Recent Trends in Coverage of the Mexican-Born Population of the United States: Results From Applying Multiple Methods Across Time

The accuracy of counts of U.S. racial/ethnic and immigrant groups depends on the coverage of the foreign-born in official data. Because Mexicans constitute by far the largest single national-origin group among the foreign-born in the United States, we compile new evidence about the coverage of the Mexican-born population in the 2000 census and 2001–2010 American Community Survey (ACS) using three techniques: a death registration, a birth registration, and a net migration method. For the late 1990s and first half of the 2000–2010 decade, results indicate that coverage error was somewhat higher than currently assumed but had substantially declined by the latter half of the 2000–2010 decade. Additionally, we find evidence that U.S. census and ACS data miss substantial numbers of children of Mexican immigrants, as well as people who are most likely to be unauthorized: namely, working-aged Mexican immigrants (ages 15–64), especially males. The findings highlight the heterogeneity of the Mexican foreign-born population and the ways in which migration dynamics may affect population coverage.     

Trends in Work–Family Context Among U.S. Women by Education Level, 1976 to 2011

This study compares trends in work–family context by education level from 1976 to 2011 among U.S. women. The major aim is to assess whether differences in work–family context by education level widened, narrowed, or persisted. We used data from the 1976–2011 March Current Population Surveys on women aged 25–64 (n = 1,597,914). We compare trends in four work–family forms by education level within three race/ethnic groups. The work–family forms reflect combinations of marital and employment status among women with children at home. Trends in the four work–family forms exhibited substantial heterogeneity by education and race/ethnicity. Educational differences in the work–family forms widened mainly among white women. Compared with more-educated peers, white women without a high school credential became increasingly less likely to be married, to be employed, to have children at home, and to combine these roles. In contrast, educational differences in the work–family forms generally narrowed among black women and were directionally mixed among Hispanic women. Only one form—unmarried and employed with children at home—became more strongly linked to a woman’s education level within all three race/ethnic groups. This form carries an elevated risk of work–family conflict and its prevalence increased moderately during the 35-year period. Taken together, the trends underscore recent calls to elevate work–family policy on the national agenda.     

Personal and Contextual Factors Supporting the Switch to Transit Use: Evaluating a Natural Transit Intervention

U.S. communities are becoming increasingly automobile dependent, with car use embedded in U.S. policies, practices, and preferences. To encourage transit use, transit systems too will require supporting policies, practices, and preferences. Light rail is currently enjoying some supportive policies, but research is just beginning to explore how psychological experiences might help support a switch to rail use.
We propose a transactional approach to behavior change in which societal, physical environmental, and inter- and intrapersonal factors combine to support a new behavior. We illustrate this perspective at a university host site for the 2002 Olympics, where temporary parking shortages, the opening of a new light-rail transit line, and an outreach program enhanced the attractiveness of transit. Transit use was maintained by psychological satisfactions such as enjoyment of productive and pleasant activities during the ride, positive evaluations of the service qualities of light rail, and the view that light rail enhanced city livability. Results support the transactional approach and suggest directions for actions in transit promotion, environmentalism, and urban design.     

The Timing of Adoptions of Land–Use Plans and Regulations in Pennsylvania Localities

Objective. This article explores the relationship between the timing of land–use tool adoptions and local growth. Methods. Land cover data, census data, and information about land–use tools were merged for all Pennsylvania minor civil divisions (MCDs) for the period 1975/1980 to 1990/1992. First, the extent to which growth was absorbed in MCDs without land–use tools was assessed. Second, the importance of structural changes for distinguishing new adopters and nonadopters was analyzed using a subset of MCDs. Results. Both the aggregate–and MCD–level analyses suggested that nonadoptions under growth pressure were not widespread. Growth was not a necessary condition, however, for adoption. Conclusions. . The findings support an emphasis on outreach aimed at improving the effective use of existing tools, but suggest that the importance of improving the capacity of MCDs without tools is increasing with population decentralization.     

Judged Terror Risk and Proximity to the World Trade Center

In November 2001, a nationally representative sample of Americans (N = 973, ages 13–88), queried via WebTVs at home, judged the probability of five terror-related events (e.g., being injured in an attack) and three “routine” risks (e.g., being a victim of other violent crime), in the following 12 months. Judgments of terror risks, but not routine risks, were related to whether respondents were within 100 mi of the World Trade Center. This relationship was found only in the following demographic groups, and not their complements: men, adults, whites, and Republicans. These differential responses to risk have both theoretical and policy implications.     

The Costs of Seeking Self–Esteem

Americans are deeply engaged in the pursuit of self–esteem, attempting to satisfy contingencies or criteria for what makes a person worthwhile. In this article, I examine the costs of this pursuit of self–esteem for the self, in terms of competence, relatedness, and mental health, and for others. I hypothesize that external contingencies of self–worth require validation from others and are unreliable as a basis of self–esteem, and hence are associated with greater costs. Data from a longitudinal study of an ethnically diverse sample of 642 college freshman support the view that contingencies of self–worth shape how students spend their time, and the prediction that external contingencies of self–worth, especially appearance, have high costs for stress, aggression, drug and alcohol use, and symptoms of disordered eating.     

Ageism and Ageist Language Across the Life Span: Intimate Relationships and Non-intimate Interactions

The possible effects of ageist language and ageism on the structure and function of intimate and non-intimate relationships have received significant attention from social scientists. Recent research grounded in communication accommodation theory ( Giles, Mulac, Bradac, & Johnson, 1987 ), the communication predicament model of ageing ( Ryan, Giles, Bartolucci, & Henwood, 1986 ), the communication enhancement model of ageing ( Ryan, Meredith, MacLean, & Orange, 1995 ), and ageing and stereotype research by Hummert (1994) and colleagues ( Hummert & Mazloff, 2001 ; Hummert, Shaner, & Garstka, 1995 ) point toward the numerous consequences of both negative and positive attitudes toward ageing. Focusing specifically on health care settings, this article reviews recent theoretical positions and empirical findings that link ageist language and ageism to these positive and negative social consequences, and offers pragmatic suggestions and directions for future research .     

The inclusion of minority groups in clinical trials: problems of under representation and under reporting of data

Objective: To evaluate the representation of minority groups in randomized control trials (RCTs), and the frequency with which this information is reported. Study Design: Reviewers collected data on the racial/ethnic composition of study samples from all RCTs published in six leading medical journals in 1999. Results: Of the 280 RCTs, most (204, 71.3%) provided no information on the race/ethnicity of participants. Of the 89 U.S.-based RCTs, 50 (56.1%) reported their minority distribution. Relative to other trials, those funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) (n = 52) were more likely to report race/ethnicity data (55.8% vs. 23.7%; x2 = 20.9, p <_0.001) and to include nonwhite participants (13.5 % vs. 12.5%; x2=22.7, p<_0.001). Conclusion: Minority groups are currently under-represented in clinical trials. Information on the race and ethnicity of clinical trial participants is currently underreported in six leading medical journals. Reporting of minority group information was significantly better only in NIH funded trials, which also were more likely to include nonwhite participants. This suggests that mandatory reporting policies may have a positive effect on both reporting and representation.     

Impersonal probability as an ideal assessment based on accessible evidence: A viable construct?

When risk analysts and others refer to the true probability of an event, it is not easy to give it a meaning which is sound and useful as a communication device for regulatory, research planning, and related purposes. An interpretation is herein offered which, unlike Bayesian probability, is impersonal and does not depend on a particular assessor; unlike Carnap's logical probability, it does not depend on information actually to hand. It is a generalization of frequency and propensity interpretations of impersonal probability applicable to unique events: an ideal assessment based on currently accessible (not in general perfect) evidence. The argument is illustrated from decision-aiding experience which motivated the enquiry.This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, Division of Social and Economic Sciences. The author thanks John Pratt, Marvin Cohen, Dennis Lindley, Jon Baron, Kathy Laskey, and Stephen Watson for their most helpful review. They do not necessarily share his views.