The Sibsize Revolution in International Context. Declining Social Disparities in the Number of Siblings in 26 Countries

One's number of siblings is an important determinant for many life outcomes such as educational attainment. The US has experienced a 'sibsize revolution' in the last century, in which sibship sizes declined and which led to a convergence in family circumstances for children. Did this happen in other countries as well? This study examines the development of sibship size and social disparities in sibship size in low-fertility countries across the twentieth century. We analyze sibship size data collected from 111 nationally representative surveys conducted in 26 low-fertility countries across the twentieth century. Average sibship sizes have declined in virtually all countries. Average sibship sizes are socially stratified, with smaller sibship sizes among higher-educated parents. This social disparity in sibship size has declined over time, indicating convergence in most countries. This convergence takes place for large families, but not for only-child families. Siblings are an understudied phenomenon in family demography, despite their growing importance in a time of increasingly complex family structures. Given the significance of sibship size for children's educational outcomes and overall life chances, decreasing social disparities in sibship size suggest greater equality in the intergenerational transmission of advantage.

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Kinlessness at Death: Examining End-of-Life Outcomes With Danish Registry Data

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2036 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 603-604

Author(s):

Christine Mair ◽

Katherine Ornstein ◽

Melissa Aldridge ◽

Lau Thygesen

Keyword(s):

End Of Life ◽

Healthcare System ◽

Healthcare Reform ◽

Registry Data ◽

Low Fertility ◽

Life Outcomes ◽

Family Structures ◽

Medical Treatments ◽

Marriage Rates

Abstract Demographic changes that lead to “kinlessness” such as low fertility and low marriage rates are not a recent phenomenon for the countries of Northern Europe, such as Denmark. Characterized by small family sizes, high individualism, and a highly formalized healthcare system that is less dependent on family caregivers, Denmark presents a useful case study for the analysis of end-of-life outcomes among the “kinless.” We analyze the population of decedents aged 50 and older (N=175,755) using Danish civil registry data. Approximately 15% of those who died in Denmark had no living partner and no living child. Danish decedents’ family structures are associated with multiple end-of-life outcomes, including number of hospitalizations, ICU visits, and use of specific medical treatments—but not always in the direction hypothesized. Denmark’s highly formalized and individualized healthcare system may offer insight regarding healthcare reform in countries that have yet to complete the second demographic transition.

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Number of Siblings and Participation in Voluntary Associations

European Review ◽

10.1017/s1062798714000118 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 283-298

Author(s):

Deniz Yucel

Keyword(s):

Voluntary Associations ◽

General Social Survey ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Low Fertility ◽

Growing Up ◽

Sibship Size ◽

Theoretical Contribution ◽

The Us ◽

Lower Fertility ◽

The Relationship

While demographers have long been concerned with population increases, recent significant declines in fertility also warrant concern. So far, however, most researchers have focused on the causes of lower fertility rather than its consequences. This study makes a theoretical contribution by proposing a new conceptual framework, which suggests that growing up with fewer siblings is associated with more participation in voluntary associations. Using General Social Survey (GSS) from the US, the relationship between sibship size and participation in voluntary associations is empirically tested. It is found that there is a negative relationship between sibship size and participation in voluntary associations among American adults who have at least four siblings. These findings have implications for researchers who seek a better understanding of the consequences of declining sibship size, not only in the US but also in Europe. Specifically, these results have implications for several countries in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, regions that have experienced ‘the lowest-low fertility’ in the last two decades.

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Archaeologists and the Dead

10.1093/oso/9780198753537.001.0001 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Keyword(s):

Historical Context ◽

Ethical Considerations ◽

International Context ◽

The Public ◽

The Us ◽

The Dead ◽

The Many ◽

The Uk ◽

The Relationship ◽

Experience Effect

This volume addresses the relationship between archaeologists and the dead, through the many dimensions of their relationships: in the field (through practical and legal issues), in the lab (through their analysis and interpretation), and in their written, visual and exhibitionary practice--disseminated to a variety of academic and public audiences. Written from a variety of perspectives, its authors address the experience, effect, ethical considerations, and cultural politics of working with mortuary archaeology. Whilst some papers reflect institutional or organizational approaches, others are more personal in their view: creating exciting and frank insights into contemporary issues that have hitherto often remained "unspoken" among the discipline. Reframing funerary archaeologists as "death-workers" of a kind, the contributors reflect on their own experience to provide both guidance and inspiration to future practitioners, arguing strongly that we have a central role to play in engaging the public with themes of mortality and commemoration, through the lens of the past. Spurred by the recent debates in the UK, papers from Scandinavia, Austria, Italy, the US, and the mid-Atlantic, frame these issues within a much wider international context that highlights the importance of cultural and historical context in which this work takes place.

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Examining Recent Trends in the Racial Disparity Gap in Tap Water Consumption: NHANES 2011–2018

Public Health Nutrition ◽

10.1017/s1368980021002603 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-20

Author(s):

Asher Y. Rosinger ◽

Anisha I. Patel ◽

Francesca Weaks

Keyword(s):

Water Consumption ◽

Tap Water ◽

Ethnic Disparities ◽

Prevalence Ratio ◽

Bottled Water ◽

Water Crisis ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Us ◽

Recent Trends ◽

Nationally Representative

Abstract Objective As tap water distrust has grown in the US with greater levels among Black and Hispanic households, we aimed to examine recent trends in not drinking tap water including the period covering the US Flint Water Crisis and racial/ethnic disparities in these trends. Design Cross-sectional analysis. We used log-binomial regressions and marginal predicted probabilities examined US nationally-representative trends in tap and bottled water consumption overall and by race/ethnicity. Setting The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, 2011–2018. Participants Nationally-representative sample of 9,439 children aged 2-19 and 17,268 adults. Results Among US children and adults, respectively, in 2017-2018 there was a 63% (adjusted prevalence ratio [PR]:1.63, 95%CI: 1.25-2.12, p<0.001) and 40% (PR:1.40, 95%CI: 1.16-1.69, p=0.001) higher prevalence of not drinking tap water compared to 2013-2014 (pre-Flint Water Crisis). For Black children and adults, the probability of not drinking tap water increased significantly from 18.1% (95%CI: 13.4-22.8) and 24.6% (95%CI: 20.7-28.4) in 2013–14 to 29.3% (95%CI: 23.5-35.1) and 34.5% (95%CI: 29.4-39.6) in 2017–2018. Among Hispanic children and adults, not drinking tap water increased significantly from 24.5% (95%CI: 19.4-29.6) and 27.1% (95%CI: 23.0-31.2) in 2013-14 to 39.7% (95%CI: 32.7-46.8) and 38.1% (95%CI: 33.0-43.1) in 2017-2018. No significant increases were observed among Asian or white persons between 2013-14 and 2017-18. Similar trends were found in bottled water consumption. Conclusions This study found persistent disparities in the tap water consumption gap from 2011–2018. Black and Hispanics’ probability of not drinking tap water increased following the Flint Water Crisis.

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Patterns of Red and Processed Meat Consumption across North America: A Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Comparison of Dietary Recalls from Canada, Mexico, and the United States

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18010357 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 357

Author(s):

Sarah M. Frank ◽

Lindsay M. Jaacks ◽

Carolina Batis ◽

Lana Vanderlee ◽

Lindsey Smith Taillie

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Meat Consumption ◽

The United States ◽

Processed Meat ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Us ◽

Total Meat ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

Processed Meat Consumption ◽

Red And Processed Meat

Close economic ties encourage production and trade of meat between Canada, Mexico, and the US. Understanding the patterns of red and processed meat consumption in North America may inform policies designed to reduce meat consumption and bolster environmental and public health efforts across the continent. We used nationally-representative cross-sectional survey data to analyze consumption of unprocessed red meat; processed meat; and total red and processed meat. Generalized linear models were used to separately estimate probability of consumption and adjusted mean intake. Prevalence of total meat consumers was higher in the US (73.6, 95% CI: 72.3–74.8%) than in Canada (65.6, 63.9–67.2%) or Mexico (62.7, 58.1–67.2%). Men were more likely to consume unprocessed red, processed, and total meat, and had larger estimated intakes. In Mexico, high wealth individuals were more likely to consume all three categories of meat. In the US and Canada, those with high education were less likely to consume total and processed meat. Estimated mean intake of unprocessed red, processed, and total meat did not differ across sociodemographic strata. Overall consumption of red and processed meat remains high in North America. Policies to reduce meat consumption are appropriate for all three countries.

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Girl Wonder: Nathalia Crane, Poetic Prodigy of the 1920s

Journal of American Studies ◽

10.1017/s0021875821000505 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-27

Author(s):

PAUL BRADLEY BELLEW

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Twentieth Century ◽

Political Agency ◽

Women's Sexuality ◽

Young Girls ◽

Women’S Sexuality ◽

Early Twentieth Century ◽

The Us

Largely forgotten today, from approximately the late 1910s through the 1930s, at least a dozen young girls brought out numerous books in the US. But there was one girl who was particularly talented and successful: Nathalia Crane, who published her first collection of poetry when she was just eleven years old in 1924. This article analyzes both her work and her reception from her first success through the subsequent controversy over her authorship instigated by a local Brooklyn newspaper. In the process, the article demonstrates the complicated connections between perceptions of girlhood and women's sexuality as they relate to political agency in the early twentieth-century United States.

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New Age Informality: Hispanics and the Sharing Economy

Administrative Sciences ◽

10.3390/admsci11010023 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 23

Author(s):

Michael J. Pisani

Keyword(s):

Federal Reserve ◽

Representative Sample ◽

New Age ◽

Sharing Economy ◽

Participation Rates ◽

Informal Work ◽

Work Activities ◽

The Us ◽

Informal Economies ◽

Nationally Representative

The purpose of this study is to advance understanding of the Hispanic contribution to the engagement and production of the sharing and informal economies in the US. The study is situated within the domains of the sharing economy and informality within a broader frame of entrepreneurship. Specifically, Hispanic participation rates, rationale for engagement, and the major drivers of involvement in the production of the sharing and informal economies are analyzed. To evaluate this, data are reported from a nationally representative subsample of Hispanics derived from the US Federal Reserve Board’s Enterprising and Informal Work Activities Survey (EIWA) conducted in the late fall of 2015. The finding is that more than one-third of Hispanics engage in EIWA. Hispanics participate in EIWA primarily as a means to earn extra income or as a key avenue to earn a living. By choice, relatively affluent Hispanics have the largest stake in sharing and informal economies. However, it is the lowest income Hispanics that engage in EIWA out of necessity. The major drivers of EIWA participation among Hispanics are revealed. This is the first known study with a nationally representative sample of Hispanics focused on participation rates, rationale for engagement, and drivers of involvement in the production of new age sharing and informal economies.

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EXPLORING RACIAL-ETHNICITY DIFFERENCES IN SERVICES USED BY GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igz038.2492 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S674-S674

Author(s):

Tamar E Shovali ◽

Kerstin G Emerson

Keyword(s):

Financial Services ◽

Service Use ◽

Community Services ◽

White Children ◽

Formal Service ◽

Service Accessibility ◽

The Us ◽

Formal Services ◽

Race Ethnicity ◽

Nationally Representative

Abstract Nearly three million grandparents in the US serve as primary caregivers for their grandchildren. Little research on formal service use and grandfamilies exists for Black and Hispanic populations. To begin to address this gap we conducted exploratory analyses using nationally representative estimates of characteristics and service accessibility of noninstitutionalized children living with grandparents from the 2013 National Survey of Children in Nonparental Care. Our goal was to understand differences in service use as a function of grandfamily race/ethnicity. We specifically explored grandparents’ formal service count, financial services received, confidence in obtaining/using community services, and level of role preparation by race/ethnicity. We calculated descriptive statistics for these service variables for grandparents raising Hispanic, White, Black, and Other identified grandchildren (N = 892). On average, there was a minimal range for the number of formal services used (M range = 5.26 – 5.84, possible = 0 – 10 higher equals more services used), reported number of financial services (M range = 0.71 - 0.78, possible = 0 – 3 higher equals more financial services received), and confidence obtaining/using services (M range = 7.4—7.9, possible = 1 – 9 higher equal more confidence). Most prepared to take on the caregiving role were grandparents of White children (55%) followed by Black (21.6%), Other (12.3%), and Hispanic (11.1%) indicating that although grandparents in this sample report being confident and able to access formal services, grandparents of White children report being feeling more prepared to take on caregiving than grandparents of Black, Hispanic, and Other combined.

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The effect of Medicare Part D on prescription drug composition and demand

Journal of Economic Studies ◽

10.1108/jes-08-2013-0109 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 42 (2) ◽

pp. 170-185 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

David Zimmer

Keyword(s):

Prescription Drug ◽

Medicare Part D ◽

Medicare Part ◽

Part D ◽

Content Type ◽

The Us ◽

Upper Respiratory ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

The Impact ◽

Shed Light

Purpose – The US Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 introduced optional prescription drug coverage, beginning in 2006, widely known as Medicare Part D. This paper uses up-to-date nationally representative survey data to investigate the impact of Part D not only on drug spending and consumption, but also on the composition of drug consumption. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Specifically, the paper investigates whether Part D impacted the number of therapeutic classes for which drugs were prescribed, and also whether Part D lead to increased usage of drugs for specific medical conditions that typically receive drug-intensive therapies. Findings – In addition to confirming findings from previous studies, this paper shows that Part D increased the number of therapeutic classes to which seniors receive drugs by approximately four classes. Part D also lead to increased usage of drugs used to treat upper respiratory disease, hypertension, and diabetes. Originality/value – While mostly concurring with previous studies on the spending impacts of Part D, this paper is the first to shed light on other impacts of Part D, specifically with respect to its impact on therapeutic classes for which drugs are prescribed.

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