Emigration Rates From Sample Surveys: An Application to Senegal

What is the emigration rate of a country, and how reliable is that figure? Answering these questions is not at all straightforward. Most data on international migration are census data on foreign-born population. These migrant stock data describe the immigrant population in destination countries but offer limited information on the rate at which people leave their country of origin. The emigration rate depends on the number leaving in a given period and the population at risk of leaving, weighted by the duration at risk. Emigration surveys provide a useful data source for estimating emigration rates, provided that the estimation method accounts for sample design. In this study, emigration rates and confidence intervals are estimated from a sample survey of households in the Dakar region in Senegal, which was part of the Migration between Africa and Europe survey. The sample was a stratified two-stage sample with oversampling of households with members abroad or return migrants. A combination of methods of survival analysis (time-to-event data) and replication variance estimation (bootstrapping) yields emigration rates and design-consistent confidence intervals that are representative for the study population.     

Estimation of the Percentage of Aid Received from the Food Bank Using a Stratified Sampling

The interval estimate of the percentage of food received from the Food Bank with reference to household necessity is the main purpose of this article. A group of families having difficulty in purchasing enough food and thus receiving it from a charitable organization near Milan was considered. The group of families was divided into two groups depending on whether the householder was Italian or a foreigner. For the interval estimate of the ratio in question to be provided, we use the confidence intervals proposed by Galeone (2007) and Galeone and Pollastri (2012) but, in order to consider that the sample is stratified, it is necessary to introduce new methodologies. In fact, if a stratified sample is used, the properties of the estimator can be improved with respect to the estimator obtained from a simple random sample. In order to take into account the uncertainty of the estimate due to sampling, this paper proposes a new technique for the construction of confidence intervals of the indicator under examination based on the distribution of the ratio of two correlated Normal random variables when the sample is stratified. Using simulations, the confidence intervals for the ratio were compared when using the simple random sample with the confidence intervals based on a stratified sample. As a result, by using the stratified sample, the confidence intervals for the ratio can be improved because the width results reduced. Therefore, a combined ratio estimator was used in order to evaluate whether the help provided to the families satisfies their needs.     

Life Domain Satisfaction: A Portugal–France Comparison

The study was aimed at replicating on a Portuguese sample the seven-factor model of life appraisal (physical autonomy, love life, family life, social life, occupational life, finances, and leisure life) that was suggested by Salvatore and Munoz Sastre Social Indicators Research 53:229–255 (2001). A sample of 1,111 Portuguese participants, aged 17–85, was presented with the Appraisal of Life Questionnaire. The “domain” model of life appraisal satisfactorily accounted for the data gathered on the Portuguese sample. Regarding finances and occupational life, Portuguese scores were lower than French scores. Regarding the occupational score and the leisure score, a clear linear decrease as a function of age was evidenced in the Portuguese sample. Finally, regarding the family score and the financial score, a non-linear relationship with age was found. An increase was observed from young adult age to adult age, and a decrease was observed from adult age to older age. A strong decrease in the physical autonomy scores among Portuguese females was also observed.     

Comparative Morality Judgments About Lesbians and Gay Men Teaching and Adopting Children

The purpose of this study was to compare morality judgments of American Catholics and the general public about lesbians and gay men adopting and teaching children. The general sample endorsed higher agreement that lesbians and gay men should be allowed to adopt and to teach children compared to the Catholic only sample. Older participants were less accepting than all other age groups, and there was an interaction effect between education and political ideology such that those with less education and with more politically conservative beliefs were generally less accepting of lesbians and gay men adopting and teaching children.     

Inducing Score Reliability from Previous Reports: An Examination of Life Satisfaction Studies

The sample specific nature of reliability is often overlooked in substantive research, with investigators frequently referencing reliability estimates from previous studies as the basis for presuming the score integrity for their data. The purpose of the current study was to examine this practice, known as reliability induction, across studies using a popular life satisfaction (LS) measure, the Satisfaction with Life Scale. A comprehensive literature search was conducted, yielding a final sample of 196 studies using the instrument. Fifty-two studies involving 76 samples induced reliability coefficients from other sources. These studies were coded in terms of sample characteristics and variability estimates to derive comparisons in these two areas between the induced reports and the original studies. Results suggest that none of the studies inducing reliability had sufficient justification for induction. It was also found that estimating reliability coefficients for the data in hand has increased relative to induced reports and studies omitting reliability information. Practical implications for substantive researchers are discussed and suggestions for additional research are provided.     

Coming Out and the Potential for Growth in Sexual Minorities: The Role of Social Reactions and Internalized Homonegativity

Coming out is a significant and sometimes difficult process in the lives of sexual minorities, but disclosure can also affect wellbeing in positive ways, including reduced distress and greater relationship satisfaction. This study investigates the possibility of stress-related growth and depreciation following coming out. To obtain a diverse sample with varying coming-out experiences, data were collected from undergraduate students as well as from online sources, including lesbian, gay, and bisexual support groups and Pride groups. Regression analyses indicated that negative social reactions to coming out predicted both growth and depreciation, although they more strongly predicted depreciation. Positive social reactions were positively related to stress-related growth, while internalized homonegativity was inversely associated with growth. Although the two sample sources (online and campus) differed in some ways, sample source was not a significant predictor in the regressions, nor was it indicated as a moderator in exploratory ANOVA analyses.     

Measurement issues involved in examining contraceptive use among young single women

The objective of this study was to determine how research findings on contraceptive use among young single women are affected by differing operational definitions of contraceptive use. Data were analyzed from a student sample and a clinic sample. In the analysis of the student sample were 244 high school and college women aged 16–22 who had experienced sexual intercourse. In the birth control clinic sample were 432 women aged 13–20. Six operational definitions of contraceptive use were analyzed. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationship of predictor variables with the six definitions separately for each sample. The variance explained for each of the contraceptive measures ranged from 8 percent to 44 percent in the student sample and from 9 percent to 24 percent in the clinic sample.     

Development and Validation of a Scale for the Measurement of Adolescents’ Developmental Assets in the Neighborhood

The aim of this study was to develop a valid and reliable instrument to assess features of a neighborhood that are relevant to the development and adjustment of adolescents. First, a scale was created from a literature review. Second, the content validity of this scale was validated through expert opinion. Finally, the scale was administered to a sample population for analysis of its psychometric properties. The sample consisted of 2,400 adolescents (1,068 boys and 1,332 girls) between ages 12 and 17 who were secondary students in public and private schools in Western Andalusia. The results demonstrate the adequacy of the psychometric properties of the constructed scale.     

An examination of paternal and maternal intergenerational transmission of schooling

More educated parents are observed to have better educated children. However, previous research has found conflicting results regarding the role of fathers and mothers: in most cases, a strong positive paternal effect was found with a negligible maternal effect; in fewer cases, opposite results were found. In this paper, I use a sample of Norwegian twins to evaluate the impact of sample size and sample selection on the estimates’ robustness: results concerning the effect of mother’s education are very sensitive to the sample size, while the selection of the sample seems to be a key to reconciling previous results.     

对我国2010年人口普查事后调查工作的若干建议

人口普查不可能100％计数每一个人。世界上许多国家都在人口普查后组织事后调查,使用双系统估计量另行求得一个全国人口真实数的估计数,并以此为标准估计人口普查的净遗漏率。我国历次人口普查后都进行了事后调查,其主要缺陷是未对抽取的样本事后分层,未估计“全国真实的人口数”。建议我国2010年事后调查方案在克服这两个缺陷的基础上科学确定全国的样本总量。实行两步抽样等。     

An Outcomes-Based Assessment of Quality of Life in Social Services

The goal of this article consists of describing the calibration of an instrument to assess quality of life-related personal outcomes using Rasch analysis. The sample was composed of 3.029 recipients of social services from Catalonia (Spain) and was selected using a probabilistic polietapic sample design. Results related to unidimensionality, item and person separation reliability, calibration, items’ level of difficulty, response categories and differential item functioning by gender and type of collective are provided and point out the general fit of the data to the model. However, it is recommended to include more difficult items and eliminate one that seems not to be adequate.     

The effects of teenage childbearing on the short- and long-term health behaviors of mothers

A national sample of US teenagers combined with a complementary sample of US adults are used to examine the effects of teenage childbearing on health behaviors by comparing female siblings in both the teenage sample and a sample of adults. Additionally, miscarriage information available in the teenage sample is used to form comparison groups. Unlike previous estimates of the effects of teenage childbearing on health behaviors, the results using these US samples and research designs suggest that teenage childbearing has negligible effects on several measures of unhealthy behaviors for mothers and may be protective for drug use and binge drinking.     

The effects of teenage childbearing on the short- and long-term health behaviors of mothers

A national sample of US teenagers combined with a complementary sample of US adults are used to examine the effects of teenage childbearing on health behaviors by comparing female siblings in both the teenage sample and a sample of adults. Additionally, miscarriage information available in the teenage sample is used to form comparison groups. Unlike previous estimates of the effects of teenage childbearing on health behaviors, the results using these US samples and research designs suggest that teenage childbearing has negligible effects on several measures of unhealthy behaviors for mothers and may be protective for drug use and binge drinking.     

Attitudes and beliefs about hepatitis B vaccination among gay men: the Birmingham Measurement Study

This study was designed to develop reliable and valid quantitative measures of the beliefs and attitudes toward hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination among gay men, using a community-based participatory research approach. A convenience sample of 358 gay men was recruited in two gay bars. Exploratory factor analysis performed on the first split-half sample was used to assess the factor structure from five scales measuring beliefs about HBV vaccination. The scales were based on constructs from the health belief model and the social cognitive theory. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on the remaining half-sample using structural equation modeling. Multivariable analysis further validated the scales. These findings propose standardized measures that may be useful in assessing the beliefs and attitudes of gay men toward HBV vaccination to guide intervention design and evaluation.     

Inconstancy of Taylor'sb: Simulated sampling with different quadrat sizes and spatial distributions

Summary Taylor's power law,s ² =am ^b , provides a precise summary of the relationship between sample variance (s ² ) and sample mean (m) for many organisms. The coefficientb has been interpreted as an index of aggregation, with a characteristic value for a given species in a particular environment, and has been thought to be independent of the sample unit. Simulation studies were conducted that demonstrate that the value ofb may vary with the size of the sample unit in quadrat sampling, and this relationship, in turn, depends on the underlying spatial distribution of the population. For example, simulated populations with hierarchical aggregation on a large scale produced values ofb that increased with the size of the sample unit. In contrast, for a simulated population with randomly distributed clusters of individuals, the value ofb eventually decreased with increasing quadrat size, as sample counts became more uniform. A single value ofTaylor'sb, determined with a particular sample unit, provides neither a fixed index of aggregation nor a complete picture of a species' spatial distribution. Rather, it describes a consistent relationship between sample variance and sample mean over a range of densities, on a spatial scale related to the size of the sample unit. This relationship may reflect, but not uniquely define, density-dependent population and behavioral processes governing the spatial distribution of the organism. Interpretation ofTaylor'sb for a particular organism should be qualified by reference to the sample unit, and comparisons should not be made between cases in which different sample units were used. Whenever possible, a range of sample units should be used to provide information about the pattern of distribution of a population on various spatial scales.     

Differential fertility in Ontario. An application of factorial design to a demographic problem

This paper describes the use of a probability sample to survey differential fertility. 475 women were randomly selected from the 1941 Census of Canada to provide tests of the existence of five differentials: income, present age, age by marriage, schooling and distance from a city. The sample was limited to one province and to two contrasting values of each of the five differentials under study. Significant differences are found for the effective distance as well as for age at marriage and schooling. This is taken as signifying that the diffusion of the small-family pattern has a spatial dimension.     

Estimation of sample size of population survey]

Depending on the different purposes of population surveys, different sample sizes are required for accurate results. Using statistical methods, sample sizes for different types of population surveys for the Chinese population are estimated. Thus, to insure at least 90% accuracy, a sample size of 830,000 is required for marriage and birth rates and a sample size of 7.8 million for population age distribution. For population surveys on age specific death rates, a sample size of 56.32 million is required for a 1-year retrospective study and a sample size of 11.26 million required for a 5-year retrospective study. In the past, certain population studies were undertaken with no consideration for sampling errors. Sample sizes for surveys on age specific death rates and population age distribution were too small, leading to results that did not represent the total population. On the other hand, sample sizes for marriage and birth conditions were too large, resulting in waste in manpower, materials, and time. Statistical calculations are given.     

Skin Color and Intelligence in African Americans

The relation between skin color and intelligence was examined in a representative sample of 430 adult African Americans. A statistically significant positive correlation of 0.17 was obtained between light skin color and intelligence. It is proposed that the result supports the hypothesis that the level of intelligence in African Americans is significantly determined by the proportion of Caucasian genes.     

Knowledge,Attitudes and Behaviours. Concerning Education for Sustainable Development: Two Exploratory Studies

Celebrating the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–2014), this paper presents results of two exploratory surveys taken in the province of Manitoba, Canada in January to March 2008. A random sample of 506 adults completed a mailed out questionnaire designed to measure respondents’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours concerning the basic themes of the UN Decade. In the same period, a convenience sample of 294 students in grades 6–12 in four schools was surveyed based on a simplified version of the same questionnaire. Using these two datasets, we constructed somewhat crude standardized tests and showed that for students and adults, having attitudes favourable to ESD/SD is relatively more influential than age, levels of education and knowledge for behaviours favourable to ESD/SD. The differences are that (1) gender was most influential for the student samples, while favourable attitudes were most influential for the adult samples; and (2) while attitudes were practically equally influential to knowledge (though numerically more influential) for the student sample, attitudes were vastly more influential than education for the adult samples.     

Association Between Caregiving, Meaning in Life, and Life Satisfaction Beyond 50 in an Asian Sample: Age as a Moderator

The association between caregiving, meaning in life, and life satisfaction was examined in sample of 519 older Asian adults beyond 50?years of age. Two hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine age as moderator of the associations between caregiving, meaning in life, and life satisfaction. Age moderated the association between caregiving and life satisfaction; the association between caregiving and life satisfaction was statistically significant for the middle adulthood group but not for the late adulthood group. Age moderated the association between meaning in life and life satisfaction; the association between meaning in life and life satisfaction was statistically significant for both groups, but it was stronger in magnitude for the late adulthood group compared to the middle adulthood group. These findings highlight that there are certain key developmental tasks encountered by individuals at the middle and late adulthood stages, and that these distinctive relevant tasks at various developmental stages differentially predict individuals?? life satisfaction in an Asian sample.