacy among the homeless.     

‘No,living well does not mean being rich’: Diverse understandings of well-being among 11–13-year-old children in three Ethiopian communities

Participatory research into how people living in material poverty define and experience well-being and ill-being is increasingly common in developed and developing countries. Such research highlights the importance of experiential aspects, such as being respected and able to preserve one's dignity, and having meaningful choices. Nevertheless, these findings rarely cover children's experiences and are often not contextualized or triangulated with other data. The paper will extend this exploration using data from qualitative research with a sub-sample of children aged 11–13 in three urban and rural communities, drawn from Young Lives, a long-term international research project investigating the changing nature of childhood poverty in four countries, including Ethiopia. Firstly, it addresses how understandings of a good life and what is needed to achieve one varies between communities and amongst children of different backgrounds living in those communities; for example, boys and girls and children from richer or poorer households. Secondly, the study examines how one's place in social relationships also contributes to how children perceive and understand what a good life is. The paper confirms the importance of allowing children to take at least a ‘partial role’ in measuring and monitoring their well-being (Ben-Arieh 2005, 575) and provides examples of how this might be done.     

Between family and friends: a longitudinal study of friendship choice

The increasing role for chosen friends is a key element in current debates on individualization and the transformation of intimacy. This paper describes the changes in friendship choices over time and demonstrates how life events subsequently impact on those choices. We primarily distinguish between kin and non-kin nominations of friends and how these may be related to the social and economic turbulence inherent in late modernity. Analyses of data from ten years of the British Household Panel Survey showed that kin nominations still form a significant proportion of all friends but increasingly so with age and over time as people age. Life events, such as divorce or death of a partner, have large effects on the likelihood of changes in friendship choices as did gender, age, marital status and social class. We frame these results in a discussion of the saliency and nature of friendship at stages of the life course and conclude that the case for a general secular shift to choosing non-kin friendships rather than kin-based friendship is not demonstrated.     

No Place Called Home: Life Quality and Purpose of Homeless Youths

Subjective quality of life (SQOL) has been reported to display remarkable resilience to objective circumstances. This is thought to derive from the capacity to interpret experience in positive ways, but is defeated by very adverse circumstances. This raises the question of whether such positive mental devices are able to adequately protect the SQOL of homeless youths, who typically face substantial objective trials. This study compares youths who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with youths living consistently with their families (control group). It was found that both the homeless and “at risk” youths reported significantly lower SQOL. These youths also reported lower levels of personal meaning than the control group, and higher existential vacuum. Of the variables measured, personal meaning provided the strongest prediction of SQOL, challenging theories that would predict choice/responsibleness to provide the predominant contribution. Lack of differences in response between homeless and “at risk” youths suggests that subjective difficulties may precede homelessness rather than stem from it. A model is proposed to describe the possible factors involved in the maintenance and erosion of SQOL.     

Social focus on health and children’s well-being

This special section on children’s health and well-being is an outgrowth of the 2010 International Sociological Association’s (ISA) World Congress in Gothenburg, Sweden. Within the Congress, the Research Committee 53, Sociology of Childhood, organized a panel focused on the health and well-being of children. Together, this collection makes two distinct contributions: first in terms of considering children’s health disparities as an area of concern within sociology, and second by considering children’s health as a factor that shapes other areas of children’s well-being. In addition, these papers offer novel empirical research on children’s health and varied methodological and theoretical orientations. Each paper also makes contributions to social policy, first in the area of infant health affecting later educational outcomes, second in the area of family structure and children’s health, and additionally in understanding type 2 diabetes for children at the individual and structural levels. Finally, these studies highlight the interplay—between the individuals’ health on the one hand and structure and culture on the other—as children’s life chances are shaped.     

Inequality in mobilizing online help after a negative life event: the role of education,digital skills,and capital-enhancing Internet use

Many studies have investigated inequalities in coping with stressful life events and often education is found to play a role in this (the higher educated are usually more successful in dealing with their problems in terms of well-being consequences). We examine whether something similar occurs on the Internet, whether the higher educated are more successful in mobilizing help online, and whether this is related to their digital skills and the way in which they use the Internet. With the latter, we link online coping to digital inequality research. Researchers have investigated digital inequalities with regard to skills and types of Internet use. However, we know little about the extent to which these factors translate into inequalities in resources mobilized from the Internet. This latter type of inequality is highly relevant, since it is an intermediary step between Internet use and (improved) well-being and life chances. Using a large sample of individuals living in the Netherlands, we find educational differences in the mobilization of online problem-focused coping resources, but no differences with regard to online socioemotional or disengagement coping resources. The educational inequalities in online coping are somewhat smaller than educational inequalities in offline coping, leading to remarkable consequences for social policy. Furthermore, we find a relatively complex pattern of interrelations between offline inequality (education) and different types of digital inequality (skills, usage, resources). In our conclusions we make a plea for more research on outcomes of Internet use and we discuss the implications of our findings for further research.