"There Must Be a Reason": Osama, Saddam, and Inferred Justification

One of the most curious aspects of the 2004 presidential election was the strength and resilience of the belief among many Americans that Saddam Hussein was linked to the terrorist attacks of September 11. Scholars have suggested that this belief was the result of a campaign of false information and innuendo from the Bush administration. We call this the information environment explanation. Using a technique of "challenge interviews" on a sample of voters who reported believing in a link between Saddam and 9/11, we propose instead a social psychological explanation for the belief in this link. We identify a number of social psychological mechanisms voters use to maintain false beliefs in the face of disconfirming information, and we show that for a subset of voters the main reason to believe in the link was that it made sense of the administration's decision to go to war against Iraq. We call this inferred justification : for these voters, the fact of the war led to a search for a justification for it, which led them to infer the existence of ties between Iraq and 9/11.     

‘It was about claiming space’: exposure to Asian American studies,ethnic organization participation,and the negotiation of self among southeast Asian Americans

Despite the growing number of Asian American Studies (AAS) programs and Asian ethnic organizations across colleges and universities since the 1970s, surprisingly little empirical research examines the role of these aspects of higher education on Asian American identity. How do the roles of AAS curriculum and Asian American student organizations (Asian American activities) influence southeast Asian American college students’ ethnic and panethnic identity formation? Drawing on 50 in-depth interviews of 1.5 and second-generation college-educated Asian Americans, this study finds that the exposure to Asian American activities shapes respondents’ racial and ethnic identity construction. Specifically, the exposure to Asian American activities: (1) evokes an informed assertion of a contextual panethnic identity; (2) serves to trigger an assertion of a hyphenated American identity; and lastly, (3) plays a direct, but differing, instrumental role on identity construction among different Asian American sub-ethnic groups.     

Food Waste and Quality of Life in Elderly Populations Living in Retirement Living Communities

Food waste is an increasingly important issue in all food-service establishments, including retirement living communities. With residents of these communities having faced food insecurity as children and young adults, they have unique and very strong feelings regarding this issue. We interviewed 16 Canadian residents and used manifest content analysis to gain an understanding of how their experiences, behaviors, and feelings toward food waste may impact their quality of life. The results of this study may have implications for how retirement living communities approach their food-service operations.     

Gender Gaps in Educational Attainment in Less Developed Countries

Conventional wisdom holds that gender gaps in schooling favoring males in developing countries generally are large, though probably declining. In this article we re‐examine recent gender gaps in schooling in the developing world and come to a more nuanced characterization of their nature, which suggests that the developing countries are becoming more like the developed countries, with gender gaps that increasingly favor, rather than discriminate against, females. Using data from 38 countries with multiple Demographic and Health Surveys, we examine how the gender gaps in current school enrollment and grade completion emerge across the educational life course from age 6 to 18. We also examine how these age‐specific measures have changed over time, comparing the periods 1990–99 and 2000–06. Our analyses indicate that among children who have ever attended school, girls younger than 16 years of age have equal or greater schooling progress than boys of the same age in all regions of the developing world.     

Role of Marital Quality in Explaining Depressive Symptoms After Marital Termination Among Older Adults

This study assesses whether prior marital quality moderates the impact of divorce or widowhood on subsequent depression. Poor marital quality may buffer depression associated with divorce/widowhood; conversely, the effect of divorce/widowhood on depression could be exacerbated by previous marital quality. Three waves from the National Survey of Families and Households based on respondents, ages 50 and older, (N?=?2,570) included eight marital quality measures. We find limited evidence suggesting higher marital quality elevates, while lower marital quality decreases, depression after divorce. No moderating effects were found for widowhood. Additionally, health condition is more important than current marital status for elders’ well-being after divorce or widowhood. Heterogeneity in the context of the marriage before divorce should be considered when examining marital termination effects on elders’ depression.     

Does the General Strain Theory Explain Gambling and Substance Use?

General Strain Theory (GST: Agnew Criminology 30:47–87, 1992) posits that deviant behaviour results from adaptation to strain and the consequent negative emotions. Empirical research on GST has mainly focused on aggressive behaviours, while only few research studies have considered alternative manifestations of deviance, like substance use and gambling. The aim of the present study is to test the ability of GST to explain gambling behaviours and substance use. Also, the role of family in promoting the adoption of gambling and substance use as coping strategies was verified. Data from 266 families with in mean 8 observations for each group were collected. The multilevel nature of the data was verified before appropriate model construction. The clustered nature of gambling data was analysed by a two-level Hierarchical Linear Model while substance use was analysed by Multivariate Linear Model. Results confirmed the effect of strain on gambling and substance use while the positive effect of depressive emotions on these behaviours was not supported. Also, the impact of family on the individual tendency to engage in addictive behaviours was confirmed only for gambling.     

Who runs away from home and why? How families,schools, and bullying influence youth runaways

While prior research establishes that youth who experience family problems are more likely to leave home before reaching adulthood, we know less regarding how peer victimization in the form of bullying may influence youths' likelihood of becoming runaways. Youth often run away from home to escape family conflict or abusive home environments. Mental illness, behavioral problems, and delinquent peers are also powerful forces predicting the likelihood of running away from home. Additionally, recent literature suggests that negative experiences at school may increase youths' decisions to leave home prematurely. In this article, I review literature that addresses who runs away from home, including variations by age, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, family structure, mental health, problem behaviors, and peer networks. I also suggest directions for future research, including an approach that considers how families and schools individually and collectively affect youths' likelihood of running away from home. Finally, I recommend a focus on bully victimization to better understand how victimization outside of the family affects the likelihood that youth will become runaways.     

Using technology to engage and educate youth

Given that information age technologies are as natural to the Net generation as breathing, it is time to provide learning experiences that maximize their use in schools. The authors argue that integrating technology into learning is central to creating the meaningful learning opportunities needed to engage and motivate youth today. To achieve this potential, however, technology must support a new paradigm of teaching and learning. This chapter discusses common elements and challenges to implementing pioneering high school reform models that promote one-to-one student-computer ratios, collaborative learning environments, problem- and project-based instruction, and interdisciplinary teaching.