“Ghosts of Sociologies Past:” Settlement Sociology in the Progressive Era at the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy

This embedded case study of the Chicago School of Civics and Philanthropy (CSCP) illustrates the development of disciplinary boundaries during a transitional period of professionalization in the social sciences, particularly for the fields of sociology and social work. Drawing on archival data (e.g., reports, scholarly and autobiographical writings, and correspondence) we first document sociological contributions of the community-based school, one of many progressive projects among social settlements and social gospelers of the day. Then using the lens of an intergenerational struggle reflective of the historical social movements of the period, we analyze the circumstances surrounding the 1920 merger of the CSCP with the University of Chicago. Succeeding their early social settlement mentors, Graham Taylor of the Chicago Commons and Jane Addams and Julia Lathrop of Hull House, a second generation of social reformer protégés became a formidable force in this disciplinary differentiation. This case can be read as a micro-level illustration of a much larger macro-level political contest as professional social scientists vied for control of the definition of social science and its applied mission. The "ghosts of sociologies past" still haunt the discipline today offering important lessons for sustaining a science that joins theory with action to solve social problems.     

Trapped bodies,moving minds: Uncertainty and migration among marginalised urban youth in Ethiopia

This paper from YOUR World Research highlights and explores the role of positive uncertainty in lives, strategies and transitions towards adulthood of marginalised children and youth in two urban locations in Ethiopia. Young men and women embraced notions of positive uncertainty, making journeys to street situations and internationally in search of more hopeful futures. While youth navigate uncertainty positively in the short term, the research suggests this is temporal and their agency relational and embedded. They seek support from peers but still want to belong and be accepted by their families and communities.     

Spatial Analyses of the Impact of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families on Child Neglect Caseloads During the Great Recession

Loss of market income to families is recognized as a major risk factor of child neglect. In the 2008 recession, some poor families replaced their market incomes with cash assistance from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Using secondary data for 42 contiguous jurisdictions and DC, we examined the relationship between increases in TANF caseloads and changes in substantiated child neglect cases in each of the contiguous jurisdiction’s 2008 recession. Key findings suggest that reductions in child neglect cases in the presence of increasing TANF caseloads were more profound in about half the states than any increases in child neglect cases found in the remainder of the states. Applying Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis tools, local spatial clusters were found in four neighboring states in the Midwest-South corridor suggesting that child neglect increases were similar and substantial across these four states. Our findings provide important information to stakeholders who may want to better target federal resources to specific geographic regions. Neighboring states experiencing large increases in child neglect during economic downturns may extend their collaborative efforts so they can develop strategies for improving services. Future research should explain the growth in child neglect with other variables aside from TANF caseloads.     

Long-Term Changes in Attitudes Toward Premarital Sex in the United States: Reexamining the Role of Cohort Replacement

Attitudes toward premarital sex in the United States have changed considerably since the 1970s. However, it is unclear whether these changes are due to cohort replacement, broader changes within cohorts, or a combination of the two processes. We examined within- and between-cohort changes in attitudes toward premarital sex in the United States from 1975 to 2008 using hierarchical age-period-cohort models based on data from the General Social Survey. We used a religious plausibility structure framework to examine several possible mechanisms for within- and between-cohort variation in premarital sex attitudes over time, including changes in religious participation, marital patterns, and family structure. The results provided mixed support for our hypotheses. Attitudes toward premarital sex became more permissive over time in the United States in part because of the process of cohort replacement, but the level of permissiveness peaked with the baby boomer cohorts. This cohort effect is due in part to differences in rates of religious service attendance and educational attainment. However, the overall increase in permissive attitudes toward premarital sex is also due to period effects that are not captured by the measures included in our analyses.     

Citizenship Status and TANF Exits: A Proportional Hazard Model

ABSTRACT

This study compared exits between citizen and noncitizen heads of household from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. With longitudinal monthly administrative data and a Cox proportional hazard model, the study examined how the economy and recipients’ personal characteristics affected their exits. The sample consisted of 28,308 families headed by citizens and 2,547 families headed by a noncitizen on TANF. Key findings reveal that families on TANF exit the rolls primarily during the first 8 months after entrance. Results showed that families headed by a noncitizen remain on TANF longer than families headed by a citizen. The roles of minimum wage and unemployment in shaping the risk of exit for noncitizen compared to citizen families were explored. Suggestions for further research and how to serve recipients best in times of economic downturns are provided. Similar research needs to be conducted in states where temporary TANF time limits do not exist.     

Classification of Gamblers According to the NODS and a Clinical Interview1

Since the social and personal implications of excessive gambling are important, it becomes necessary to assess the extent of the problem within the population. Accordingly, the use of an instrument that evaluates gamblers accurately is essential. This study, carried out with 200 adults, investigates the potential differences in classification of gamblers when using the NORC DSM-IV Screen for gambling problems (NODS) versus a clinical interview. The results show that 50 of the 200 participants were not categorised in the same way with the NODS as with the clinical interview; 47 participants were identified as having a more severe gambling problem according to the NODS than with the clinical interview, providing a 23.5% difference in the concordance rate. This result is discussed in terms of measurement problems in assessing gambling behaviours.     

The Impact of 9/11 on the Noncitizen Welfare Caseload: A Time-Series Analysis

ABSTRACT

The tragedy of 9/11 had more far-reaching social and economic consequences for the nation than those found for many individuals on that day. Between October 2001 and May 2002, Nevada witnessed a 25% increase in the total number of households on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, commonly referred to as welfare. During the same time, households headed by a noncitizen increased their participation in the TANF program by 40%. This study examines the differential impact of 9/11, as well as of the economy and other external developments, on noncitizen and citizen welfare caseloads in a single state. Two monthly time series models are specified that explain and compare trends in the noncitizen and citizen welfare caseloads from April 1998 to June 2002. The findings suggest that, all else constant, 9/11 had a differential impact on the noncitizen and the citizen caseloads. All else constant, 9/11 events increased the noncitizen welfare caseload whereas a similar impact for the citizen caseload was not found. The findings also strongly suggest that the business cycle shapes noncitizens' participation in public assistance programs more closely than citizens' participation. Future research should investigate the extent to which 9/11 affected the behaviors of families on welfare over the long run.     

Effectively Maintaining Inequality in Toronto: Predicting Student Destinations in Ontario Universities

L'accès aux universités prestigieuses, les mieux classées et dotées de ressources, quoique peu étudié, représente une dimension additionnelle des inégalités en éducation au Canada. La théorie de l'inégalité maintenue efficacement (IME) soutient que les groupes favorisés vont dominer l'accès aux institutions les mieux classées peu importe le palier scolaire. Cet article teste cette hypothèse en utilisant les données uniques de milliers d’élèves du Conseil Scolaire Public de Toronto (TDSB) qui ont été suivis à partir de la neuvième année jusqu’à leur entrée dans un établissement postsecondaire. Ces données ont ensuite été associées aux données de classement des universités, de leur revenu, de leurs dépenses et de leurs fonds de dotation. Une série de modèles statistiques à niveaux multiples indique que l'entrée dans la hiérarchie universitaire ontarienne tend à refléter les inégalités dans l'accès général aux universités. Les femmes, les étudiants d'origine asiatique, et les étudiants issus des quartiers ayant des statuts socio‐économiques élevés sont plus susceptibles d'entrer dans les universités les mieux classées et dotées de ressources; tandis que les étudiants qui s'identifient comme Noirs et hommes, sont moins susceptibles d'entrer dans ces institutions. Les avantages du statut socio‐économique élevé et de l'origine asiatique sont seulement partiellement expliqués par les variables académiques comme variables médiatrices. Ceci suggère que le statut culturel joue un rôle dans l’élaboration du choix universitaire, alors que le sexe ainsi que les autres inégalités raciales sont dus en grande partie aux processus du parcours académique. Access to highly ranked, prestigious, and well‐resourced universities represents an additional yet understudied dimension of educational inequality in Canada. The theory of effectively maintained inequality contends that advantaged groups will dominate access to the best‐positioned institutions within any credential tier. This paper tests this hypothesis using unique data on thousands of Toronto District School Board students that were tracked from Grade 9 to their entry in Ontario postsecondary institutions, and then linked to data on university rankings, incomes, expenditures, and endowments. A series of multilevel models shows that entry into Ontario's university hierarchy tends to mirror inequalities in general access to universities. Female, Asian‐origin, and students from higher socioeconomic neighborhoods are more likely to enter higher ranked and better resourced institutions, while students who self‐identify as black and male are less likely to enter such institutions. High socioeconomic status and Asian‐origin advantages are mediated only partly by academic variables, suggesting that status cultures play a role in shaping their university choices, while gender and other racial inequalities emerge largely through academic processes.     

Hong Kong Parents’ Perceptions and Experiences of Involvement in Homework: A Family Capital and Resource Management Perspective

This qualitative study examines Hong Kong Chinese parents’ perceptions and experiences of involving in their primary school children’s homework process. It draws upon the theoretical frameworks of family capital theory and family resource management perspective to explicate the role of parents in enhancing children’s homework outcomes. Information was collected through individual and focus-group interviews with 52 parents who had at least one child attending primary school. Findings of this study provide a glimpse into the range of homework-involvement strategies used by Chinese parents, and reveal parental goals and cultural values embedded in the generation of family capital. Such understanding on parental involvement is helpful for schools and policy-makers in cultivating parents’ participation in home-based learning processes for children.     

State Policy Choices and Responsiveness of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program During the Great Recession

ABSTRACT

The Great Recession that officially began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009 was the most severe recession since the Depression of the 1930s. To accurately explain the number of families and children receiving cash assistance from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) during the 2007 recession, it is important to capture state-level variations in recessionary periods, economies, and TANF policies. This study breaks ground by using multiple regression to explain the number of families enrolled in the TANF program when the TANF caseload peaked in each of the 51 jurisdictions’ recessions as a function of their severe TANF policies while controlling for benefit levels, unemployment rates, and size of populations. Key findings strongly suggest that all else constant, TANF did not grow as much as it would have in the 2007 recession partially due to shorter lifetime limits (less than 60 months) or temporary time limits, multiple severe policies, or benefit cuts witnessed in some states. This study is important to policy makers and academics concerned with the effect of severe policies on the enrollment of needy families with children in the TANF program. The federal government should encourage states to relax some of their requirements during recessions. Future research should examine the consequences of severe TANF policies on the well-being of families with children during recessions.