Sociology Research Works

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/1646

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Connecting Spaces: Gender, Video Games and Computing in the Early Teens
(Sage, 2023-04) Ashlock, Jennifer; Stojnic, Miodrag; Tufekci, Zeynep
Informed by evidence that computing attitudes may be uniquely constructed in informal contexts and that the early teens are a key period for academic decision-making, we investigate lines of practice that connect computing skills, attitudes, and videogames. We compare the relationship between computer skill, computer efficacy, and activities associated with gaming using a data set of 3,868 children in middle school. The time that children spend gaming has very modest association with skill and efficacy. Accounting for the frequency with which children modify games, engage in social gaming activities, and the salience of gamer identity explains the gender gap in computer skill and significantly narrows the gender gap in computer efficacy. We find support for the argument that computer skill and efficacy are dependent on children connecting often isolated social contexts, a socially embedded characteristic of the digital divide.
The Social Movement Social Club: How Activists Form Tiny Publics
(Wiley, 2023-10-02) Johnson, J. L.
Before sociology, I aspired to be a good writer. Those like me will love Gary Alan Fine's prologue to his new ethnography, in which he draws a movingly adventurous scene of elderly Chicagoans questing to Wisconsin through a snowstorm in 2016. Using canes and walkers, these senior activists arrive and march through snow, protesting right-wing threats to social security emanating from then-Speaker of the House Paul Ryan's offices in Racine. The vividity with which Fine narratively weaves together his fieldnotes makes an implicit argument, certainly against ageism, but also for the importance of the craft of writing in sociology. Fine illustrates the angst and agency of his septa-, octo-, and a few nonagenarian subjects. Elderly progressives will require bathroom breaks, but they can fire up much like the young folk that occupied our screens during The Resistance. “Senior protest can smell like teen spirit (p. 5),” quips Fine, signposting the book's puzzle: How do the limits and possibilities of senior activism reveal the everyday particularities, promises, and limitations of attempting to make social change?
Rethinking marriage metabolism: The declining frequency of marital events in the United States
(Population Research and Policy Review, 2023) Cohen, Philip N.
Previous research has used the concept of marriage metabolism to represent churning in the marriage system, but the measurements used to date have been inadequate. This paper addresses changes in the incidence of marital events in the United States from 2008 to 2021. I offer a measure, the Total Rate of Marital Events (TRME), of the projected lifetime experience of marital transitions (marriage, divorce, and widowhood) for life table cohorts. I find that the TRME declined steeply over this relatively short period: 22% for men and 19% for women. All three components declined in every age group below 90. The decline in divorce was most pronounced. More accurately than the term "retreat from marriage," I describe the slowing churn of the marriage system as reflecting the diminished social presence of marriage in daily life. Rather than a retreat, this coincides with the increasingly selective status of married life. A higher status marriage system is a smaller, slower, and more stable marriage system.
Growing Uncertainty in Marriage Expectations among U.S. Youth
(Socius, 2024-03-26) Cohen, Philip N.; Pepin, Joanna R.
Marriage rates are falling in the United States. The authors ask whether today's young adults are likely to continue this trend. Using Monitoring the Future Public-Use Cross-Sectional Datasets (1976-2022), this visualization presents U.S. 12th graders' marriage expectations. It shows declining optimism that they will be "very good" spouses and declining expectations that they will eventually marry. Both trends are prominent in the last 10 years of the survey, and both are more dramatic among young women than among young men. If these trends hold, it may foretell further declines in marriage rates in the coming years.
Whither Shall We Go? The Past and Present of Black Churches and the Public Sphere
(MDPI, 2015-03-18) Barber, Kendra H.
In this paper, I analyze the contemporary role of the Black Church in the public sphere. Some argue that despite the historical role of the Black Church in addressing racial inequality, it should not be involved in the public sphere, as there should be a clear separation between church and state. I argue that black churches are filling a gap created by the self-help ideology of a neo-liberal era where addressing the outcomes of contemporary racial inequality is left to private sector organizations, such as churches, rather than the federal government. I assert that the Black Church should remain engaged in the public sphere for two reasons: first, black churches are operating in the absence of state welfare rather than as an alternative to it and second, black churches are among the few institutions providing race-specific remedies that have been abandoned in a colorblind era.
Hybrid Arrangements as a Form of Ecological Modernization: The Case of the US Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grants
(MDPI, 2016-01-18) Galli, Anya M.; Fisher, Dana R.
How are environmental policy goals implemented and sustained in the context of political stagnation surrounding national climate policies in the United States? In this paper, we discuss Ecological Modernization Theory as a tool for understanding the complexity of climate governance at the sub-national level. In particular, we explore the emergence of hybrid governance arrangements during the local implementation of federal energy efficiency programs in US cities. We analyze the formation and advancement of programs associated with one effort to establish a sub-national low carbon energy policy: the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program administered by the US Department of Energy. Our findings highlight the diverse range of partnerships between state, private, and civil society actors that emerged through this program and point to some of the challenges associated with collaborative climate governance initiatives at the city level. Although some programs reflected ecologically modern outcomes, other cities were constrained in their ability to move beyond the status quo due to the demands of state bureaucracies and the challenges associated with inconsistent funding. We find that these programs cultivated hybrid arrangements in an effort to sustain the projects following the termination of federal grant funding. Overall, hybrid governance plays an important role in the implementation and long-term sustainability of climate-related policies.
System management and compensatory parenting: Educational involvement after maternal incarceration
(Wiley, 2023-06-27) Branigan, Amelia R.; Ellis, Rachel; Jacobsen, Wade C.; Haskins, Anna R.
Research has demonstrated that paternal incarceration is associated with lower levels of educational involvement among fathers and primary caregivers, but little is known regarding caregiver educational involvement when mothers have been incarcerated. In this study, we present the first analysis of variation in school- and home-based educational involvement by maternal incarceration history, pairing survey and interview data to connect macro-level group differences with micro-level narratives of mothers’ involvement in their children's education. Our survey data demonstrate that children of ever-incarcerated mothers experience increased school-based educational involvement by their primary caregivers, regardless of whether the caregiver is the mother herself. Our interview data point to compensatory parenting as a key motivating factor in educational involvement, wherein a caregiver endeavors to “make up for” the child's history of maternal incarceration. Findings add to the literature demonstrating maternal incarceration as a distinct experience from both paternal incarceration and material disadvantage alone, and they suggest the need to explore the role of schools as potential points of productive institutional involvement for mothers with an incarceration history.
Upstream Policy Changes to Improve Population Health and Health Equity: A Priority Agenda
(Wiley, 2023-04-25) Ray, Rashawn; Lantz, Paula M.; Williams, David
POLICY POINTS: Upstream factors—social structures/systems, cultural factors, and pub-lic policy—are primary forces that drive downstream patterns and in-equities in health that are observed across race and locations. A public policy agenda that aims to address inequities related to thewell-being of children, creation and perpetuation of residential segre-gation, and racial segregation can address upstream factors. Past successes and failures provide a blueprint for addressing upstreamhealth issues and inhibit health equity.
Local violence and transitions to marriage and cohabitation in Mexico
(Wiley, 2022-10-20) Caudillo, Mónica L.; Lee, Jaein
Objective To assess whether local violence is associated with the timing and type of women's first union formation. Background Local violence may cause disruptions to marriage markets and psychological and behavioral changes that may affect union formation patterns. Method The authors exploited the variation in homicide rates caused by a shift in national drug-enforcement policy in Mexico in December 2006. Competing-risks Cox models and union histories from a nationally representative survey of women (N = 33,292) were used to assess whether a recent increase in violence was associated with the timing of the first union transition, which could be either marriage or cohabitation. Analyses were conducted separately by education level. Results A recent increase in the local homicide rate was associated with delayed first marriage formation for less educated women. Supplementary analyses suggested that a decrease in the number of employed men per women, as well as reduced social interaction due to fear of victimization could be plausible causal mechanisms. No statistically significant associations were found between a recent increase in violence and transitions to first cohabitation for the less educated, or with any first union transition for the moderately and more educated. Conclusion Among less educated women, a recent increase in violence was associated with a delayed entrance into marriage as a first union transition. Implications By increasing their barriers to marriage, local violence may contribute to the accumulation of disadvantage among disadvantaged women and families.
Transformative family scholarship: Introduction to the special issue
(Wiley, 2022-09-26) Dow, Dawn M.; Few-Demo, April L.; Williams, Deadric T.
This introductory essay situates this special issue within the context of antiracism and social justice for family scholars. The editors underscore the political and social context that led the National Council on Family Relations' three flagship journals—Journal of Family Theory & Review (JFTR), Family Relations (FR), and Journal of Marriage and Family (JMF) to collectively invite submissions for separate special issues on Transformative Family Scholarship: Theory, Practice, and Research at the Intersection of Families, Race, and Social Justice. This special issue focuses on scholarship using cutting-edge theory, research, and practices to investigate racial injustice and confront white supremacy within the context of the family. The guest editors synthesize the dominant themes cross-cutting the 13 articles, including parenting, racial stratification, health and economic well-being, and racial identity. The guest editors explain how these articles contribute to a more robust analysis of structural racism within families. The introduction closes with an invitation to scholars doing scholarship using critical theoretical approaches to continue their efforts and consider the Journal of Marriage and Family as a potential publication outlet for their research.
“You're biracial but…”: Multiracial socialization discourse among mommy bloggers with Black and non-Black multiracial children
(Wiley, 2022-06-30) Reyna, Chandra V.
Objective This study examines thematic content and discourse surrounding multiracial socialization between Black and non-Black multiracial families on multiracial mommy blogs. Background Mommy blogs have been recognized as a medium through which mothers challenge dominant representations of motherhood, create community with other mothers, and seek out advice. But little is known about how mothers write about and discuss race, racism, and multiracial socialization online. This study addresses this knowledge gap by analyzing how a niche of bloggers—mothers to multiracial children—construct narratives surrounding race, multiraciality, and multiracial socialization online and how their narratives differ by the racial makeup of the blogger's family. Method Using a MultiCrit framework, this study analyzes 13 mommy blogs written by mothers of color with multiracial children. Blogs were analyzed for thematic content related to race, racial identification, multiraciality, and multiracial socialization. Results The findings demonstrate that mothers' orientations to multiracial socialization vary depending on whether the blogger has Black or non-Black multiracial children. Bloggers who are mothers to Black multiracial children blogged frequently about their engagement in safety socialization, whereas mothers with non-Black multiracial children did not. Conclusion The stark difference between thematic content from bloggers with and without Black multiracial children highlights the differing experiences among Black and non-Black multiracial people, for mothers of Black multiracial children, and the implications anti-Black racism has on family processes.
Mulattoes in colonial Maryland: The effects of colonial law on patterns of freedom and enslavement
(Wiley, 2022-05-30) Hunt, Larry
Objective This study analyzes Maryland colonial law and empirically examines two sets of historical data to explore how legal codes affected the assignment of mulattoes (mixed-descent persons) to the legal categories of freedom or enslavement. Maryland law was concerned with regulating the sexual relationships between people of European descent and people of African descent, especially when the relationship was between an enslaved African man and a free European woman who might produce a mulatto child having free legal standing. Methods Analysis of colonial census data and Prerogative Court Records are used to estimate both the size and the composition (enslaved vs. free) of the mulatto (mixed-descent) population in the colony of Maryland in the 17th and 18th centuries. Results The results of the analysis of historical data show that colonial law and its sanctions limited the size of the mulatto population; it was small as expected. However, there were no dramatic differences in the proportions of enslaved and free mulattoes, a pattern that ran contrary to the logic of colonial law. The lack of any dramatic difference between the two status groups may be explained by demographic patterns specific to the early stages of colonization. Conclusions The attempt of colonial lawmakers to limit the proportion of free mulattoes was not effective, at least in the initial periods of building a slave society. Some suggestions for future research combining the efforts of historians and geneticists should examine how the relationships between the European and African descent populations likely had distinctive patterns in the early formation of enslavement as an institution compared to a later period where enslavement became the fate of most persons of African descent.
Wealth disparity and frailty among community-dwelling older adults in India
(Springer Nature, 2022-11-18) Saravanakumar, Priya; Balachandran, Arun; Muhammad, T.; Drishti, Drishti; Srivastava, Shobhit
Due to the vast socioeconomic diversity among its residents, studying health inequality in India is of particular interest. This study aimed to investigate the wealth-based inequalities in physical frailty and to quantify the contributions of potential predictors of frailty to this inequality. Data were drawn from the first wave of the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) conducted during 2017–18. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between wealth status and frailty. We used the concentration index to measure the magnitude of wealth-related inequality in frailty. A decomposition analysis based on the logit model was used to assess the contribution of each predictor to the total inequality. The prevalence of physical frailty was significantly higher among the older adults in the poor group than in the non-poor group [Difference (poor vs. non-poor): 6.4%; p < 0.001]. Regression results indicated that older adults in the poorest group were 23% more likely to be physically frail than those in the richest category [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.23; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.11, 1.38]. The overall concentration index of frailty was 0.058 among the older adults, indicating that frailty is more concentrated among older adults with poor wealth status. Body mass index, wealth index, educational status, and region were the major and significant contributors to the socioeconomic status (SES) related inequalities in frailty. Results suggest the need for formulating effective prevention and intervention strategies to decelerate the development of physical frailty among older adults in India, especially those with poor socioeconomic background.
Prevalence of head lice and hygiene practices among women over twelve years of age in Sindh, Balochistan, and North West Frontier Province: National Health Survey of Pakistan, 1990-1994
(Springer Nature, 2011-02-02) Mahmud, Sadia; Pappas, Gregory; Hadden, Wilbur C
Head lice infestation is an infection of the scalp and skin which causes blood loss, discomfort, and social and psychological distress with the possibility of secondary bacterial infections occurring at scratch sites. In Pakistan, although some small scale studies have been conducted to investigate prevalence of head lice in school children and the general population, no population based estimates have been reported. The National Health Survey of Pakistan (NHSP 1990 - 94) was a nationally representative health examination survey of the Pakistani population. The NHSP is the first population based household survey to collect data on the prevalence of head lice in adult women in Pakistan. In this paper we use data from the NHSP to present an epidemiological profile of personal hygiene practices and head lice infestation among women aged 12 years or older in three provinces of Pakistan; Balochistan, Sindh and North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Overall about 7% women aged 12 years and older suffered from head lice infestation. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified factors independently associated with presence of head lice. Age less than 16 years and crowding at home were associated with higher infestation-rates. The impact of household socio-economic status on infestation rates among women was different in urban and rural settings; urban women with low socio-economic status were more vulnerable than similar women in rural settings. Bathing infrequently in summer was associated with higher prevalence rates only in Sindh, possibly due to the fact that among the three provinces Sindh has a hotter and more humid summer. The results of our analysis of NHSP indicate high levels of head lice infestation among girls and women in the three Provinces. The epidemiological profile of hygienic practices of women indicated that NWFP and Balochistan as compared to Sindh, and rural as compared to urban areas were less developed with respect to access to water supply and soap for maintaining personal hygiene. Simple and cost-effective measures such as provision of water and soap, and improving awareness regarding maintaining personal hygiene can contribute significantly towards improving public health status of the women in Pakistan.
Global discourses and experiential speculation: Secondary and tertiary graduate Malawians dissect the HIV/AIDS epidemic
(Springer Nature, 2011-10-04) Myroniuk, Tyler W
Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the perspectives of secondary and tertiary school graduates in sub-Saharan Africa regarding the effectiveness of government and international HIV/AIDS policies and programmes have not been thoroughly examined. When extensive monetary aid is directed toward "development" in a country like Malawi, it is the educated elites - secondary and tertiary graduates who are heavily involved and influential in the domestic re-distribution and implementation of millions of dollars worth of aid - on whom international expectations fall to decrease the transmission of HIV. Many Malawian jobs related to public health and HIV/AIDS are created as a direct result of this funding and are occupied by the few secondary and tertiary graduates. Thus, it is a practical venture to understand their perspectives on highly contentious and heavily funded HIV/AIDS issues that affect their nation. Qualitative data was collected in this study in efforts to discover in-depth perspectives on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Thirty-eight secondary and tertiary graduate Malawians took part in semi-structured interviews. Data was analysed using an early grounded theory approach and subsequent themes of "global discourses" and "experiential knowledge of HIV/AIDS" emerged. This group of Malawians frequently responded to questions regarding healthcare and access to medicine, sexual behaviours and methods of reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS by citing and explaining the widespread, international and "proper" responses. The secondary and tertiary graduate Malawians also discussed these same topics in terms of what they perceive or have experienced. Experiential responses, such as the counter-productivity of circumcision and condoms, the overestimation of HIV/AIDS prevalence, and calls for more authoritarian policing of commercial sex work, were remarkably divergent from the HIV/AIDS discourse. The opinions of this group of secondary and tertiary graduate Malawians do not always coincide with the current literature and policies. They give deeper insight into what is perceived and what may be taking place, and hint at what the future holds for their people. The widespread and divergent perspectives must be seriously considered because these experiences describe the potential positive and negative consequences that occur on the ground throughout Malawi as a result of HIV/AIDS policies.
Built environment and active play among Washington DC metropolitan children: A protocol for a cross-sectional study
(Springer Nature, 2015-04-27) Roberts, Jennifer D; Ray, Rashawn; Biles, Amber D; Knight, Brandon; Saelens, Brian E
Research has demonstrated that children who participate in active play are more likely to be physically active, thereby improving long-term health outcomes. Many adult studies have also shown that neighborhood built environments can encourage or discourage routine physical activity. Limited evidence has demonstrated that children who reside in neighborhoods with a built environment that is more inviting to active play exhibit lower overweight and obesity rates as well as an overall better state of well-being. This Built Environment and Active Play (BEAP) Study aims to develop a neighborhood playability rating system in the Washington, DC (DMV) area. Similar to walkability scores, these playability scores will estimate how affable a neighborhood is to active play. The BEAP Study will attempt to provide a broad view of factors influencing the level and type of active play among children. Using a cross-sectional design, the BEAP Study will collect data using a mail questionnaire administered to the parents and/or guardians of 2000 children aged 7-12 years residing in select DMV areas in October of 2014. Questionnaire data, including information on active play, home and neighborhood characteristics, parental perceptions, and sociodemographic characteristics will be merged through a geographic information system (GIS) with objective built environment measures in the participants’ neighborhoods. An ordered logit model will be used to regress an ordinal active play outcome on built environment exposure variables while adjusting for potential confounders. Upon the construction of the final model, predictor coefficients will be used as parameters in the scoring system to develop neighborhood playability scores. The BEAP Study intends to generate a neighborhood playability index by characterizing and quantifying children’s active play using parent-reported physical activity data in children, GIS data and built environment measures in participant neighborhoods. The BEAP Study will improve our understanding of the built environment and childhood playability relationship while also contributing to the body of evidence-based built environment and physical activity research.
Sexual Identity Disclosure among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals
(Society for Sociological Science, 2020-08-19) Doan, Long; Mize, Trenton D.
Most research on sexual prejudice explicitly or implicitly assumes that an individual’s sexual orientation identity is known to observers. However, there has been little large-scale survey evidence examining differential rates of disclosure among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals, and there remains much to be studied as to why and when LGB individuals choose to disclose their sexual identity to others. Using data from a nationally representative sample of LGB Americans (N=1,085), we assess the contexts and conditions under which LGB individuals disclose their sexual identities. Results show that bisexual women and men are significantly less likely to disclose their sexual identity across several important social domains, such as family and the workplace. This disclosure gap is partially explained by measures of identity commitment but surprisingly not by measures of perceived social acceptance. We discuss implications of these findings for sexuality and identity research.
Shifting Coalitions within the Youth Climate Movement in the US
(Cogitatio, 2021-04-28) Fisher, Dana R.; Nasrin, Sohana
How has the youth climate movement in the US grown since the Climate Strikes began and in what ways did it change as it grew? This article takes advantage of a unique dataset that includes surveys from activists who organized the nationally coordinated climate strikes in the US that began with Fridays for Future in spring 2019. Building on the research on alliance building and strategic coalitions, this article analyzes how the patterns of participation changed over the period of the study. We employ social network analysis to map the affiliation networks among the organizers of these events to assess the coalitions of groups involved and the shifting organizational landscape. Our analysis does not provide evidence that groups spanned the boundaries across movements, nor does it show that identity plays a role in coalition building in this movement. Instead, by mapping out the coalition of organizations within this movement and how connections among them change over time, we see clear evidence that this youth-led movement was reoriented by adult-led organizations. Our article concludes by considering how these findings suggest the future trajectory of the youth climate movement and its role in a ‘new climate politics’ in America.
The Coming Divorce Decline
(Socius, 2019-08-28) Cohen, Philip N.
This article analyzes U.S. divorce trends over the past decade and considers their implications for future divorce rates. Modeling women’s odds of divorce from 2008 to 2017 using marital events data from the American Community Survey, I find falling divorce rates with or without adjustment for demographic covariates. Age-specific divorce rates show that the trend is driven by younger women, which is consistent with longer term trends showing uniquely high divorce rates among people born in the Baby Boom period. Finally, I analyze the characteristics of newly married women and estimate the trend in their likelihood of divorcing based on the divorce models. The results show falling divorce risks for more recent marriages. The accumulated evidence thus points toward continued decline in divorce rates. The United States is progressing toward a system in which marriage is rarer and more stable than it was in the past.
The Shifting Salience of Skin Color for Educational Attainment
(Sage, 2019-12-19) Branigan, Amelia R.; Freese, Jeremy; Sidney, Stephen; Kiefe, Catarina I.
Findings of an association between skin color and educational attainment have been fairly consistent among Americans born before the civil rights era, but little is known regarding the persistence of this relationship in later born cohorts. The authors ask whether the association between skin color and educational attainment has changed between black American baby boomers and millennials. The authors observe a large and statistically significant decline in the association between skin color and educational attainment between baby boomer and millennial black women, whereas the decline in this association between the two cohorts of black men is smaller and nonsignificant. Compared with baby boomers, a greater percentage of the association between skin color and educational attainment among black millennials appears to reflect educational disparities in previous generations. These results emphasize the need to conceptualize colorism as an intersectional problem and suggest caution when generalizing evidence of colorism in earlier cohorts to young adults today.

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