A comparative study of informal support networks in Culver City, California.

Two years of fieldwork in a small, diverse Los Angeles area city provide the means to examine informal support networks in a comparative way. The research, shaped by a practice theory framework, is based on surveys, interviews, and ethnography. Variations in support exchange, as well as motivations for and feelings about network participation, are examined across categories of race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. Factors such as proximity to relatives and life course status also are considered. Issues that are addressed include: the form aid takes, whether financial, emotional, material, or instrumental; quantification of the various forms of assistance; the relationship links along which support moves; and the ideologies that motivate and accompany exchange actions. Results show that responses to structurally based socioeconomic stressors are mediated by culture, i.e., that similar situations evoke group-specific responses. Culture, however, is shown to be a multifaceted construct, involving intersecting and overlapping domains. Race and ethnicity interact with gender, socioeconomic status, and age in shaping support practice and ideology. Specific findings include that African Americans stress an ideology of independence, and manifest corresponding practices: they exchange fewer types of support less frequently, and with fewer types of people than do whites. Asian Americans also value independence, and they likewise exchange fewer types of support less frequently than whites, but they do so with different types of relatives than do African Americans. Latinos, however, stress independent ideologies less than whites. They are not as likely as whites to have non-family members in their networks, and they exchange more types of aid more frequently. Other findings of interest include that for middle class African Americans the generation of middle class attainment corresponds to differences in network composition and dynamics, and that the level of acculturation for both Asian Americans and Latinos similarly affects exchange. Gender is seen to cause differences in support ideology and behavior as well: women, for example, are more likely than men to have helped any type of person except a grown child and are more likely to have exchanged any type of assistance except monetary aid.Ph.D.Cultural anthropologyIndividual and family studiesSocial SciencesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/123108/2/3059934.pd

Paying Project Participants: Dilemmas in Research with Poor, Marginalized Populations

This paper presents a case study about issues that can arise in research with marginalized populations. We use our experiences during a focus group conducted with low-income men to discuss how using monetary incentives can lead to ethical and methodological dilemmas, including participants’ misrepresentation of their demographic backgrounds to match study criteria. We address difficulties caused by the Institutional Review Board process’ inability to account for unanticipated circumstances during fieldwork. We note that any resolution of such dilemmas must prioritize responsible research practice and protecting participants. We also note the need for more research on the impact and ethics of monetary and other incentives in recruiting participants for studies such as ours that include populations from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. The issues raised in this paper have implications for those considering research design, especially concerning incentives and screening questions

Aging, Health, and GLBTQ Family and Community Life

Older GLBTQ persons face many age-related challenges and opportunities. Some are shared with their heterosexual counterparts, while others more specifically relate to their GLBTQ status. These occur in the contexts of their personal lives, families, social networks, and community and social milieu. One major challenge is health. This article describes a range of issues at the interface of aging, GLBTQ status, family, community, and well-being related to health, describing aspects of social support, health, and health care systems. Prostate cancer is explored as an example of this nexus of factors illustrating how GLBTQ persons may be affected differently from the married, heterosexual image typically assumed in cancer research and clinical attention

Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses

The popular Disney Princess line includes nine films (e. g., Snow White, Beauty and the Beast) and over 25,000 marketable products. Gender role depictions of the prince and princess characters were examined with a focus on their behavioral characteristics and climactic outcomes in the films. Results suggest that the prince and princess characters differ in their portrayal of traditionally masculine and feminine characteristics, these gender role portrayals are complex, and trends towards egalitarian gender roles are not linear over time. Content coding analyses demonstrate that all of the movies portray some stereotypical representations of gender, including the most recent film, The Princess and the Frog. Although both the male and female roles have changed over time in the Disney Princess line, the male characters exhibit more androgyny throughout and less change in their gender role portrayals.</p

Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses

The popular Disney Princess line includes nine films (e. g., Snow White, Beauty and the Beast) and over 25,000 marketable products. Gender role depictions of the prince and princess characters were examined with a focus on their behavioral characteristics and climactic outcomes in the films. Results suggest that the prince and princess characters differ in their portrayal of traditionally masculine and feminine characteristics, these gender role portrayals are complex, and trends towards egalitarian gender roles are not linear over time. Content coding analyses demonstrate that all of the movies portray some stereotypical representations of gender, including the most recent film, The Princess and the Frog. Although both the male and female roles have changed over time in the Disney Princess line, the male characters exhibit more androgyny throughout and less change in their gender role portrayals.</p