The (Unequal) Interplay Between Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills in Early Educational Attainment

2021 ◽  
pp. 000276422199676
Author(s):  
Carlos J. Gil-Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Education ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Noncognitive Skills ◽  
Low Ses ◽  
Educational Transitions ◽  
Probability Models ◽  
Linear Probability

Cognitive and noncognitive skills are key indicators of educational success and merit. However, even when accounting for inequalities in skill formation by family socioeconomic status (SES), a wide SES-gap in college enrolment remains. According to the compensatory advantage hypothesis, SES-gaps in educational transitions are largest among cognitively weak students, but little is known on mechanisms. It has long been argued that noncognitive traits such as effort and motivation might be at least as important as cognitive skills over the status-attainment process, and these skills might interact by being complements or substitutes. Thus, I test whether advantaged students substitute low cognitive skills in test scores by high returns to conscientiousness—rated by teachers— in the transition to academic secondary schools. I draw data from the German National Educational Panel Study to study a cohort of students from Grades 1 to 5, when early tracking is enforced. I estimate linear probability models with school fixed-effects and moderation. To account for measurement error, I also use composite latent skills across elementary education. I report three main findings: (a) High-SES students at the same level of cognitive and noncognitive skills than low-SES schoolmates are more likely to attend the academic track bridged to college; (b) in line with the compensatory hypothesis, these SES-inequalities are largest among low cognitive performers; (3) cognitively weak students from high-SES families get the highest educational returns to conscientiousness in comparison to high cognitive performers or low-SES peers, validating the skill substitution hypothesis. These findings challenge the liberal conception of merit as the sum of ability plus effort in assessing equal opportunity in education.

Do Well-off Families Compensate for Low Cognitive Ability? Evidence on Social Inequality in Early Schooling from a Twin Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos J. Gil-Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Educational Inequality ◽  
Educational Transitions ◽  
Downward Mobility ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Academic Track ◽  
Early Schooling ◽  
Academic Potential

This article bridges the literature on educational inequality between and within families to test whether high–socioeconomic status (SES) families compensate for low cognitive ability in the transition to secondary education in Germany. The German educational system of early-ability tracking (at age 10) represents a stringent setting for the compensatory hypothesis. Overall, previous literature offers inconclusive findings. Previous research between families suffers from the misspecification of parental SES and ability, while most within-family research did not stratify the analysis by SES or the ability distribution. To address these issues, I draw from the TwinLife study to implement a twin fixed-effects design that minimizes unobserved confounding. I report two main findings. First, highly educated families do not compensate for twins’ differences in cognitive ability at the bottom of the ability distribution. In the German system of early-ability tracking, advantaged families may have more difficulties to compensate than in countries where educational transitions are less dependent on ability. Second, holding parents’ and children’s cognitive ability constant, pupils from highly educated families are 27% more likely to attend the academic track. This result implies wastage of academic potential for disadvantaged families, challenging the role of cognitive ability as the leading criterion of merit for liberal theories of equal opportunity. These findings point to the importance of other factors that vary between families with different resources and explain educational success, such as noncognitive abilities, risk aversion to downward mobility, and teachers’ bias.

scholarly journals Hidden Casualties: The Links between Armed Conflict and Intimate Partner Violence in Colombia

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Signe Svallfors
Keyword(s):  
Intimate Partner Violence ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Intimate Partner ◽  
Probability Models ◽  
Women’S Experiences ◽  
Women's Experiences ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Linear Probability

Abstract The Colombian peace process was internationally celebrated for its unprecedented focus on women's experiences of war, but the everyday violence women that may face in their homes was not acknowledged. This article explores the links between exposure to local armed conflict violence and individual women's experiences of intimate partner violence. I combine pooled nationally representative data on individual women's experiences of intimate partner violence with information about the intensity of conflict during 2004–16. Results of fixed-effects linear probability models show that conflict was generally linked to a slightly elevated risk of women experiencing emotional, physical, and sexual violence perpetrated by their partner. Among women who had experienced intimate partner violence, conflict was related to an increased probability of being partnered at interview, which could reflect women staying in abusive relationships because conflict normalizes violence or increases women's reluctance to leave those relationships.

Abortion: Life-Course Stages and Disruptive Life Events

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 259-273
Author(s):  
Lara Minkus ◽  
Sonja Drobnič
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Pregnancy Termination ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Social Process ◽  
Late Pregnancy ◽  
Induced Abortion ◽  
Probability Models ◽  
The Social ◽  
Linear Probability

Abstract Pregnancy termination and its interplay with critical life stages and events has rarely been subjected to careful scrutiny in the social sciences, mainly due to a lack of high-quality survey data. Using the first eleven waves (2008–2018) of the German Family Panel Study (pairfam) and employing linear probability models, we examine women and also men with partners who either had induced abortion (N=260 women; N=170 men) or became parents (N=1478 women; N=1220 men). We frame abortion as a social process in which life circumstances and disruptive life events fundamentally shape the decision to carry a pregnancy to term or to discontinue it. We find that teenage or late pregnancy, educational enrollment, previous children, partnership dissolution, and economic uncertainty are associated with induced abortion. Our evidence suggests that abortion decisions are powerfully shaped by life-course contingencies and their complex intertwining.

scholarly journals The Impact of Changes in Direct Care Staffing Policies and Outcomes for Assisted Living Residents With Dementia

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 716-717
Author(s):  
Kali Thomas ◽  
Portia Cornell ◽  
Wenhan Zhang ◽  
Paula Carder ◽  
Lindsey Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Assisted Living ◽  
Staff Training ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Direct Care ◽  
Probability Models ◽  
Training Requirements ◽  
Staffing Levels ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Linear Probability ◽  
The Impact

Abstract We identified a cohort of 410,413 Medicare beneficiaries residing in 10,623 large (25+bed) assisted living (AL) communities between 2007 and 2017. We conducted linear probability models with a difference-in-difference framework to examine the association between hospitalization and changes in regulations pertaining to staff training (model 1) and staffing levels (model 2), adjusting for time trends, resident characteristics, and state-license fixed effects. During this 11-year period, six states changed their staff training requirements and two states introduced/increased direct care staffing levels. A change in regulations related to staffing levels was associated with a reduction in the probability of hospitalization during the month of -0.0056 percentage points (95%CI=-0.008,-0.003). A change in regulations related to staff training was associated with a reduction in the probability of hospitalization during the month of -0.0035 percentage points (95%CI=-0.006,-0.002). The policy effects represent clinically important differences of approximately 21% in the mean monthly hospitalization rate. Part of a symposium sponsored by Assisted Living Interest Group.

Bias or Empathy in Universal Screening? The Effect of Teacher–Student Racial Matching on Teacher Perceptions of Student Behavior

2019 ◽  
pp. 004208591987369
Author(s):  
Ericka S. Weathers
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
Externalizing Behavior ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Universal Screening ◽  
Student Behavior ◽  
Internalizing Behavior ◽  
Probability Models ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Linear Probability

This study uses linear probability models with student and teacher fixed effects to assess whether the racial match between teachers and students affects “at-risk” ratings on a teacher-completed universal screener of student internalizing and externalizing behavior. The data are from a large, urban California school district. I find that Asian and Black teachers are more likely to rate their same-race students “at-risk” for internalizing behavior compared with how the same Asian and Black students would be rated by White teachers. These findings have implications for policy and practice aimed at enhancing universal screening for externalizing and internalizing behavior.

scholarly journals Does the suddenness matter? Antidepressant use before and after a spouse dies suddenly or expectedly of stroke

2021 ◽  
pp. 140349482110425
Author(s):  
Elina Einiö ◽  
Niina Metsä-Simola ◽  
Riina Peltonen ◽  
Pekka Martikainen
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrovascular Disease ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Linkage Data ◽  
Probability Models ◽  
Spousal Death ◽  
Before And After ◽  
History Of ◽  
Antidepressant Use ◽  
Linear Probability

Aims: Changes in mental health at the time of widowhood may depend on the expectedness of spousal death, but scant evidence is available for spousal deaths attributable to stroke. Methods: Using register-linkage data for Finland, we assessed changes in antidepressant use before and after spousal death for those whose spouses died suddenly of stroke between 1998 and 2003 ( N=1820) and for those whose spouses died expectedly of stroke, with prior hospitalisation for cerebrovascular disease ( N=1636). We used both population-averaged logit models and individual fixed-effects linear probability models. The latter models control for unobserved time-invariant heterogeneity between the individuals. Results: Our study indicates that the suddenness of a spouse’s death from stroke plays a role in the well-being of the surviving spouse. Increases in antidepressant use appeared larger following widowhood for those whose spouses died suddenly of stroke relative to those whose spouses had a medical history of cerebrovascular disease. Conclusions: The suddenness of a spouse’s death from stroke plays a role for the surviving spouse. The results suggest multifaceted timings of distress surrounding spousal death, depending on the suddenness of a spouse’s death from stroke.

Prosocial Behaviors: A Matter of Altruism or Public Service Motivation?

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 504-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaclyn S Piatak ◽  
Stephen B Holt
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Public Service Motivation ◽  
Prosocial Behaviors ◽  
Probability Models ◽  
Conceptual Clarity ◽  
2016 Election ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Linear Probability

Abstract In recent years, public service motivation (PSM) research has grown substantially, but is still largely limited to the field of public administration. To be able to export the theory and measures of PSM to other disciplines, we need more conceptual clarity. Some suggest PSM is analogous to altruism, whereas others warn not to confound the two concepts. Is PSM separate from altruism? How does each motivational construct relate to prosocial behaviors? We use a nationally representative panel of respondents to the Cooperative Congressional Election Study (CCES) to measure both altruism and PSM among respondents before the 2016 election and measure respondents’ participation in prosocial behaviors after the 2016 election. Using linear probability models with state fixed effects, we find that although PSM and altruism predict prosocial behaviors separately, altruism has no effect after controlling for PSM. PSM is a more consistent predictor of some prosocial behaviors than altruism, particularly in more formal contexts such as volunteering with an organization.

How Labor-Market Integration Affects Perceptions of Discrimination: School-to-Apprenticeship Transitions of Youth with Migration Background in Germany

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 1045-1071
Author(s):  
Kristina Lindemann
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Market Integration ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Ethnic Discrimination ◽  
Probability Models ◽  
Structural Integration ◽  
Linear Probability ◽  
Training Position ◽  
Training Market

This article examines the relationship between structural integration and perceived discrimination among young people with migration backgrounds in Germany. Assimilation theories expect ethnic boundaries to lessen through minority groups’ upward mobility, while the recently proposed integration paradox asserts that structural integration increases perceptions of discrimination. Using longitudinal data from the German National Educational Panel Study, this article investigates how a successful transition from school to the training market affects young people’s perceptions of ethnic discrimination. Results of propensity score matching and linear probability models show that perceptions of discrimination increase only in response to unsuccessful entry into the training market, partially due to occupational aspirations and personal discrimination experiences. Findings also show that perceptions of discrimination do not increase for young people who are well integrated in the educational system, even if they take up a training position that is not in accordance with their desired profession. These findings highlight the importance of considering perceptions of discrimination in longitudinal and life-course perspectives to better understanding dynamics in these perceptions.

Exploring the Links Between Student and Classmate Chronic Absenteeism

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (12) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Michael A. Gottfried ◽  
J. Jacob Kirksey ◽  
Christopher S. Ozuna
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
Probability Models ◽  
Spring Semester ◽  
School Factors ◽  
Chronic Absenteeism ◽  
Educational Stakeholders ◽  
School Year ◽  
Linear Probability ◽  
Time Varying Covariates

Background In efforts to address chronic absenteeism, educational stakeholders have begun to focus on which school factors might link to how and if students miss school. One underexplored area within school is the context of the classroom and, namely, the spillover effects of peers. This study examined whether students were more likely to be chronically absent when they had a chronically absent classmate. Research Questions (1) In elementary school, does having chronically absent classmates in the fall influence individual students’ absences in the spring of that same year? (2) Does this differ by the classroom proportion of chronically absent classmates? Subjects This study used administrative data from an urban school district in California. The district consisted of 13 public elementary schools. From these schools, the analytic sample contained N = 14,891 student observations from 2011 to 2014. Research Design This study examined whether a student was more likely to be chronically absent in the spring semester of the school year if they had a chronically absent classmate in the fall. We employed linear probability models with multiple fixed effects and time-varying covariates. Errors were clustered at the classroom level. Findings We found that students were more likely to be chronically absent in the spring when their classmates were absent in the fall. This finding was consistent across model specifications. Conclusions This finding supports previous research, highlights the value of promoting fall attendance, and aligns with current national, fall-based attendance-boosting policies and programs. When taken together with the idea that absences affect not only the absent child, but also raise the chance of other students being absent, it becomes even more crucial for administrators and policymakers to make informed decisions to address chronic absenteeism.

scholarly journals Impact of Long Working Hours and Shift Work on Perceived Unmet Dental Need: A Panel Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 2939
Author(s):  
Hye-Eun Lee ◽  
Nam-Hee Kim ◽  
Tae-Won Jang ◽  
Ichiro Kawachi
Keyword(s):  
Shift Work ◽  
Dental Care ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Long Working Hours ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Dental Care Needs ◽  
Dental Needs

This study investigates whether workers with long working hours as well as shift workers perceive higher unmet dental care needs, and whether there is a gender difference in the associations. We used the Korea Health Panel (2009, 2011–2014) involving 20,451 person-wave observations from 5567 individuals. Perceived unmet dental care needs was defined when the participants reported that they perceived a need for dental treatment or check-up but had failed to receive dental care services during the past year. Fixed effects logit models were applied to examine how changes in weekly working hours or shift work status were linked to changes in perceived unmet dental needs within each individual. Among participants, 15.9–24.7% reported perceived unmet dental needs and the most common reason was time scarcity. We found that long working hours (>52 h/week) was significantly associated with perceived unmet dental needs due to time scarcity in both men (OR = 1.42, 95% CI 1.13–1.78) and women (OR = 1.35, 95% CI 1.03–1.79) compared workers working 40–52 h per week. Shift work was also a significant risk factor, but only in women (OR = 1.57, 95% CI 1.06–2.32). These findings provide evidence for labor policies to reduce working hours in order to improve access to dental care services.

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