Social Capital,Volunteering, and Charitable Giving

This paper explores the impact of social capital—measured by social trust and social networks—on individual charitable giving to religious and secular organizations. Using United States data from the national sample of the 2000 Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey, we find that social trust, bridging social network, and civic engagement increase the amount of giving to both religious and secular causes. In contrast, organizational activism only affects secular giving. Volunteering activity, and human and financial capital indicators positively affect both religious and secular giving. Finally, those who are happy about their lives and those who are religious give more to religious causes, but these factors do not affect secular giving. We find evidence of important differences in the determinants of religious and secular giving, suggesting the need to distinguish these two types of charitable giving in future work.

Prevalence and correlates of self-injury among university students

OBJECTIVE: The authors' purpose in this research was to establish estimates of the prevalence and correlates of nonsuicidal self-injury among university students. PARTICIPANTS: The authors recruited participants (N = 2,843) from a random sample of 5,021 undergraduate and graduate students attending a large midwestern public university. METHODS: Using an Internet-based survey, the authors measured the prevalence of self-injury and potential risk factors, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, and negative health behaviors. RESULTS: Seven percent of students reported any self-injury over the previous 4 weeks. Factors associated with a significantly higher likelihood (p <.05) of self-injury included cigarette smoking, concurrent depressive and anxiety disorders, and for men, growing up in a family of low socioeconomic status and having symptoms of eating disorders. Only 26% of those who reported self-injury received mental health therapy or medication in the previous year. CONCLUSIONS: Students who harm themselves experience high anxiety and distress, yet are unlikely to seek help.     

Behavior change and the freshman 15: tracking physical activity and dietary patterns in 1st-year university women

OBJECTIVE AND PARTICIPANTS: The authors assessed the stability of diet and physical activity and their relationship to weight changes in first-year university women. METHODS: They collected anthropometric and body composition data from 101 resident women at the beginning of their first year of college and again at 12 months. The authors obtained physical activity and dietary logs 4 times throughout the year. RESULTS: Caloric intake decreased over 12 months in all participants (p = .01). There was little change in physical activity in participants who lost weight (p = .73, d = .18). Those who gained weight experienced a trend toward decreased physical activity (p = .13, d = .38). A significant Time X Group interaction on physical activity (p = .04) suggests that physical activity patterns differed substantially between individuals who gained weight and those who lost weight. CONCLUSIONS: Reduction in physical activity appears to be the defining characteristic in freshman weight gain.     

Eating disorders and body image of undergraduate men

Eating disorders and body dissatisfaction among undergraduate men are less documented and researched than are eating disorders and body dissatisfaction among undergraduate women. OBJECTIVE AND PARTICIPANTS: In this study, the authors examined these issues in undergraduate men to identify similarities and differences between this population and undergraduate women. METHODS: In a random sample of undergraduates, the authors categorized respondents by gender and by presence or absence of an eating disorder. The authors compared undergraduate men with an eating disorder with (1) undergraduate women with an eating disorder and (2) undergraduate men without an eating disorder. RESULTS: The patterns of responses suggest that undergraduate men with an eating disorder are preoccupied with body shape and tone but not necessarily with losing weight. CONCLUSIONS: The authors discuss implications for future prevention as well as clinical and research efforts based on male symptoms within the diagnostic category of bulimia nervosa and eating disorder, not otherwise specified.     

KidSpirit magazine: youth in dialogue about life's big questions

The author describes founding KidSpirit magazine and her experiences thus far in engaging a teen editorial board. Of special note are quotations from young people themselves, including one who defines spirituality as "the indescribable feeling of connection with everything ... the unlimited question and the undefined answer: The Journey."     

Stepfamily childbearing in Sweden: quantum and tempo effects, 1950-99

Several studies have demonstrated that stepfamily couples have a higher risk of childbearing than couples in a stable union with the same total number of children. Analysing retrospective data from a nationally representative sample of Swedish adults, we find that the risk of a second or third birth is higher when it is the first or second child in a new union. We also find a faster pace of childbearing after stepfamily formation than after a shared birth. The risk of a second birth (in total) is only a little higher in the first two years after stepfamily formation than in the first two years after a shared birth, and thereafter the risk is lower for stepfamilies. The risk of a third birth (in total) is particularly high early in the stepfamily union and remains higher than that of couples with two shared children for at least five years. The stepfamily difference was lower after than before 1980, when the Swedish government introduced parental leave incentives for short birth intervals.     

Partners’ relationship quality and childbearing

This study examines the influence of partner relationship quality on childbearing. We are innovative in using relationship quality reports from both partners, drawing on the first and second wave of the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study. Thus, we can identify potential effects of discordant perceptions of the relationship on childbearing. We also pose a new hypothesis on the direction of the effect of relationship quality on fertility, predicting that medium levels of relationship quality result in the highest childbearing rates. Our results indicate that only women’s perceptions of relationship quality influence a first birth, whereas women’s and men’s perceptions affect second births. We do not find unique effects of disagreement in assessments of relationship quality; effects of partners’ perceptions are additive. Women reporting medium levels of relationship quality are most likely to have a(nother) child, whereas men with medium and high quality relationships are most likely to have a second child.     

Parameter identifiability in a class of random graph mixture models

We prove identifiability of parameters for a broad class of random graph mixture models. These models are characterized by a partition of the set of graph nodes into latent (unobservable) groups. The connectivities between nodes are independent random variables when conditioned on the groups of the nodes being connected. In the binary random graph case, in which edges are either present or absent, these models are known as stochastic blockmodels and have been widely used in the social sciences and, more recently, in biology. Their generalizations to weighted random graphs, either in parametric or non-parametric form, are also of interest. Despite these many applications, the parameter identifiability issue for such models has only been touched upon in the literature. We give here a thorough investigation of this problem. Our work also has consequences for parameter estimation. In particular, the estimation procedure proposed by Frank and Harary for binary affiliation models is revisited in this article.     

Speeding through the frat house: a qualitative exploration of nonmedical ADHD stimulant use in fraternities

Qualitative methods were used to investigate the use of nonmedical Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) stimulants by fraternity members. The primary goal of the study was to determine students' levels of understanding and motivations for use of these Schedule II controlled substances. Seventy-nine in-depth interviews were conducted. Key findings highlighted how: a) easy it was for subjects to obtain stimulants; b) little health information nonmedical users have about stimulants; c) academic stress created a fertile context for stimulant use; and d) a small number of prescribed users supply the vast majority of nonmedical users with their stimulants. Most nonmedical users claimed to primarily use ADHD stimulants in periods of high academic stress and believed that they not only reduced fatigue, but also increased reading comprehension, interest, cognition, and memory. These qualitative data have supplied a rich and complex understanding behind nonmedical ADHD stimulant use among fraternity members.