Neighborhood disadvantage, stress, and drug use among adults

This paper explores the relationships among neighborhood disadvantage, stress, and the likelihood of drug use in a sample of adults (N = 1,101). Using the 1995 Detroit Area Study in conjunction with tract-level data from the 1990 census, we find a positive relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and drug use, and this relationship remains statistically significant net of controls for individual-level socioeconomic status. Neighborhood disadvantage is moderately associated with drug related behaviors, indirectly through increased social stressors and higher levels of psychological distress among residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods. A residual effect of neighborhood disadvantage remains, net of a large number of socially relevant controls. Finally, results from interactive models suggest that the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and drug use is most pronounced among individuals with lower incomes.     

Political competence and ideological constraint

Converse's definition of ideological contraint is expanded to provide for various respondent identified ideological dimensions rather than an all encompassing liberal-conservative dimension. Using this redefinition a sample of adults is shown to have high levels of ideological constraint. Ideological constraint is shown to vary with the degree of cognitive complexity and the degree of preference evaluability. The latter is a new concept that suggests that some issues will be easier for a respondent to demonstrate constraint on depending upon the availability and applicability of preference criteria. Salience is also shown to have a positive relationship with ideological constraint, but only when preference evaluability is high.     

The effects of child support guidelines: An analysis of the evidence in court records

Court records from four Ohio counties were used to compare child support orders before and after promulgation of federally mandated guidelines in 1987. There was no significant change in probability of Court Ordered Child Support. Amount Ordered in constant dollars increased between 1985 and 1987–88. Variables influencing Court Ordered Child Support differed post-guidelines. Years Married, Attorney for Both and Attorney for Wife were significant in both years. Number of Children, Rural, and Wife's Motions were significant in 1987–88. Variables affecting amount ordered also differed after adoption of the guidelines. Wife Contested, Husband's Motions, Defendant and Plaintiff no longer were significant in 1987–88. Years Married and Payment by Father were significantly related to Amount Ordered in 1985 but not in 1987–88. Number of Children, Expenses Paid, and Number of Assets were significantly related to Amount Ordered in both years.Salaries and research support were provided by state and federal appropriations to the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, and by the Department of Family Resource Management, and The Office of Research and Graduate Studies, The Ohio State University.Kathryn Stafford is Associate Professor, Department of Family Resource Management, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1295. Her research interests include household management and time use. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.Golden Jackson is Assistant Professor, Department of Family Resource Management, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1295. Her research is primarily in the area of the economic effects of divorce. She received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.Sharon Seiling is Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Family Resource Management, Department of Family Resource Management, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210-1295. Her research is on the impact of family change, especially divorce, on access to housing and overall financial well-being. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.     

Sexual orientation and household financial decisions: evidence from couples in the United States

We analyze how sexual orientation is related to household financial decisions using 2000 US Census data, and find that lesbian couples pay higher annual mortgages relative to house value than do heterosexual or gay couples. We also estimate that cohabiting heterosexuals pay more than their married counterparts. We link this homosexual-specific differential to homeowners’ propensity to save. This differential reflects the gender composition of same-sex households, and their very low fertility, in addition to the precautionary motives increasing cohabiting couples’ propensity to save relative to married ones. Evidence from retirement and social security income of older couples exhibits the same pattern of differentials by sexual orientation and cohabiting status.     

Random Bernstein Polynomials

Random Bernstein polynomials which are also probability distribution functions on the closed unit interval are studied. The probability law of a Bernstein polynomial so defined provides a novel prior on the space of distribution functions on [0, 1] which has full support and can easily select absolutely continuous distribution functions with a continuous and smooth derivative. In particular, the Bernstein polynomial which approximates a Dirichlet process is studied. This may be of interest in Bayesian non-parametric inference. In the second part of the paper, we study the posterior from a "Bernstein–Dirichlet" prior and suggest a hybrid Monte Carlo approximation of it. The proposed algorithm has some aspects of novelty since the problem under examination has a "changing dimension" parameter space.     

Compensatory Weight Control Behaviors of Women in Emerging Adulthood: Associations Between Childhood Abuse Experiences and Adult Relationship Avoidance

Abstract

Objective: To examine correlates of compensatory weight control behaviors among women in transition between adolescence and adulthood. Participants: The authors recruited a sample of undergraduate women (N = 759) at a large northwestern university during the 2009–2010 academic year. Methods: Logistic regression was used to assess relations among childhood abuse, psychosocial functioning, adult dating relationship factors, and women's endorsement of compensatory weight control behaviors. Results: The final model reliably distinguished between participants who endorsed versus denied use of compensatory behaviors (χ²[5, N = 747] = 36.37, p < .001), with global psychosocial functioning and relationship avoidance accounting for the most variance. Conclusions: These findings illustrate the importance of considering childhood abuse histories and adult relationships while assessing young women's compensatory weight control behaviors.     

Intergroup Competition and Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Immigration: An Instrumental Model of Group Conflict

High levels of worldwide migration paired with increasingly negative attitudes toward immigrants and immigration in host countries indicate that it is crucial to gain an understanding of the bases of these attitudes. This article discusses one determinant of negative attitudes toward immigrants and immigration: perceived competition for resources. We present our instrumental model of group conflict, which suggests that competition for resources, and attempts to remove this competition, are important determinants of intergroup attitudes and behavior. We then review relevant research on perceived competition and attitudes toward immigrants and immigration. We conclude by discussing the implications of this research for attempts to alleviate tension between immigrants and members of host populations, and for our more general model of group conflict.     

印度和中国——文明的和谐

特邀编者按:应中国共产党总书记胡锦涛同志的邀请,印度国大党主席索尼娅·甘地女士于2007年10月25日至29日访华.期间,胡锦涛总书记、温家宝总理亲切会见了她,就双边关系中的广泛话题展开了富有成效的、建设性的讨论.     

Risky Experiences for Children Online: Charting European Research on Children and the Internet

Children’s online experience, especially the risks to which they might be exposed, is an increasingly important policy and research concern. This article reports an analysis of the amount, nature and range of empirical research concerning children’s online experiences across 18 European countries. Research teams in each country have collaborated, as part of the ‘EU Kids Online’ network, to identify, code and compare studies. In all, 235 studies were identified and coded in a publicly accessible data repository. All countries had some available evidence regarding children’s online risky experiences, with strengths mainly in relation to research into access and use; several countries were found to have a richer evidence base encompassing research into online learning, literacy, participation, parental mediation and so forth. Regarding risks, more research focused on potentially harmful content than on risky forms of contact. Key research gaps included research on younger children, into mobile online platforms, and into certain types of online risk. The article concludes by observing the challenges facing researchers in this field, including the time‐sensitivity of research that quickly dates, the difficulty of tailoring research to meet the needs of a demanding policy agenda, the complexity of designing projects that recognise the contextual and contingent factors that mediate children’s online activities, and the ethical considerations that apply when asking children about private, transgressive or upsetting experiences.