ENTER INTO HIS GATES: AN ANALYSIS OF BLACK CHURCH PARTICIPATION PATTERNS

This study examines contemporary trends in Black Church adult participation and whether and how patterns are influenced by factors such as denomination, location, church and clergy profile, church environment, and programmatic efforts. Bivariate and ordered logit results based on Faith Factor 2000 Project data across seven denominations suggest minimal denominational influence; however, church environment, including worship features and sermonic emphasis, as well as varied programs, positively influence participation. Additionally, participation decline is apparent among rural congregations. Results help illumine profiles of Black churches most likely to experience high or low levels of participation.     

‘Closing the Gap’ in Indigenous life expectancies: what if we succeed?

In 2007–2008 the Council of Australian Governments agreed to six ambitious targets for addressing longstanding disparities between Indigenous and other Australians in health, education and employment outcomes. The ‘National Integrated Strategy for Closing the Gap on Indigenous Disadvantage’ (colloquially ‘Closing the Gap’) includes the goal of eliminating life expectancy gaps within a generation. This policy says nothing about what changes in the demographic structure of the population might be expected should there be even partial success towards this ambitious target. Information is required to analyse age and sex shifts for their effects on service demand and provision. In this study we apply cohort component projections modelling to the Northern Territory, the Australian jurisdiction with the largest Indigenous component in its population and the largest life expectancy gaps, to assess the demographic effects of closing the gap within a generation. Three scenarios are modelled: (1) No changes to Indigenous life expectancies from those estimated in 2010; (2) Complete success in closing the gap within a generation; and (3) A continuation of current forecasts about how Indigenous life expectancies will change into the future. Although closing the gap would only produce a small increase in the size of the next generation’s Indigenous population, over and above that projected with lower life expectancy scenarios, it would result in substantial changes in age compositions, with associated shifts in various demographic indices. These are pertinent to the planning and funding of core services into the future.     

The Prevalence of Problem Gambling Among U.S. Adolescents and Young Adults: Results from a National Survey

A random telephone survey was conducted with a representative sample of 2,274 U.S. residents aged 14–21. The prevalence of problem gambling, as measured by the SOGS-RA, was 2.1%. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of the respondents had gambled in the past year, and 11% had gambled more often than twice per week. Males had much higher gambling involvement than females, and gambling involvement increased among older respondents. Blacks were less likely than average to have gambled in the past year, but if they gambled, they were more likely to do so frequently. Low SES respondents were less likely to have gambled in the past year, but if they gambled, they were more likely to be problem gamblers. Life transitions that are associated with assuming adult roles (employment, living independently of parents, non-student status) are also associated with greater gambling involvement. The rates of problem and pathological gambling were lower than those in an adult survey conducted earlier, when measured with the same questionnaire.     

Gambling on the Lottery: Sociodemographic Correlates Across the Lifespan

Two representative U.S. telephone surveys of gambling were conducted—an adult survey of adults aged 18 years and older (n = 2,631) and a youth survey of young people aged 14–21 years old (n = 2,274). Because the questions and methods were the same or similar in both surveys, the data from these two surveys were combined into a single dataset to examine the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of gambling and problem gambling across the lifespan. The present work focused specifically on gambling on the lottery which is the most prevalent form of gambling in the U.S. The frequency of gambling on the lottery increased sharply from mid adolescence to age 18 which is the legal age to purchase lottery tickets in most states; lottery play continued to increase into the thirties when it leveled off and remained high through the sixties and then decreased among those 70 years and older. Considering multiple sociodemographic factors together in a negative binomial regression, the average number of days of lottery gambling was significantly predicted by male gender, age, neighborhood disadvantage and whether or not lottery was legal in the state where the respondent lived. These findings can be used to inform policies regarding lotteries in the U.S.     

Welfare and women in poor urban neighborhoods: The effect of dependency on attitudinal indicators

This study examines the relationship between welfare dependency and the attitudes of female residents in poor urban neighborhoods. The analysis focuses on their attitudes about relationships, children, home ownership, and welfare, and how these attitudes are affected by race/ethnicity, neighborhood poverty, religion, close friendship ties with welfare recipients, and kin networks. Using the Urban Poverty & Family Life Survey and multiple and logistic regression analysis, the findings show that welfare dependency has a negative impact on attitudes but is diminished by a variety of cultural and social indicators. Results further illustrate that, for some residents in severely impoverished areas, consistent welfare receipt may counteract negative effects on attitudes experienced by their counterparts who do not receive welfare.     

A new variant of dual-record population estimation with an application in remote indigenous communities

Dual-record system methods are commonly used as a basis for population estimation. A basic assumption is that the units sampled are drawn only from the population to be estimated. This assumption cannot be met for remote Indigenous communities in Australia. A new variant of dual-record population estimation is presented, which relies on the availability of specific additional information to relax the assumption of perfect frame specification. This variant is applied to two remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory of Australia, using locally available data sources. Further theoretical exploration of this method is presented along with possible applications in estimating area-enumerated populations and census coverage.