Sibling loss and fertility desires in the high-mortality context of Peru

Despite demographers’ long-standing preoccupation with the effects of child mortality on women’s fertility desires, scholars continue to know little about the consequences of other pervasive mortality exposures. We use nationally representative data from the high-mortality context of Peru to examine whether the desire to have a(nother) child varies as a function of sibling loss and to assess heterogeneity in this association by women’s current number of children and a range of conditions related to siblings’ deaths. Women who have experienced sibling bereavement and have two or more children report higher odds of desiring another child. These effects are not contingent on the age or sex of the deceased sibling but are only significant if the sibling died during the respondent’s lifetime (not before). These findings highlight the theoretical and empirical import of investigating the relationship between fertility desires and a wider range of familial mortality exposures beyond own child mortality.     

Spatial Distribution of Social Inequality in the Metropolitan District of Quito,Ecuador

Social Indicators Research - Exploring the spatial variation of regional social inequality allows the design of public policies; therefore, this study analyzes this phenomenon in the Metropolitan...     

Land fragmentation under rapid urbanization: A cross-site analysis of Southwestern cities

Explosive population growth and increasing demand for rural homes and lifestyles fueled exurbanization and urbanization in the western USA over the past decades. Using National Land Cover Data we analyzed land fragmentation trends from 1992 to 2001 in five southwestern cities associated with Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites. We observed two general fragmentation trends: expansion of the urbanized area leading to fragmentation in the exurban and peri-urban regions and decreased fragmentation associated with infill in the previously developed urban areas. We identified three fragmentation patterns, riparian, polycentric, and monocentric, that reflect the recent western experience with growth and urbanization. From the literature and local expert opinion, we identified five relevant drivers ?C water provisioning, population dynamics, transportation, topography, and institutions ?C that shape land use decision-making and fragmentation in the southwest. In order to assess the relative importance of each driver on urbanization, we linked historical site-specific driver information obtained through literature reviews and archival analyses to the observed fragmentation patterns. Our work highlights the importance of understanding land use decision-making drivers in concert and throughout time, as historic decisions leave legacies on landscapes that continue to affect land form and function, a process often forgotten in a region and era of blinding change.     

Engaging communities to prevent underage drinking

Community-based efforts offer broad potential for achieving population-level reductions in alcohol misuse among youth and young adults. A common feature of successful community strategies is reliance on local coalitions to select and fully implement preventive interventions that have been shown to be effective in changing factors that influence risk of youth engaging in alcohol use, including both proximal influences and structural and/or environmental factors related to alcohol use. Inclusion of a universal, school-based prevention curriculum in the larger community-based effort is associated with the reduction of alcohol use by youth younger than 18 years of age and can help reach large numbers of youth with effective alcohol misuse prevention.     

Maltreatment of children with developmental disabilities: An ecological systems analysis

The purpose of this review is to understand the risk factors for maltreatment of children with developmental disabilities. Using the Bronfrenbrenner's (1976, 1977) ecological systems framework, the authors examine how socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, and special education), micro- (parent-child relationship and domestic violence), exo- (parenting stress, parents' social support, and area of residence), and macrosystems level (culturally defined parenting practices) factors influence or inhibit maltreatment of children with disabilities. The authors highlight major implications for practice and policy for maltreated children with disabilities.     

Understanding and influencing the stigma of mental illness

Life goals and the opportunities that define them are impaired by the stigma of mental illness. Three kinds of stigma may act as barriers to personal aspirations: public stigma, self-stigma, and label avoidance. Challenging mental illness stigm is essential in helping individuals accomplish recovery-related goals. Public stigma may be changed through protest, education, and contact. Self-stigma can be addressed by fostering group identity, changing the perceived legitimacy of stigma through cognitive rehabilitation, and making strategic decisions about disclosing one's mental health history. Stigma change for label avoidance is not as well understood but may include the education and contact approaches used for public stigma. Evidence-based approaches to stigma change need to be substantiated by rigorous investigations.     

A qualitative study of attitudes, beliefs, and practices among 40 undergraduate smokers

OBJECTIVE: Because little is known about college-age smokers, the authors conducted a qualitative study to better understand this population. PARTICIPANTS: Forty college student smokers from 12 Pacific Northwest colleges participated in the study. METHODS: The authors identified themes and built models to ascertain important factors related to smoking and smoking cessation. Four models emerged: smoking facilitators, smoking barriers, cessation facilitators, and cessation barriers. RESULTS: The authors observed physical, psychological, and social influences across models, and social influences were strongly associated with both smoking and cessation. Many smokers were unlikely to define themselves as regular smokers. Most smokers had made prior quit attempts. CONCLUSIONS: College students are a unique category of smoker and colleges can play a role in helping them achieve cessation.     

Study Abroad Ghana: An International Experiential Learning

The global nature of social problems indicates how important it is for social workers to be involved in international issues. For example, overseas experience in social work programs is in consonance with the Council on Social Work Education's emphasis on global context of social work practice. In view of this, some schools of social work are facilitating international experience for their students and faculty. This article discusses the experiences of U.S. students who studied abroad in Ghana in summer 2010, under the University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC). It specifically examines the impact the USAC Ghana program, the people and culture of the host country, intracountry trips/tours, and the social work courses had on the student participants.     

Predictors of Fatigue among Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Activity logs involve patients writing down their activities over 1 or more days. Several studies have found these data collection instruments to accurately describe activities of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). The purpose of this study was to utilize the repeated measures available on the National Institutes of Health Activity Record to evaluate predictors of fatigue at a given time point. A random intercept model was tested with the following variables predicting current fatigue: past fatigue (30 mins. prior), current category of activity (e.g., resting, work, recreation), past category of activity (30 mins. prior), the interaction of past fatigue and past activity, and TH2/TH1 immune shift. These findings and others suggest that activity logs can provide investigators and clinicians with valuable sources of data for understanding patterns of behavior and activity among patients with CFS.     

Food-Related Behaviors of Women in Substance Abuse Recovery: A Photo-Elicitation Study

The aim of this multi-method qualitative study was to explore the eating behaviors and food choices of nine purposively sampled low-income women aged 29 to 40 years who were engaged in a residential substance use disorders recovery program. Findings were limited to photo-elicitation interviews with the women that focused on nutritional choices and issues outside their family context. Consensual data analysis revealed a recovery process that began with cognitive reawakening and an increased focus on and desire for healthier nutrition-related decisions and lifestyle, particularly in the area of weight gain that many of the women experienced.