Substance Use Among Rural African American Adolescents: Identifying Risk and Protective Factors

Substance use continues to be a significant problem among youth in our society, particularly in rural communities. The purpose of the current study was to identify the possible risk and protective factors that may be affecting the rates of alcohol and illegal drug use among a population of African American adolescents living in a rural, southern community. The following were identified as possible risk factors: (1) Being an older adolescent (15 years of age or older); (2) Spending afternoons after school with friends; (3) Having friends or family members who use alcohol or illegal drugs; (4) Being raised by non-family members; and (5) Having plans to enter military after high school. The following characteristics were associated with less alcohol and illegal drug use, and were identified as possible protective factors: (1) Being raised by parent(s) or other family members; (2) Spending afternoons after school with parents; (3) Having parents who talk to youth about dangers of drug and alcohol use; (4) Having parents who disapprove of their child using drugs or alcohol; (5) Being involved in extra-curricular church-related activities; and (6) Having plans to work, or attend college or technical school after high school. Characteristics that have been associated with drug and alcohol in previous research that were not associated with use in the current study include: (1) Being male; (2) Peer pressure to use alcohol or illegal drugs; (3) Grades in school; and (4) Involvement in extra-curricular activities. Implications for developing effective community programs aimed at reducing substance use among our youth are discussed.     

Cohort disaggregation analysis of fertility data from a sample survey

Social differentials in cumulative fertility revealed by field surveys in a number of countries typically have been interpreted with the implicit assumption that the timing of childbearing within the reproductive period remains constant. However, the reproductive histories that have been collected in such surveys provide a largely unexploited source of data for the analysis of trends in timing. An analysis by birth cohort of the fertility experience of 592 ever-married women surveyed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1966 shows that significant changes in timing have occurred. Women in the more recent birth cohorts are distinguished by earlier childbearing and sustained higher fertility in consecutive age periods. The inter-cohort differences remain when adjustments are made for duration of time in legal and consensual unions.     

Officer friendly and the tough cop:gays and lesbians navigate homophobia and policing

Despite attempts to expand social diversity, policing is still dominated by a white, masculine, heterosexual ethos. As a consequence, employment of lesbians and gay men as police officers may be especially threatening to members of this occupation. Within the context of potential hostility and homophobia, nontraditional officers must negotiate their contradictory presence on the police force. This paper investigates that negotiation. Using the Bem Sex Role Inventory and open-ended survey data from a sample of "out" and "closeted" gay and lesbian police officers, we ask how gays and lesbians manage their images as "good cops" in the face of gender norm violations associated with their sexual orientation. Our findings indicate that masculinity and femininity do not hold together in a cohesive, dichotomous manner for these officers. Instead, other characteristics that enhance policing are emphasized to support their occupational competence. These officers see themselves as "good cops." The gendered/sexualized character of their self-perceptions appears to matter less than the context of the job, more than for a comparison sample of heterosexual police officers. We conclude that although gay and lesbian officers see their sexuality as an occupational asset, they are also likely to work harder to prove themselves as crime fighters.     

Positives and negatives of online dating according to women 50+

ABSTRACT

To understand the positives and negatives of online dating according to the lived experience of older women, telephone interviews were conducted with 45 women ages 50+ who date online. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically team coded. The opportunity to expand one’s social network for both friendships and romantic partners, the ability to control dating risks and pace of relationship formation, and knowing more about one’s partner were significant reported benefits of online dating. Dating online also includes unique risks, such as pervasive lying, attempted financial exploitation in the form of scammers, and unwanted electronic sexual aggression.     

Facilitators of prenatal care access in rural Appalachia

BackgroundThere are many providers and models of prenatal care, some more effective than others. However, quantitative research alone cannot determine the reasons beneficial models of care improve health outcomes. Perspectives of women receiving care from effective clinics can provide valuable insight.MethodsWe surveyed 29 women receiving care at a rural, Appalachian birth center in the United States with low rates of preterm birth. Semi-structured interviews and demographic questionnaires were analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis of manifest content.FindingsInsurance was the most common facilitator of prenatal access. Beneficial characteristics of the provider and clinic included: personalized care, unrushed visits, varied appointment times, short waits, and choice in the type and location of care.ConclusionThere is a connection between compassionate and personalized care and positive birth outcomes. Women were willing to overcome barriers to access care that met their needs. To facilitate access to prenatal care and decrease health disparities, healthcare planners, and policy makers need to ensure all women can afford to access prenatal care and allow women a choice in their care provider. Clinic administrators should create a welcoming clinic environment with minimal wait time. Unrushed, woman-centered prenatal visits can increase access to and motivation for care and are easily integrated into prenatal care with minimal cost.     

CONCEPTS,THEORY, AND TECHNIQUES

The beta distribution is becoming more widely used in business applications and in economic model-building. A simple way to estimate the parameters of the univariate distribution and the general multivariate distribution would be useful but there appears to be no simple way of accomplishing this task. For example, the method of maximum likelihood does not yield tractable results. The method of moments presented in this paper is a practical way to obtain parameter estimates for the beta distribution. Explicit estimators are derived for the univariate and bivariate case and estimators are then inferred for the n-variate case. Empirical tests suggest that the method of moments may be used to establish useful estimates for these parameters. Also, estimates obtained by the method of moments may be used to develop bounds on the parameters so that computational techniques can be utilized with other estimation methods possessing more desirable properties.