Generational Structure and Social Resources in Mid-Life: Influences on Health and Well-Being

The influence of generational structure on well-being in mid-life is examined in a regional representative sample of 807 adults aged 30–64. Results indicate that those who lack the personal and social resources of education and marriage, and have parents but no children, report higher levels of well-being than those with only child(ren) or both parent(s) and child(ren). Findings suggest that elders may serve as a key resource to adult children who lack personal and social resources in mid-life. Adults increasingly follow less traditional paths in life (e.g., those without children and/or never married), and hence, these findings have implications for current and future policies directed toward aging and family well-being.     

Gender Differences in Determinants of Self-Rated Health Among African American in Omaha Nebraska: A Church-Based Study

Abstract

This study assessed the gender differences in determinants of fair/poor self-rated health among African American churchgoers in Omaha, Nebraska. Using data collected from 353 African American (245 women and 108 men) by the Center for Reducing Health Disparities at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2017, univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to examine the gender differences in the relationships between fair/poor self-rated health and potential health determinants. Overall, 14.3% of women and 17.6% of men reported fair/poor self-rated health. There was a significant association between depression and poor/fair self-rated health among women (p?=?0.044) and men (p?=?0.001). For women, the fully controlled model confirmed the crude association between perceived poor/fair self-rated health and heart disease (OR = 3.10) and education (OR = 2.19). For men, the final model identified significant determinants of perceived fair/poor self-rated health such as depression (OR = 12.51) and diabetes (OR = 3.89). When assessing gender differences in determinants of self-rated health, similarities are higher than differences between the two groups. In both groups, the presence of depression was the strongest determinant of poor health. Future research should assess the immunological aspects of the association between psychological factors and perceived chronic diseases.     

The Relationship Between Maternal Education and Children's Academic Outcomes: A Theoretical Framework

The importance of maternal education for children's academic outcomes is widely recognized, and yet the multiple potential mechanisms that explain this relationship are underexplored. The authors integrate theories of human, cultural, and social capital with 2 developmental psychology theories—bioecological theory and developmental niche theory—to draw attention to how maternal education may influence children's academic outcomes through a range of parenting mechanisms, some of which have been largely neglected in research. This framework provides a more complete picture of how maternal education shapes proximal and distal influences on children's academic outcomes and the ways in which these mechanisms interact and reinforce one another across time and context. The implications of this framework for future family research are then discussed.     

Aging in the Biosocial Order: Repairing Time and Cosmetic Rejuvenation in a Medical Spa Clinic

This article examines the relationship between biosocial meanings of aging and anti‐aging culture, whereby new standards of measuring age derive from nonchronological models of plasticity. The first part explores recent models of functional age, sexual performance, and cognitive health, while the second part outlines the cosmetic rejuvenation practices, discourses, and technologies of medi‐spa clinics that promise to repair the effects of time on the bodies of aging women. Both parts illustrate the sociological significance of the aging body in posttraditional society as the object of increasing public anxieties about the health of aging populations and ethical concerns for extending life.     

Impact of Disability and Other Physical Health Issues on Academic Outcomes Among American Indian and Alaskan Native College Students: An Exploratory Analysis

This study investigated whether self-identified disabilities among American Indian and Alaskan Native college students impact academic performance and persistence to graduation and explored the differences in health and academic grades between American Indian and Alaskan Native students and students of other racial and ethnic identities using the National College Health Assessment. Findings indicate that American Indian or Alaskan Native students have significantly lower grades than White and Asian students, and American Indian and Alaskan Native women report the highest incidence of health problems of any demographic group. Exploratory results point to future research to determine the full impact of disabilities and poor health on academic success.     

基于生态系统的管理如何融入城市环境政策——以西华盛顿为例

全球范围内城市聚落的增长影响着人类对自然资源的管理,从而促使自然科学和社会科学的学者们提倡以基于生态系统的途径来管理人类聚落。尽管过往有不少探讨基于生态系统管理(ecosystem-based management,以下简称EBM)的文献,但在制定环境政策时,却极少有城市和区域规划师将EBM因素考虑在内。本文对西华盛顿州的城市规划师在审视关于环境政策的科研数据时,在多大程度上运用EBM原则进行评估。笔者采用了现成文献中对EBM的定义,采访了42位在西华盛顿工作的环境规划师,询问其在审视有关科研数据时会考虑哪些EBM因素,并对访谈数据进行内容分析。结果显示,规划师们在审视与制定环境政策相关的科学文献时,会考虑监测、机构间合作、生态边界、价值取向乃至适应性管理等因素,但对于尺度、生态完整性和机构改革等因素,则会遇到阻碍或者说不会明确考虑。本文还阐述了为何有些EBM因素得到重视而另一些却被忽略,最后对通过应用EBM原则来改良城市环境政策的制定提出了建议。     

Cheaper by the dozen? The marginal time costs of children in the Philippines

The important relationship between fertility rates and economic development has prompted many researchers to try and better understand the determinants of family size. It has repeatedly been shown that the costs of children, both direct and indirect, are one of the most important determinants of fertility, exerting a significantly negative effect on birth rates in both developed and developing countries. Many studies which investigate the relationship between the costs of children and family size have assumed that these costs do not vary with parity. However, there is substantial evidence that the marginal costs of children are not constant but decrease with birth order in developed countries. In this paper, the hypothesis that there are diminishing marginal time costs of children is tested using household data from the developing country setting of the Philippines. By examining the determinants of additional time spent in childcare before and after the birth of a child, it is found that the marginal time costs are not the same across households of various sizes. Firstborn children cost significantly more in terms of additional mother's time than children of higher birth orders. In addition, the time costs of the second child are found to be significantly greater than those of the third child. However, these economies of scale in childcare are limited and do not extend beyond three children. The effect of birth spacing on the marginal time costs of children is also found to be significant.     

Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease: Issues and Implications for Social Work Practice

Owing to recent medical advancements, people with Down Syndrome (DS) are now able to live considerably longer lives and thus experience a variety of complex issues as they age. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) frequently occurs in older adults who have DS, but few practice guidelines exist to inform social work practice with older adults who have this dual diagnosis. This commentary will highlight the connection between these two conditions within a neurobiological framework and discuss implications for practice based on the available literature on this intersection of ability status, cognitive status, and age.     

Characterizing Emotional Support Development: From Adolescent Best Friendships to Young Adult Romantic Relationships

This study examined development of emotional support competence within close friendships across adolescence. A sample of 184 adolescents (53% girls, 47% boys; 58% White, 29% Black, 14% other identity groups) participated in seven waves of multimethod assessments with their best friends and romantic partners from age 13 to 24. Latent change score models identified coupled predictions over time from emotional support competence to increasing friendship quality and decreasing support received from friends. Friend-rated emotional support competence in adolescence predicted supportiveness in adult romantic relationships, over and above supportiveness in adolescent romantic relationships. Teen friendships may set the stage for developing emotional support capacities that progress across time and relationships into adulthood.     

Inside the ‘efficacy gap’: Migration policy and the dynamics of encounter

In recent years, migration has become an important policy priority within and beyond the European Union. While the discourse that surrounds the contemporary migration policy agenda is one of the technocratic migration management, this overarching narrative conceals an underlying goal of prevention. Preventive efforts are increasingly geared towards stopping migratory movements before they have even begun. The effectiveness of such an approach remains contested and unclear. This article builds on the theoretical work of Czaika and de Haas (Population and Development Review, 2013, 39, 487) to explore the limits of prevention strategies designed to change minds, alter plans and redirect behaviours. It does so by drawing on insights from our own research into migration decision-making, alongside wider literature on individual sense-making, and connecting these to ongoing debates around policy effectiveness. In doing so, we show how the nature of localised encounters between ‘target’ populations and implemented policies can create potential sources of policy failure.