Perceived School Fairness and Willingness to Report Bias-Based Bullying Among Youth During COVID-19 Pandemic

BACKGROUND As COVID-19 has let many students into remote learning environments and exacerbated inequality among marginalized individuals, there is a growing concern about Bias-Based Bullying (BBB) in online spaces among school-aged youths. Learning modality and perceived school fairness may affect youth\u27s likelihood of reporting BBB. METHODS Data were collected as part of “No Place For Hate” (NPFH) project, which was conducted by an equity office of a school district. A sample of middle and high school students (N = 1117) in the school district was used as an analytic sample. We conducted a series of independent samples t tests and calculated a hierarchical stepwise multivariate regression model to examine the proposition. RESULTS Results demonstrated that students in fully remote modality reported slightly higher levels of witnessing BBB (t = 2.29, p \u3c .05), lower perceived school fairness (t = −2.94, p \u3c .01), and higher levels of likelihood of reporting BBB (t = 2.31, p \u3c .05). Results of the regression model showed that perceived school fairness was positively associated with likelihood of reporting BBB, even when considering the influences of sociodemographic characteristics, learning modality, and experience of witnessing BBB. CONCLUSIONS Findings of this study suggest that learning modality and perceived school fairness can meaningfully explain witnesses\u27 likelihood of reporting BBB. Additional research should continue investigating how schools can encourage students to increase their likelihood of reporting and adopt the bystander response of reporting against BBB at school to ensure school health and safety

Exploring dimensions of bias-based bullying victimization, school fairness, and school belonging through mediation analysis

Bias-based bullying (BBB) is a serious problem for school-aged adolescents. However, limited attention has been paid to the mechanism of how BBB may affect youths\u27 sense of belonging to the school. The purpose of the current study was to understand the associations between BBB victimization, school belonging, and school fairness among school-aged adolescents. The present study also examined whether school fairness mediated the link between BBB victimization and school belonging. Data were drawn from the “No Place For Hate” project, which examined bias-based incidents, school equity, and school belonging of a school district. The analytic study sample consisted of 2600 middle and high school students. Results from a structural equation model revealed that BBB victimization was negatively related to school fairness and school fairness was positively linked to school belonging. BBB victimization was also inversely associated with school belonging. Furthermore, a significant mediation effect was found in that school fairness mediated the link between BBB victimization and school belonging. The findings highlight the importance of addressing perceived fairness given its mediating role between BBB victimization and school belonging

Subjective well-being of older African Americans with DSM IV psychiatric disorders

This study examined demographic and mental health correlates of subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, happiness) using a national sample of older African Americans with psychiatric disorders. We used a subsample of 185 African Americans, 55 and older with at least one of thirteen lifetime psychiatric disorders from The National Survey of American Life: Coping with Stress in the Twenty-first Century. The findings indicated that among this population of older adults who had a lifetime psychiatric dis- order, having a lifetime suicidal ideation was associated with life satisfaction but not happiness. Further, having a 12-month anxiety disorder or a lifetime suicidal ideation was not associated with happiness. Having a 12-month mood disorder, however, was negatively associated with an individual’s level of happiness, as well as their life satisfaction. Additionally, there were two significant interactions. Among men, employment was pos- itively associated with life satisfaction, and marriage was associated with higher levels of happiness among men but not women. The overall pattern of findings reflects both simi- larities and departures from prior research confirming that well-being evaluations are associated with multiple factors.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107412/1/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10902-013-9470-7(1).pdfDescription of art%3A10.1007%2Fs10902-013-9470-7(1).pdf : Main articl

Theory in religion, aging, and health: an overview

Abstract This paper provides an overview of theory in religion, aging, and health. It offers both a primer on theory and a roadmap for researchers. Four ''tenses'' of theory are described-distinct ways that theory comes into play in this field: grand theory, mid-range theory, use of theoretical models, and positing of constructs which mediate or moderate putative religious effects. Examples are given of both explicit and implicit uses of theory. Sources of theory for this field are then identified, emphasizing perspectives of sociologists and psychologists, and discussion is given to limitations of theory. Finally, reflections are offered as to why theory matters. Keywords Religion Á Spirituality Á Aging Á Health Á Theory All empirical research is theoretically based, whether explicitly or implicitly. Even in situations characterized by relatively simple and straightforward analyses, a theoretical perspective is nonetheless always present and underlies the statistical manipulation, acknowledged or not. In Wallace's (1969, pp. vii-viii) famous introduction to the uses of theory in the social sciences, he explained: [I]t does not seem to be the case that some sociological studies thoroughly implicate theory, while others are ''atheoretical'' and do not implicate theory at all; rather, all studies implicate theory, only some pay more deliberate, explicit, and formal attention to it while others pay more casual, implicit, informal attention. Theory, indeed, seems inescapable in sociology, as in every science

Recruitment of older adults to three preventative lifestyle improvement studies

YesBackground: Recruiting isolated older adults to clinical trials is complex, time-consuming and difficult. Previous studies have suggested querying existing databases to identify appropriate potential participants. We aim to compare recruitment techniques (general practitioner (GP) mail-outs, community engagement and clinician referrals) used in three randomised controlled trial (RCT) studies assessing the feasibility or effectiveness of two preventative interventions in isolated older adults (the Lifestyle Matters and Putting Life In Years interventions). Methods: During the three studies (the Lifestyle Matters feasibility study, the Lifestyle Matters RCT, the Putting Life In Years RCT) data were collected about how participants were recruited. The number of letters sent by GP surgeries for each study was recorded. In the Lifestyle Matters RCT, we qualitatively interviewed participants and intervention facilitators at 6 months post randomisation to seek their thoughts on the recruitment process. Results: Referrals were planned to be the main source of recruitment in the Lifestyle Matters feasibility study, but due to a lack of engagement from district nurses, community engagement was the main source of recruitment. District nurse referrals and community engagement were also utilised in the Lifestyle Matters and Putting Life In Years RCTs; both mechanisms yielded few participants. GP mail-outs were the main source of recruitment in both the RCTs, but of those contacted, recruiting yield was low (< 3%). Facilitators of the Lifestyle Matters intervention questioned whether the most appropriate individuals had been recruited. Participants recommended that direct contact with health professionals would be the most beneficial way to recruit. Conclusions: Recruitment to the Lifestyle Matters RCT did not mirror recruitment to the feasibility study of the same intervention. Direct district nurse referrals were not effective at recruiting participants. The majority of participants were recruited via GP mail-outs, which may have led to isolated individuals not being recruited to the trials. Further research is required into alternative recruitment techniques, including respondent-driven sampling plus mechanisms which will promote health care professionals to recruit vulnerable populations to research.The Lifestyle Matters RCT was funded by the Medical Research Council (grant number G1001406); Sheffield Health and Social Research Consortium; National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme (project number 09/ 3004/01

Are agri‐environment schemes successful in delivering conservation grazing management on saltmarsh?

1.Grasslands occur around the globe and, in temperate regions, their natural management by fire, drought and wild herbivores has largely been replaced by grazing with domestic livestock. Successful management for agriculture is not always suitable for conservation and can have a detrimental effect on biodiversity. Conservation grazing of saltmarshes, delivered through agri‐environment schemes, may provide a solution to counteract biodiversity loss by providing farmers with financial incentives to graze these internationally important coastal wetlands more sensitively. 2.To assess whether conservation grazing is being achieved, and whether agri‐environment schemes are effective in delivering this management, we conducted a national survey on English saltmarshes, scoring the management on each site as optimal, suboptimal or detrimental in terms of suitability for achieving conservation aims for five aspects of grazing: presence, stock type, intensity, timing and habitat impact. 3.Although most saltmarshes suitable for grazing in England were grazed, conservation grazing was not being achieved. Sites under agri‐environment management for longer did score higher and approached optimal levels in terms of grazing intensity in one region, but sites with agri‐environment agreements were no more likely to be grazed at optimal conservation levels than sites without them overall, indicating that agri‐environment schemes, in their current form, are an ineffective delivery mechanism for conservation grazing on saltmarsh. 4.The low specificity of agri‐environment prescription wording may contribute to this failure, with prescriptions either being vague or specifying suboptimal or detrimental management objectives, particularly for grazing intensity, timing and stock type. These objectives are often set too high or too low, during unsuitable periods, or using stock types inappropriate for achieving conservation aims. 5.Synthesis and applications. Our national survey indicates that agri‐environment schemes are not currently delivering conservation grazing on English saltmarshes. Agri‐environment schemes are the only mechanism through which such grazing can be implemented on a national scale, so improving their effectiveness is a priority. Policymakers, researchers and managers need to work together to ensure better translation of conservation guidelines into schemes, increasing the specificity of management prescriptions and improving understanding of the need for management measures. A more detailed and reliable system of auditing to ensure that management activities are taking place would be beneficial, or alternatively moving to a results‐based scheme where payments are made on desirable outcomes rather than on evidence of management

Does Coping Matter? Coping and Chronic Physiological Distress Among Aging U.S. Black and White Men

AbstractChronic physiological distress accelerates biological aging and is linked to chronic disease and premature mortality. Physiological distress biomarkers, such as cortisol, represent a key proximal outcome of stress and coping processes through which social inequities are posited to generate health disparities. This study explored how variations in coping may contribute to documented racial disparities in chronic physiological distress between midlife and older Black and White male participants in the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) II and the National Study of Daily Experiences (NSDE) II. Black and White men generally reported using similar coping strategies, though Black men relied more on positive reinterpretation, denial, drug use, and physical inactivity than White men. Of the 12 coping strategies examined, ten were unrelated to men’s chronic physiological distress levels. Religious and spiritual coping appeared protective, but only for White men. Black men who reported drug use (i.e., illegal drugs, prescription drug misuse) had less chronic physiological distress than those who abstained; drug use was unrelated to White men’s distress. Findings suggest that how older adult men cope may not be an important determinant of whether they exhibit chronic physiological distress. Our evidence also does not support conventional categorization of coping strategies as “good” or “bad.” Reducing racial health disparities among men may instead necessitate mitigating sources of stress implicated in chronic physiological distress, such as racism. More research investigating our unanticipated findings holds promise for developing targeted interventions to reduce racial disparities in chronic physiological distress among men.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/150674/1/Abstract Allen Watkins Chatters Johnson-Lawrence 2018 Does Coping Matter.pd

Factorizations of Elements in Noncommutative Rings: A Survey

We survey results on factorizations of non zero-divisors into atoms (irreducible elements) in noncommutative rings. The point of view in this survey is motivated by the commutative theory of non-unique factorizations. Topics covered include unique factorization up to order and similarity, 2-firs, and modular LCM domains, as well as UFRs and UFDs in the sense of Chatters and Jordan and generalizations thereof. We recall arithmetical invariants for the study of non-unique factorizations, and give transfer results for arithmetical invariants in matrix rings, rings of triangular matrices, and classical maximal orders as well as classical hereditary orders in central simple algebras over global fields.Comment: 50 pages, comments welcom

Church support networks of African Americans: The impact of gender and religious involvement

We examined the sociodemographic and religious involvement correlates of church support networks in a nationally representative sample of African Americans across the adult life span. Data from the National Survey of American Life was used for analysis. Ordinary least squares regression was conducted to identify correlates of frequency of contact, subjective closeness, provision and receipt of overall support, receipt of emotional support, and negative interactions with church members. We also investigated differences in church support networks separately for men and women. Religious involvement was positively associated with church support network indicators (i.e., frequency of contact). Church support network indicators also varied by age, gender, education, family income, marital status, and region. The findings indicate that for many African Americans, church members are an integral component of their support networks and underscore the importance of social integration in church networks for social support exchanges. Moreover, these church support network characteristics are patterned by sociodemographic characteristics.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149714/1/jcop22171_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149714/2/jcop22171.pd