An Exploratory Study of Financial Remittances Among Non-Resident Indians in the United States

Remittances by immigrants and temporary workers of Indian origin in industrialized countries are a growing part of India’s economy. In this exploratory study we examine the social and economic characteristics affecting the remittance pattern of working households (or families) of Indian origin residing in the United States. As most previous studies have been undertaken at the macroeconomic level, our main contribution lies in identifying the household level factors that may influence remittances. Using an online and a mail-in survey of 39 households we find some of the significant factors affecting remittances. We also validate some of the remittance-related policies of the Indian government.

Implicit Valuation of the Near-Miss is Dependent on Outcome Context

Gambling studies have described a “near-miss effect” wherein the experience of almost winning increases gambling persistence. The near-miss has been proposed to inflate the value of preceding actions through its perceptual similarity to wins. We demonstrate here, however, that it acts as a conditioned stimulus to positively or negatively influence valuation, dependent on reward expectation and cognitive engagement. When subjects are asked to choose between two simulated slot machines, near-misses increase valuation of machines with a low payout rate, whereas they decrease valuation of high payout machines. This contextual effect impairs decisions and persists regardless of manipulations to outcome feedback or financial incentive provided for good performance. It is consistent with proposals that near-misses cause frustration when wins are expected, and we propose that it increases choice stochasticity and overrides avoidance of low-valued options. Intriguingly, the near-miss effect disappears when subjects are required to explicitly value machines by placing bets, rather than choosing between them. We propose that this task increases cognitive engagement and recruits participation of brain regions involved in cognitive processing, causing inhibition of otherwise dominant systems of decision-making. Our results reveal that only implicit, rather than explicit strategies of decision-making are affected by near-misses, and that the brain can fluidly shift between these strategies according to task demands.     

Gender and social conformity: Do men and women respond differently to social pressure to vote?

In this paper, we re-analyze data from a large-scale field experiment (N = 344,084) on voter turnout in order to determine whether men and women respond differently to social pressure aimed at voter mobilization. To date, there have been mixed results regarding the interaction between a person’s gender and receptivity to social influence. On the whole, our analyses confirm prior findings that social pressure increases voter turnout but uncover little to no evidence of gender differences in receptivity to social pressure cues in the context of political participation.     

A Multi-Dimensional Conceptual Framework for Trauma-Informed Practice in Addictions Programming

Previous research has conceptualized trauma-informed practice in relation to five key values: safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and empowerment. This research identifies key organizational, programmatic, and interpersonal characteristics in community-based residential addictions treatment programming that exemplify each of these principles. Utilizing qualitative research methods, involving open-ended, one to one interviews with clients in residential substance misuse treatment (n = 41), respondents identified the importance of experiencing “safety” in relation to physical safety, confidentiality, reassurance, rule enforcement, and peer relationships. “Trust” was manifested in sharing, staff availability, nonjudgmental interactions, positive relationship dynamics, and caring. “Choice” was articulated in relation to individual needs, participation, opportunities, and focus of efforts. “Collaboration” was characterized in relation to opportunities for feedback, planning, goal setting, specificity, and support. Finally, “empowerment” was characterized by comfort in sharing, trigger management, trauma awareness, and understanding. The findings provide a conceptual framework for a trauma-informed social services organizational practice environment. Findings can inform adaptations to social service delivery processes and programs to become aligned with the values of trauma-informed practice. Future research can build on this framework by testing the study findings with quantitative methods along with replicating current methods in other social service delivery sectors.     

Anabolic-Androgenic Steroids and Condom Use: Potential Mechanisms in Adolescent Males

Previous research has revealed a significant bivariate relationship between anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use and reduced condom use among adolescent boys. However, to date, no known studies have explored the psychological mechanisms that may explain this relationship. Thus, the current study sought to examine two possible mediators in the association between AAS and condom use: depressive symptoms and substance use. Data were extracted from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents. Participants were 3,780 U.S. high school boys who responded to self-report items assessing a number of health behaviors, including symptoms of depression, substance use, AAS use, and use of condoms during their most recent act of intercourse. Both depression and substance use were significant mediators in the relationship between AAS and condom use. However, when these effects were contrasted, the indirect effect of substance use was significantly stronger in magnitude than the effect of depression. Although AAS use was associated with sexual risk behaviors among adolescent boys, significant variance in this relationship was accounted for by elevated levels of depression and substance use, with substance use demonstrating a particularly salient pathway.     

Correlates of perceived effectiveness of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative

A three-level growth-curve model was applied to estimate perceived impact growth trajectories, using multi-year data from project and school surveys on outcome and program implementation collected from 59 sites and approximately 1165 participating schools in the Safe Schools and Healthy Students Initiative. Primary interest is to determine whether and how project-level and school-level correlates affect schools’ perceptions of the Initiative's effectiveness over time when the effects of the pre-grant environmental conditions, grant operations, and near-term outcomes are considered. Coordination and service integration, comprehensive programs and activities for early childhood development, and change in school involvement were found to be significant predictors of school-perceived overall impact when the effect of poverty was considered. Partnership functioning, perceived importance of school resources, and school involvement were found to be significant predictors of school-perceived impact on substance use prevention when the effect of poverty was considered.