The Educational Homogamy Gap Between Married and Cohabiting Couples in Latin America

The explosive expansion of non-marital cohabitation in Latin America since the 1970s has led to the narrowing of the gap in educational homogamy between married and cohabiting couples (what we call “homogamy gap”) as shown by our analysis of 29 census samples encompassing eight countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, and Panama (N = 2,295,160 young couples). Most research on the homogamy gap is limited to a single decade and a small group of developed countries (the United States, Canada, and Europe). We take a historical and cross-national perspective and expand the research to a range of developing countries, where since early colonial times, traditional forms of cohabitation among the poor, uneducated sectors of society have coexisted with marriage, although to widely varying degrees from country to country. In recent decades, cohabitation is emerging in all sectors of society. We find that among married couples, educational homogamy continues to be higher than for those who cohabit, but in recent decades, the difference has narrowed substantially in all countries. We argue that assortative mating between cohabiting and married couples tends to be similar when the contexts in which they are formed are also increasingly similar.     

Popular politics in composite monarchies: Barcelona artisans and the campaign for a papal bull against hoarding (1580–5)

During the 1580s, Barcelona master artisans participated in a campaign to secure a papal declaration against hoarding, believing this would bring down the excessively high prices of wheat and other goods in the city. However, only the king could request the papal decree, and opponents of the proposal among Catalonia's clergy and nobility tried to convince Philip II of Spain not to do so. The events surrounding the master artisans' campaign offer an exceptional look at the interaction between popular politics and the relations between central government and local elites in a composite monarchy. Divisions within the Catalan elite, as well as the monarchy's desire to foster close ties between ruler and subjects throughout its territories, offered ordinary people such as Barcelona artisans the possibility to become political actors.     

Estimating Traffic Emissions Using Demographic and Socio-Economic Variables in 18 Chilean Urban Areas

A macro-scale methodology for vehicle emissions estimation is described. The methodology is based on both correlations between activity level and PM, CO, THC and NO _x vehicle emissions and relationships between demographic and socio-economic variables and transportation activity level. First, pollutant emissions were correlated with transportation activity, expressed as vehicle-km/year, using existing data collected from mobile sources emission inventories in nine urban cities of Chile. Second, demographic and socio-economic variables were pre-selected from those that could intuitively be correlated with vehicle activity level and considering the data availability. Using the individual R ² correlation coefficient as variable selection criterion, population, the number of vehicles, fuel consumption, gross domestic product, average family incomes and road kilometers were finally chosen. A different set of explicative variables was considered for different vehicle categories, based on the selection criterion above mentioned. Then, correlation functions between these variables and transport activity were obtained by non-linear Gauss–Newton least square method. This methodology was applied to eighteen provinces of the country obtaining total annual emission for mobile sources, divided into six main vehicles categories.     

Preliminary Evaluation of the Validity and Reliability of the Spanish Version of the Therapeutic Alliance with Clinician (TAC) Questionnaire

As part of a broader study aimed at evaluating perceived alliance with service providers and level of satisfaction with services received, 103 monolingual Spanish speaking Hispanic women were interviewed. Participants were receiving ongoing behavioral health treatment at three different community service provider sites located in the greater New Haven area in Connecticut. These sites included a community health center (n = 40), a community behavioral health center (n = 40), and a faith-based agency (n = 23). As part of this study, the English version of the Therapeutic Alliance with Clinician (TAC) questionnaire was translated into Spanish and administered to our sample of Hispanic women. Results on the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the TAC are presented in this article.     

Not in the Same Mental Drawer: Internalized Sexual Stigma,Dissociation, and the Role of Religion in a Sample of Italian Gay Men

ABSTRACT

Several studies have highlighted the relationship between internalized sexual stigma (ISS) and dissociation. The aim of the present study was to empirically investigate this relationship through a quantitative study. The Measure of Internalized Sexual Stigma for Lesbians and Gay Men (MISS-LG) and the Dissociation Scale (DIS) of the Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI) were administered to 120 Caucasian participants who self-identified as gay men. Findings suggested that dissociative symptomatology, as measured by DIS—an estimation of the use of dissociation as a defense mechanism—was positively associated with MISS general index and all dimensions of MISS, especially the sexuality dimension (ISS-S). Moreover, the effect of the ISS-S on DIS was amplified in Catholic participants, suggesting a moderating role of religiosity. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.     

Differential Item Functioning of Pathological Gambling Criteria: An Examination of Gender, Race/Ethnicity, and Age

This study tested for the presence of differential item functioning (DIF) in DSM-IV Pathological Gambling Disorder (PGD) criteria based on gender, race/ethnicity and age. Using a nationally representative sample of adults from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), indicating current gambling (n = 10,899), Multiple Indicator-Multiple Cause (MIMIC) models tested for DIF, controlling for income, education, and marital status. Compared to the reference groups (i.e., Male, Caucasian, and ages 25–59 years), women (OR = 0.62; P < .001) and Asian Americans (OR = 0.33; P < .001) were less likely to endorse preoccupation (Criterion 1). Women were more likely to endorse gambling to escape (Criterion 5) (OR = 2.22; P < .001) but young adults (OR = 0.62; P < .05) were less likely to endorse it. African Americans (OR = 2.50; P < .001) and Hispanics were more likely to endorse trying to cut back (Criterion 3) (OR = 2.01; P < .01). African Americans were more likely to endorse the suffering losses (OR = 2.27; P < .01) criterion. Young adults were more likely to endorse chasing losses (Criterion 9) (OR = 1.81; P < .01) while older adults were less likely to endorse this criterion (OR = 0.76; P < .05). Further research is needed to identify factors contributing to DIF, address criteria level bias, and examine differential test functioning.     

An investigation of the attention effects of venture capitalist backing on entrepreneurial firms

In this paper, we predict that venture capital (VC) backed initial public offerings (IPOs) will attract more attention than non-VC-backed IPOs, as VCs offer important signals to investors searching for information about entrepreneurial firms. We use a measure developed by Google (i.e., Trends) to capture the spikes in investors' attention experienced by firms in the time period surrounding their IPOs. Our results demonstrate that firms backed by VCs enjoy a far greater spike in attention than their counterparts. Furthermore, we find that firms with more prominent VCs, a larger number of VCs, and VCs situated at farther geographic distances exhibit significantly greater spikes in investors’ attention during the week of their IPO. Combined, the findings show a clear demarcation between entrepreneurial firms with or without VC backing, they bring to the fore new upshots stemming from the relationship between VCs and entrepreneurial firms, and they raise new potential questions on this relationship and beyond.     

Mapping the Field of Donation-Based Crowdfunding for Charitable Causes: Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - This study compiles the main findings in the field of academic research on pure donation-based crowdfunding (DCF)...     

Families in the Middle and Later Years: A Review and Critique of Research in the 1990s

Research on families in the middle and later years came into its own during the 1990s, documenting the complexity, malleability, and variety of older family connections. We examined 908 articles on family gerontology topics, observing 4 trends: Conceptually, an appreciation for pluralism and resilience as individuals and families age is apparent. Theoretically, life course, feminist, socioemotional selectivity, and family solidarity theories are increasingly applied to intergenerational family relations. Methodologically, new interest in qualitative methods for studying diverse groups has improved the depth with which aging studies can account for variability in old age; new quantitative methodologies have allowed greater sophistication in dealing with longitudinal data. Substantively, there is greater understanding of family caregiving, social support, parent‐child relationships, marital transitions, and grandparenting relationships. The field is poised to take even greater risks in fulfilling the promise of studying linked lives over time.