Honoring the Cheese Puffs

2020 ◽  
pp. 151-188
Author(s):  
Jennifer Patico
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
General Rule ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
After School ◽  
Urban Child ◽  
School Events ◽  
Cooking Classes ◽  
Bright Blue

Chapter 4 considers how concerns about children’s food are part and parcel of people’s participation in and recognition of their urban, gentrifying community: a means of creating their urban, middle-class civic identities. As a general rule, parents held inclusivity and diversity (understood primarily but not only in terms of class and race) as explicitly valuable and beneficial to their school community. At the same time, after-school childcare programs and other school events could become cause for consternation to food-aware parents: bags of snack chips, cupcakes with bright blue frosting, or Rice Krispie treats sometimes circulated through classroom birthday parties, illicit lunchroom trades, and impromptu cooking classes. Food comparisons across families and observed differences between school and home were often fraught by concern for children’s physical well-being, but these concerns and their expression were also constrained by the preference for nonjudgmental, politically circumspect, and socially aware attitudes. These sensibilities themselves index socioeconomic status and reflect class cultures, but explicit talk of status or prestige was submerged in this urban child-rearing vision, where the language of whole foods and wholesomeness coexisted carefully with that of progressivism and social inclusivity.

The Trouble with Snack Time

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Patico
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Social Inequality ◽  
Food System ◽  
The United States ◽  
After School ◽  
Unintended Effects ◽  
Class Privilege ◽  
School Events ◽  
Private Homes ◽  
Political Economic

In the wake of school lunch reform debates, heated classroom cupcake wars, and worries about childhood obesity, children’s food is a locus of anxiety and “crisis” in the United States. What does the feeding of children—and adults’ often impassioned, worried talk about the foods children eat—say about middle-class parents’ understandings of what it means to parent well, and about the kinds of individuals they feel compelled to create in their children? How are these understandings reflective of a larger political economic moment, and how do they reinforce existing forms of social inequality? This book takes up those questions through in-depth ethnographic research in “Hometown,” an urban Atlanta charter school community. Embedding herself in school events, after-school meetings, school lunchrooms, and private homes, the author observed how children’s food was a locus for fundamental moral tensions about how to live, how to present oneself, and how to be protected from harm in a neoliberal environment. Middle-class parents took responsibility for protecting their children from an industrialized food system and for cultivating children’s self-management in food and other realms; yet they did so in ways that ultimately and unintentionally tended to reinforce class privilege and the effects of social inequality. Listening closely to adults’—and children’s—food concerns and contextualizing them both very locally and vis-à-vis a broader political economy, this book interrogates those unintended effects and asks how the “crisis” of children’s food might be reimagined toward different ends.

Socioeconomic Status and Family Well-Being: Untangling a Complex Relationship

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eylin Palamaro ◽  
Tanya Vishnevsky ◽  
Lauren Michelle McDonald ◽  
Ryan P. Kilmer ◽  
James Cook
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Complex Relationship

Galacto- and Fructo-oligosaccharides Utilized for Growth by Cocultures of Bifidobacterial Species Characteristic of the Infant Gut

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Sims ◽  
GW Tannock
Keyword(s):  
Breast Milk ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Bifidobacterium Longum ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Bifidobacterium Bifidum ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Potential Growth ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Infant Diet ◽  
Growth Substrates

Copyright © 2020 American Society for Microbiology. Bifidobacterial species are common inhabitants of the gut of human infants during the period when milk is a major component of the diet. Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium longum subspecies longum, and B. longum subspecies infantis have been detected frequently in infant feces, but B. longum subsp. infantis may be disadvantaged numerically in the gut of infants in westernized countries. This may be due to the different durations of breast milk feeding in different countries. Supplementation of the infant diet or replacement of breast milk using formula feeds is common in Western countries. Formula milks often contain galacto- and/or fructo-oligosaccharides (GOS and FOS, respectively) as additives to augment the concentration of oligosaccharides in ruminant milks, but the ability of B. longum subsp. infantis to utilize these potential growth substrates when they are in competition with other bifidobacterial species is unknown. We compared the growth and oligosaccharide utilization of GOS and FOS by bifidobacterial species in pure culture and coculture. Short-chain GOS and FOS (degrees of polymerization [DP] 2 and 3) were favored growth substrates for strains of B. bifidum and B. longum subsp. longum, whereas both B. breve and B. longum subsp. infantis had the ability to utilize both short- and longer-chain GOS and FOS (DP 2 to 6). B. breve was nevertheless numerically dominant over B. longum subsp. infantis in cocultures. This was probably related to the slower use of GOS of DP 3 by B. longum subsp. infantis, indicating that the kinetics of substrate utilization is an important ecological factor in the assemblage of gut communities.IMPORTANCE The kinds of bacteria that form the collection of microbes (the microbiota) in the gut of human infants may influence health and well-being. Knowledge of how the composition of the infant diet influences the assemblage of the bacterial collection is therefore important because dietary interventions may offer opportunities to alter the microbiota with the aim of improving health. Bifidobacterium longum subspecies infantis is a well-known bacterial species, but under modern child-rearing conditions it may be disadvantaged in the gut. Modern formula milks often contain particular oligosaccharide additives that are generally considered to support bifidobacterial growth. However, studies of the ability of various bifidobacterial species to grow together in the presence of these oligosaccharides have not been conducted. These kinds of studies are essential for developing concepts of microbial ecology related to the influence of human nutrition on the development of the gut microbiota.

Empathy in context: Socioeconomic status as a moderator of the link between empathic accuracy and well-being in married couples

2021 ◽  
pp. 026540752199075
Author(s):  
Emily F. Hittner ◽  
Claudia M. Haase
Keyword(s):  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Negative Affect ◽  
Marital Conflict ◽  
Married Couples ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Empathic Accuracy ◽  
Low Levels

The present laboratory-based study investigated socioeconomic status (SES) as a moderator of the association between empathic accuracy and well-being among married couples from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Empathic accuracy was measured using a performance-based measure of empathic accuracy for one’s spouse’s negative emotions during a marital conflict conversation. Aspects of well-being included well-being (i.e., positive affect, life satisfaction), ill-being (i.e., negative affect, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms), and marital satisfaction. SES was measured using a composite score of income and education. Findings showed that SES moderated associations between empathic accuracy and well-being. Empathic accuracy was beneficial (for well-being and ill-being) or not harmful (for marital satisfaction) at low levels of SES. In contrast, empathic accuracy was not beneficial (for well-being and ill-being) or harmful (for marital satisfaction) at high levels of SES. Results were robust (controlled for age, gender, and race). Findings are discussed in light of interdependence vs. independence in low- vs. high-SES contexts and highlight the importance of socioeconomic context in determining whether empathic accuracy benefits well-being or not.

scholarly journals Contributing Factors in Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being—The Role of Socioeconomic Status, Social Support, and Health Behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (22) ◽  
pp. 9597
Author(s):  
Gabriella Nagy-Pénzes ◽  
Ferenc Vincze ◽  
Éva Bíró
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Health Behavior ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Unhealthy Eating ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mental Well Being

Mental disorders are common in adolescents, and for effective interventions we should be aware of their determinants. However, there are only a small number of studies investigating the combined effect of multiple factors. Therefore, our aim is to assess the impact of socioeconomic status, social support, and health behavior on adolescents’ mental well-being. A cross-sectional health survey of 1641 children was carried out in accordance with the study protocol of the Hungarian Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey. Multivariate multiple regression was used to analyze the main determinants of mental well-being. The boys’ mental well-being was favorable compared to girls; lower subjective family wealth was associated with lower life satisfaction and depressive mood. Life satisfaction was positively related to healthy eating, social support, and physical activity. Unhealthy eating, sedentary lifestyle, and lower social support were associated with higher depression scores. Higher social support reduces psychosomatic symptoms, while unhealthy eating and spending a lot of time in front of the computer increase them. Both social support and healthy lifestyle seem to be protective against mental health problems among adolescents, and thus interventions should focus on these factors regardless of the socioeconomic status of the participants, with special attention given to girls.

Qualitative Descriptions of Middle-Class, African American Mothers’ Child-Rearing Practices and Values

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 868-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie M. Curenton ◽  
Jocelyn Elise Crowley ◽  
Dawne M. Mouzon
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
African American Mothers ◽  
Family Friendly ◽  
Strength Based ◽  
American Children ◽  
Decision To Stay ◽  
The Cost

During qualitative phone interviews, middle-class, mostly married African American mothers ( N = 25) describe their child-rearing responsibilities, practices, and values. They explain (a) why they decided to stay home or take work leave to attend to child rearing, (b) how they divided child-rearing responsibilities with their husbands/romantic partners, (c) whether they faced unique parenting challenges raising African American children, and (d) whether they identified as feminists. Responses revealed the decision to stay home or take work leave comprised values about gender roles, concerns about the cost and/or quality of child care, and the availability of family-friendly workplace policies. Most couples shared child-rearing responsibilities, although mothers admit to doing more. Their unique parenting challenge was protecting their children from racism, stereotyping, and discrimination. Only one third of the mothers identified as being feminists. These results have implications for furthering our knowledge about African American coparenting from a positive, strength-based perspective.

scholarly journals Physical Activity and Psychological Well-Being: Testing Alternative Sociological Interpretations

1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
William McTeer ◽  
James E. Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Physical Fitness ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Other ◽  
Positive Zero ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

This study examines the relationship between physical activity in sport and feelings of well-being, testing alternative interpretations of the relationship between these two variables. It was expected that there would be positive relationships between physical activity on the one hand and physical fitness, feelings of well-being, social interaction in the sport and exercise environment, and socioeconomic status on the other hand. It was also expected that physical fitness, social interaction, and socioeconomic status would be positively related to psychological well-being. Further, it was expected that any positive zero-order relationship of physical activity and well-being would be at least in part a result of the conjoint effects of the other variables. The analyses were conducted separately for the male and female subsamples of a large survey study of Canadian adults. The results, after controls, show a modest positive relationship of physical activity and well-being for males but no such relationship for females. The predicted independent effects of the control factors obtained for both males and females. Interpretations of the results are discussed.

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