Browsing by Subject "Socioeconomic status"
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Item Cultural differences in children's development of social competence between European American and Chinese immigrant families(2009-12) Chen, Kuan-yi; Suizzo, Marie-Anne; Whittaker, TiffanyThe purpose of this study was to investigate the developmental outcomes of Chinese American children's social competence in their transition to elementary school. In this study, I used a mixed-methods research design. The first part of the study was a secondary analysis of data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort. I examined cultural differences in the effects of parental warmth, parental SES, parent-child communication, and children's participation in peer-oriented structured extracurricular activities on the social development of European American and Chinese American children. For the second part of the study, I developed questions based on the findings of the quantitative analysis and conducted interviews to further explore how Chinese immigrant mothers' parenting beliefs and practices contributed to their children's development of social competence. The results showed that in Chinese immigrant families, parental SES influenced parent-child communication, which in turn promoted children's social competence. Parental SES, but not parental warmth, predicted their children's participation in peer-oriented structured extracurricular activities. Years of stay in the U.S. positively predicted children's participation in peer-oriented structured extracurricular activities, while it negatively predicted parent-child communication in Chinese immigrant families. The qualitative data suggested that Chinese immigrant mothers facilitated their children's social development by giving them verbal guidance for peer problems, encouraging conversations at home, and serving as role models for their children. Children's activity participation was restricted by the affordability of activities and parents' ability to provide transportation for their children. The Chinese immigrant mothers perceived taking on daily responsibilities and spending quality time together with their children as ways to express love toward them. These mothers' childrearing practices were influenced by the generational gap and acculturation. This study broadens our understanding of Chinese American children's development of social competence in their transition to formal schooling. It contributes new knowledge about 1) cultural differences in the effects of parental warmth and SES on parent-child communication; 2) the influences of parental SES on parent-child communication and Chinese American children's participation in peer-oriented structured extracurricular activities; and 3) the effect of years of stay in the U.S. on parent-child communication in Chinese immigrant families.Item Gender differences in the life course origins of adult functioning and mortality(2011-08) Montez, Jennifer Karas; Hayward, Mark D.; Hummer, Robert A.; Umberson, Debra J.; Pudrovska, Tetyana; Osborne, CynthiaA high degree of physical functioning is necessary for independently performing the numerous routine and valued tasks of daily life. Poor functioning not only hinders independent living, it can lower the quality of life, impede full social participation, and elevate the risk of death. However, not all adults are at equal risk of poor functioning: women experience worse functioning and live a greater number of years functionally impaired compared with men. Studies of this gap have focused on inequities in adult circumstances, such as socioeconomic status, but have generally fallen short of fully accounting for it. Recasting this research within a life-course, epidemiological framework points to the potential role of early-life circumstances. Early-life circumstances may impart a biological imprint, and they may also launch long-term trajectories of social circumstances, that could differentially shape functioning for men and women. Thus, this dissertation examines the life course origins of the gender gap in functioning and active life expectancy among older U.S. adults using two nationally-representative datasets: the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States and the Health and Retirement Study. In sum, the findings reveal that: (a) a host of early-life circumstances, such as parents’ education levels, leave an indelible stamp on functional ability and active life expectancy for women and men, irrespective of adult circumstances, (b) while some early-life adversities, such as extreme poverty, were marginally more consequential for women’s than men’s functioning, they appear to be primarily more consequential for precipitating metabolic conditions such as diabetes and obesity rather than directly impacting functioning, (c) explanations of the gap must incorporate endogenous biological differences between men and women; explanations that focus exclusively on socially-structured inequities are insufficient, and (d) exposures to socioeconomic resources accumulate across the life course to shape functioning differently for men than women; particularly between white men, who enjoy better functioning with higher educational attainment irrespective of early-life socioeconomic exposures, and white women whose functioning gains plateau if they experienced early-life socioeconomic adversities. Overall, the results underscore the importance of a life course perspective in explicating gender disparities in functioning, longevity, and active life expectancy.Item Gene × environment interactions in early externalizing behaviors : parental emotional support and socioeconomic context as moderators of genetic influences?(2015-05) Cheung, Amanda Kingsze; Tucker-Drob, Elliot MaxPrevious findings on gene × environment interactions on externalizing behaviors have been inconsistent. In an attempt to provide clarity on this inconsistency, our study used two longitudinal population-based samples of young twins to examine the independent effects of two moderators commonly studied in the externalizing literature. Our first sample, the twin subsample from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), was composed of approximately 600 twin pairs measured on externalizing at ages 4 and 5. We tested for gene × parental emotional support and gene × socioeconomic status interactions on externalizing. Results indicated stronger genetic influences on externalizing at higher levels of parental emotional support but also at lower levels of socioeconomic status. These moderation effects, however, were not replicated in our analyses of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child Supplement (C-NLSY) data, which contained 2370 pairs of siblings measured on externalizing at ages 4-5 and ages 6-7. Our results highlight the need for replication in quantitative behavior genetics research on externalizing behaviors.Item The nature of socioeconomic status among young adults, and its effect on health : a multi-group SEM analysis by gender and race/ethnicity(2011-08) Yarnell, Lisa Marie; Falbo, Toni; Neff, Kristin D.; Beretvas, Susan N.; Keith, Timothy Z.; Crosnoe, Robert L.This dissertation focuses on results of multi-group SEM models estimated using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) in order to determine appropriate measurement and structural models for the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and health among six young adult U.S. social groups. Examining the links between SES and health during young adulthood is important because while there is a strong, documented link between lower SES and poorer health (Adler & Snibbe, 2003), young adults can exercise a considerable amount of agency with regard to their own SES and health. Young adults make critical decisions about pursuing post-secondary education, entering the workforce, and practicing healthy behaviors--activities which differ in their immediate and long-term economic and health payoff (Mirowsky & Ross, 2003; Elder, 1985; 1994). Yet, the nature of SES and its links with health for members of various gender and racial/ethnic groups is not entirely clear. Literature suggests that occupation, education, and income are neither defined nor linked among women in the same ways that they are for men (APA, 2007). Self-assessment of health is also thought to differ by gender and ethnicity (Krause & Jay, 1994). Moreover, limited research has addressed the unique mediating pathways by which aspects of SES affect health for specific social groups (Matthews, Gallo, & Taylor, 2010). In this work, I estimate measurement models for several aspects of SES among African American, Latina, and White men and women, then link aspects of SES with each other and with health using structural equation modeling. I also examine the unique mediating pathways by which aspects of SES are linked with health for these groups.Item Psychological distress among two American Indian tribes(2010-08) Huyser, Kimberly Rose; Angel, Ronald; Hummer, Robert; Sakamoto, Arthur; Cox, James; Beals, Janette; Ross, CatherineAmerican Indians suffer disproportionately from mental disorders such as depression and substance abuse. American Indians have lower socioeconomic status than white Americans making them more vulnerable to mental health stressors and disorders, such as depression. Unfortunately, the causal processes and mechanisms producing negative psychological outcomes remain unclear. Despite the disadvantages faced by many American Indians, the Native American community offers cultural norms and values that facilitate treatment of and recovery from mental stressors. The Native American community offers its members an extended social support network as well as healing ceremonies, which could mitigate the effects of depression. In my dissertation, I compare the level of psychological distress between two tribal populations from a study from the Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health (CAIANH) at the University of Colorado at Denver. I use logistic regression to examine the relationship between the psychological distress score and tribal identity. The logistic regression analysis also explores the relationship between self-rated health and socioeconomic attainment. Finally, I compare the outcomes between the Northern Plains tribe and the Southwest tribe. The results suggest that individuals with a strong sense of cultural spirituality have lower psychological distress than individuals who do not have strong cultural spirituality. Also, individuals of the Southwest tribe who spent part of their lives off the reservation or near the reservation experience lower psychological distress compared to those who spent their entire lives on the reservation; in contrast, individuals of the Northern Plains tribe are disadvantaged in terms of mental health if they spent part of their lives off or near the reservations than those who stay on the reservation their whole lives. Members of either the Northern Plains tribe or Southwest tribe who feel socially isolated are very likely to experience severe psychological distress or rate their health poorly. The findings of the study indicate that resiliency factors among the tribes such as cultural-spirituality, reservation community and social support are protective, but the findings also encourage further understanding of mechanisms and utilization of the resources available.Item Rethinking the effect of duration on immigrant health : evidence from the National Health Interview Survey (2006-2008) and the New Immigrant Survey (2003)(2011-08) Li, Jing, 1977-; Hummer, Robert A.; Ross, Catherine E.; Angel, Ronald J.; Powers, Daniel A.; Kim, Su YeongPast studies often find that, upon arrival U.S. immigrants generally have favorable health profiles than native-born persons, but their health deteriorates with prolonged stay. The classical explanations of this phenomenon are healthy immigrant selection and negative acculturation. With the number of foreign-born people living in the United States reaching an all-time high, the health and financial costs of this “negative acculturation” is substantial. Meanwhile, the negative duration effect on health is contradictory to expectations from classic assimilation theory and what has been observed by labor economists. This study aims to empirically study the effect of duration on immigrant health, with particular attention given to how socioeconomic status differentiates the duration-health relationship. Results based on two national datasets confirmed that immigrants, especially recent arrivals, have a considerably lower risk of worse health relative to native-born adults. I also found that socioeconomic status plays an essential role in the varying level of initial health selectivity among immigrants. The analysis of the interaction effect between duration and SES reveals that duration effects on health vary significantly by socioeconomic status. High SES immigrants tend to experience a non-negative duration effect regardless of their length of U.S. residence, while immigrants with lower socioeconomic standing are more likely to experience a negative duration effect on health with longer duration. Moreover, this study also shows that the initial foreign-born advantages in health are typically larger for persons with low SES than for persons with high SES. However, little evidence suggests there is a health convergence between long-term immigrants and their native-born counterparts with similar socioeconomic status. Potential explanations and implications of these findings are also discussed.Item Stressors and strengths in families of adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)(Texas Tech University, 2006-12) Corwin, Melinda D.; Mulsow, Miriam; Feng, Du; Bell, Nancy J.; Bean, Roy A.The present study explored issues related to adolescents with ADHD and the families in which they belong from a developmental contextual and lifespan perspective. Both deficits- and strengths-based approaches were used to investigate parental perceptions of family stressors and available family resources; and individual family members' (adolescents with ADHD, mothers, fathers, and sibling adolescents) perceptions of positive and negative family characteristics and feelings relative to ADHD. Additionally, the target adolescents’ perspectives on the meaning of ADHD in their lives and personal and family resources and strengths were examined. Forty adolescents diagnosed with some form of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and their household family members (mother, father, and/or adolescent sibling) participated. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to analyze family-level data. Results revealed that the number of family members with ADHD did not significantly affect all family members' reports of general family stressors, strains, and distress; however, it did significantly affect reports from mothers in terms of perceived family resources and opinions specific to ADHD: Mothers (but not fathers) reported significantly more resources when only the target adolescent had ADHD and fewer resources when additional family members had the disorder. Also, mothers reported more non-supportive factors, such as teachers and relatives not understanding ADHD, when more than one member of the family had ADHD. Additionally, fathers reported more supportive factors, such as adolescents being creative, when only one member of the family had ADHD. The adolescents with ADHD perceived their own strengths as getting along well with others, having high energy levels, and/or being involved with music. By using a mixed research design, the present study integrated quantitative and qualitative information to provide a better understanding of the hassles that adolescents with ADHD encounter, as well as the resources and strengths they use to meet their environmental challenges at this particular point along their developmental paths.Item The structural and social correlates of the learning disability label during high school(2012-08) Shifrer, Dara Renee; Muller, Chandra; Riegle-Crumb, Catherine; Umberson, Debra; Raley, R. Kelly; Hummer, RobertEducational attainment is a key component of occupational attainment and social mobility in America. Special education is a policy intervention geared toward ensuring equal educational opportunities for students distinctive from the majority. Students labeled with learning disabilities (LDs) comprise about half of the special education population, and are typically assigned the LD label for achievement levels that are lower than would be expected given their IQ. Although they have average or high IQs, students labeled with an LD continue to experience disparities in educational outcomes. In this dissertation, I use sociological perspectives and a large nationally representative dataset, The Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, to investigate the social and structural roots of the LD label, and to explore ways in which the LD label produces stigma or stratification during high school. In general, I find that (1) the disproportionate labeling of various status groups is indicative of the social and structural roots of the LD label, and that the process of assigning the LD label may not be uniform across schools; (2) labeled students have poorer educational outcomes than even unlabeled students who achieved at similar levels in early high school; (3) stigma related to the LD label is suggested by parents’ and particularly teachers’ much lower educational expectations for labeled students than for similar students not labeled with disability; (4) stratification related to the LD label is suggested by the placement of labeled students into lower levels of coursework than unlabeled students who performed similarly in a comparable level of coursework during the prior year; and (5) stigma and stratification related to the LD label are magnified among labeled students who are more socially advantaged, or who are higher achieving. Overall, the results suggest that the experiences of students labeled with an LD can be improved by addressing these social and structural factors that differentiate the likelihood of carrying the LD label, and have negative implications for labeled students’ social and academic experiences during high school.Item The association between socioeconomic status and cardiovascular disease risk factors in a rural-dwelling aging cohort of west Texas(2011-05) Chen, Wenping; Rahnama, Masha; Ende, Terry V.; Miller, Peggy G.Socioeconomic status (SES) refers to an individual’s social and economic position relative to other members in a society. Due to the fact that American society is aging and few studies on the association between socioeconomic status and risk factors for cardiovascular disease were conducted in rural residents of U.S., it is urgent that more related studies focus on rural aging people. Data on 509 rural-dwelling aging people from West Texas were analyzed using binary Logistic regression. Data analysis showed that people in rural areas have relative lower socioeconomic status and higher prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Logistic regression results demonstrated that both of SES and demographic indicators have significant effects on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Age was linked to most of the CVD risk factors; males and Hispanic have a higher risk for developing diabetes; people without house tenure tend to have alcohol use problem; household income is the strongest estimator to diabetes and an effective estimator to hypertension and depression in a rural setting; higher occupational level was positively associated with the decrease of diabetes and obesity risk; both household income and occupation directly affect CVD risk; in contrast, education indirectly influence health outcome; the underlying pathway through which education benefit health outcomes is the financial and occupational improvement that associated with education.Item Vocabulary outcomes among low income preschoolers for dialogic reading interventions(2012-05) Fergus, Alyson Marie; Peña, Elizabeth D.; Sheng, LiReceptive and expressive vocabulary skills in preschoolers are predictors of later literacy skills. Research shows that children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds are generally behind their peers in the area of vocabulary skills when they enter school. Many preschool programs now focus on increasing these skills through shared book reading interventions. The purpose of the current research is to study the efficacy of a specific shared book reading intervention, dialogic reading, with low-income preschoolers in the area of vocabulary development. The search yielded 10 intervention studies that utilized dialogic reading strategies in interventions with the target population. Studies yielded mixed results but generally found that dialogic reading intervention does have significant positive effects on receptive and expressive vocabulary. Limitations and implications for practice are discussed.Item What it means to be a good father : a test of identity theory(2008-05) Sasaki, Takayuki, 1977-; Hazen, Nancy LynnThere is a dearth of research focusing on fathering in families of color. The present study argues that ecological factors, especially SES and neighborhood quality, exert a strong influence on racial and ethnic differences in fathering role identity, which in turn affect fathering role performance. The primary goal of the present study is thus to investigate the impact of ecological factors on what it means to be a good father among African American (n = 308), Latino American (n = 598), Asian American (n = 580), and white fathers (n = 2813) by using a nationally representative sample from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), and to test identity theory by examining fathering identity as a primary determinant of fathering role performance. The core premise of identity theory is that society is the main source in shaping self (i.e., identity), and in turn, contributes to the way people behave (Stryker, 1968). The present study tested identity theory by examining the associations between domain-level psychological centralities and domain-specific fathering performances, and also to test whether effects of psychological centralities and contextual factors override those of race and ethnicity. Overall, the results from this study considerably buttressed identity theory. Consistent with the cultural-ecological model (Ogbu, 1981), which posits that ecological conditions shapes culture-specific socialization goals, racial and ethnic differences in the fathering psychological centrality were found because fathers in the same group historically share similar circumstances. However, the heterogeneity of the psychological centrality within each group was remarkable because their current conditions are vastly multifarious. Specifically, the lower their SES, the more likely that they believe that providing for their children is central to their identity as a father. In studying fathers of color, previous approaches often resulted in the unwitting spread of stereotypical images by contrasting minority fathers from at-risk population with middle-class white fathers, because such approaches failed to consider the effects of contextual factors on fathering and to include multiple forms of father involvement. The results from this study clearly show that racial and ethnic differences are subtle once contextual factors are taken into account.