Department: Sociology ![[clear]](close-x.png "Remove this limiter")
63 matches in the database.
These are records: 1 - 30.
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1.
Alvira-Hammond, Marta.
Assessing Six Prominent Explanations for the Academic Performance Gap Between Mexican and White High School Students.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2012, Bowling Green State University
► This study uses data from the first three waves of the National…
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▼ This study uses data from the first three waves of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) to examine the viability of academic engagement, social capital, cultural capital, school quality, and biased treatment as explanations for the gaps in twelfth-grade standardized test performance between Mexican and white high school students. I also examine interactions between social capital and race/ethnicity, and social capital and socioeconomic status. I then test the effects of English language proficiency and generational status among Mexican students. Multiple linear regression results indicate that academic engagement, cultural capital, biased treatment, and school quality are significant contributors to the test score gap between Mexicans and whites. Socioeconomic status differentials also emerge as a significant contributor to this gap. Social capital-based explanations are not supported. Finally, patterns among Mexican students indicate that closer proximity to the migration experience is associated with better test performance.
Advisors/Committee Members: Oates, Gary.
Subjects: Education; Hispanic Americans; Sociology
Keywords: mexican academic performance; test score gap; social capital
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2.
Bogle, Ryan Heath.
Beyond Instability: How Do Children Fare in Long-Term Cohabiting Unions?.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2010, Bowling Green State University
► Children living in cohabiting unions experience a greater risk of parental instability…
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▼ Children living in cohabiting unions experience a greater risk of parental instability relative to children residing in married parent families. However, remaining in a long-term cohabiting union may expose children to other risks more detrimental than instability. Through selection, the most invested and financially secure couples may transition into marriage, while less secure couples may maintain co-residence in order to benefit from the economic and emotional support that a cohabiting partner provides. Thus, long-term cohabitation may have negative implications, in that couples who would be better off dissolving the union do not. Using the first four waves of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing survey, I examine the characteristics of 532 new parents cohabiting nine months or less prior to conception of a child. First, means for indicators of child wellbeing are calculated and compared for long-term cohabiting parents, parents who marry, and parents who break-up. Additional comparisons are performed between all parents cohabiting at baseline and long-term cohabiting parents. The second analysis examines the adjusted means of long-term cohabiting parents against short-term cohabiting parents, or those who break-up shortly after the birth of the child. Long-term cohabiting parents are comprised of lower earning and less educated mothers and fathers. In terms of parental relationship quality and socioeconomic characteristics, children fare worse relative to those who transition to marriage, and were often no different from those who dissolved. Children in long-term cohabiting unions do not fare any worse relative to short-term unions, and have significantly lower levels of couple disagreement. Findings suggest new ways of conceptualizing instability.
Advisors/Committee Members: Kenney, Catherine.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: Cohabitation; unwed parents; long-term cohabitation; child wellbeing
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3.
Brown, Jennifer A.
DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND DELINQUENCY AMONG SEXUAL-MINORITY YOUTH: THE INFLUENCE OF RELATIONSHIPS WITH PARENTS AND FRIENDS.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2007, Bowling Green State University
► Prior research on sexual-minority youth is, in general, limited and often focuses…
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▼ Prior research on sexual-minority youth is, in general, limited and often focuses on negative outcomes such as depressive symptoms and delinquency. Studies in the area have not often focused on the social network experiences of sexual minority youth, nor explored ways in which relationships with parents and peers influence depressive symptoms and delinquency involvement. In addition to levels of caring and trust, perceiving identity support from significant others may be especially important to sexual minority youths. Many prior studies are based on small convenience samples, while larger data sets often do not contain multidimensional assessments of parent and peer relationship qualities. In this investigation, the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS) was employed as it contained measures of parent and peer relationship qualities, as well as scales measuring depressive symptoms and self-reported delinquency. This analysis explored the importance of trust, caring, and identity support as a source of protection from these negative outcomes. Additionally, it was speculated that such qualities may provide greater protection from negative outcomes for sexual-minority youth. Using a series of t-tests and ordinary least squares regressions, results showed that sexual-minorities reported significantly greater levels of depressive symptoms yet did not differ from heterosexual youths on levels of self-reported delinquency. Further analyses indicated that high levels of trust and identity support within the parent and friend relationships generally provided greater protection for all respondents. However, low identity support appeared to have a more deleterious effect on the depressive symptoms reported by sexual-minorities. Throughout these analyses, trust, closeness, and identity support did not act as a mediator of sexual-minority youths’ higher depressive symptoms, thus suggesting that other factors are at work. Analyses focused on delinquency indicated that sexual-minorities did not differ significantly from their heterosexual counterparts in this area. Results revealed that low identity support and trust within the parental relationship was significantly related to elevated delinquency, but deficits in peer relationships were not associated with this outcome. Rather, results revealed that delinquency of friends was a strong predictor, suggesting that social learning processes, rather than problematic peer relations are more significant as influences.
Advisors/Committee Members: Giordano, Peggy C.
Subjects: Sociology, Criminology and Penology
Keywords: Sexual-Minority; Depression; Delinquency; Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study
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4.
Brumbaugh, Stacey M.
THE USE OF THE COMMUNION RITUAL FOR THE PROCESS OF IDENTITY CONGRUENCE AMONG LESBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL CHRISTIANS.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2007, Bowling Green State University
► Utilizing Identity Theory (Stryker 1980), this study contributes to the previous literature…
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▼ Utilizing Identity Theory (Stryker 1980), this study contributes to the previous literature on lesbigay Christian identity negotiation by examining how participation in a religious community, particularly how participation in the ritual act of communion, aids in lesbigay Christians’ ability to reconcile their identities. The complexities of lesbigay Christians’ use of communion for their identity congruence are examined through the analysis of ritual and narrative. Participant observation and focus groups were conducted within a church consisting primarily of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. Through six main findings this study demonstrates how lesbigay Christians uniquely perform the communion ritual and attach meanings to it in such a way that allows participation to aid in the process of identity congruence. These six findings are: communion demonstrates full love and acceptance, tolerates religious diversity, celebrates individualistic spirituality, creates a sense of belonging, affirms same-sex partnership, and is an act of social justice. This paper also discusses the implications of these findings and provides direction for future research.
Advisors/Committee Members: Longmore, Monica A.
Subjects: Psychology, Social
Keywords: Gay and Lesbian Christians; Sexuality and Christianity; Communion; Ritual; Identity Theory; Identity Conflict
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5.
Bulanda, Jennifer Roebuck.
MARRIAGE IN LATER LIFE: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARITAL QUALITY, HEALTH, AND DIVORCE.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2006, Bowling Green State University
► In this study, I use data from the 1992 through 2004 waves…
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▼ In this study, I use data from the 1992 through 2004 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to investigate correlates of marital quality in later life, examine the influence of marital quality and later life transitions on physical health and divorce outcomes, and assess whether there are gender and race-ethnic variations in the relationship between later life transitions, marital quality, health, and divorce. Results show that later life transitions (specifically, economic and employment situation, children in the household, and caregiving for a parent or parent-in-law) are important to marital quality; and, there are notable gender and race-ethnic variations in marital quality, as well as gender and race-ethnic variations in how later life transitions are associated with marital quality. I find that marital quality is also related to physical health; among older married adults, marital happiness, interaction, and inequity are related to both subjective and objective measures of health. Older adults who are happily married have better physical health than those in low-quality marriages, cohabitors, the divorced, the widowed, and the never-married, and results reveal important gender and race-ethnic differences in the relationship between marital status, marital quality, and health. Finally, marital quality is related to divorce for older adults, and the marital quality of both spouses is consequential for marital dissolution. Later life characteristics (including wealth and employment status, spouse’s health, grandchildren in the household, providing financial support to parents, and the emptying of the nest) are also associated with divorce, and the relationship between later life transitions and divorce depends on marital quality, gender, and race. Results point to the importance of marital quality for health and divorce in later life, demonstrate that later life characteristics and events do influence older adults’ marriages, and underscore the need for attention to gender and race-ethnic diversity.
Advisors/Committee Members: Brown, Susan L.
Subjects: Sociology, General
Keywords: Marital Quality; Health; Divorce; Later Life; Older Adults
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6.
Burgoyne, Sarah E.
Parental Union Dissolution and Subsequent Child Well-Being.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2012, Bowling Green State University
► I use the first three waves of the Fragile Families Study (N…
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▼ I use the first three waves of the Fragile Families Study (N = 1,692) to explore whether the dissolution of two-biological parent cohabitation is associated with multiple domains of child well-being (aggressive behavior, withdrawn behavior, anxious/depressive behavior, and health) in the same way as two-biological parent divorce. In this thesis, I evaluate whether children who experience unstable two-biological-parent cohabitation fare worse than children who experience unstable two-biological-parent marriage. I also consider whether economic and parenting resources reduce the effect of parental union type on child well-being. Children who experience the dissolution of parental cohabitation fare better than their counterparts who experience parental divorce in terms of health, but are not different than their counterparts on behavioral outcomes. Children living with unstably cohabiting parents exhibit similar levels of aggressive behavior, withdrawn behavior, and anxious/depressive behaviors their counterparts whose parents divorced. However, children living with unstably cohabiting parents had higher odds having excellent health, on average, than their counterparts living with divorced parents. When comparing stable parental unions, living with cohabiting parents was associated with higher levels of child aggressive and anxious/depressive behavior. The current study suggests that the legal status of two-biological-parent union dissolution is an important predictor of child health, but not behavioral outcomes.
Advisors/Committee Members: Brown, Susan.
Subjects: Demographics; Demography; Sociology
Keywords: parental union dissolution; child well-being
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7.
Cao, Jasmine.
Parental Involvement and Adolescent Depression: An Application of the Social Stress Model.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2009, Bowling Green State University
► It has been well-documented that the more parents are involved, the less…
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▼ It has been well-documented that the more parents are involved, the less likely adolescents are depressed. However, the mechanisms through which parental involvement are linked with adolescent depression are not clear. Applying the social stress model, this paper seeks to examine whether adolescent coping strategies mediate the relationship between parental involvement and adolescent depression, as well as whether social stressors moderate the association of parental involvement with adolescent depression. Also, this paper explores the varying effects of different types of parental involvement on adolescent depression; and whether parenting styles are more reactive or proactive in nature. Using data from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health Wave I and Wave II, it is found that parental involvement reduces adolescent depression, but not through enhancing adolescent coping strategies. Parental involvement does moderate the effect of social stressors, but parental involvement is only beneficial when social stressors are low, not when they are high. It is noteworthy that shared activities play as important a role as does communication in reducing adolescent depression. Moreover, the effect of shared activities is more robust, as demonstrated by fixed effects models. Results from cross-lagged models provided evidence of both reactive and proactive parenting styles.
Advisors/Committee Members: Swisher, Raymond.
Subjects: Social psychology; Sociology
Keywords: Parental Involvement; Adolescent Depresssion; Social Stressors; Coping Strategies
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8.
Cohen, Jessica A.
Race/Ethnicity and Nativity Status: Marital Expectations Among Cohabiting Men and Women.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2007, Bowling Green State University
► Using the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, this study investigates the…
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▼ Using the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, this study investigates the relationship between socioeconomic status, fertility and union history with cohabitor’s marital expectations, focusing on the race/ethnicity and nativity status differential in marital expectations. The results indicate that marital expectations do differ by race/ethnicity. First, for women, Black cohabitors have lower marital expectations than Whites. For men, Black cohabitors share similar marital expectations as Whites. Second, White men have lower marital expectations than native-born Hispanic male cohabitors, while White women and native-born Hispanic female cohabitors share similar marital expectations. Lastly, for men and women, foreign-born Hispanics have lower marital expectations than native-born Hispanics. These differences in marital expectations are not explained by socioeconomic status, fertility or union history; however socioeconomic status and fertility history have a significant relationship with marital expectations. This study supports the use of a couple level indicator of race/ethnicity and the importance of measuring nativity status.
Advisors/Committee Members: Manning, Wendy.
Keywords: Cohabitation, Marriage, marriage expectations, race, ethnicity
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9.
Cohen, Jessica A.
Postmarital Union Formation and Childbearing.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2011, Bowling Green State University
► The United States has experienced notable shifts in family formation throughout the…
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▼ The United States has experienced notable shifts in family formation throughout the past several decades; one of the most important trends is the U.S. divorce rate. Over one-tenth of the U.S. population is currently divorced (National Center for Family & Marriage Research, 2010a) and although the divorce rate has stabilized since the mid-1990s (Kreider & Ellis, 2011); it remains high with half of first marriages estimated to end in divorce or separation (Raley & Bumpass, 2003; Stevenson & Wolfers, 2007). Despite this trend, research on cohabitation and childbearing has largely focused on the premarital context. This is problematic because cohabitation and childbearing are common after first marriage dissolution (Wineberg, 1990; Bumpass, Sweet, & Cherlin, 1991; Brown, 2000; Wu, 2008; McNamee & Raley, 2011). This dissertation attempts to broaden researchers’ understanding of the social meaning of cohabitation in the postmarital family formation process by examining the prevalence of postmarital cohabitation and comparing the childbearing behaviors and intentions of postmarital cohabitors to remarried women. Employing a discrete-time event history framework, this dissertation examines data from the 2006-2008 National Survey Family Growth (N = 7,356). First, I investigate the relationship between premarital cohabitation history and postmarital family formation. I find premarital cohabitation does significantly increase the likelihood of postmarital cohabitation and reduces the probability of remarriage. Furthermore, premarital cohabitors who do go on to cohabit after their first marriage ends are less likely to transition into remarriage than their non-premarital cohabiting counterparts. Second, I compare the childbearing intentions of cohabitors to married women, distinguishing between those who have experienced first marriage dissolution from those who have not. I find cohabitors generally have similar childbearing intentions as their married counterparts, although women’s and partner’s age, as well as parity largely explain this effect for premarital cohabitors. Furthermore, among previously married women, postmarital cohabitors were just as likely to report childbearing intentions as remarried women, whether or not they had a child. Finally, I compare the risk of childbearing among postmarital cohabitors to remarried women and find postmarital cohabitors exhibit a slower timing to childbirth than their remarried counterparts. However, given over half of postmarital cohabitors go on to remarry; this does not mean their risk of childbearing remains low. It seems that once previously married women do marry their cohabiting partner, their childbearing behavior is on par with their remarried counterparts. Furthermore, among previously married women who marry their cohabiting partner, only White and native-born Hispanic women exhibit a lower likelihood of childbearing during cohabitation versus remarriage, their African-American and foreign-born Hispanic counterparts do not. The results from this dissertation contribute to our understanding of the family formation process after first marriage dissolution, showing that postmarital cohabitation has grown more common throughout the past two decades and cohabitation may be an alternative form of remarriage for a number of previously married women.
Advisors/Committee Members: Manning, Wendy.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: Postmarital Union Formation; Childbearing, Divorce, Cohabitation, Childbearing Intentions
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10.
Cookson, Janelle A.
Impact of Peers and Romantic Partners on Adolescent Desistance: A Focus on Gender.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2009, Bowling Green State University
► While most desistance research has focused on the process during adulthood, it…
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▼ While most desistance research has focused on the process during adulthood, it has been largely neglected among adolescents. The literature on desistance among adults identifies peers and romantic partners as potentially important components of desistance. Adolescent research has demonstrated that peers and romantic partners hold the most significance for individuals during adolescence; however their impact on delinquency termination during adolescence has not been examined. Taking advantage of the rich data provided by the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health), the current study has four main objectives. First, I seek to examine the effect that adolescent dating has on the amount of time the respondent spends with delinquent friends. Second, I investigate whether dating can lead to desistance, and if so whether desistance occurs because dating actually reduces time spent with delinquent peers. Finally, because much of the desistance research has focused exclusively on male-only samples I will investigate possible gender differences. Findings indicate that adolescents who are dating spend more time with their friends and are more involved in delinquent activities than their non-dating counterparts regardless of gender; however, the type of relationship holds importance. Additionally, the more time adolescents spend with their friends increases the likelihood of becoming involved in delinquent activities regardless of whether those peers are engaging in delinquency or not. Finally, dating actually reduces the likelihood of desistance.
Advisors/Committee Members: Chavez, Jorge.
Subjects: Criminology; Sociology
Keywords: desistance; adolescence; delinquency; peers; romantic partners
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11.
Copp, Jennifer E.
Stay/Leave Decision-Making in Non-Violent and Violent Dating Relationships.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2012, Bowling Green State University
► The current study examined stay/leave decision-making processes of young adults in non-violent…
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▼ The current study examined stay/leave decision-making processes of young adults in non-violent and violent dating relationships. Although intimate partner violence (IPV) has received growing attention in recent decades, and has been acknowledged as a serious social problem, the vast majority of research has focused on married and cohabiting relationships. More recent investigations are beginning to examine younger populations, but are largely concerned with the risk factors, prevalence, and characteristics of such relationships. Researchers have suggested a link between relationship violence in young adulthood and later in life, but have not fully explored the factors that influence relationship termination. Data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationship Study (TARS) were used to address how relationship dynamics, perceived alternatives, social support and IPV itself influenced break-ups among respondents in dating relationships (n=700). Both positive and negative relationship dynamics, perceived alternatives, and messages from significant others predicted whether individuals ended their relationships. Additionally, these analyses indicated that net of other predictors, violence was in general not associated with the odds of relationship termination. Among individuals reporting IPV (n=245) similar factors influenced stay/leave decisions. Additionally, associations between relationship dynamics, social support, and ending the relationship were similar for men and women in both the violent and non-violent subgroups. Finally, the test for a threshold effect of IPV (n=700) to determine whether higher levels of IPV experience ‘tipped the scales,’ and resulted in increased odds of relationship termination demonstrated that greater frequency of relationship violence was not associated with ending the relationship.
Advisors/Committee Members: Giordano, Peggy C.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: stay/leave decisions; dating relationships; relationship violence
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12.
Deitrickson, Amy Diane.
The Us/Them Binary: An Analysis of Local Media’s Framing of Local Terrorists.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2007, Bowling Green State University
► The media is a vital player in the terrorist cycle since the…
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▼ The media is a vital player in the terrorist cycle since the communication of information can have tremendous influence on reactions to terrorist events. Typically, when doing research on terrorism and the media, researchers draw samples from large, national media organizations and recently, the focus has been on the media’s presentation of 9/11 and other large, very publicized terrorist events. In contrast, since 9/11, scholars have not paid as much attention to smaller terrorism cases, especially concerning how they were represented in their respective local media outlets. It is important to explore the many communicative paths of terrorism discourse, not just the most prominent. The present study addresses this neglected area of research by analyzing coverage of terrorism in the local context. The ethnocentric distinction between the “us” and “them” binary of terrorism is examined by studying how two local news sources present incidents of terrorist-related activities where the accused is somehow identified with the local community. My hypothesis is that when the accused is located close to home, assumptions about terrorism – the identity of terrorists, the reasons given for terrorism – are blurred. This research found that being from the community does affect the coverage of the events and the treatment of the accused. However, the coverage and treatment is dependant on the social distance of the accused from the elite. The variables of religion, citizenship, class, and ethnicity influence the attribution of community membership, the use of the terrorist label, and the ways the media contextualizes and explores the reasons for the terrorist event.
Advisors/Committee Members: Mirchandani, Rekha.
Keywords: terrorism; news; John Walker Lindh; media; race
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13.
Doerner, Jill Kathleen.
Explaining the Gender Gap in Sentencing Outcomes: An Investigation of Differential Treatment in U.S. Federal Courts.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2009, Bowling Green State University
► Using data from the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) from 2001 to…
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▼ Using data from the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) from 2001 to 2003, I examine the role of gender in the sentencing of defendants in federal courts and investigate the multiple ways in which gender influences legal decision making and sentencing outcomes. Researchers have been slow to investigate female defendants and why women tend to be treated more leniently than men at the sentencing stage, with a majority of past studies focusing on male defendants and differences between racial and ethnic groups. To be sure, a small body of research has emerged that examines the gender gap in sentencing. However, many of these studies have not sought empirically to explain the gender gap or outline the different sources of gender-based sentencing disparity, relying instead on theoretical arguments and less than robust statistical analyses. Furthermore, prior investigations of the gender gap are dated; most existing studies rely on data from the 1970s and 1980s and use smaller state data sets or single city samples.In the present study, I address three related questions concerning the gender gap in sentencing. First, is the existence of a gender gap uniform across all kinds of cases or does it only exist under certain circumstances? For example, is the gender gap larger in drug cases than in non-drug cases? And, does gender play a larger role in cases sentenced according to the prescribed guidelines or in cases that fall outside the sentencing guidelines? Second, can the gender gap be explained by legal (e.g., departures) and extralegal (e.g., number of dependents) differences between men and women that have yet to be examined by other researchers? Furthermore, do these legal and extralegal factors have the same impact for male and female defendants that is, are gendered explanations required? Third, do the effects of gender and race/ethnicity interact such that the meaning and impact of gender at sentencing depends in part on race and ethnicity? This research is grounded in three theoretical perspectives that speak to the potential importance of gender in legal decision-making: Steffensmeier's (1980) focal concerns perspective, Black's (1976) theory of social control, and the paternalism hypothesis/perspective. Overall, I find that female defendants receive more lenient sentence outcomes than their male counterparts. However, the gender gap is not uniform across all kinds of cases. For instance, a smaller gender gap exists in fraud cases than in drug trafficking and firearms cases. And, the gender difference in the likelihood of receiving an incarceration sentence is smallest among those defendants sentenced within the guidelines vis-à-vis those receiving some form of sentencing departure. However, for sentence length decisions, the gender gap is smallest for defendants receiving substantial assistance departures. Also, female defendants are more likely to receive a sentencing departure than male defendants. Analyses show that legal factors account for a large portion of the gender differences found between male and female defendants. But, even after controlling for these legal characteristics, a substantial gap in sentencing outcomes remains. Looking at the effects of extralegal factors, despite their influence on sentencing outcomes, these characteristics do not help to close the gender gap. However, when male and female defendants are examined separately, I find that although legal factors weigh equally for both groups, extralegal factors do not. More specifically, level of education plays a significant role in the decision to incarcerate males, while having dependents plays an important role in the sentence length terms given to females. Finally, I find that female defendants in all racial/ethnic categories receive less severe sentences than male defendants in the same racial/ethnic groupings. But, the race gap is larger among males than among females. Hispanic males are more likely to be incarcerated than whites and black and Hispanic males receive longer sentences than do white male defendants. Interestingly, among women, white female defendants receive more severe sentence outcomes than black females. I also find significant gender x race/ethnicity interactions for different offense types, types of departures, and the likelihood of receiving a departure sentence. The findings of the current study show that gender continues to influence the sentencing process in U.S. federal courts despite guidelines designed to avoid differential sentencing. For instance, judges and prosecutors circumvent the guidelines through the use of sentencing departures and ultimately treat female defendants more leniently than male defendants. Although many explanations may exist for this behavior, one possibility may be that judges treat women more leniently for practical reasons, such as their greater caretaking responsibility. Furthermore, theories of sentencing and social control suggest that the increasingly harsh punishments demanded by formal rational sentencing guidelines may be viewed as inappropriate for women and have been rejected in favor of a substantive rational approach.
Advisors/Committee Members: Demuth, Stephen.
Subjects: Criminology; Sociology
Keywords: Sentencing; Corrections; Gender; Race/Ethnicity
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14.
Fee, Holly R.
BODY WEIGHT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING: DO THE ASSOCIATION AND MECHANISMS DIFFER ACROSS ADULTHOOD?.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2011, Bowling Green State University
► In contemporary U.S. society, thinness is highly valued and excessive weight is…
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▼ In contemporary U.S. society, thinness is highly valued and excessive weight is denigrated. Obese individuals are often stigmatized and targets of discrimination. The stigma and discrimination can then result in poor psychological well-being. Although obesity is stigmatized, stigmatizing attitudes toward obese individuals and the subsequent consequences may change throughout the adult life course. The present study examines the association between body weight and psychological well-being among young, middle-aged, and older adults using Wave I (1995) of the Midlife Development in the United States study (N = 2,932). I also explore the extent to which different mechanisms, such as perceived discrimination and weight control behaviors, explain the association between body weight and psychological well-being and how these may differ for young, middle-aged, and older adults. Prior research has generally focused on one set of pathways that may be relevant for young adults but they may not necessarily apply to middle-aged or older adults. The present study fills this research gap by improving our understanding of the association between body weight and psychological well-being and whether different mechanisms explain the association for different age groups in adulthood. Gender differences in the association between body weight and psychological well-being and its mechanisms over the adult life course are also explored. Results show that high body weight was negatively associated with psychological well-being, and this association was significant for all age groups. However, there were general and age-specific mechanisms that explained the association between body weight and psychological well-being across adulthood. For all age groups, weight perception explained the association between body weight and psychological well-being. Physical health explained the association between body weight and psychological well-being for young and middle-aged adults, but not for older adults. Although perceived discrimination had negative effects on psychological well-being for all age groups, it explained the association between body weight and psychological well-being for middle-aged adults only. Gender differences revealed that the association between body weight and psychological well-being and its mechanisms had a larger negative effect for women than men, and this finding was significant for young adults only.
Advisors/Committee Members: Lin, I-Fen.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: body weight; obesity; psychological well-being; stigma; life course; age differences; gender differences
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15.
Flanigan, Christine M.
Staying With a Partner Who Cheats: The Influence of Gender and Relationship Dynamics on Adolescents' Tolerance of Infidelity.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2007, Bowling Green State University
► Teens and young adults in the United States have high rates of…
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▼ Teens and young adults in the United States have high rates of sexually transmitted infections, and female adolescents generally have higher rates than same-age males. Some existing literature suggests that females may be more likely to tolerate sexual infidelity, a potential explanation for gender differences in STI rates. This paper uses data from wave 3 of the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (n=583) to address three questions: first, are young women more likely than young men to remain in a relationship that is not sexually exclusive? Second, do the qualities of these dating relationships (e.g., commitment, conflict, etc.) influence the relationship between infidelity and break-up, and explain any gender differences if found? Third, does infidelity have the same relationship with break-up when the couple does not expect fidelity? Logistic regression is used to predict the break-up of adolescents' most recent dating relationship.
Advisors/Committee Members: Manning, Wendy.
Keywords: romantic relationships; adolescents; infidelity; gender differences
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16.
Fruth, Abbey L.
DATING AND ADOLESCENTS' PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2007, Bowling Green State University
► Many studies have found that girls’ depressive symptoms increase during the adolescent…
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▼ Many studies have found that girls’ depressive symptoms increase during the adolescent period. Recently Joyner and Udry (2000) have focused on the dating arena as one source of depressive symptoms. They found that both girls and boys, who initiated dating between the one-year time interval, reported an increase in depressive symptoms; however, girls reported higher depressive symptom scores than did boys. What has not been examined is why dating is depressing when it is a normative activity for adolescents. Similarly, it is likely that the dating arena would also influence adolescents’ self-esteem, and there is a lack of research examining this relationship as well. In this dissertation, I examine the effect of dating on girls’ and boys’ self-reports of depressive symptoms and self-esteem. I focus on 3 key research issues. First, I replicate prior work and show whether being in a relationship is related to (a) higher depressive symptoms and (b) the gender gap in depressive symptoms. Do these effects also hold true for self-esteem, and does wanting to be in a relationship play into this equation? Second, do relationships with parents and peers influence the effect of dating on depressive symptoms and self-esteem? Third, among those in romantic relationships, do teens in less rewarding relationships suffer greater depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem, and does this differ by gender? I use cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS) in order to answer these questions. The results show that entering into a romantic relationship between the time of the first and second interviews (one year apart) is related to higher depressive symptoms especially for younger girls. Also, having romantic relationships at both time points is related to higher self-esteem for boys. Finally, I assess how and why relationship rewards and costs influence both depressive symptoms and self-esteem for boys and girls.
Advisors/Committee Members: Longmore, Monica A.
Subjects: Sociology, General
Keywords: Adolescence; Romantic Relationships; Depressive Symptoms; Self-Esteem
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17.
Garber, Andrea R.
The Transmission of Alcohol Use from Mother to Child: A Life-Course Perspective.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2012, Bowling Green State University
► In the present study, I use data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships…
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▼ In the present study, I use data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (N=1,038) to examine the ways in which mothers teach their children delinquent behaviors, specifically alcohol use, just as they teach their children positive, prosocial behaviors. Drawing on Sutherland’s social learning theory and Elder’s “linked lives,” I examine the effect of mother’s lifetime drinking on their child’s current drinking and alcohol-related problems. I address three main questions. First, are maternal levels of lifelong drinking, even drinking before the birth of their child, associated with their children having higher levels of alcohol use? Second, is the relationship between mother’s alcohol use and their child’s alcohol use mediated by her permissive attitudes? Third, does the gender of the child influence the relationship between a mother’s and child’s alcohol use? This research adds to the current social learning literature by considering parents as a potential source of negative, anti-social behaviors. In particular, few prior studies examine the transmission of mother’s anti-social behavior to their children. The present study also builds on previous research by taking a life-course perspective on parents’ drinking by examining the impact of long-term habits of alcohol consumption on their children’s behavior. The results suggest that there are similarities between mother’s drinking and adolescent’s drinking for both genders. Mothers who drank irresponsibly as a teen and currently drink irresponsibly have sons and daughters with the highest rates of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Mothers who never drank irresponsibly nearly always have children with the lowest rates of alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. While there are similarities between mothers’ and children’s drinking behaviors, I find that the mechanism by which this takes place differs by gender. Girls are influenced by their mother’s permissiveness, but a similar relationship does not appear to exist for boys.
Advisors/Committee Members: Demuth, Stephen.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: life course; family; sociology; alcohol use
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18.
Gibbs, Lance Livingston Oliver.
Assessing the Impact of Father Involvement on Adolescents’ Marital Expectations in Resident Father Family Structures.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2010, Bowling Green State University
► There have been studies that have linked family structure as a whole…
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▼ There have been studies that have linked family structure as a whole to the intergenerational transmission of marriage behavior (Manning et al., 2007; McLanahan and Booth, 1989). Some studies (Booth, Brinkerhoff and White, 1984; Greenberg and Nay, 1982; Jennings et al., 1992; Jones and Nelson, 1996; Wallerstein and Kelly, 1974) have incorporated crude measures of family structure, such as whether or not parents are divorced, to explain adolescent marital attitudes. Research has not taken into account how parent-child relationships act as channels for the intergenerational transmission of marriage behaviors. Additionally, researchers know less about how fathers in various family structures either hamper or promote children’s attitudes towards marriage through the parent-child relationship. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how father involvement, in differing family structures, impacts children’s marital expectations. The social learning perspective and parental investment theory serve as the conceptual framework for ensuing analyses by emphasizing how conventional values are passed on from one generation to the next and how biological versus non-biological fathers are prompted to pass core values to their respective children. This thesis specifically examines resident father-child relationships utilizing data from waves 1 and 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) (Udry 2003). Overall findings suggest that most adolescents want to get married and think they have a great chance of doing so. Adolescents show increased odds of the importance of expecting to marry across various characteristics including being employed, having favorable attitudes toward marriage and being married. Adolescents who are close to their fathers and are involved in various activities with their fathers (e.g. going to church, going shopping and going to the movies) are more likely to think that it is extremely important to be married someday. But father-child communication has no significant effect on adolescent marital expectations. Notwithstanding, the effects on adolescent marital expectations from families where the father is not the biological parent are contingent on the different types of paternal involvement. Among Blacks, father-child involvement in various activities, as a measure of paternal involvement, does less to increase marriage expectations than it does among Whites.
Advisors/Committee Members: Kenney, Catherine.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: father involvement; resident father households
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19.
Gooden, Natalee Alecia Marilyn.
Jamaican Immigrant Union Formation Patterns: A Test of Assimilation Theories.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2011, Bowling Green State University
► This study tested competing theories of assimilation by examining the patterns of…
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▼ This study tested competing theories of assimilation by examining the patterns of union formation (i.e. marriage, cohabitation, single, ethnic / racial intermarriage and ethnic / racial inter-cohabitation) among non-Hispanic American whites, non-Hispanic African Americans and Jamaican women aged 18 – 44 years in the year 2000. The study also examined how union formation patterns differ across groups of Jamaican women (i.e. born and living in Jamaica, 1st generation Jamaican immigrants, 1.5 generation Jamaicans, 2nd generation, and beyond). It is important to study West Indian union formation patterns since the West Indian immigration rate has been increasing. The black West Indian population in the U.S. grew by about 67% between 1990 and 2000. The growth rate of the black West Indian population is greater than that of other established groups such as the Cubans and Koreans (Logan & Deane, 2003). This study focused specifically on Jamaicans since the bulk of the West Indian migrants is from Jamaica (Peach, 1995). Moreover, they represent both the diversity of modes of incorporation in the U.S. and the range of occupational backgrounds and immigrant status among contemporary immigrants (from professionals and entrepreneurs to laborers, refugees and unauthorized migrants). I used the Reproductive Health Survey 2002 for the analysis of the Jamaican women in Jamaica and the Census 2000 (5% PUMS) for the analysis of non-Hispanic white American and non-Hispanic African women. I also used the National Survey of Family Growth 2002 (NSFG 2002) to assess data quality and for purposes of comparison. I found that Jamaican women’s union formation patterns followed the segmented assimilation model where marriage rates tended to decline across generation and cohabitation rates tended to increase across generation that resembled more the union formation patterns of non-Hispanic African American women. Also, I found that out partnership increased across generation where Jamaican women had much greater odds of out partnering with a non-Hispanic African American partner compared to partnering with a non-Hispanic white American partner.
Advisors/Committee Members: Joyner, Kara.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: assimilation union formation
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20.
Goodlin, Wendi Elizabeth.
Not Your Typical “Pretty Woman”: Factors Associated with Prostitution.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2008, Bowling Green State University
► Criminologists have long been interested in sex work, particularly prostitution. However, the…
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▼ Criminologists have long been interested in sex work, particularly prostitution. However, the research in this area has been very uneven and has produced conflicting results. The goal of the current research is to move forward in filling the gaps in our knowledge of the lives of women involved in prostitution and to better understand the factors associated with their initial involvement. Three sociological theories guide the analysis: general strain theory, control theory, and social learning theory. The major hypotheses predict that experiencing sexual abuse and exposure to delinquent peers increase the odds of prostitution whereas high levels of parental attachment and supervision decrease the odds of prostitution. These relationships are examined further using mediating and moderating variables, including running away from home, psychological distress, and drug use. The data upon which this research is based come from The Ohio Lifecourse Study (OLS), a multi-wave dataset of household and institutionalized respondents. Variables central to the analysis come from items that ask how often the respondent has been paid to have sex and a variety of other items that measure contentious family environment, sexual abuse experienced as a child, parental supervision and attachment levels, the influence of peers, their self-esteem and depression levels, and the use and abuse of drugs. Importantly, although the OLS is a highly delinquent sample, it is not a prostitute-biased sample. In addition, the OLS contains a variety of respondents, including those not involved in prostitution, prostitutes who were abused as adolescents, those who were also abused as adolescents but did are not prostitutes, and those of different races. Thus, although the sample is highly delinquent, there is much variation among respondents on key variables including abuse, supervision, running away, and drug use/abuse to name a few. Furthermore, because the OLS contains both quantitative data and qualitative life history narratives, the latter serve as an important supplement to the former and provide rich and nuanced detail not obtainable from the quantitative analyses. Binary logistic regression analyses show support for the hypothesis that higher levels of sexual abuse increase the odds of prostitution (strain theory), but this relationship is not mediated by running away as argued in previous research. On the other hand, there is little support for the hypothesis that higher levels of parental attachment decrease the odds of prostitution (social control theory); however, this could be a result of the sample being highly delinquent or the lack of variation among respondents on the parental attachment variables. In contrast, there is evidence that higher levels of supervision decrease the odds of prostitution (social control theory). In addition, there is support for the hypothesis that those with delinquent friends have higher odds of prostitution than those without delinquent friends (social learning theory). Moreover, there is support for racial and job status differences. For example, blacks have consistently and significantly higher odds of prostitution than whites and those who are unemployed or employed part-time have consistently and significantly higher odds of prostitution than those with full time jobs. Finally, with the exception of parental caring and trust, most of the moderating variables are not found to be significant.
Advisors/Committee Members: Cernkovich, Stephen.
Subjects: Criminology; Sociology
Keywords: Prostitution; Running away; Drug use; Parental attachment; Sexual abuse; Peer influence
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21.
Hocevar, Andrea.
An Examination of the Influence of Romantic Relationships on Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior During the Period of Emerging Adulthood: A Mixed-Methods Approach.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2009, Bowling Green State University
► There is growing sociological interest in romantic relationships during the period of…
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▼ There is growing sociological interest in romantic relationships during the period of adolescence. However, most prior research focuses on the adolescent time period and very little on emerging adulthood, a distinct period where adolescent social networks gradually shift as adulthood approaches. Previous studies on adulthood emphasize the role of marriage and employment as processes in general and as an influence on behaviors such as criminal activity, but not much is known about the dynamic processes that affect romantic partner influence during emerging adulthood. Contributing heavily to the wealth of research relating peers to delinquency, Haynie et al. (2005) find that peers and romantic partners are associated with adolescent delinquency and arguably romantic partners become more salient as adolescents mature into adulthood.With age and maturity, romantic partners may become more important as a source of reference, support and influence- but most of the research on romantic partner influences on antisocial and prosocial behavior focuses on adult marriage effects. The current study relies on a mixed methods approach to explore the extent to which and mechanisms through which romantic partners influence individuals in prosocial and antisocial directions. The study examines direct and indirect influences through an assessment of the ways in which young adults describe romantic partners'influence on attitudes, future goals and behavior. The study utilizes quantitative data to note developmental trends from adolescence into emerging adulthood along with in-depth interviews with 92 youths ages 17 to 23, including an oversample of high risk respondents from the Toledo Adolescent Research Study (TARS). The use of these retrospective life history narratives also reveals developmental trends, as respondents highlight ways in which they have changed as they have matured into adulthood. Finally, the study explores variability within the qualitative sample, with the goal of developing dating profiles including distinctive patterns of dating/romantic partner effects throughout respondents'dating histories. Quantitative results indicate that older respondents spend less time with their friends than younger respondents, suggesting that friends become less of a source of reference and support as adolescents mature into emerging adulthood. Additionally, older currently-dating respondents report seeing less of their friends than their younger counterparts, indicating that social dynamics shift as adolescents move into emerging adulthood. Older currently-dating respondents also report being more influenced by their partner relative to younger respondents. Females are less likely to be influenced by their romantic partner, but females and males are equally likely to spend less time with friends while dating. The significance of cohabitation status as a complicating facotor is also explored. In conclusion, quantitative results indicate that the romantic partner is beginning to supersede the influence of friends during emerging adulthood. Qualitative results show that respondents can be positively and/or negatively affected by their romantic partners. Four domains of partner influence mentioned most often across respondents'life history narratives include: delinquency/antisocial behavior, educational goals, financial/career concerns and pregnancy. Specific mechanisms of partner influence are discussed within each domain. Lastly, respondents were given the opportunity to reference past romantic relationships and note progression throughout previous relationships. Most respondents perceive the current-self as more positive/prosocial than in the past. In addition, life history narratives show that not being in a romantic relationship can actually be a learning experience. In fact, educational goals are mentioned most often as a reason for limiting dating involvement. The study emphasizes the merit of emerging adulthood as a distinct period in the life course and informs the design of future research.
Advisors/Committee Members: Giordano, Peggy.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: romantic relationships; delinquency; antisocial behavior; prosocial behavior; cohabitation; emerging adulthood; adolescence; dating; partner influence; romantic partner influence; educational goals; pregnancy
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22.
House, Amanda N.
Racial/Ethnic Variation in Parenting Styles: The Experience of Multiracial Adolescents.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2011, Bowling Green State University
► According to the 2009 American Community Survey, 2.4% of the U.S. population…
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▼ According to the 2009 American Community Survey, 2.4% of the U.S. population consists of individuals who identify as two or more races, or multiracial. Nearly half of this estimate captures children under the age of 18, and the multiracial population continues to grow. There is previous literature on racial identification and friendship networks among multiracials, though little attention has been paid to the family experiences of multiracial children and adolescents. Adolescence is often a difficult life stage, and multiracial adolescents may face more adversity than monoracial adolescents with added identity concerns. Parents may react to these unique challenges by adjusting their parenting behaviors. Using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 13,395), the present study examines parenting behaviors and parenting styles among monoracial and multiracial adolescents and extends this research by further dissecting the multiracial group. Results show that among levels of parental warmth, there are no significant differences between monoracial and multiracial adolescents. However, on average, Black adolescents report higher levels of parental control than multiracial adolescents. Among multiracial adolescents, no significant differences were found between multiracial White and multiracial non-White adolescents, or between multiracial Black and multiracial non-Black adolescents, with respect to levels of parental warmth or parental control. Results also show that Asian adolescents are more likely than multiracial adolescents to experience authoritarian parenting than to experience authoritative parenting. Among the multiracial group, multiracial White adolescents are more likely than multiracial non-White adolescents to experience neglectful parenting than to experience authoritative parenting. No significant racial differences were found between multiracial Black and multiracial non-Black adolescents with respect to parenting styles.
Advisors/Committee Members: Brown, Susan L.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: multiracial; mixed race; adolescents; adolescence; Add Health; parenting; parenting styles; parenting behaviors; warmth; control; family sociology
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23.
Johnson, Wendi L.
Parent-Child Relations and Offending During Emerging Adulthood.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2010, Bowling Green State University
► While there is a long tradition of studying parent-child relations during adolescence…
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▼ While there is a long tradition of studying parent-child relations during adolescence and their impact on delinquency, the focus shifts to institutions such as marriage and employment as the individual moves into adulthood. Given that emerging adulthood is a time of instability and exploration, young adults are in the process of becoming fully vested in these roles. Consequently, it is useful to examine how the parent-child bond over the life course continues to inform and shape behavior beyond adolescence. Using data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS), I examine the influence of parental involvement on patterns of offending among emerging adults interviewed first as adolescents and later as adults average 20 years of age. I examine how both early and later parenting factors such as caring, trust, identity support, monitoring and conflict influence offending in emerging adulthood. Results show that parenting continues to matter as young people navigate the transition to adulthood. Specifically, ongoing support by parents is associated with lower offending in emerging adulthood. Additionally, early monitoring continues to exert an effect beyond adolescence. Furthermore, parenting matters even after controlling for peer influence and prior delinquency. This suggests the importance of examining multiple ways in which parental resources and support influence adult behavior and well-being.
Advisors/Committee Members: Giordano, Peggy.
Subjects: Criminology; Sociology
Keywords: Parenting; delinquency; emerging adulthood; crime; life course
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24.
Kaufman, Angela M.
Keeping the White Family Together: Racial Disparities in the Out-of-Home Placements of Maltreated Children.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2011, Bowling Green State University
► The likelihood of being removed from the home following a substantiated case…
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▼ The likelihood of being removed from the home following a substantiated case of maltreatment is much higher for black youth than for their white counterparts. There are two competing explanations in the literature. The first is that black children experience more serious forms of maltreatment and have fewer resources to remedy the maltreatment situation through informal means than do white children. The second is that there is an underlying bias within the child welfare system, where discriminatory beliefs about the perceived threat and dangerousness of certain groups and their abilities to care for their children may contribute to black children being disproportionately removed from their homes. The present study examines whether race has an effect on child placement within the child welfare system after taking into account various risk factors associated with race and placement. It also examines whether the factors influencing placement are the same for white and black youth. Findings illustrate a racial disparity in out-of-home placements supporting both of the competing explanations in the current literature. Parental mental illness and emotional abuse as the maltreatment type are identified as factors operating differently for black and white children within the child welfare system. Overall, the present study finds that two separate processes seem to be at play in the placement decisions of maltreated youth, and concludes with possible explanations for this differential treatment.
Advisors/Committee Members: Demuth, Stephen.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: child maltreatment; foster care; racial disparity; racial disproportionality; child victimization; child welfare system; out-of-home placement; child abuse; child welfare agencies; social services
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25.
Kawamura, Sayaka.
THE INFLUENCE OF MATTERING ON WOMEN’S PERCEIVED FAIRNESS OF THE DIVISION OF HOUSEHOLD LABOR.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2006, Bowling Green State University
► Using the data on married women from the Marital Instability over the…
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▼ Using the data on married women from the Marital Instability over the Life Course (2003, Wave six, N = 489), this research examines the influence of mattering, which refers to the level of care perceived by spouses, on women’s perceived fairness of the division of household labor. This study finds that the more a wife believes she matters to her husband, the more likely she is to perceive the division of household labor is fair. This study also finds that the two types of mattering positively interact in their effects on wives’ perceived fairness of the division of household labor, meaning that higher levels of perceptions of both types of mattering are associated with especially high likelihoods of perceived fairness. This study demonstrates that mattering from one’s spouse explains a part of women’s sense of fairness regardless of objective distribution of household labor.
Advisors/Committee Members: Brown, Susan L.
Keywords: DIVISION OF HOUSEHOLD LABOR; HOUSEHOLD; FAIRNESS; PERCEIVED FAIRNESS; husbands; mattering
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26.
Kawamura, Sayaka.
Marriage in Japan: attitudes, intentions, and perceived barriers.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2011, Bowling Green State University
► The average age at first marriage in Japan has been increasing over…
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▼ The average age at first marriage in Japan has been increasing over the decades, and is now one of the highest in the world at 29 years old for women and 30 years old for men in 2008 (Statistics Bureau, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 2009). Later marriages accelerate the declining total fertility rate in Japan (Klitsch, 1994) due to the rarity of nonmarital childbearing (Rindfuss, Choe, Bumpass, & Tsuya, 2004). Using data from the Japan 2000 National Survey on Family and Economic Conditions (Tsuya, Bumpass, & Rindfuss, 2008, N = 4,482), this study explored the views of Japanese young adults on marriage and family. First, I investigated never married individuals’ attitudes toward marriage and childbearing. I found that Japanese singles generally did not strongly believe in the centrality of marriage in life nor did they perceive strong connections between marriage and childbearing. Nevertheless, single women tended to have less traditional attitudes toward various aspects of marriage and childbearing, relative to single men. Second, marriage intentions among both men and women were examined, and Japanese singles expressed relatively strong marriage intentions. Notably, women had stronger marriage intentions than men. Finally, I investigated gender differences in perceived barriers to marriage, particularly in the domains of (1) economic resources, (2) agreement on wives’ employment, (3) pressure to have a child soon after marriage, and (4) pressure to co-reside or to have close relationships with parents-in-law. Women were more likely than men to view economic resources, agreement on wives’ employment, and pressure to live with or have close relationships with in-laws as barriers to marriage. Japanese young adults did not strongly view pressure to have a child soon after marriage as a barrier to marriage. The results from this research contribute to new information on Japanese individuals’ views on marriage and family and may assist policymakers in encouraging young adults to marry earlier, which in turn should slow the decline of the total fertility rate.
Advisors/Committee Members: Brown, Susan L.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: marriage; family; Japan
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27.
Krivickas, Kristy.
Masculinity and Men's Intimate and Fathering Relationships: A Focus on Race and Institutional Participation.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2010, Bowling Green State University
► I use the Fragile Families data to examine how a diverse group…
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▼ I use the Fragile Families data to examine how a diverse group of men can be classified into multiple forms of masculinity. I identify three ideal categorizations of masculinity: the traditional, contemporary, and hyper-masculine models. Cluster analysis results confirm that these categories differentiate forms of masculinity among fathers to create three distinct categories of masculinity. I find a contemporary masculinity category that displays the most socio-economic advantages and "positive" qualities of masculinity. Contemporary masculinity is characteristic of fathers who are egalitarian, emotionally available to the baby’s mother, more likely to be married and educated, and the least likely to have ever been incarcerated. Alternatively, the hyper-masculine fathers have the most abusive behaviors, least emotional availability, and are the least likely to be married and educated, while being the most likely to have ever been incarcerated. The last group of fathers is the traditionally masculine fathers who essentially fall in between the contemporary and hyper-masculine fathers. My final two research questions examine if masculinities influence men’s intimate and fathering relationships. Using multinomial regression models, I address if masculinity predicts whether fathers transition into a more or less committed relationship with their child’s mother between the birth of the child and the child’s fifth birthday. I find that intimate relationships, do indeed, differ by forms of masculinity. Contemporary fathers are the most likely and hyper-masculine fathers are the least likely to be continuously married. Hyper-masculine fathers are much more likely to transition into a less committed relationship than to either remain in the same type of relationship or transition into a more committed relationship. Lastly, I use OLS regression models to address whether forms of masculinity are related to father involvement, specifically distinguishing the amount of time fathers engage with their child, five years after the child’s birth. My findings suggest that fathers within the traditional masculinity category are the least involved with their child. Critically, hyper-masculine fathers are significantly more involved than both traditional and contemporary fathers. My research contributes not only to the literature on fragile families, but also to broader scholarship on gender. My research also extends previous college-based samples on masculinity to a larger and more diverse sample to gain a better understanding of how fathers display masculinities. Emphasizing race and institutional participation differences allows for a more in-depth analysis of the ways in which men’s masculinity can be classified. Finally, my research finds crucial predictors of both family structure and fatherhood involvement; which may provide the foundation for future research on both father well-being and child well-being.
Advisors/Committee Members: Sanchez, Laura.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: masculinity; fragile families; cluster analysis; intimate relationships; father involvement
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28.
Lewis, J. Scott.
The Function of Free Riders: Toward a Solution to the Problem of Collective Action.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2006, Bowling Green State University
► The problem of collective action is the problem of free riders. Current…
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▼ The problem of collective action is the problem of free riders. Current theory argues that free riders are detrimental to group solidarity, and predict that free riders will be punished into compliance with cooperative group norms. Observational evidence from a variety of disciplines does not coincide with those predictions, however. Recent studies show that in many cases, 20%-40% of individuals will free ride regardless of the frequency and severity of punishment. This treatise seeksto explain the persistence of free riders by arguing that free riders perform latent functions in groups that actually maintain or increase group cohesion in naturally forming, long term groups. Analyzing theoretical work on the collective action problem from three disciplines – economics, evolutionary biology, and sociology – I show how drastically different approaches to the collective action problem converge on similar predictions about the nature and causes of free riding. I then show that these theoretical paradigms share a common origin from rational action models. I discuss why the current logic of rational action models are insufficient to offer a viable solution to the free rider problem. I then move beyond the traditional rational action approach by proposing an alternative kind of rationalisty which free riders pursue. Using game theory, I demonstrate the existence and utility of this new approach, and show how this alternative rationality contributes to a solution to the free rider problem by linking it to equilibrium theory. Equilibrium theory offers a means by which rational action models and functionalist models may be tied together in order to approach a solution to the free rider problem. I argue that free riders may perform functions in a group that serve to increase or maintain the solidarity of the group by tending the group toward a state of allostatic equilibrium. I argue that free riders validate or increase the status of productive group members; reduce the probability of incurrence of risk for productive group members; and increase group interdependence by driving down the group's discount parameter. Through these functions, free riders may be seen as an adaptive mechanism by which a group might tend toward an equilibrium state in a dynamic environment.
Advisors/Committee Members: McQuarie, Donald.
Subjects: Sociology, Theory and Methods
Keywords: free riders; collective action; cooperation; equilibrium
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29.
Leyman, Tanya M.
The Developmental Trajectory Of Violence: The Impact Of Child Maltreatment On Adult Intimate Partner Violence.
Degree: MA, Sociology, 2012, Bowling Green State University
► Child maltreatment has many potentially harmful short and long-term consequences, one of…
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▼ Child maltreatment has many potentially harmful short and long-term consequences, one of which is experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in later life. The present study uses all four waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to analyze the impact of child maltreatment on IPV in young adulthood, and to examine the mechanisms that link the two. The present study explores several distinct pathways through which child maltreatment may lead to IPV: violence, low self-esteem, and alcohol abuse. It also addresses gender differences in the effects of child maltreatment on adult IPV. Results show that child maltreatment leads to violent behavior in young men, which increases their chances of experiencing IPV in adulthood. After controlling for violent behavior, the relationship between child maltreatment and adult IPV is reduced to statistical nonsignificance. Surprisingly, low self-esteem and alcohol abuse are not significantly related to IPV for males. For females, results reveal that violent behavior and alcohol abuse help mediate the relationship between child maltreatment and IPV, although these variables do not completely reduce this relationship to non-significance. In contrast to predictions, low self-esteem is not significantly related to IPV for females. Policy and program implications are discussed.
Advisors/Committee Members: Demuth, Stephen.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: Add Health, child maltreatment, IPV, violence, self-esteem, gender
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30.
Lofquist, Daphne Amber.
HIV Testing Behaviors of At-Risk Populations in Kenya.
Degree: PhD, Sociology, 2012, Bowling Green State University
► In this study, I use data from the 2002 Kenya Behavioral Surveillance…
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▼ In this study, I use data from the 2002 Kenya Behavioral Surveillance Surveys to examine the factors associated with having been tested for HIV and the acquisition of test results for female sex workers, low-income women, men in worksites, and policemen. With so many of the HIV/AIDS cases residing in sub-Saharan Africa, testing and counseling should be at the forefront of policies. But broad cultural norms surrounding gender and stigma affect the HIV testing and diagnosis-seeking behaviors of members of at-risk marginalized populations. Patriarchal ideologies support differential treatment and differential access to resources between women and men, and these differences are accentuated for men and women who are part of stigmatized, high risk populations. The current project contributes to scientific research on the demographic, cultural, and social-psychological factors that condition at-risk populations’ receptivity toward and pursuit of HIV testing and serostatus (HIV status) diagnosis. In the present study, I address two related questions concerning the research gap on HIV testing among at-risk populations. First, what factors influence the decision to be tested for HIV? Second, conditional on HIV testing having occurred, which factors influence the acquisition of test results for female sex workers and men in worksites? I explore these processes with rich data on vulnerable populations with unusually high HIV infection and transmission rates, using the gendered power perspective (Connell 1987; Wingood & DiClemente 2000) and Health Belief Model (Becker 1979; Strecher & Rosenstock 1997). For the first research question – predicting having been tested for HIV – five components of the Health Belief Model and several gendered culture variables are used. Two components of the Health Belief Model are significantly associated with having been tested for female sex workers and low-income women: perceived barriers (holding a high level of myths negatively predicts having been tested for HIV) and cues-to-action (having participated in HIV education programs is positively associated with having been tested for HIV). For men in worksites, two components of the Health Belief Model are significantly associated with having been tested for HIV: perceived barriers (believing that confidential testing is not available is negatively associated with having been tested for HIV) and cues-to-action (having participated in HIV education programs is positively associated with having been tested for HIV). None of the components of Health Belief Model is significantly associated with having been bested for HIV for policemen. For all four populations, none of the gendered culture variables is significantly related to having been tested for HIV. Results point to the importance of barriers and cues-to-action for having been tested for HIV. This underscores the need for accurate education on the transmission of HIV. For the second research question – predicting having acquired HIV test results, conditional on having been previously tested – five components of the Health Belief Model and several gendered culture variables are used. Only one component of the Health Belief Model is significantly associated with having acquired the HIV test results for female sex workers: perceived barriers (believing that no confidential testing is available and having been required to be tested for HIV are negatively related to having acquired HIV test results). For men in worksites, only one component of the Health Belief Model is significantly associated with having acquired the HIV test results: perceived barriers (having been required to be tested for HIV are negatively related to having acquired HIV test results). None of the gendered culture variables are significantly associated with having acquired HIV test results for female sex workers and men in worksites. Results point to the importance of decreasing barriers to confidential testing facilities, which in turn could increase voluntary testing.
Advisors/Committee Members: Brown, Susan.
Subjects: Sociology
Keywords: HIV; HIV testing; Kenya; High risk populations; Africa
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