COLLEGE STUDENTS AND BINGE DRINKING: AN EVALUATION OF SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY

ABSTRACT

Although binge drinking is a prevalent and often problematic behavior among college students, there has been relatively little sociological research on this phenomenon. This study evaluates the applicability of social learning theory (Akers 1985 Akers , Ronald L. 1985 . Deviant Behavior: A Social Learning Approach . 3rd ed. Belmont , CA : Wadsworth . [Google Scholar] 2000 — . 2000 . Criminological Theories: Introduction, Evaluation, and Application , 3rd ed. Los Angeles : Roxbury . [Google Scholar]) to the binge drinking of a sample of approximately 1,500 students enrolled at four institutions of higher education. The social learning model explains approximately 45% of the variance in the binge drinking of these students. The results indicate that differential peer associations are by far the best predictor of this behavior. Other significant predictors include the definitions that students hold about binge drinking as well as their perceptions of the direct effects of alcohol consumption. These social learning variables also mediate the effects of demographic variables (i.e., gender, race, fraternity/sorority membership) on binge drinking. The results are discussed with respect to programs designed to prevent binge drinking. Possible directions for future research in this area are also suggested.     

Single Motherhood and Child Mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Life Course Perspective

Single motherhood in sub-Saharan Africa has received surprisingly little attention, although it is widespread and has critical implications for children’s well-being. Using survival analysis techniques, we estimate the probability of becoming a single mother over women’s life course and investigate the relationship between single motherhood and child mortality in 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Although a mere 5 % of women in Ethiopia have a premarital birth, one in three women in Liberia will become mothers before first marriage. Compared with children whose parents were married, children born to never-married single mothers were significantly more likely to die before age 5 in six countries (odds ratios range from 1.36 in Nigeria to 2.61 in Zimbabwe). In addition, up to 50 % of women will become single mothers as a consequence of divorce or widowhood. In nine countries, having a formerly married mother was associated with a significantly higher risk of dying (odds ratios range from 1.29 in Zambia to 1.75 in Kenya) relative to having married parents. Children of divorced women typically had the poorest outcomes. These results highlight the vulnerability of children with single mothers and suggest that policies aimed at supporting single mothers could help to further reduce child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa.     

Life values,family support and psychosocial adaptation among older people in Taiwan: an institutional and community comparison

The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychosocial adaptation among elderly persons in institutional and community settings, and to explore factors influencing their adaptation. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 165 residents of four institutions (two assisted-living facilities and two nursing homes) and 209 community-dwelling elders served by a primary care centre, all located in middle Taiwan. A structured interview questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: community-dwelling elderly had significantly higher adaptation scores than those in institutional settings. Factors related to adaptation differed between institutional and community settings, with more variables influencing adaptation in the community than in the institution. Physical functional status was the major influence on adaptation of the elderly in institutions. Dietary support from family was negatively associated with adaptation in this group. Influencing factors for community-dwelling elders were more complicated, including perceived family emotional and economic support, personal life values and physical functional status. Implications: greater support from government, including economic resources and assistance in community care are needed to achieve the policy goal of ‘aging in place’. Further investigation of the influence of family interaction on elders' adaptation is needed.     

The role of faith in adoption: achieving positive adoption outcomes for African American children

African American children are overrepresented in foster care by more than twice their proportion in the population (U.S. Government Accountability Office [USGAO], 2007). Building upon research relating faith (religiosity) to positive health and mental health, this study utilized cognitive and religious coping theories to examine the influence of faith on choosing to adopt, achieving positive adoption outcomes, and reducing disproportionality. From Louisiana and Texas, 113 families who adopted 226 children, 48% African American, participated in a survey measuring children's behavior and parent distress (PSI-SF Difficult Child and Parent Distress Subscales) and religiosity (Hoge Intrinsic Religiosity Index). Of the respondents, 93% of the respondents belonged to a religious congregation, 86% attended church weekly. Controlling for child's behavior, religiosity predicted lower stress in adoptive parenting; church attendance was related to improvement in parental health since adopting. Faith was rated most frequently as essential in parents' decisions to adopt. The study concludes that faith may be an asset in increasing adoptions and improving adoption outcomes resulting in increased numbers of African American children adopted.     

The Capability Approach and Fuzzy Poverty Measures: An Application to the South African Context

One way of making the capability approach (CA) operational uses fuzzy poverty measures. In this paper, we present a new approach to applying these measures in the South African context using responses to a questionnaire on ‘The Essentials of Life’ in conjunction with a methodology for dealing with the vagueness of poverty. Our results suggest very low cut-offs for people or households to classify as definitely poor for some social indicators. These cut-offs are far lower than those Klasen used in his application of the CA. The attempt to apply the CA using Cheli and Lemmi’s ‘totally fuzzy and relative’ poverty measure in conjunction with our approach to specifying cut-offs can lead to incoherence. This measure can, nonetheless, be useful when social indicators have a ‘relativist component’. While the Cerioli and Zani measure does not lead to such incoherence, it also has a serious weakness.     

Malthus to modernity: wealth,status, and fertility in England, 1500–1879

A key challenge to theories of long-run economic growth has been linking the onset of modern growth with the move to modern fertility limitation. A notable puzzle for these theories is that modern growth in England began around 1780, 100 years before there was seemingly any movement to limit fertility. Here we show that the aggregate data on fertility in England before 1880 conceals significant declines in the fertility of the middle and upper classes earlier. These declines coincide with the Industrial Revolution and are of the character predicted by some recent theories of long-run growth.     

The impact of mental health issues, substance use, and exposure to victimization on pregnancy rates among a sample of youth with past-year foster care placement

The purpose of this study is to (1) compare youth entering substance abuse treatment with and without a history of foster care placement to determine any differences in mental health, substance use, and exposure to victimization, and (2) determine if mental health, substance use, and/or exposure to victimization predict past pregnancy among the sample with a history of foster care placement. The pooled dataset consisted of 17,124 adolescents (12-17 years of age) who completed the Global Appraisal of Individual Needs at intake for substance abuse treatment in 2009. Of these, 366 (2.1%) reported having been in foster care in the past year. When compared with a non-foster care sample, the foster care sample reported significantly higher internal mental distress scores, behavior complexity scores, and general victimization scores, after controlling for race, gender, and level of care. Problems associated with substance use did not differ between groups, though regular tobacco use was present at a higher rate in the foster care sample. Multivariate logistic regression results revealed that, within the foster care sample, internal mental distress and gender predicted past pregnancy. There may be room for intervention within substance abuse treatment centers for youth with a history of foster care, who may be at risk for pregnancy if their levels of internal mental distress are high.     

The role of law enforcement in schools: the Virginia experience--a practitioner report

Although there has been little academic research on the impact of placing police officers in schools, this practice has grown substantially in response to school shootings and other violent crimes in schools. With a standardized training program since 1999, the state of Virginia has law enforcement officers working in approximately 88 percent of Virginia's 631 secondary schools. Based on this experience, the state training coordinator describes how police officers should be selected and prepared to work as school resource officers. The success of school-based law enforcement requires careful selection and specialized training of officers who can adapt to the school culture and work collaboratively with school authorities.