The age-varying effects of adolescent stress on impulsivity and sensation seeking

Adolescence is defined in part by heightened exposure and sensitivity to stressors. In a longitudinal cohort of youth at risk for substance use problems, we examined the age-varying relationship between stress exposure and traits that are central to the dual systems model. The positive associations between stress exposure, impulsivity, sensation seeking varied as function of age. Specifically, the influence of stress exposure on impulsivity strengthened during early adolescence and remained stable into early adulthood, while the influence of stress exposure on sensation seeking strengthened from early- to mid-adolescence and weakened thereafter. These findings suggest that the maturational imbalance between the capacity to regulate impulsive tendencies and sensation seeking may be exaggerated for youth who are exposed to a high number of stressors.     

The Low Income Gap: A New Indicator Based on a Minimum Income Standard

Social Indicators Research - A method to measure vulnerability to multidimensional poverty is proposed under a mean–risk behaviour approach. We extend the unidimensional downside...     

Problems of concept and measurement in the comparative study of occupational mobility

This paper argues that, despite a great deal of research on the topic, we have almost no firm knowledge about societal differences in the rates, patterns, and processes of occupational mobility. Insufficient attention has been paid by previous researchers to the problem of standardizing the measurement of occupational status. As a result, the paper demonstrates, existing cross-national comparisons of mobility are virtually invalid. A Standard International Occupational Prestige Scale developed by the author is proposed as a basis for valid cross-national comparison. Properties of the scale are discussed and results achieved with the scale are compared to those based on other occupational scaling procedures.     

Differing Domains of Actual Sibling Conflict Discussions and Associations with Conflict Styles and Relationship Quality

Four types of sibling conflict were identified in actual adolescent sibling discussions: equality and fairness, invasion of the personal domain, intrinsic harm, and relationships. Older [M = 14.97, standard deviation (SD) = 1.69 years] and younger siblings (M = 12.20, SD = 1.90 years) from 144 dyads discussed conflicts during a semi‐structured conflict task. Trained observers coded the topics discussed, and separate observers rated their conflict styles, whereas siblings rated their relationship quality. The proportion of conflicts of each domain differed by dyadic gender composition. Equality and fairness conflicts (and invasion of the personal domain conflicts for sister–sister pairs) were discussed the most frequently whereas intrinsic harm conflicts were associated with destructive conflict styles. Siblings' discussions of conflicts involving intrinsic harm were associated with older siblings' reports of negative relationship quality. The associations between these conflict topics and negative relationship quality were mediated by the siblings discussing the conflicts in destructive ways.     

Sexual orientation of human offspring may be altered by severe maternal stress during pregnancy

To test the hypotheses that maternal stress during pregnancy may alter the sexual orientation of offspring, 285 women with offspring 19 years of age and older provided retrospective accounts of stressful experiences they had, beginning 12 months prior to pregnancy up to the point of giving birth, and indicated how severe they recalled each event being. When weighted according to severity, stressful experiences helped to predict sexual orientation of male offspring. While most of the variance in sexual orientation remained unexplained, the data suggest that the most critical time in gestation for influencing human sexual orientation of male offspring is during the second trimester, although the first and possibly the third trimesters may be of secondary importance. For female offspring, no significant relationships between maternal stress and sexual orientation were found, although mothers of lesbians did report slightly higher average levels of stress throughout gestation than mothers of female heterosexuals.     

Sociology in the high school: Perceptions of those who teach it

The following research note reports two major findings of a more detailed study of the opinions, training, and practices of teachers of high school sociology in Texas. Two major findings of interest to the discipline emerge from the research: (1) high school teachers are only marginally prepared in the field of sociology itself; (2) teachers generally give sociology's reputation as a discipline a favorable rating, while at the same time showing concerns about whether or not they would recommend sociology as a college major. The implications of teacher attitudes and training for the discipline are explored.     

Did the Military Interventions in the Mexican Drug War Increase Violence?

We analyze publicly available data to estimate the causal effects of military interventions on the homicide rates in certain problematic regions in Mexico. We use the Rubin causal model to compare the post-intervention homicide rate in each intervened region to the hypothetical homicide rate for that same year had the military intervention not taken place. Because the effect of a military intervention is not confined to the municipality subject to the intervention, a nonstandard definition of units is necessary to estimate the causal effect of the intervention under the standard no-interference assumption of stable-unit treatment value assumption (SUTVA). Donor pools are created for each missing potential outcome under no intervention, thereby allowing for the estimation of unit-level causal effects. A multiple imputation approach accounts for uncertainty about the missing potential outcomes.