Social Norms and the Relationship Between Cigarette Use and Religiosity Among Adolescents in the United States

2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Gryczynski ◽  
Brian W. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Reference Group ◽  
The United States ◽  
Negative Association ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Cigarette Use ◽  
Learning Networks ◽  
The Social ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Social Learning Processes

This study investigated the social dynamics that underlie the negative association between religiosity and cigarette use among U.S. adolescents. Using data from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the authors used a theory-based conceptual model (vicarious learning networks [VLN]) to examine the role that key reference group norms play in the religiosity—smoking relationship. This relationship is partially mediated by parents’ and close friends’ perceived disapproval for smoking. However, religiosity maintains a strong negative association with smoking. Consistent with the VLN model, cigarette use varied substantively based on reference group normative configurations. To the extent that the protective effects of religiosity arise from its influence in structuring the social milieu, some of religiosity’s benefits could potentially be leveraged through interventions that promote healthy norms among reference groups within the social network. The VLN model may be a useful tool for conceptualizing the transmission of health behavior through social learning processes.

scholarly journals Association Between E-Cigarette Use and Acculturation Among Adult Immigrants in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 117822181985508
Author(s):  
Yang Wang ◽  
Linnea Laestadius ◽  
Jim P Stimpson ◽  
Fernando A Wilson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Length Of Stay ◽  
English Proficiency ◽  
Reference Group ◽  
The United States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cigarette Use ◽  
Interview Survey ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Adult Immigrants

Despite a dramatic increase in e-cigarette popularity in recent years, the relationship between acculturation and e-cigarette use among immigrants largely remains unknown. We investigated the association between acculturation, measured by both self-reported English proficiency and length of stay in the United States, and immigrants’ use of e-cigarettes using data from the 2016-2017 National Health Interview Survey. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine the associations of acculturation factors with ever and current use of e-cigarettes. We found that high English proficiency increased the odds of ever using e-cigarettes among immigrants (adjusted odds ratios: “well,” 2.22; “very well,” 3.24; with the reference group being “not well”). The association was significant among only men. However, we did not find a significant association between length of stay in the United States and e-cigarette use after adjusting for English proficiency. Future research is warranted to investigate how peer use, family-level factors, country of origin, and marketing strategies jointly influence e-cigarette use among immigrants, especially men.

scholarly journals Extending Geodemographics Using Data Primitives: A Review and a Methodological Proposal

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 386
Author(s):  
Jennie Gray ◽  
Lisa Buckner ◽  
Alexis Comber
Keyword(s):  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Feature Space ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Multiple Time ◽  
Current State ◽  
Cluster Label ◽  
Static Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
Using Data

This paper reviews geodemographic classifications and developments in contemporary classifications. It develops a critique of current approaches and identifiea a number of key limitations. These include the problems associated with the geodemographic cluster label (few cluster members are typical or have the same properties as the cluster centre) and the failure of the static label to describe anything about the underlying neighbourhood processes and dynamics. To address these limitations, this paper proposed a data primitives approach. Data primitives are the fundamental dimensions or measurements that capture the processes of interest. They can be used to describe the current state of an area in a multivariate feature space, and states can be compared over multiple time periods for which data are available, through for example a change vector approach. In this way, emergent social processes, which may be too weak to result in a change in a cluster label, but are nonetheless important signals, can be captured. As states are updated (for example, as new data become available), inferences about different social processes can be made, as well as classification updates if required. State changes can also be used to determine neighbourhood trajectories and to predict or infer future states. A list of data primitives was suggested from a review of the mechanisms driving a number of neighbourhood-level social processes, with the aim of improving the wider understanding of the interaction of complex neighbourhood processes and their effects. A small case study was provided to illustrate the approach. In this way, the methods outlined in this paper suggest a more nuanced approach to geodemographic research, away from a focus on classifications and static data, towards approaches that capture the social dynamics experienced by neighbourhoods.

scholarly journals Methodological and Measurement Advances in Social Determinants of HIV: View from NIH

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Greenwood ◽  
Paul Gaist ◽  
Ann Namkung ◽  
Dianne Rausch
Keyword(s):  
Social Determinants ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Structural Determinants ◽  
Effective Interventions ◽  
Suboptimal Care ◽  
The Social ◽  
Hiv Acquisition ◽  
Ecological Momentary

AbstractSocial determinants are increasingly understood as key contributors to patterns of heightened risk for HIV acquisition and suboptimal care and treatment outcomes. Yet, the ability to rigorously model, map and measure these nuanced social dynamics has been a challenge, resulting in limited examples of effective interventions and resource allocation. In 2016, the United States National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) issued a Request for Applications calling for methodological innovations around the social determinants of HIV. In May of 2019, NIMH, in collaboration with American University’s Center on Health, Risk and Society and the DC Center for AIDS Research, sponsored a symposium to bring together the funded teams to share accomplishments, distill lessons learned and reflect on the state of the science with other key stakeholders. Presentations focused on causal inference, multi-level analysis and mathematical modeling (Models); geospatial analytics and ecological momentary assessments (Maps); and measurement of social and structural determinants including inequalities and stigmas (Measures). Cross-cutting and higher-level themes were discussed and largely focused on the importance of critical and careful integration of social theory, community engagement and mixed methodologies into research on the social determinants of HIV.

Immigrants as Symbolic Assailants

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jize Jiang ◽  
Edna Erez
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Partisan Politics ◽  
Current Configuration ◽  
Immigration Control ◽  
Minority Threat ◽  
The Social

Despite little evidence of an immigration-crime nexus, many American jurisdictions have adopted a punitive approach to undocumented immigrants and an increasingly restrictive and exclusive system of immigration control. The extensive deployment of criminal justice measures to address the immigration “problem” led to the growth of a crimmigration apparatus—a mesh of immigration and criminal justice systems. Drawing on extant literature and applying the framework of the penal field, the article examines the social dynamics, processes, and consequences of crimmigration. It is argued that the portrayal of immigrants as “symbolic assailants” has facilitated the creation and operation of crimmigration under the guise of crime prevention rather than for addressing terrorism and national security—the presumed purpose of utilizing crimmigration practices. The current configuration of crimmigration across the United States is the interactive product of minority threat, partisan politics, and federalism of the American government system, which have jointly formed a “multilayered patchwork” of immigration control. The article first outlines the analytical framework; reviews the social construction of immigrant “criminality”; and describes the punitive and exclusive laws, policies, and enforcement practices established as responses to this “threat.” The dilemmas, contradictions, and contestations associated with crimmigration, including collateral impacts on immigrants, their families and communities, and the criminal justice system, are analyzed; and policy implications are drawn and discussed.

Populism and the yearning for closure: From economic to cultural fragility

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 477-492
Author(s):  
Sibylle van der Walt
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social World ◽  
Western World ◽  
Far Right ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cultural Transformations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Western Democracies

Since the Brexit-vote and the election of a far-right businessman as President of the United States, the social sciences have been struggling to explain the societal conditions that nourish the increasing appeal of far-right parties and leaders in the Western world. The article’s main thesis is that the currently leading sociological paradigm, the theory of globalization losers, is not sufficient to understand the social dynamics in question. Starting from a discussion of the recent work of German sociologist Wilhelm Heitmeyer, it is argued that the best insight in far-right voter’s motivations and emotions can be found in the work of Margaret Canovan. The article shows further that a sociological investigation into the socio-psychological dynamics of the rise of the far-right should take into account broader cultural transformations that have been weakening the social world of Western democracies in the past 30 years, namely individualization, acceleration and demographic decline. In times of crisis (the ‘modernization’ of Eastern Europe and the financial crisis of 2007), these transformations become manifest as a general crisis of advanced capitalism.

Measuring Diversity in Voluntary Association Membership

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 218-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rengin B. Firat ◽  
Jennifer L. Glanville
Keyword(s):  
Voluntary Associations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Voluntary Association ◽  
Civic Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
Central Interest ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Measuring Diversity ◽  
Direct Measures ◽  
Voluntary Association Membership

The membership diversity of voluntary associations is of central interest in the literature investigating the importance of involvement in voluntary associations for civic life. Due to the limited availability of data concerned with the membership composition of voluntary associations, many researchers have adopted a proxy approach that is based on an aggregation of the characteristics of survey respondents who belong to particular types of associations. However, this proxy approach has not yet been validated to assess whether it actually captures voluntary association membership diversity. We address this gap by comparing the proxy approach with a more direct approach for measuring association diversity by using data from the United States Citizenship, Involvement, Democracy Survey and the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey. Our analyses reveal that the proxy measures are not correlated with direct measures of voluntary association membership diversity.

scholarly journals Personality States of the Union

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Condon ◽  
Sara J. Weston
Keyword(s):  
Personality Assessment ◽  
National Level ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Personality Change ◽  
Affective Traits ◽  
Social Traits ◽  
Deprivation Effect ◽  
The Social ◽  
Using Data

Fluctuations in the average daily personality of the United States capture both meaningful affective responses to world events (e.g., changes in anxiety or well-being) and broader psychological responses. We estimate the change in national personality in the months following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and investigate fluctuations in personality states during the year 2020 using data from an ongoing personality assessment project. We find significant and meaningful change in personality traits since the beginning of the pandemic, as well as evidence of instability in personality states. When evaluating changes from the first few months of 2020 to the period of social distancing related to COVID-19 restrictions, the social traits reflected an unexpected “deprivation” effect such that mean self-ratings increased in the wake of restricted opportunities for social interaction. Changes in mean levels of the affective traits were not significant over the same months, but they did differ significantly from the average levels of prior years when looking at shorter time intervals (rolling 7-day averages) around prominent national events. This instability may reflect meaningful fluctuations in national personality, as we find that daily personality states are associated with other indices of national health, including daily COVID-19 cases and the S&P index. Overall, the use of personality measures to capture responses to global events offers a more holistic picture of the U.S. psyche and of personality change at the national level.

scholarly journals Collaboration, creativity, conflict and chaos: doing interdisciplinary sustainability research

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1711-1721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose Cairns ◽  
Sabine Hielscher ◽  
Ann Light
Keyword(s):  
Interdisciplinary Research ◽  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Research Teams ◽  
Sustainability Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The University

Abstract How do the social dynamics within interdisciplinary research teams shape sustainability research? This paper presents a case study of interdisciplinary research projects at the University of Sussex, as part of a programme aimed at encouraging collaborative work to address intersections between the Sustainability Development Goals. Using data gathered during a series of participatory workshops at the start and end of the projects, combined with non-participant observation and analysis of project discussions during the lifetime of the projects, we examine the diverse ways in which research teams configure themselves to navigate the terrain of interdisciplinary sustainability research and the kinds of social and discursive dynamics that shape projects. In particular, we relate the emergence of distinct project team configurations to diverse problem framings, and aspirations for collaboration within these teams. We examine some of the challenges facing researchers attempting to work in these ways, and explore implications of these dynamics for knowledge production for sustainability. We conclude by drawing out and addressing some of the challenges for institutions funding and supporting interdisciplinary sustainability research.

Punitive ambiguity: State-level criminal record data quality in the era of widespread background screening

2021 ◽  
pp. 146247452198950
Author(s):  
David McElhattan
Keyword(s):  
Data Quality ◽  
State Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Criminal History ◽  
Criminal Record ◽  
Criminal Records ◽  
The Social ◽  
Record Data ◽  
Penal State ◽  
Using Data

Prior research documents widespread deficiencies in the quality and completeness of official criminal records in the United States. In an era when the social reach of criminal records has expanded to an unprecedented degree, these deficiencies carry serious consequences for criminal record subjects. The present study develops the concept of punitive ambiguity to characterize the burdens of incomplete criminal records and examines how they vary at the state level, providing evidence that punitive ambiguity is racially patterned. Using data from the biennial Surveys of State Criminal History Information Systems, multivariate analyses find that states where African Americans make up larger shares of felony record populations report rap sheet dispositions at significantly lower levels, pairing low criminal record data quality with extensive legally-mandated background screening. The results carry implications for understanding the racialized burdens of a criminal record, as well as broader processes in the development of the American penal state that combine harsh formal punishments with chronic administrative neglect.

scholarly journals Unraveling the social ecology of polio

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amarah Mauricio ◽  
Andrew Noymer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Hygiene Hypothesis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Death Rates ◽  
The Social ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient ◽  
Analyze Data

Using data on poliomyelitis and typhoid fever mortality in the United States, 1914–69, we test competing theories for the twentieth century expansion of polio. We analyze data stratified by age, sex, and race. We show that some of the seemingly-paradoxical aspects of the data — principally, that whites had higher polio death rates than nonwhites but lower typhoid death rates — are consistent with the polio hygiene hypothesis. Data on racial differences show that the hygiene hypothesis is necessary and sufficient to explain patterns of polio mortality in the United States. Epidemiological phenomena are best understood in their social context.

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