Variability in measures of health and health behavior among emerging adults 1 year after high school according to college status

Objective: To examine changes in health behaviors among US emerging adults 1 year after high school. Participants: The national sample of participants (N = 1,927), including those attending 4-year college/university (n = 884), 2-year colleges/technical schools (n = 588), and no college (n = 455), participated in annual spring surveys 2013–2014. Methods: Health behaviors were assessed the last year of high school and first year of college; differences by college status controlling for previous-year values were estimated using regression analyses. Results: Relative to 4-year college attendees, those attending technical school/community college were less likely to binge drink (odds ratio [OR] = 0.57, confidence interval [CI] = 0.38–0.86) but more likely to speed (OR = 1.26, CI = 1.0–2.84), consume sodas (OR = 1.57, CI = 1.0–2.47), and report lower family satisfaction (p < .01), with marginally more physical and depressive symptoms. College nonattendees reported more DWI (driving while intoxicated; OR = 1.60, CI = 1.05–2.47), soda drinking (OR = 2.51, CI = 1.76–3.59), oversleeping (OR = 4.78, CI = 3.65–8.63), and less family satisfaction (p < .04). Conclusions: Health risk behaviors among emerging adults varied by college status.     

Academic Undermatch: How General and Specific Cultural Capital Structure Inequality

Recent literature has added another dimension to the well‐documented patterns of social class inequality in education: academic undermatch. Undermatch (which occurs when students attend institutions of lower selectivity than they are academically qualified to attend) is both widespread and unequal, with students from less advantaged families more likely to undermatch. Although proliferating, the research on undermatch has focused primarily on documenting the extent of, and less on exploring the mechanisms underlying, undermatch. Moreover, this literature has developed largely independent of the sociological research on cultural capital. Therefore, when scholars consider underlying mechanisms, they often focus narrowly on college‐specific information, without considering the broader cultural context in which students are embedded. Drawing on the literature on undermatch, as well as the sociological research on cultural capital, I differentiate between general and specific cultural capital. Moreover, instead of simply estimating whether students undermatch or not, I consider different types of undermatch. Results from the Educational Longitudinal Survey reveal that the effects of cultural capital are indeed heterogeneous, both with respect to its relationship to undermatch and its contribution to social class inequality. Findings have important implications for understanding undermatch and the role of cultural capital in reducing and reproducing social inequality.     

Collaborative care for individuals with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia and co-occurring physical health conditions: A systematic review

While rates of chronic physical health conditions are increasing for the general population, individuals with severe mental illness are at greater risk. Co-occurring mental and physical health conditions are associated with poor health care utilization, socioeconomic, and patient-reported health status outcomes. This study used systematic review procedures to investigate the effectiveness of collaborative care models for improving the health of adults with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia and co-occurring chronic physical health conditions. Six studies met inclusion criteria, and included outcomes related to quality of life, physical health, and mental health. Collective and study-level results are reported and discussed, including implications for social work practice and research.     

The asymptotic behaviour of the residual sum of squares in models with multiple break points

ABSTRACT

Models with multiple discrete breaks in parameters are usually estimated via least squares. This paper, first, derives the asymptotic expectation of the residual sum of squares and shows that the number of estimated break points and the number of regression parameters affect the expectation differently. Second, we propose a statistic for testing the joint hypothesis that the breaks occur at specified points in the sample. Our analytical results cover models estimated by the ordinary, nonlinear, and two-stage least squares. An application to U.S. monetary policy rejects the assumption that breaks are associated with changes in the chair of the Fed.     

Ice‐Breaker vs. Standalone: Comparing Alternative Workflow Modes of Mid‐level Care Providers

Capitalizing on the operational concept of division‐of‐labor, clinics often reduce physician service time by off‐loading some of his/her clinical activities to lower‐cost personnel. These personnel, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, are often collectively referred to as “mid‐level providers” (MLPs) and can perform many patient‐consultation tasks. The common rationale is that using an MLP allows the physician to serve more patients, increase patients’ access to care, and, due to MLPs’ lower salaries, improve the clinic's financial performance. An MLP is typically integrated into the outpatient clinic process in one of two modes: as an “ice‐breaker,” seeing each patient before the physician, or as a “standalone” provider, a substitute for the physician for the entirety of some patients’ visits. Despite both of these modes being widely used in practice, we find no research that identifies the circumstances under which either one is preferable. This study examines these two modes’ effects on operational performance, such as patient flow and throughput, as well as on financial measures. Using queueing and bottleneck analysis, discrete‐event simulation, and profit modeling, we compare these two deployment modes and identify the optimal policies for deploying MLPs as either ice‐breakers or as standalone providers. Interestingly, we also find there exists a range of scenarios where not hiring an MLP at all (i.e., the physician works alone) is likely to be most profitable for the clinic. Implications for practice are discussed.     

A life course built for two: Acting,aging, and soap operas

Due to their longevity, daytime soap operas provide a rich entertainment text through which to examine representations of, and experiences of, age and aging. Our exploratory, qualitative project explores how veteran soap actors make sense of their own aging process alongside that of their characters’, and how soaps serve as an unexpected cultural resource for negotiating the varied meanings of aging. Drawing on original interview data with soap actors (n = 11) and other industry experts (n = 4), original survey data with long-term viewers (n = 34), and secondary data as reported in the entertainment and popular presses, we examine actors’ use of fictional narratives to make meaning of their progression through the life course. Our analysis is situated at the intersections of gerontology, media studies, and the sociology of work.     

Women as Farm Landlords: Does Gender Affect Environmental Decision-Making on Leased Land?

The 1988 Agricultural Economics and Land Ownership Survey allows a more thorough analysis of the role of women as farmland owners. Women farmland owners are predominately nonoperators—that is, they rent their land to others. This analysis focuses on whether gender affects landlord participation in the selection of fertilizer and chemicals on leased land. Findings indicate that women landlords are less likely than men to participate in this management decision.     

Talk and travel

Denise Lievesley explains how she came to be in her present post as Director of the Institute for Statistics at UNESCO and describes some aspects of the job which she finds particularly challenging.     

Puerto Rican drug users experiences of physical and sexual abuse: comparisons based on sexual identities

This study integrates the results of quantitative and qualitative methods to elucidate the association between sexual identity and physical and sexual abuse among Puerto Rican drug users. A structured questionnaire was administered to 800 subjects in New York and 399 in Puerto Rico. A total of 93 subjects (7.9%) self-identified as homosexual or bisexual. Gay males were significantly more likely than heterosexual males to report first occurrence of physical abuse by a family member in childhood. Both gay and bisexual males were more likely than their heterosexual counterparts to report first experiencing unwanted sex in childhood and intimate partner physical abuse later in life. Lesbians were more likely than female heterosexuals to report unwanted sex in childhood. Qualitative data were collected through in-depth life histories with 21 subjects and suggest that gay and lesbian subjects perceive antihomosexual prejudice on the part of family members as one cause of childhood physical and sexual abuse.