CATHOLIC SCHOOLS, DROPOUT RATES AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

This paper examines the effect of Catholic schooling on high-school dropout rates and educational attainment. Particular attention is given to the effect of selection into the Catholic school sector. After adjusting for self-selection, we find that sophomores in the Catholic schools are still substantially more likely to graduate with their class. It is also shown that seniors in the Catholic schools are not more likely to acquire more schooling than other seniors if selection is taken into account.     

STATUS ATTAINMENT IN AMERICA: THE ROLES OF LOCUS OF CONTROL AND SELF-ESTEEM IN EDUCATIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL OUTCOMES

A wide range of theoretical and empirical treatments link parental background to educational and occupational outcomes for children . Comparatively few studies have examined these effects in concert with the related social psychological dynamics of self - esteem and locus of control . Our multivariate examination of 1,927 respondents shows that net of traditionally employed regressors such as parental education and occupation , self-esteem and locus of control materially affect respondents' educational and occupational attainments . The article concludes with a discussion of the importance of self-esteem and locus of control as social psychological facilitants to status attainment and identifies directions for future research .     

THEORY AND METHOD IN STATUS ATTAINMENT RESEARCH*

This paper analyzes a contradiction between theory and method in status attainment research. The authors argue that the Meadian social psychology adopted by the status attainment researchers is incompatible with causal modeling which they use as their principal analytic tool, because Mead's ideas are inconsistent with any method which assumes unidirectional causality. A symbolic interactionist interpretation of the process of status attainment is offered in place of the causal interpretation. The symbolic interactionist interpretation removes the contradiction between theory and method and is, in addition, shown to be compatible with current sociological knowledge of the process of education. Finally, it is argued that the symbolic interactionist interpretation is also compatible with American political language, while the causal interpretation is not, and that therefore the adoption of the symbolic interactionist interpretation would permit the findings of status attainment research to speak to the question of the degree of equality of opportunity in American society as that question is asked in American politics.     

BIRTH ORDER AND RISKY ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR

It is commonly believed that birth order is an important determinant of success. However, previous studies in this area have failed to provide convincing evidence that birth order is related to test scores, education, or earnings. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth–1979, we investigate the association between birth order and adolescent behaviors such as smoking, drinking, marijuana use, sexual activity, and crime. Our estimates show that middle borns and last borns are much more likely to use substances and be sexually active than their firstborn counterparts. These results provide the strongest evidence to date that birth order is related to measurable behaviors. (JEL I12 , J12 , J13 )     

EDUCATIONAL AND WORK STRATEGIES FROM ADOLESCENCE TO EARLY ADULTHOOD: CONSEQUENCES FOR EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Whereas sociologists have long recognized that adolescence marks the start of the socioeconomic career, the importance of this period has been attributed to school performance, aspirations, and significant others' influence that support educational attainment to a greater or lesser degree. The underlying premise of this study is that adolescent work is an expression of instrumental action with consequences for socioeconomic attainment. Using data from the Youth Development Study, we find that part-time work during high school is linked with patterns of schooling and working that persist during the succeeding years and are more or less conducive to the receipt of a BA/BS degree. Moderate work coupled with school appears to especially facilitate the educational attainment of low promise youth.     

SOCIAL INFLUENCE, SELF-REFERENT IDENTITY LABELS, AND BEHAVIOR

Self-referent identity labels are frequently argued to be a central component of the self and to be important in the planning of conduct. Despite the attractiveness of this argument, relatively little research has yet appeared that supports it, and studies of the etiology and effects of self-referent labels often fail to control for the confounding effects of preferences, norms. or other conceptions that are known to affect conduct. In this paper, propositions are argued concerning the causes and independent effects of self-referent labels. Some of these propositions are then tested in two studies, one concerned with alcohol use among adolescents in four Western countries, the other focused on alcohol and tobacco use among American high-school and undergraduate students. Both studies found strong ties between reports of peer modeling and respondents self-referent labels and that the latter had significant and independent effects on reported behaviors. Theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed.     

THE LONG-TERM EFFECT OF CHILDHOOD RESIDENTIAL MOBILITY ON EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Moving during childhood has typically been found to have negative effects on educational attainment. The loss of important social relationships is likely the cause. Many studies that examine the effect of residential mobility on education take a relatively short-term view by only looking at the effect for those no older than their late teens or early 20s. However, because many family moves are beneficial to children, in terms of improving their neighborhood or home environment, it is possible that the positive effects of family mobility do not appear until much later. I examine the effect of childhood residential mobility on educational attainment using the 1986 Canadian General Social Survey for individuals aged 25 and over. Results suggest that over the long run, residential mobility in childhood is beneficial for later educational attainment in that those who move between birth and age 15 are more likely to eventually graduate from high school than those who remain in the same community.     

GENDER IDEOLOGY AND STATUS ATTAINMENT OF CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN WOMEN IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Theoretically derived measures and hypotheses concerning the connection between family ideology, gender ideals, and status attainment levels of conservative Christian women are examined in the twenty-first century. Conservative Christian women have a more intensive view of mothering, a stronger prolife stance, a younger age of childbearing, a higher number of children and a lower education level. These trends tend to intensify for women who convert to conservative churches after the age of 16 and reduce for women who engage in wage-work. A belief in Biblical inerrancy directly reduces educational attainment as does a higher intensity of mothering, a younger age of childbearing, and higher number of children. While there is no discernible direct effect of religiosity on income level, there is an indirect effect that is important to note.     

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY AND ALCOHOL BEHAVIOR AMONG THE ELDERLY

Research directly testing Akers's social learning theory has been thus far confined to teenage drug, drinking, and smoking behavior. This study extends the application of social learning theory to older adults' alcohol behavior. Data were gathered through face-to-face interviews of 1,410 people sixty years of age or over living in New Jersey and Florida in either retirement (age homogeneous) or age-integrated communities. A social learning model of differential association, differential reinforcement, and definitions is supported by findings on elderly drinking behavior. As is true for younger age groups, drinking among the elderly is related to the norms and behavior of one's primary groups, one's own attitudes toward (definitions of) alcohol, and the balance of reinforcement for drinking.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ADOLESCENT NONMARITAL CHILDBEARING AND EDUCATIONAL EXPECTATIONS: A Cohort and Period Comparison

Prior research on the relationship between adolescent childbearing and later life outcomes is deficient in two respects. First, it has focused almost exclusively on socioeconomic octcomes, failing to consider the possible effect of a birth on social psychological outocomes. Second, it generally has ot considered whether the relationship between adolescent choldbearing and outcomes has changed across cohorts and over time. This study attempts to fill these two gaps by estimating and comparing the effects of nonmarital chidbearing on change in a social psychological variable, educational expectations, over the perod between the sophomore year in high school and two years later, using longitudinal data for the sophomore cohorts of High School and Beyond, 1980, and the National Education Londgitudinal Study of 1988. Findings for both cohorts indicate that adolescent girls tend to reduce their educational expectations following a nonmarital pregnancy or birth. In addition, adolescent girls with low educational expectations are at greater risk of a nonmarital pregnancy or birth than adolescent girls with high educational expetions.     

ETHNICITY, GENERATION, AND SCHOOL ATTAINMENT OF ASIANS, HISPANICS, AND NON-HISPANIC WHITES

Research on immigration and attainment in U.S. schools typically does not separate out generation of U.S. residence, a critical factor in attainment. This article explores immigrant generation effects (native, child of immigrant, immigrant) on schooling attained for Asians, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic whites, using Current Population Survey data. Previously unpublished cross-sectional data are presented. Regressions predicting school years completed show variable generation-by-ethnicity effects. Asian attainment increases sharply between immigrant and child-of-immigrant generations, leveling off thereafter. Hispanic attainment improves with successive generations of U.S. residence. Non-Hispanic white attainment peaks in the child-of-immigrant generation and declines for later generations.     

EFFECTS OF OVERWEIGHT ON RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR OF ADOLESCENT GIRLS

We use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health to estimate effects of adolescent girls' overweight on their propensity to engage in risky sexual behavior. We estimate single equation, two‐stage, and sibling fixed‐effects models. We consider both absolute weight and weight relative to other girls in the individual's school. We focus on vaginal intercourse without a condom, any type of sexual activity while under the influence of alcohol, and anal intercourse. Our findings confirm previous research indicating that overweight or obese girls are less likely than their recommended‐weight counterparts to be sexually active. As a result, they are less likely to have vaginal intercourse without a condom. However, overweight or obese girls are not less likely to have sex under the influence of alcohol, and once they have had vaginal intercourse, their consistency of condom use is no different from that of their recommended‐weight peers. The most striking finding is that overweight or obese girls are at least 15% more likely than their recommended‐weight peers to have ever had anal intercourse regardless of whether they have ever had vaginal sexual intercourse. The results from this study underscore the importance of using multifaceted and contemporary measures of risky sexual behavior and have implications for the health and well‐being of adolescent girls. (JEL I12, J13)     

ADOLESCENTS AS A SOURCE OF SOCIAL CONTROL: THE UTILITY OF ADOLESCENT SOCIAL CAPITAL FOR REDUCING VIOLENT DELINQUENCY

Parental social capital has emerged as an important social control component of adolescent delinquency. However, for severe forms of delinquency, such as violence, adolescent social capital is as likely a source of social control as adult social capital. This study uses the first two waves of the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to show that parental social capital has little effect on violence once parental and family characteristics are controlled. However, both neighborhood and school adolescent social capital reduce adolescents' violent behavior in spite of strong controls of peer fighting, prior violent offending, and neighborhood-level variables.     

MOTHER'S EMPLOYMENT DEMANDS, WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT, AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT

This study revisited the old research question of whether or not maternal employment would adversely affect children's development. We reframed the question by asking how a mother's temporal employment demands might be linked to child development. We used longitudinal data from a sample of 340 white, lower- to middle-class, dual-earner families living in the rural Midwest of the United States. The data were obtained from questionnaires and videotaped observations, and were informed by the mother, the father, the adolescent child, and a trained observer. As predicted, we found a strong relationship between a mother's temporal employment demands and work-family conflict, which was significantly associated with her emotional distress. A husband's egalitarian gender ideology was found to reduce the mother's emotional distress. Maternal distress was then negatively associated with nurturant and involved parenting, which in turn predicted a reduction in the adolescent child's emotional and behavioral problems over time.     

PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOR IN AN URBAN SOCIAL STRUCTURAL CONTEXT

Research into environmental concern and behavior has been extensive in the past few decades. The connection between the two, as well as other related variables, has however remained somewhat elusive. This study attempts to refine our understanding of how concern for the environment is related to pro-environmental behavior such as buying ecologically friendly products, driving less, conserving resources at home, recycling, etc., by considering the role played by social structural context and self-efficacy. Furthermore, through principle component analysis a particular dimension of pro-environmental behavior is identified so as to produce more robust and consistent results. Social structural context and self-efficacy are found to be powerful mediators of the relationship between environmental concern and pro-environmental behavior. Lastly, social structural context, as measured by the availability of curbside recycling, is shown to act as a gateway to additional pro-environmental behaviors beyond recycling.     

COMMITMENT, DEVIANCE, AND SOCIAL CONTROL

This article extends earlier work (Ulmer 1994) in applying Johnson's (1991) threefold commitment framework to deviance and social control. The central individual-level theories of deviance (differential association/social learning, opportunity, social control, and labeling) share the generic sociological goal of theorizing continuity in lines of action. This suggests the centrality of the concept of commitment, and in fact the concept is used throughout the study of deviance and social control. The threefold framework provides a superior conceptualization of commitment for the field of deviance. In addition, it integrates insights from the central deviance theories and directs attention to a wide variety of un- and underexplored directions for further research in deviance and social control. In addition, I briefly discuss broader implications of the commitment framework for other areas of inquiry, such as the study of social protest and the sociology of organizations.     

FAMILY, COMMUNITY, AND LIFESTYLE: ADOLESCENT VICTIMIZATION IN HELSINKI

The proximate correlates of adolescent victimization are well documented in the literature. The purpose of our research is to examine the more fundamental sources of this outcome. Focusing on two basic social contexts—the family and the residential community—we develop a theoretical model and test it empirically against a multilevel data set on juveniles living in Helsinki. Consistent with our hypothesis, we find that the family context is an important determinant of violent victimization. Much of this effect is mediated by involvement in delinquent lifestyles. We also find support for the assumption that community context matters to the risk of victimization independently of the family context and individual-level risk factors. Our research underscores the need for a multilevel approach in explanations of violent victimization.