Antisocial Behavior of Adoptees and Nonadoptees: Prediction from Early History and Adolescent Relationships

This study examined the contribution of demographic characteristics, early maltreatment, and peer and family relationships during adolescence to the prediction of aggressive and nonaggressive antisocial behavior (AASB and NAASB, respectively) during young adulthood; and determined whether adoption status has additional ability to predict ASB, once background, early experience, peer, and family variables were controlled. Data from adolescent and parent interviews were used from Waves 1 (predictors) and 3 (outcomes) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). The sample included 337 adopted and 10,339 nonadopted adolescents whose mean ages were 15.8 at W1 and 21.7 at W3. Although AASB and NAASB were predicted by background characteristics, early maltreatment, peer relations, and family relationships, adoption status had little to no additional predictive power once the other variables were controlled.     

Minimum wages and the wessels effect in a monopsony model

The Wessels model suggests that firms respond to increases in the minimum wage rate by decreasing the level of fringe benefits — an action which produces an inefficiency effect that lowers workers’ utility and the supply of labor. Standard models of monopsony, however, argue that wage floors prevent the exercise of market power and increase employment. I show that wage floors, even with fringe benefit curtailment, may increase employment by lowering the marginal expense of labor. Employee utility and employment will rise somewhat but not as much had the firm acted competitively in setting both wages and fringes.     

Nutrition,food security,and obesity

In “Nutrition, Food Security, and Obesity,” Harold S. Beebout, a senior fellow at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., and chief information officer at the Child and Family Services Agency, District of Columbia, reviews what is known about nutrition, food security, and obesity. He relies on the following data sources: the Continuing Survey of Food Intake for Individuals (CSFII), the CPS, the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES), and state administrative data reported to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Beebout first examines the forces behind the dramatic decline in food stamp rolls, which dropped by 9.1 million (35 percent) between August 1995 and July 2000. He describes how the welfare reform law (PRWORA) restricted eligibility, particularly for able-bodied adults who have no children and who work less than twenty hours per week. He adds that many legal immigrants were disqualified under the legislation as well. But, he notes, these changes explain only about 20 percent of the food stamp decline. Most of the decline occurred among households with children, many of which still appear to be eligible for benefits.     

THE IDENTIFIED PATIENT AND STAGE OF FAMILY DEVELOPMENT

The relationships between child vulnerability to stress, birth order, and stage of family development were assessed. Four stages were identified: Stage I involves 2 parents and their 2 or 3 natural children; Stage II, following divorce, involves mother and her 2 or 3 natural children; Stage III following remarriage, involves mother, stepfather, and mother's 2 or 3 natural children; and Stage IV involves mother, stepfather, mother's 2 or 3 natural children from her first marriage, and the single child from her current marriage. In general, vulnerability of first borns and last borns shifted across stages in a complementary fashion. First borns were most vulnerable in Stage III, least vulnerable in Stage IV, and at intermediate levels in Stages I and II. Last borns were most vulnerable in Stage IV and least vulnerable in Stage HI. The results were interpreted in terms of a linkage between emotional symptoms, gains and losses in privileged positions in the family, and changes in mother-child closeness.     

Effects of goal-striving stress on the mental health of black Americans

Although many scholars have theorized about how responding to the stress of blocked opportunities can affect the well-being of black Americans, few scholars have empirically examined the relationships between striving efforts, personal goals, and mental health among black Americans. This investigation examines the relationship between goal-striving stress and mental health in a national sample of black Americans. Results indicate that goal-striving stress is significantly related to lower levels of happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, and higher levels of psychological distress. We find that poverty status moderates the relationship between goal-striving stress and mental health. Compared to poorer persons, individuals above poverty with high goal-striving stress have significantly lower levels of happiness and life satisfaction. Overall, the findings provide a more complete context for understanding associations among socioeconomic status, goal-striving stress, and adverse mental health outcomes among black Americans.