Body time and social time: Mood patterns by menstrual cycle phase and day of the week

Multiple regression analysis traces the effects of two time dimensions (body time as indexed by the female menstrual cycle, and social time as indexed by the calendar week) upon moods, in a prospective study of daily moods over a 40-day period. Positive moods peaked in the ovulatory phase and on weekends, while negative moods peaked in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. An individual difference analysis showed that women whose moods are responsive to the menstrual cycle are physically active, socially assertive, sexually orgasmic women for whom the maternal role is important.     

Conducting research on violence in Asian American communities: methodological issues

Conducting culturally competent research is a challenge as the United States becomes increasingly multicultural. When conducting research on violence in Asian American communities, researchers need to consider how culture, race, and ethnicity influence definitions of concepts, and methodological issues such as research designs, sampling, developing and translating instruments, ethical issues, recruiting research participants, supervising and training interviewers, and disseminating findings. Examples from the authors' research studies on community violence in the Khmer community, domestic violence in the Chinese American community, and dating violence in Asian American groups are extrapolated to highlight various themes. A commitment to a research program that collaborates with the community under study and cultural experts is vital at every stage of the research process.     

Analyzing Cohort Mortality Data

Several methods for analyzing data from mortality studies of occupationally or environmentally exposed cohorts are shown to be special cases of a single procedure. The procedure assumes a proportional hazards model for exposure effects and represents the log-likelihood kernel for the data as that of N independent Poisson variates, where N is the total number of person-units of mortality observation time in the study. It formalizes and justifies the epidemiological techniques of classifying deaths and person-months of study time into categories defined by exposure and other covariates, and of computing standardized mortality ratios and indirectly standardized death rates. Parameters representing exposure effects can be estimated by using standard software packages. Special cases and applications are described in the context of lung cancer mortality among U.S. uranium miners.     

Response to Fugard and Hines

ABSTRACT

This article replies to the responses to my article on “Sex and the Census: Why surveys should not conflate sex and gender identity“. Fugard conflates sex itself with the characteristics associated with sex, such as finger length ratios, leading to the erroneous implication that binary sex is not a useful explanatory variable. Hines fundamentally misrepresents my article, claiming that I have argued against asking respondents to the 2021 Census about their gender identity. In fact I make clear that information on gender identity is useful, but cannot replace data on sex. Muddling gender identity and sex will lead to the collection of inaccurate data on both. Hines resorts to a series of ad hominem attacks rather than engaging with the substance of the argument. Neither Fugard nor Hines is able to give a reason why we should not seek to collect accurate data on sex in the census or elsewhere.     

An agenda for future research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience

Young people who are currently or were previously in state care have consistently been found to have much higher rates of mental health and neurodevelopmental difficulties than the general youth population. While a number of high-quality reviews highlight what research has been undertaken in relation to the mental health of young people with care experience and the gaps in our knowledge and understanding, there is, until now, no consensus, so far as we aware, as to where our collective research efforts should be directed with this important group. Through a series of UK wide workshops, we undertook a consultative process to identify an agreed research agenda between those with lived experience of being in care (n = 15), practitioners, policy makers and researchers (n = 59), for future research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience, including those who are neurodiverse/have a neurodevelopmental difficulty. This consensus statement identified 21 foci within four broad categories: how we conceptualize mental health; under-studied populations; under-studied topics; and underused methodologies. We hope that those who commission, fund and undertake research will engage in this discussion about the future agenda for research regarding the mental health of young people with care experience.     

Sex Differences in Parenting Behaviors in Single‐Mother and Single‐Father Households

Research on family structure has led some to claim that sex‐based parenting differences exist. But if such differences exist in single‐parent families, the absence of a second parent rather than specific sex‐typed parenting might explain them. We examine differences in mothering and fathering behavior in single‐parent households, where number of parents is held constant, and we describe individualist and structuralist perspectives for potential sex‐based parenting behaviors. We compare 3,202 single mothers and 307 single fathers in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (Kindergarten Cohort). Results suggest that, although there are small differences in the parenting behaviors of single mothers and single fathers, differences are sensitive to demographic disparities and do not translate to academic deficits for children in either family type.     

Receive or give? Contemporary views among middle-aged and older Chinese adults on filial piety and well-being in Hong Kong

This qualitative study aimed to examine the contemporary interpretation of filial piety by middle-aged and older Chinese adults in Hong Kong, and to explore its relationship with well-being in later life through focus groups. Data analysis revealed that all participants subscribed to the traditional value of filial piety, but had willingly reduced their filial expectations of their younger generation. Importantly, well-being in later life was found to be affected by both the younger generation’s filial commitments and older parents’ continued support of their younger generation so that the latter could lead a better life.