The Academic Achievement Gap Between Blacks and Whites

ABSTRACT

This paper considers the academic achievement gap between African American and White students at the elementary and high school levels. It attempts to determine if race or lower socioeconomic status impact results of standardized test results at high performing and low performing schools. It presents research involving regression analysis of data for the state of Illinois. Results indicate race is not a negative factor at high performing or low performing schools for both elementary or high school years, given the samples. Also, low socioeconomic status is not a negative factor at high performing or low performing schools for both the elementary and high school years. High performing schools had low to moderate quantities of the identified variables, while low performing schools had high levels of the identified variables. Societal biases toward Blacks-rich or poor-are challenged in this paper.     

Motherhood and Employment Among Whites,Hispanics, and Blacks: A Life Course Approach

Research has shown that having children reduces women's employment; yet how this effect differs for racial minorities has received less attention. Using random effects models and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 4,526), this study investigates the association between motherhood and employment among Whites, Hispanics, and Blacks over women's entire reproductive span. Results indicate that having children reduces labor force participation primarily by deterring full‐time employment. This effect is stronger and lasts longer among Whites, smaller and shorter among Hispanics, and brief among Blacks. Motherhood reduces part‐time employment for young mothers, but temporarily increases it for older mothers. Early childbearing partly explains Black and Hispanic women's low employment rates at young ages; interestingly, the evidence indicates that their employment prospects would benefit the most from delaying childbearing. This study highlights the relevance of intersectionality and the life course perspective for investigating inequality in the labor market.     

The Injurious Relationship Between Racial Microaggressions and Physical Health: Implications for Social Work

ABSTRACT

In recent years, the study of racial microaggressions (or subtle forms of racial discrimination) has increased significantly in the social sciences, particularly highlighting the negative impact of racial microaggressions on individuals’ mental health. Despite this, there is a dearth of literature that has examined the relationship between racial microaggressions and physical and psychological health. Using two self-reported measures—the Racial and Ethnic Microaggressions Scale (REMS) and the RAND 36-Item Short Form Health Survey—with a diverse group of participants (N = 277), results suggest that racial microaggressions are significantly correlated with poorer health conditions. Furthermore, racial microaggressions were found to predict various types of physical health conditions, such as general health problems, pain, lower energy levels, and fatigue. Finally, different types of microaggressions (e.g., microaggressions in school or the workplace, environmental microaggressions) were found to be predictors of specific health issues. Implications for social work are discussed.     

The Grand Challenge of Reducing Gender and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Service Access and Needs Among Adults with Alcohol Misuse

This study examined the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on gender and racial and ethnic disparities in accessing and using behavioral health services among a national sample of adults who reported heavy or binge alcohol use (n = 52,496) and those with alcohol use disorder (AUD; n = 22,966). Difference-in-differences models estimated service-related disparities before (2008–2009) and after (2011–2014) health care reform. A subanalysis was conducted before (2011–2013) and after (2014) full implementation of the ACA. Asian subgroups among respondents with heavy or binge drinking were excluded from substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and unmet need outcome models due to insufficient cell size. Among heavy or binge drinkers, unmet SUD treatment need decreased among Black women and increased among Black men. Mental health (MH) treatment decreased among Asian men, whereas unmet MH treatment need decreased among Hispanic men. MH treatment increased among Hispanic women with AUD. Although there were improvements in service use and access among Black and Hispanic women and Hispanic men, there were setbacks among Black and Asian men. Implications for social workers are discussed.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Experiential Avoidance,Alcohol Use Disorders,and Alcohol-Related Problems Among First-Year College Students

Abstract

Objective: This study explored the relationship of experiential avoidance (eg, the tendency to avoid, suppress, or otherwise control internal experiences even when doing so causes behavioral harm) to alcohol use disorders and alcohol-related problems. Participants: Cross-sectional data were collected from 240 undergraduate college students in their first year in college between December 2009 and April 2010. Methods: Participants completed a diagnostic interview and online self-report survey. Results: Students with a history of alcohol abuse or dependence had significantly higher levels of experiential avoidance relative to students with no alcohol use disorder diagnosis. A hierarchical linear regression analysis found that experiential avoidance significantly predicted alcohol-related problems, even after controlling for gender and psychological distress. Furthermore, experiential avoidance mediated the relationship of psychological distress to alcohol-related problems. Conclusions: These findings suggest that experiential avoidance may play a role in problematic alcohol use among college students.     

A Sinner Among the Saints: Confessions of a Sociologist of Culture and Religion

As one who came early and has stayed late at the sociological party, I thought it would be appropriate to provide a brief inventory of my sins over more than 40 years as a sociologist of culture and religion. Where culture is concerned, my own changing perspectives parallel developments in the field itself, though I also confess to a few doubts and suspicions regarding culture's current revival. Turning to religion, I identify myself with both Durkheim and Weber if only as another scholar in the field who is religiously unmusical. I confess to wondering why so many of my colleagues have paid so little attention to religion. And having raised the question, I go on to suggest several answers and rebut all but the last with materials drawn from a recently completed study of world religions and worldly politics in some 14 countries around the globe.     

Group Images and Possible Selves Among Adolescents: Linking Stereotypes to Expectations by Race and Ethnicity

The study is motivated by the differential alignment of educational achievement and aspirations along race and ethnic lines. Specifically, black and Hispanic students have comparable educational aspirations relative towhites, yet earn much lower grades and test scores. On the other hand, compared to white students, Asian youth overperform in their grades and test scores given their aspirations. Focus groups and interviews of high school students reveal prevalent stereotypes that link ethnic group membership to academic ability as well as other skills. Specifically, Asian youth are believed to be especially gifted in their academic abilities, while blacks are seen as less successful in academic endeavors. Stereotypes about Hispanics focused less on their academic performance and more on their occupational concentration in manual labor. These images form the reference point for the construction of success among ethnic youth; specifically, blacks speak of academic goals in terms of avoiding failure, Hispanic youth aim primarily to avoid factory or manual labor, and Asians focus on keeping up with high expectations of their academic pursuits. Hence, I argue that adolescents define their goals primarily in terms of the stereotypical images attached to their ethnic group. Specifically, minority youth focused on avoiding failure defined by prevalent group stereotypes. Moreover, these images maintain racially and ethnically segregated extracurricular activities that reinforce segregated peer groups. Finally, socialization with same-race peers promote comparable conceptions of success within racial groups.     

In the steps of Joan Acker: A journey in researching inequality regimes and intersectional inequalities

Inspired by two of Acker's interconnected concepts, inequality regimes and intersectionality, the authors revisit their intersectional research. By exploring their various studies on inequality regimes and intersectionality, the authors propose some novel insights that have emerged from an aggregate appraisal of some 17 empirically researched papers, all shaped by Joan Acker's sociology. While Acker's work on gender and organizations has provided crucial insights into much of this work, this article concentrates on the overarching concept of inequality regimes and then focuses in on less‐developed aspects of intersectionality in Acker's work. In doing so, it reconsiders the value of inequality regimes in pushing the boundaries of intersectional insights.     

The Couple That Prays Together: Race and Ethnicity,Religion, and Relationship Quality Among Working‐Age Adults

A substantial body of research has shown that relationship quality tends to be (a) lower among racial and ethnic minorities and (b) higher among more religious persons and among couples in which partners share common religious affiliations, practices, and beliefs. However, few studies have examined the interplay of race or ethnicity and religion in shaping relationship quality. Our study addresses this gap in the literature using data from the National Survey of Religion and Family Life (NSRFL), a 2006 telephone survey of 2,400 working‐age adults (ages 18–59), which contains oversamples of African Americans and Latinos. Results underscore the complex nature of the effects of race and ethnicity, as well as religious variables. In particular, we found that couples' in‐home family devotional activities and shared religious beliefs are positively linked with reports of relationship quality.     

Moderators of the Relationship Between Physical Activity and Alcohol Consumption in College Students

Abstract

Objective: Among college students, several studies have found a positive relationship between physical activity and alcohol use. The current study tested gender, Greek status, and ethnicity as potential moderators of the physical activity-alcohol use relationship. Participants: Participants were college freshmen (n = 310) endorsing alcohol/drug use. Methods: Students completed questionnaires assessing a number of health behaviors. Results: Results indicated that gender and Greek status were significant moderators of the relationship between physical activity and alcohol consumption. There was a positive relationship between physical activity and alcohol use for men and Greeks, but not for females and non-Greeks. Conclusions: These findings suggest that exercise does not serve as a protective factor for any of the subgroups of college students studied and is positively associated with drinking among college students who are men and/or involved with the Greek system.     

Understanding the Relationship Between Alcohol and Sex: Latino and White College Students and Problematic Sexual Experiences While Drinking

Objectives: The authors examined whether the relationship between alcohol expectancies and sexual experiences while drinking differed between Latino and white college students. Participants: The authors considered students if they were white or Latino, unmarried, aged 18-25 years, reported any drinking, and had at least 1 sexual partner in the present school year. Methods: The investigators collected surveys from a random sample of 13,868 undergraduate students from the 14 California public university campuses. They used tests of group differences and hierarchical multiple regressions. Results: Social-facilitation alcohol expectancies were associated with the total number of different alcohol-related sexual experiences among Latino students. Neither social facilitation nor sexual-enhancement alcohol expectancies were differentially predictive of white or Latino students' frequency of sexual experiences. Conclusions: Additional research is necessary to determine whether concepts targeted by alcohol prevention programs operate in a differential manner for Latino students.     

A plea to end Platonist theology posing as the Science of Religion: religion as a cultural system reasserted

Despite several complaints that what passes for Religious Studies represents liberal theology in disguise, the reworked Platonist religion of the twentieth century, which drives that theology, remains to be adequately exposed. This needs to be done if the Science of Religion is to recognize its own origins, and so at last move on to the non-theological cultural studies science that has been in preparation. The first half of this article elicits the Platonist faith enjoyed by Max Müller and illustrates the consistent application of religious anthropology to the present day through key figures such as Mircea Eliade, Peter Berger and Robert Bellah. The conclusion of this review confirms that the Science of Religion has been a confession of faith in disguise: it is Platonist theology posing as the Science of Religion. The second half of the article proposes a clear distinction between the two methodologically incommensurate perspectives of Platonist Science of Religion, and (Humanist) Culture Science of Religion. To draw together elements of a distinguishing methodology in a future Culture Science of Religion, Clifford Geertz’s definition of religion as a cultural system is taken up and incorporated into a reciprocal relationship with culture. This is stated as: cosmos confirms culture.     

“A Grain of Salt in a Pepper Shaker”: Interviewing Whites,Blacks, and Latinos about Their Neighborhood Preferences

Several perspectives dominate as explanations for neighborhood preferences: pure race, racial proxy, race‐based neighborhood stereotyping, and race‐associated neighborhood factors. This analysis extends and supports the pure race and race‐associated neighborhood factors arguments by showing that these theories are applied differently depending on respondents' social class, race and ethnicity, and whether they are talking about white, black, or Latino neighborhoods. Race‐associated factors are emphasized for white and black neighborhoods, but pure race serves as a better theoretical framework for understanding people's preferences for Latino neighborhoods. I analyze qualitative interview data, using maps of real neighborhoods and hypothetical neighborhood show cards, to examine the neighborhood preferences of 65 white, black, and Latino residents in Ogden, Utah, and Buffalo, New York.     

Conflicting or Compatible: Beliefs About Religion and Science Among Emerging Adults in the United States1

A wide‐held assumption is that increased religiousness is associated with stronger perceptions of a conflict between religion and science. This article examines this assumption using four distinct questions asked on the third wave of the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR). Results indicate a variety of viewpoints for constructing the relationship between science and religion, rather than a simple conflict‐compatibility continuum. Further, findings suggest that increased religiousness among emerging adults is associated with a stronger agreement in science and religion’s compatibility, rather than conflict. Incorporating New Age or non‐Western spiritual tradition and a strict adherence to fundamentalist Christian doctrine are associated with complex configurations of beliefs on the relationship between religion and science. Collectively, the findings among emerging adults contradict traditional assumptions about how religious experiences influence beliefs, suggesting that such social factors may influence beliefs and attitudes uniquely at different points in the lifecourse or across generations. More broadly, the findings speak to the ongoing debate about the extent to which differing social experiences may produce consistent or discordant sets of beliefs and values, and in turn how particular configurations may impact strategies of action across a range of life domains.     

Back to Africa: Second Chances for the Children of West African Immigrants

This paper examines the phenomenon of West African parents living in Europe and North America who send their older children back home: from places of high immigrant aspiration to those of hardship and privation. Drawing on a project on West African immigration to Europe and on previous field studies in Africa, we conclude that West African immigrants fearing the consequences of their children's indiscipline in the West, where racism and hostility can endanger the entire family, may send unruly children back to the home country. In doing so, we believe, they build on long‐standing African disciplinary efforts in hopes of toughening their children's resilience to the challenges in the new place and wait for the risk to dissipate.     

Revitalization of Local Community and Ethnicity: Nagasaki's Lantern Festival Among the Immigrant Chinese

Abstract: The Nagasaki's Lantern Festival is gaining popularity through the continued partnership between the immigrant Chinese (Kakyo) and Nagasaki city, largely owing to the ethnic Chinese revitalization movement and the distinct way of life typical in Nagasaki. Following my past research, I would like to discuss the development and modification of Nagasaki's Lantern Festival, to examine the relationship between the features specific to the Nagasaki area and the changes in the Kakyo community's sense of ethnicity amid the wave of globalization. By the Meiji period, ethnic Chinese society in Nagasaki consisted mainly of immigrants from Fu Jian province. Today the community is experiencing rapid transformation. In particular, the restoration of Sino–Japanese relations and the wave of internationalization have led to the creation of the Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown Shopping District Promotion Association and the renewal of Chinatown for the ethnic Chinese. The Chinese Spring Festival, originally aimed toward community vitalization, not only included the Kakyo (immigrant Chinese) but the Japanese in the district and private corporations. Nagasaki was transformed not only into a strategic point for East Asia's multilateral trade, but also served as a trading center for the entire nation. But as Japanese ports opened their doors to the world after 1850, Nagasaki was reduced to only one of the local trading centers. As for overseas business, Nagasaki took advantage of its heavy industry by expanding its share in the Asian international market and has been striving in the domestic market to activate the local economy through tourism. Such strategy hinges on the rich historical and cultural resources formed and nurtured within the 400 years of relations with Asian nations. The historical merger between the Kakyo community and its cultural tradition in Nagasaki society served as one of the incentives for such development and progress. The enlargement of Nagasaki's Lantern Festival has been achieved as part of this concept of “Asian‐oriented region”, in line with the city's plan on tourism promotion.     

State Responses to Alcohol Use and Pregnancy: Findings From the Alcohol Policy Information System

This article describes U.S. state policies related to alcohol use during pregnancy, using data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Alcohol Policy Information System. Specifically, this study examines trends in policies enacted by states over time and types of policies enacted across states in the United States, with a focus on whether laws were supportive or punitive toward women. Findings revealed substantial variability in characteristics of policies (19 primarily supportive, 12 primarily punitive, 12 with a mixed approach, and 8 with no policies). Findings underscore the need to examine possible consequences of policies, especially of punitive policies and “mixed” approaches.     

Bullying and suicide in high school students: Findings from the 2015 California youth risk behavior survey

ABSTRACT

School bullying and cyberbullying have been linked to suicidal behaviors through depression and alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other drug use. However, how these associations may differ across racial/ethnic groups remains relatively unknown. Using data from the 2015 California Youth Risk Behavior Survey, this study aims to examine two questions in different racial/ethnic subgroups: (1) Does bullying affect suicide? and (2) Does bullying have an indirect effect on suicide through depression and use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs? The sample consisted of 1,765 Californian youth attending grades 9–12. Logistic regression analyses indicate that being bullied is associated with increased odds of suicide across all racial/ethnic groups; depression mediates the effect of bullying on suicide for all racial/ethnic groups; alcohol use mediates the effect only for Hispanic youth; other drug use mediates the effect only for White youth; marijuana and tobacco use have no mediating role. These findings suggest that bullying may lead to suicide through different risk behaviors for youths of different racial/ethnic groups. Professionals who work with bullied youths need to treat depression more effectively to prevent suicide in service planning and provision. They also need to be aware of the racial/ethnic differences in the risk behaviors intercorrelated with bullying and suicide and provide appropriate treatment to the youth of specific race/ethnicity.