High Hopes but Even Higher Expectations: The Retreat From Marriage Among Low‐Income Couples

This study examines why low‐income, unmarried parents who say that they plan to marry at the time their child is born do not follow through on their plans. We use data from a nationally representative birth cohort survey—the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N =3,710)—combined with data from an embedded qualitative study—Time, Love, Cash, Caring, and Children (n =47)—to explore the reasons behind this apparent discrepancy. We find that some of the difference between parents’ expectations and behavior may be because of the overstatement of intentions at the time of the birth. Most of the discrepancy, however, results from parents’ perceived social and economic barriers to marriage. Specifically, unmarried parents have a long list of financial and relationship prerequisites they believe must be met in order for them to wed. Combined with other factors, these standards lead to an indeterminate delay in marriage.     

As HIPAA changes loom,patients demand continued confidentiality for SUD records

In last week's issue, we wrote about the plans by the federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to weaken the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), citing regulatory burdens and the need for information‐sharing (see ADAW, Jan. 21). The plans, detailed in a request for information (RFI) issued Dec. 12, throw a wrench into the plans by the “make 42 CFR Part 2 like HIPAA” movement, which would erase the federal confidentiality regulation protecting substance use disorder (SUD) treatment records by watering it down to HIPAA standards. Now, with even HIPAA seeming too burdensome, the need is even greater to protect the consent provision of 42 CFR Part 2 — which is basically all that's left after the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) allowed information‐sharing for the vague “health care operations” without consent last year (see ADAW, Jan. 8, 2018). Last week, H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., dean's executive professor at Santa Clara University and former director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, made this abundantly clear in his comments to ADAW.     

Relations between Known Crime and Police Spending in Large United States Cities

Abstract

Among 130 large U.S. cities, strong support is found for Turk's (1973) view of relatione between various collective needs and subsequent supplies. That such relations reflect the availability of linkage within the city—as Turk holds they do—is strongly suggested here when per capita known violent crime and per capita police spending are seen, respectively, as measures of need and supply. The positive correlation between these two rates is always stronger among high linkage than among low linkage cities, whichever of five indices is used to measure linkage. Evidence is cited to justify viewing known violent crime as causally prior to police spending, rather than vice versa. Controlling the effects of five potentially confounding variables fails to disturb the findings.     

Negative (But Not Positive) Parenting Interacts with Infant Negative Affect to Predict Infant Approach: Evidence of Diathesis‐Stress

Temperament by parenting interactions may reflect that individuals with greater risk are more likely to experience negative outcomes in adverse contexts (diathesis‐stress) or that these individuals are more susceptible to contextual influences in a “for better or for worse” pattern (differential susceptibility). Although such interactions have been identified for a variety of child outcomes, prior research has not examined approach characteristics—excitement and approach toward pleasurable activities—in the first year of life. Therefore, this study investigated whether 6‐month maternal reported infant negative affect—a phenotypic marker of risk/susceptibility—interacted with 8‐month observed parenting behaviors (positive parenting, negative parenting) to predict 12‐month infant behavioral approach. Based on a sample of mothers and their infants (N = 150), results indicated that negative parenting was inversely associated with subsequent approach for infants with high, but not low, levels of negative affect. Similar results did not occur regarding positive parenting. These findings better fit a diathesis‐stress model rather than a differential susceptibility model. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.     

Premarital Cohabitation and Marital Dissolution: An Examination of Recent Marriages

An ongoing question remains for family researchers: Why does a positive association between cohabitation and marital dissolution exist when one of the primary reasons to cohabit is to test relationship compatibility? Drawing on recently collected data from the 2006–2008 National Survey of Family Growth, the authors examined whether premarital cohabitation experiences were associated with marital instability among a recent contemporary (married since 1996) marriage cohort of men (N = 1,483) and women (N = 2,003). They found that a dichotomous indicator of premarital cohabitation was in fact not associated with marital instability among women and men. Furthermore, among cohabitors, marital commitment prior to cohabitation (engagement or definite plans for marriage) was tied to lower hazards of marital instability among women, but not men. This research contributes to our understanding of cohabitation, marital instability, and broader family change.     

“It’s a Lifestyle”: Social Class,Flexibility, and Young Adults’ Stories About Defining Adulthood

Abstract

In discussions of how social class matters during the transition to adulthood, the simultaneous importance of both class origins and future class trajectories is underexplored. In this paper, I use interviews with 60 emerging adults in the United States to investigate their stories about progress towards adulthood during the emerging adult years. I find that regardless of class backgrounds and trajectories, participants agree on three subjective criteria—identity exploration, learning responsibility, and gaining control—as most important to the project of becoming an adult. However, personal stories about living up to these subjective criteria diverge by future class plans. While those on class-advantaged (middle- and upper-middle-class) tracks draw heavily from traditional, concrete markers of adulthood to explain the accomplishment of subjective expectations, those on class-disadvantaged (working-class and poor) tracks stress the importance of “flexibility” as important in their stories about becoming an adult. While emerging adults use subjective criteria to explain reaching adulthood, this subjectivity also helps conceal the ongoing importance of access to material resources and opportunities for transitioning to adulthood along a normative path. Subjectivity also allows for individualization in emerging adults’ stories, which helps obscure broader patterns of inequality.     

Veto of New York buprenorphine PA bill angers advocates

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's veto on Jan. 1 of a bill that would have removed prior‐authorization barriers for all formulations of buprenorphine in the Medicaid program was greeted with dismay by the Legal Action Center and others who had fought hard for it. He did, however, sign a similar bill that removed prior‐authorization buprenorphine barriers for commercial insurance. So, it is only the poor who will be adversely affected.     

The plans,goals, and concerns of pre-emancipated youth in foster care

This study focuses on the plans, goals, and concerns of foster care youth prior to leaving care. Participants were 179 pre-emancipated youth between the ages of 17 and 20 years old (M = 17.82, SD = 0.79) from a large metropolitan area in Southern California. Self-articulated immediate plans were grouped into 4 major categories and self-articulated life goals were grouped into 10 categories while also examining the prioritization of, estimated time frame for, and youth's sense of control over their life goals. Survey and interview data reveal the importance of educational and occupational life goals and their prioritization. Youth reported a high level of certainty in their immediate plans, but the youth were less explicit in describing their immediate plans for the year after foster care. Foster youth may have difficulty identifying concrete steps to make plans a reality despite their ideas for the future. Youths' worries and concerns about their post-emancipation plans and life goals typically centered around academics and finances. This study contributes to the limited literature on the life goals and plans for foster youth; these results reinforce the need for greater support in planning and goal setting prior to emancipation.     

WHAT DO UNIONS DO TO PENSION PERFORMANCE?

Unions can have either positive or negative effects on risk‐adjusted returns in pension plans. On the positive side, a union can improve monitoring of pension advisors and asset managers. On the negative side, the union may sacrifice returns by making investments that promote union goals. This paper discusses how the structure of the pension plan affects the union's ability and willingness to sacrifice returns to promote union goals. Using panel data on over 38,000 pension plans drawn from IRS Form 5500 filings between 1988 and 2008, we find the lowest performing plans are unionized multi‐employer plans. Among defined contribution plans, the underperformance of multi‐employer union plans disappears when the pension is controlled by individual participants. (JEL J32, J51)     

Historical Trends in the Marital Intentions of One‐Time and Serial Cohabitors

This study explored whether cohabitors' marital intentions have changed over time and whether they are sensitive to a person's cohabitation history, that is, the number of cohabitations individuals have experienced. Using a sample of ever‐cohabited women, 16–28 years old, from the 2002 and 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (N = 6,023), the author found that the prevalence of serial cohabitation continues to increase among younger birth cohorts. Furthermore, the share of female cohabitors with plans to marry has been declining across time, net of demographic controls and cohabitation history. Serial cohabitation has strong negative associations with marital intentions, a pattern that was not present among the oldest birth cohort but has emerged among more recent cohorts. These findings extend prior work by showing that the downward trend in cohabitors' marital intentions is continuing among the youngest cohort of women and, importantly, is not explained by serial cohabitation.     

Investments in Marriage and Cohabitation: The Role of Legal and Interpersonal Commitment

Cohabiters have been shown to invest less in their relationship than married couples. This study investigated the role of legal and interpersonal commitment by examining heterogeneity within marital and cohabiting unions. Going beyond the dichotomy of cohabitation versus marriage, different union types were distinguished by their level of legal and interpersonal commitment, followed by an assessment of their association with joint investments (specialization, having children together, purchasing a home). Using panel data from The Netherlands (N =2,362), the authors found considerable heterogeneity within marital and cohabiting unions. Joint investments increased as interpersonal commitment increased, with cohabiters without marriage plans investing the least and couples who directly married without prior cohabitation investing the most. The relationship between investments and legal union types was less straightforward and often challenged expectations, prompting the authors to elaborate on alternative explanations for their findings.     

Reassessing Differences in Work and Income in Cohabitation and Marriage

Are cohabiters different than married couples who cohabited before marriage? This study used the 2002 wave of the National Survey of Families and Households to determine how work behavior might differ for 4 relationship types: (a) cohabiters with uncertain marriage plans, (b) cohabiters with definite marriage plans, (c) premarital cohabiters who recently married, and (d) premarital cohabiters married 5 or more years (n = 638). The results are compared with differences found in overall comparisons of all cohabiters and married couples (N = 916) and were markedly different, indicating that overall comparisons do not adequately capture the range of behavior across cohabitation and marriage. Evidence of increased specialization was found in marriage, yet steep behavioral differences were not found between cohabiters with definite marriage plans and recently married couples but instead were associated with longevity in marriage. This implies that any possible causal effect of marriage on behavior may accrue with time spent married.     

The best and worst of 2018, and hopes and fears for 2019

With public understanding growing every day about the need to address substance use disorders (SUDs) with the full array of health responses our nation deploys for other major illnesses, we hope to see great progress in the coming year. Progress should include dramatic expansion of all quality prevention, treatment services and medications, and recovery supports, with financial investment increased sufficiently to meet the need; full coverage of all SUD treatment services and medications by every state's Medicaid program and by Medicare; much stronger enforcement of federal and state requirements for parity in commercial insurance and Medicaid, including prohibitions on prior authorization, fail‐first, overly burdensome utilization review and inadequate reimbursement for care; availability of all effective and quality SUD treatment and medications at every level of the criminal justice system and throughout the child welfare system; and elimination of discriminatory barriers facing people still suffering or in recovery from SUD, including those with criminal histories, as they seek employment, housing, government benefits, the right to vote and other necessities of life.     

Before the Party Starts: Risk Factors and Reasons for “Pregaming” in College Students

Abstract

Objective: “Pregaming”—drinking alcohol prior to going out—is believed to be common, yet empirical examinations are scarce. In this study, we examined who is at risk for pregaming, consequences resulting from it, and motives behind it. Participants: Participants (N = 159, 52% female) were drinkers, aged 18 to 24, recruited from introductory psychology classes. Methods: In 2005 and 2006, interview measures of drinking and pregaming and self-report demographic, motivational, and reasons for pregaming measures were administered. Results: Two-thirds of students pregamed. Younger age, but not Greek affiliation, was associated with heavier pregaming drinking. We found minimal support for the prediction of pregaming by general drinking motives. Specific reasons for pregaming were identified, including saving money and obtaining alcohol when under 21. Conclusions: Findings highlight the risk associated with pregaming, due to selection effects and to event characteristics. The unique reasons for pregaming must be further understood and addressed in targeted interventions.     

Property rights, collective sales and government intervention: averting a tragedy of the anticommons

In response to the need to cater for the requirements of a larger future population, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore released development guide plans, which have provided for higher development intensity to residential land in various parts of the island. One of the impacts is that many property owners in Singapore have banded together to capitalize on the “marriage value” of the en bloc site to reap big windfalls as compared to individual sales. But there were minority owners who objected to the sale. The Land Titles (Strata) (Amendment) Act 1999 was passed on 11 October 1999 to facilitate such en bloc sales as these will release prime land for higher density redevelopment to provide more quality private housing in land-scarce Singapore. This paper shows how property rights and property ownership could have led to a tragedy of the anticommons and how government intervention through legislation has averted such a tragedy. Whilst the Land Titles (Strata) (Amendment) Act 1999 has been successful in facilitating en bloc sales resulting in optimization of scarce land resources, it has raised controversial issues such as majority rule versus minority protection and the attenuation of property rights. The authors conclude that in land-scarce Singapore, public good, in that more land will be made available for private housing for the majority, should take precedence.     

Infants Experience Perceptual Narrowing for Nonprimate Faces

Perceptual narrowing—a phenomenon in which perception is broad from birth, but narrows as a function of experience—has previously been tested with primate faces. In the first 6 months of life, infants can discriminate among individual human and monkey faces. Though the ability to discriminate monkey faces is lost after about 9 months, infants retain human face discrimination, presumably because of their experience with human faces. The current study demonstrates that 4‐ to 6‐month‐old infants are able to discriminate nonprimate faces as well. In a visual paired comparison test, 4‐ to 6‐month‐old infants (n = 26) looked significantly longer at novel sheep (Ovis aries) faces, compared to a familiar sheep face (p = .017), while 9‐ to 11‐month‐olds (n = 26) showed no visual preference, and adults (n = 27) had a familiarity preference (p < .001). Infants’ face recognition systems are broadly tuned at birth—not just for primate faces, but for nonprimate faces as well—allowing infants to become specialists in recognizing the types of faces encountered in their first year of life.     

Profiles of African American College Students’ Alcohol Use and Sexual Behaviors: Associations With Stress,Racial Discrimination,and Social Support

Though studies show that alcohol use and sexual activity increase during emerging adulthood, few studies examine within–ethnic group differences, particularly among African American college students. This investigation utilized a latent class analytic methodology to identify risk behavior profiles of alcohol use (frequency and amount of alcohol consumed), sexual activity (number of intimate partners), and co-occurring risk behaviors (drinking before sexual intercourse) among 228 African American college students. This investigation also examined whether identified risk behavior profiles were associated with stress (interpersonal, intrapersonal, academic, and environmental), experiences of racial discrimination, and social support (from family, friends, and the college community). Results identified five distinct profiles within this sample: (a) High Sexual Risk—above-average sexual activity; (b) Abstainers—below-average alcohol use and sexual activity; (c) Low Risk—average alcohol use and sexual activity; (d) Alcohol Risk—above-average alcohol use and below-average sexual activity; and (e) Co-Occurring Risk—above-average alcohol use and sexual activity. Identified profiles differed across interpersonal and environmental stress, and self-reported frequency of experiences with racial discrimination. Implications for prevention programs and interventions aimed at reducing alcohol and sexual activity for African American college students are discussed.     

Work–Life ‘Balance’, Recession and the Gendered Limits to Learning and Innovation (Or,Why It Pays Employers To Care)

The everyday challenges faced by workers ‘struggling to juggle’ competing commitments of paid work, home and family remain stubbornly persistent and highly gendered. Reinforcing these problems, many employers regard work–life balance (WLB) provision as too costly. In response, this paper explores the learning and innovation advantages that can result from WLB provision in knowledge‐intensive firms, as part of a WLB ‘mutual gains’ research agenda. These synergies are explored through a case study of IT workers and firms in two high‐tech regional economies — Dublin, Ireland and Cambridge, UK — prior to (2006–8) and subsequent to (2010) the economic downturn. The results suggest that by making available the kinds of WLB arrangements identified by workers as offering meaningful reductions in gendered work–life conflicts, employers can also enhance the learning and innovation processes within and between firms, which are widely recognized as fundamental for firms' long‐term sustainable competitive advantage.