Addressing the disproportionate representation of children of color: a collaborative community approach

The state of Indiana recommended a committee be formed to address the disproportional representation of black youth in out-of-home placements. In response, the Indiana Disproportionality Committee (IDC) was established. This article presents the development, objectives and future of the IDC. One of the objectives, research, will be offered as an example of the committee's collaborative strategies. The IDC, in partnership with another organization, has begun exploring relationships between ethnicity, risk factors and treatment outcomes. The results of this research effort have examined disproportion and disparity, leading the IDC to identify needs for change within the state. Barriers and successes of the IDC will be shared, so that others can use these efforts to guide their own strategies to reduce disproportionality.     

Objective Bayes Covariate‐Adjusted Sparse Graphical Model Selection

We present an objective Bayes method for covariance selection in Gaussian multivariate regression models having a sparse regression and covariance structure, the latter being Markov with respect to a directed acyclic graph (DAG). Our procedure can be easily complemented with a variable selection step, so that variable and graphical model selection can be performed jointly. In this way, we offer a solution to a problem of growing importance especially in the area of genetical genomics (eQTL analysis). The input of our method is a single default prior, essentially involving no subjective elicitation, while its output is a closed form marginal likelihood for every covariate‐adjusted DAG model, which is constant over each class of Markov equivalent DAGs; our procedure thus naturally encompasses covariate‐adjusted decomposable graphical models. In realistic experimental studies, our method is highly competitive, especially when the number of responses is large relative to the sample size.     

American Ebola Story: frames in U.S. National Newspapers

The 2014 Ebola epidemic saw the first symptomatic and fatal cases of Ebola in the United States. Concurrently, news coverage in U.S. media about Ebola increased. Research has shown that media’s framing of events influences public perception and understanding. To address framing of the Ebola epidemic in the U.S. media, researchers conducted a content analysis of newspaper articles reporting on the Ebola epidemic during the U.S. contact tracing period from September 30 to December 2, 2014 (n = 718). The top three circulating U.S. national newspapers were used in the analysis. The results show that the human interest, conflict, and action frames had the highest presence across newspaper articles, whereas the presence of attribution of responsibility, morality, and economic frames was lower. This study furthers knowledge of U.S. news media framing and coverage of new public health emergencies, and how newspapers may drive audience understanding and perception of the 2014 Ebola epidemic. This study also discusses implications of the findings and suggests directions for future research.     

A Multidimensional Framework for the Meanings of the Sexual Double Standard and its Application for the Sexual Health of Young Black Women in the U.S

There has been debate in the literature as to whether a sexual double standard (SDS) currently exists in the United States. Studies vary greatly in how the SDS is operationalized, making it difficult to interpret findings across studies and translate academic literature into applied fields such as public health. To advance academic and applied research, we propose a multidimensional framework for the SDS that can accommodate complex and nuanced meanings, is flexible enough to allow for the dynamic nature of social ideologies, and is grounded in an understanding of social systems of inequality. In this article, we describe three dimensions that define the broad elements of the SDS: (a) polarized (hetero)sexualities, (b) active male and passive female roles, and (c) the power struggle narrative. To illustrate the use of the framework, we contextualize each dimension in terms of the intersection of race and gender for young Black women in the United States. And finally, to apply the framework, we explore the effects the SDS can have on sexual health and suggest some directions for public health interventions. These analyses lay the groundwork for more complex and comprehensive investigations of the SDS and its effects on sexual health.     

Racial inequality and the recognition of racial discrimination in Jamaica

A growing body of literature posits that a population’s denial of the salience of racial discrimination acts as a mechanism of its perpetuation. Moreover, scholars locate a population’s propensity to deny racial discrimination in contemporary ideologies of racial mixing or ethnic fusion. Most quantitative studies of public opinion on these issues are limited to Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. This study examines the case of Jamaica. We first (1) examine the extent of Jamaica’s contemporary racial inequality using national census data. We then (2) use nationally representative data from the AmericasBarometer social survey to determine the extent to which a recognition of racial discrimination characterizes Jamaican public opinion. Finally, we (3) explore the salience of an ideology of racial mixing in Jamaica and (4) test whether that ideology affects the likelihood that Jamaicans acknowledge contemporary racial discrimination. Our findings document dramatic social inequality by skin colour in Jamaica and suggest that a majority embrace an ideology that racial mixing is negatively associated with Jamaicans’ recognition of racial discrimination. We discuss our findings and their implications for understanding ideologies of racial mixing and racial inequality in the Americas.     

Physical activity patterns in healthy middle-aged women

ABSTRACT

Exercise in healthy female adults around the menopausal transition has been routinely examined in leisure activities alone, potentially discounting the physical activity (PA) that is accumulated in household and outdoor domains. The purpose of this study was to quantify PA in healthy middle-aged women and to examine the extent to which the Center for Disease Control (CDC) PA guidelines were met through leisure, household, and outdoor activities. Methods: 440 healthy women, 51–64 years old, BMI ≥18.5 or < 40 kg/m², participated in the study using the Lifetime Physical Activity Questionnaire (LPAQ) to quantify PA. Results: 25.91% met the CDC PA guidelines if leisure time alone was examined. When multiple domains were included, 73.41% of the women met the PA guidelines. This percentage is much higher than the reported 20.6% of U.S. adults who met the guidelines in 2011. PA in women may be underrepresented in data limited to leisure time PA.     

Using TV as a Guide: Associations Between Television Viewing and Adolescents' Sexual Attitudes and Behavior

Using both correlational and experimental methodology, this study examined contributions of TV viewing to adolescents' sexual attitudes and behavior. A sample of 244 high school students was assigned to view clips depicting either one of three sexual stereotypes or neutral content. Participants then completed measures assessing their attitudes about sexual roles and relationships, their regular TV viewing habits, and their sexual experiences. Results indicated that more frequent viewing of talk shows and of “sexy” prime‐time programs, and viewing TV more intently for companionship, were each associated with greater endorsement of sexual stereotypes. Additionally, more frequent viewing and stronger identification with popular TV characters were associated with greater levels of sexual experience. Laboratory exposure to specific stereotypical content lead to greater acceptance of gender and sexual stereotypes, as well. Implications for television's role as a sexual educator are discussed.     

Celiac disease in North America: the disabling experience

Diagnosed as having celiac disease during my final year of undergraduate studies at McGill University, in the spring of 2005, my identity and lifestyle have undergone a transformative process. In this article I examine my experience of having celiac disease post-diagnosis, using the social model of disability framework. I examine the barriers that persons having celiac disease experience, both generally and personally. At the general level I explore the parallels between the experience of having celiac disease and the experience of being disabled: culturally, environmentally and financially. At the personal level I recount the emotional experience of being disabled.     

Will It Help? Identifying Socialization Discourses That Promote Sexual Risk and Sexual Health Among African American Youth

Because much of the existing research examining sexual communication to African American youth focuses on demographic and parental factors predicting sexual risk behaviors, less is known about factors predicting sexual health, and little is understood about the contributions of peer communications. The current study aimed to expand existing approaches by assessing which socialization discourses communicated by parents and peers contribute to sexual risk and health outcomes (sexual assertiveness, positive sexual affect, and condom self-efficacy). Participants were 631 African American undergraduates (73% female) who indicated the extent to which they had received from their parents and peers each of 28 messages representing four cultural discourses: abstinence, relational sex, sex positive, and gendered sexual roles. As expected, parents were perceived to emphasize relational sex and abstinence messages more than peers, and peers were perceived to communicate sex-positive and gendered sex role messages more than parents. Greater exposure to abstinence messages predicted lower levels of sexual experimentation, whereas exposure to sex-positive messages predicted higher levels. In addition, exposure to relational sex and sex-positive messages predicted higher levels of sexual assertiveness and positive sexual affect. Implications are discussed concerning sexual communications that could help Black youth develop healthy sexual perspectives.