The encounter with family violence and risky sexual activity among young adolescent females

In this article, we analyze the relationship between family violence and risky sexual activity for female adolescents (age 14 to 17). We examine two forms of family violence: experience (receiving physical abuse from a parent or parent-figure) and exposure (witnessing interparental physical violence). We hypothesize that either form of violence will predict greater odds of engaging in risky sexual behavior. We define risky sexual activity as any of the following: having multiple partners within the last 12 months or having sex with partners who are themselves engaging in risky behavior (e.g., having multiple partners of either sex, injecting unprescribed drugs, sharing unprescribed needles for injecting drugs). We analyzed data from 710 respondents taken from the National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle V, living with at least one biological parent. Results showed that experiencing violence from a parent greatly increased the likelihood of risky sex, even when controlling for the experience of forced sex, age, mother's age at first birth, race, socioeconomic status, and religiosity. Female adolescents who had experienced forced sex, those who were older (especially 17-year-olds), non-Hispanic Blacks (but not Hispanics), those living in a family with low educational attainment (less than a high school diploma), and those for whom religion was not or only somewhat personally important were more likely to report risky sex compared to others. These effects were not modified by whether the respondents lived in single- or two-parent families. An interaction between the two forms of physical violence suggests that either form is sufficient to increase significantly the odds of risky sex; an analysis in which respondents were differentiated by their experience of either form of violence showed a strong effect of experience on risky sex, net of the control variables.     

Conflict of Interest Mitigation Procedures May Have Little Influence on the Perceived Procedural Fairness of Risk‐Related Research

Two between‐subject experiments explored perceived conflict of interest (COI)—operationalized as perceived procedural unfairness—in a hypothetical public–private research partnership to study the health risks of trans fats. Perceived fairness was measured as subjects’ perceptions that health researchers would be willing to listen to a range of voices and minimize bias (i.e., COI) in the context of a research project. Experiment 1 (n = 1,263) randomly assigned research subjects to a partnership that included (1) a combination of an industry partner, a university partner, and a nongovernmental organization (NGO) partner; and (2) one of three processes aimed at mitigating the potential for COI to harm the quality of the research. The procedures included an arm's‐length process meant to keep the university‐based research team from being influenced by the other partners, an independent advisory board to oversee the project, and a commitment to making all data and analyses openly available. The results suggest that having an industry partner has substantial negative effects on perceived fairness and that the benefit of employing a single COI‐mitigation process may be relatively small. Experiment 2 (n = 1,076) assessed a partnership of (1) a university and either an NGO or industry partner and (b) zero, one, two, or three of the three COI‐mitigation procedures. Results suggest there is little value in combining COI‐mitigation procedures. The study has implications for those who aim to foster confidence in scientific findings for which the underlying research may benefit from industry funding.     

An asset-building agenda for the twenty-first century: giving families something to live for

Though studies have clearly illustrated that education is one of the primary paths to upward mobility, a growing body of research is beginning to show that the returns on education are determined more by initial wealth than innate ability and exerted effort in school. This accounting directly contradicts Americans’ understanding of the promise of the American Dream: a level playing field and a path towards a more prosperous future. Currently, this contradiction goes largely unchecked by researchers because of their reluctance to engage in a discussion about values. As a result, the mere discussion of wealth transfer, a policy about thriving, is seen as taboo, and we are left with conversations about how to provide the poor with enough merely to survive. However, in this paper, the conversation about wealth transfer is revived and articulated as an American idea consistent with American values. It goes on to offer Children’s Savings Accounts, in combination with a substantial progressive wealth transfer into these accounts, as a means of leveling the playing field and restoring education as an equalizer in society.     

The revolutionary and the Marginal-Positivist: Does the social indicators movement open up new possibilities for a dialogue?

A deep schism exists within the social sciences between the ‘Marginal-Positivist’, who feels meaningful change can be made through marginal steps in our social systems, and the ‘Revolutionary’, who feels fundamental alterations are needed before our systems will work for the betterment of mankind. This essay asks whether social indicators are compatible with the methodologies of each group, and if so, whether they offer a new possibility for a fruitful dialogue.     

The role of savings and wealth in reducing ‘wilt’ between expectations and college attendance

‘Wilt’ occurs when a young person in high school expects to attend college but does not do so shortly after graduating. In this study we find that youth with no savings account in their own name are more likely to experience wilt than any other group examined. In multivariate analysis, young people who expect to graduate from a four-year college and have an account are approximately six times more likely to attend college than those with no account. Teens who expect to graduate from a four-year college and have designated a portion of their savings for college are approximately three times more likely to attend college than those with no account. Additionally, when savings are taken into account, academic achievement is no longer a significant predictor of college attendance. Policy implications are discussed.     

The role of assets in improving college attainment among Hispanic immigrant youth in the U.S.

Despite the importance of higher education, Hispanic immigrant youth still have far lower college attainment rate than whites in the U.S. Existing studies show the significant role of household assets on educational attainment even after controlling for income. Thus, this study examines the role of homeownership and school savings on Hispanic immigrant youth's college attendance and graduation. Findings show that homeownership is a significant positive predictor of Hispanic immigrant youth's college attendance and graduation, but parent school savings is not a significant predictor. Policy and practice implications discussed.     

Modeling compliance to environmental regulation: Evidence from manufacturing industries

We examine the demand for pollution control equipment from 1973 to 1991 by those U.S. manufacturing industries that are highly sensitive to environmental regulation. We also consider the political determinants of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforcement budget. Because, as we demonstrate, the EPA enforcement budget is an important determinant of the industries' investment in pollution control equipment, we are able to establish a relationship between political factors and economic decision making on the part of the industries. Thus, our analysis demonstrates that the demand for pollution control equipment is sensitive to both economic and political factors.     

The Performance of Desire: Gender and Sexual Negotiation in Long-Term Marriages

We integrate theoretical traditions on the social construction of gender, heterosexuality, and marriage with research and theory on emotion work to guide a qualitative investigation of how married people understand and experience sex in marriage. Results, based on 62 in-depth interviews, indicate that married men and women tend to believe that sex is integral to a good marriage and that men are more sexual than women. Moreover, husbands and wives commonly experience conflict around sex and undertake emotion work to manage their own and their spouse's feelings about sex. We refer to this emotion work as "performing desire" and show how it is linked to gendered experiences in marriage and to competing cultural discourses around gender, heterosexuality, and marriage.     

What Factors Influence Marital Satisfaction? Differences Between First and Second Marriages

This study examined differences in marital satisfaction between first and second marriages and how additional factors can help explain satisfaction differences between the marriage types. Participants in first marriages reported higher levels of satisfaction than remarried individuals. Regression analyses demonstrated marriage type to be a moderator of satisfaction in second marriages; as education increased, satisfaction also increased. Length of marriage was found to significantly influence satisfaction in first marriages, but not second marriages. In both first and second marriages, participants currently in counseling reported lower satisfaction scores. The need to understand remarriages' distinct characteristics apart from first marriages is discussed.