In sickness and in health: an examination of relationship status and health using data from the Canadian National Public Health Survey

There is an extensive literature suggesting that marriage confers benefits to both men and women in the form of increased earnings, better health and a longer life. Yet, where the focus is on health, most of this work has centered on one or two measures of health outcomes or on certain health behaviors such as smoking or alcohol use and has often failed to include those who cohabit as a separate relationship status. In this paper, we extend the research on the links between health and relationship status in three important ways. First, we consider a wide array of health indicators including self-reported health, chronic conditions, physical limitations, a measure of mental health, body mass index (BMI), and a number of health-related behaviors. Second, we use data from eight waves of the Canadian National Public Health Survey between 1994 and 2008 which allows us to estimate the effect of relationship status on health in a setting in which health insurance is not dependent on marriage. Third, we incorporate cohabitation as a separate relationship status. After controlling for time-invariant factors related to selection into and out of marriage, we find that marriage confers health benefits in the form of improved mental health, and lower levels of alcohol use. Marriage, however, is not without its cost. Similar to studies using U.S. data, marriage results in higher BMI, greater incidence of overweight and obesity and lower probabilities of regular exercise. These benefits and costs accrue to those who marry, and often to cohabiters.     

A Twin Study of Objective and Subjective Pubertal Timing and Peer Influence on Risk‐Taking

This study used a behavioral genetic design to test whether three measures of pubertal timing moderated peer influence on risk‐taking in a sample of 248 female adolescent twin pairs (M_age = 16.0, SD = 1.5) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Peer influence was operationalized as the quasi‐causal association between girls' self‐reported risk‐taking and the risk‐taking reported by their friends. Girls with earlier ages at menarche and who perceived themselves as more developed than peers were more susceptible to peer influence on risk‐taking. However, age‐standardized ratings of body changes did not moderate peer influence. This study highlights distinctions between multiple measures of pubertal timing, using an innovative synthesis of genetically informative data and peer nomination data.     

Cold-related injuries in a cohort of homeless adults

People experiencing homelessness have an increased risk of cold-related injuries. This study determined the rate of emergency department (ED) visits for cold-related injuries among homeless adults and low-income controls in Toronto, Canada. Homeless individuals were recruited at shelters and meal programs. Age- and sex-matched controls living in low-income neighborhoods were selected. ED utilization was ascertained over 4-years of follow-up (2005–9) using administrative databases. A total of 16 ED visits for cold-related injuries were observed among 587 homeless men and 296 homeless women. The rate of ED visits was 6.7 (95% CI, 4.2–12.4) per 1000 person-years of observation among homeless men and 0.9 (95% CI, 0.03–5.6) among homeless women. ED visit rates were significantly higher among homeless men compared to low-income men (P?<?0.001) and significantly higher among homeless men compared to homeless women (P?=?0.03). Targeted public health interventions are needed to reduce the risk of cold-related injuries among people experiencing homelessness.     

Towards a critical realist epistemology?

When critical realists consider epistemology they typically start from “epistemological relativism.” We find this position necessary, but we also find it insufficient because it lacks a critique of the highly unequal social relations among observers themselves—relations that shape the very production of knowledge. While it is indeed the case that all knowledge is fallible, it is also the case that all knowledge is positioned, with a particular standpoint. What is more, the social power relations between standpoints organize the production of truth in ways that produce systematic distortions. In this paper, we propose a critical realist social epistemology. We introduce feminist standpoint theory and postcolonial theory as our suggested interventions into critical realism and we use two case studies of existing work to highlight i) the social production of truth and the real, and ii) what is at stake for radicalizing epistemology in critical realism. In so doing, our paper emphasizes the epistemic complexities that continuously shape ontology, a commitment to subaltern voices or experiences, and a thorough interrogation of the relations between positions of knowledge production.     

Practical small sample inference for single lag subset autoregressive models

We propose a method for saddlepoint approximating the distribution of estimators in single lag subset autoregressive models of order one. By viewing the estimator as the root of an appropriate estimating equation, the approach circumvents the difficulty inherent in more standard methods that require an explicit expression for the estimator to be available. Plots of the densities reveal that the distributions of the Burg and maximum likelihood estimators are nearly identical. We show that one possible reason for this is the fact that Burg enjoys the property of estimation equation optimality among a class of estimators expressible as a ratio of quadratic forms in normal random variables, which includes Yule–Walker and least squares. By inverting a two-sided hypothesis test, we show how small sample confidence intervals for the parameters can be constructed from the saddlepoint approximations. Simulation studies reveal that the resulting intervals generally outperform traditional ones based on asymptotics and have good robustness properties with respect to heavy-tailed and skewed innovations. The applicability of the models is illustrated by analyzing a longitudinal data set in a novel manner.     

Gender and Science in Developing Areas: Has the Internet Reduced Inequality?*

Objective. This article examines the impact of the Internet on the research careers of female scientists in three developing areas: Ghana, Kenya, and Kerala, India. Most empirical studies of gender and science focus on the developed world, yet theoretical accounts emphasize more extreme differences in developing areas. Limited evidence from Africa and Asia shows gender inequity is restricted to a few key dimensions, broadly related to differences in human and social capital. Specifically, women are less likely to acquire an advanced degree and more likely to experience educational and organizational “localism.” Such localism is related to constraints on physical mobility that are widely expected to diminish with the introduction of the Internet. Methods. Using longitudinal data on 1,147 scientists in Ghana, Kenya, and south India, we examine gender differences in human and social capital by conducting a series of t tests and chi‐square tests. Results. We show that higher education and Internet access increased dramatically, but localism has not been reduced significantly and may be increasing. Conclusions. This finding casts doubt on the presumption that the removal of communication constraints will soon reduce career differentials resulting from the mobility constraints on women professionals.     

Analytic expressions for maximum likelihood estimators in a nonparametric model of tumor incidence and death

This research focuses on the estimation of tumor incidence rates from long-term animal studies which incorporate interim sacrifices. A nonparametric stochastic model is described with transition rates between states corresponding to the tumor incidence rate, the overall death rate, and the death rate for tumor-free animals. Exact analytic solutions for the maximum likelihood estimators of the hazard rates are presented, and their application to data from a long-term animal study is illustrated by an example. Unlike many common methods for estimation and comparison of tumor incidence rates among treatment groups, the estimators derived in this paper require no assumptions regarding tumor lethality or treatment lethality. The small sample operating characteristics of these estimators are evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation studies.     

Leisure-time physical activity and health-care utilization in older adults

This study examined whether leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) was associated with health-care utilization in a racially diverse sample of rural and urban older adults. Community-dwelling adults (N = 1,000, 75.32 +/- 6.72 years old) self-reported participating in LTPA and their use of the health-care system (physician visits, number and length of hospitalizations, and emergency-room visits). After controlling for variables associated with health and health-care utilization, older adults who reported lower levels of LTPA also reported a greater number of nights in the hospital in the preceding year. There was no support, however, for a relationship between LTPA and the other indicators of health-care utilization. Our findings suggest that being physically active might translate to a quicker recovery for older adults who are hospitalized. Being physically active might not only have health benefits for older persons but also lead to lower health-care costs.