Getting Unstuck: Interdisciplinarity and Aging

Continuing the dialog initiated by Scheff in the March issue of Sociological Forum, we reflect on some of the challenges involved in interdisciplinary research.     

“Do They Think I Am a Pack Rat?”

This case study presents details of the life of one older man who lived in seclusion and squalor, surrounded by hoarded possessions. This man was one participant of a focused ethnography of eight older adults who received home care. All participants in the original ethnography were identified by their community care coordinators as exhibiting hoarding behaviors. The case study presented here provides rich narrative and photographic detail in order to add strength to what has already been presented in previous research articles about compulsive acquisition. The narratives reveal examples of debilitating dysfunction, distress associated with decision making, broad acquisition of free things, compulsive buying, and ritualistic discarding. Quotes included in the case study stem from the original ethnography.     

Brief Screening and Intervention for Alcohol and Drug Use in a College Student Health Clinic: Feasibility,Implementation, and Outcomes

Abstract

Objective: Evaluation of the Brief Alcohol Screen and Intervention in College Students (BASICS) in a university primary care setting. Participants/Methods: Undergraduates (N = 449) participated in BASICS and electronic surveys assessing frequency/quantity of alcohol and drug use, psychosocial and mental health outcomes, and demographic information. Data were collected at baseline and 6-month follow-up between August 2006 and August 2008. Results: Drinking and drug use decreased between baseline and 6 months. Participants reported an increase in protective factors and in readiness to change alcohol-related behaviors, and a decrease in alcohol-related consequences and in distress symptoms. Heavy episodic drinking at baseline significantly moderated the changes in number of drinks in a typical week and in a typical weekend, and number of drinks on the occasion drank most on a weekend. Conclusions: BASICS can be implemented in a primary health care setting and university students may reduce their alcohol and/or drug use.     

RELIGIOSITY,MORAL BELIEFS,AND DELINQUENCY: DOES THE EFFECT OF RELIGIOSITY ON DELINQUENCY DEPEND ON MORAL BELIEFS?

Does the effect of religiosity on delinquent behavior depend on moral beliefs? For example, will religious adolescents refrain from using marijuana, even if they do not believe using marijuana is wrong? We addressed this question using data from the third and fourth waves of the National Youth Survey. The results indicated a significant interaction between religiosity and moral beliefs for marijuana use and getting drunk, but not for hitting or property offenses. Religiosity has a stronger effect on marijuana and alcohol use when adolescents also believe these behaviors are wrong. Conversely, when it is not accompanied by strong moral beliefs, religiosity has less of an effect on marijuana use and drinking.     

Man Up Monday: An integrated public health approach to increase sexually transmitted infection awareness and testing among male students at a midwest university

ABSTRACT

Objective: This campaign sought to (a) increase awareness of sexual health and chlamydia testing; (b) motivate students, particularly sexually active men who do not pursue regular sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, to get tested; and (c) improve the capacity of the student health center to provide free chlamydia testing and treatment for all students. Participants: Students enrolled at a 4-year public research university (N = 333). Methods: Collaborative partnerships formed the foundation of a campus marketing and testing campaign, with treatment for students testing positive for chlamydia. Results: A total of 333 students were tested over 5 consecutive Mondays, showing a chlamydia incidence of 9.6%. The incidence for females and males were 8.6% and 10.8%, respectively. Conclusions: The campaign was effective in reaching men, an at-risk population not traditionally emphasized in STI testing.     

Race,Gender, and Social Exchange in Young Adult Unions

Abstract

Social scientists often conceptualize romantic partner selection as an asymmetric exchange in which partners of different race or gender offer different desired qualities. For example, white women might leverage racial status into upward mobility by marrying socioeconomically advantaged minority men, or minority women might exchange beauty, sexual access, and domestic services for white men’s higher racial status and income. However, such approaches frequently assume gender and race asymmetry in preferences—for example, that men attach greater value to potential partners’ physical attractiveness than women do. These assumptions may be unwarranted, especially among contemporary young couples. In turn, assuming asymmetry in exchange can generate misleading results if partnering patterns are actually symmetric. Accordingly, we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), including a supplementary sample of romantic partners, to reconsider recent findings with an emphasis on evaluating (a)symmetry.     

Being Known in Undergraduate Social Work Education: The Role of Instructors in Fostering Student Engagement and Motivation

Most undergraduate students pursue a social work major because of their desire to help others. Students tend to be more interested in doing than in understanding the research and knowledge of the profession and the complexities of social work practice. Instructors are often faced with the challenge of enhancing student motivation to learn challenging course material. This study explored student perceptions of instructor influences on their motivation and engagement in learning. Through online surveys, students described their experiences of being known and how those experiences affected their participation in practice, research, and human behavior in the social environment courses. Results showed that instructor caring (providing recognition, expressing relational qualities, and responding to students) positively influences student motivation and affective learning by increasing comfort, willingness to ask questions, take risks, and overall participation. Conversely, of those who reported mixed experiences or who felt unknown, most reported a negative impact on their motivation and participation. These findings suggest that social work faculty can influence student motivation and engagement with essential social work curriculum by expressing care and helping students feel known in the classroom.     

Opportunities to Play the Game: The Effect of Individual and School Attributes on Participation in Sports

Historically, African Americans and white girls have not had the same access to playing sports as white boys have had. Changes in laws led to racial integration of sports teams and equal athletic opportunities for girls. Yet, racial and gender gaps in playing sports persist, and intersections between race and gender, as well as different contexts of participation, may contribute to the gaps. This article uses structural resource and racial competition theories to examine the interactions among race, gender, and school environment to determine whether racial gaps persist for boys and girls and whether individual and school-level factors account for gender-specific racial gaps in sports participation. We combine data on every ninth-grade student in North Carolina public schools with data from school yearbooks and find that racial gaps in playing sports differ by gender, and that school factors—including opportunities schools provide to play sports—have unique influences on racial gaps for boys and girls.