Which Activities Count? Gender and Socioeconomic Differences in the Conceptualization of Physical Activity: the Role of Leisure, Housework and Dependent Care, and Paid Work

Survey research on the overall health and physical activity of the United States has relied on self-reports from questions that ask about leisure-only activity. Leisure activity patterns are known to be plagued by social forces that inhibit access and opportunity for women, compared to men, and for lower-socioeconomic individuals, compared to higher-socioeconomic individuals, making the further unpacking of leisure and other time use patterns imperative. To address this, the objective of this dissertation is to assess the different pathways individuals take to engage in health-benefiting physical activity and investigate the reliability and validity of physical activity survey questions as they relate to gender and socioeconomic disparities in physical activity. The intention of this project is to ultimately inform best practices for survey question wording and, more generally, public health policy on physical activity. The research accomplishes the overall objective by pursuing the following specific aims: (1) To assess whether gender and SES physical activity ‘gaps’ are artificially produced through inaccurate measurement of physical activity, which will be completed by analyzing time use patterns of a nationally representative pooled sample from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS); (2) To offer new evidence and discovery on the potential impacts of priming language on physical activity questionnaires that highlight different opportunities for moderate physical activity. Building on the knowledge gained from the statistical analysis described above, the next step will be to collect new survey data using an experimental design. The experiment consists of eight conditions that include priming language for physical activity questions that previous national survey have overlooked or have not taken into account. The project contributes an in-depth understanding of the theoretical relationship among gender, SES, social patterns of physical activity and time use in general, and understandings of physical activity as they relate to individuals’ survey questionnaire responses. This contribution is significant, because it can potentially transform future survey research as a means of studying the physical activity habits among diverse social groups

Different Domains of Physical Activity: The Role of Leisure, Housework/Care Work, and Paid Work in Socioeconomic Differences in Reported Physical Activity

Inequality in socioeconomic status (SES)—education, income, and occupation—may further exacerbate the health gap between the “haves” and “have nots” by shaping health behaviors such as physical activity. For example, those in higher socioeconomic positions are consistently found to engage in more physical activity according to public health reports that focus on leisure activity. However, previous research investigating the role of SES in shaping engagement in housework, childcare, and paid work suggests different opportunities for physical activity. This discrepancy in how researchers ask questions about physical activity and the pathways people take to healthy activity raises the question: Do socioeconomic differences in physical activity look different when we look at other domains of physical activity beyond leisure? And, does how we measure SES matter? We draw on data from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) to assess the roles of education, income, and occupation in the amount of time individuals spend in different types of physical activity. Results demonstrate that socioeconomic differences in physical activity change depending on the activity domain and, therefore, when all domains of physical activity are accounted for compared to leisure-only. Further, the measurement of SES matters: key indicators of SES (education, income, and occupation) have varying associations with levels and types of physical activity. Findings from this research have important implications for the assessment of physical activity across SES, ultimately impacting survey research and public health

A Cross-institutional Study of Instructional Characteristics and Student Outcomes: Are Quality Indicators of Online Courses Able to Predict Student Success?

A study was conducted to examine instructional characteristics and their relationship to student outcomes in online courses at a 2-year and 4-year higher educational institution.  Instructional characteristics included learner support, course design and organization, content design and delivery, interactivity (student-instructor and student-student), and assessment and evaluation.  A student survey instrument was created that captures student perceptions of the instructional characteristics of their course, their learning, and their satisfaction with the course.  The data collected from the student survey was merged with data from institutional student information systems (e.g., demographics and course grade). This article examines the relationship between these instructional characteristics, sometimes referred to as indicators of online course quality, and their relationship to student outcomes for all students and for underrepresented students.  Significant findings from multiple regression analyses are reported.  Additional analyses were conducted to examine differences among underrepresented students (minorities, first-generation, low-income, students with impairments/disabilities) using MANOVA.  No significant differences are reported. 

Which activities count? Using experimental data to understand conceptualizations of physical activity

US health surveys consistently report that men and those with higher socioeconomic status (SES) engage in more physical activity than women and lower SES counterparts, using questions that ask about physical activity during leisure time. However, social characteristics such as gender and SES shape understandings of and access to leisure-based physical activity as well as other domains where healthy activity is available – namely house work, care work, and paid work. Thus, the physical activity of US adults may look different when what counts as physical activity expands beyond leisure activity.The current study uses Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform to conduct a 2-by-2-by-2 factorial experiment that crosses three types of physical activities: leisure, house or care work, and paid work. We find that physical activity questions that prime respondents – that is, ask respondents – to consider house/care work or paid work lead to increased minutes reported of physical activity compared to not priming for physical activity, while asking about leisure is no different from having no physical activity primed. The effect on reported physical activity of priming with house/care work is stronger for women than men, demonstrating support for gendered specialization of time spent in the house and care work domain. The effects on reported physical activity of priming with house/care work and paid work are stronger for those with less education compared to more education, consistent with socioeconomic divisions in access to physical activity in house/care work and employment. This study highlights the contingence of our understanding of the physical activity of US adults on both its measurement in surveys and the social forces which shape understanding of and access to physical activity. Keywords: health disparities, physical activity, gender, socioeconomic status, experimental design, survey methods, Mechanical Turk, United State

Too much time? Time use and fertility-specific quality of life among men and women seeking specialty care for infertility

BACKGROUND: There are known gender differences in the impacts infertility has on quality of life and well-being. Less is known about how infertile couples spend time on fertility-related tasks and associations with quality of life. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether time spent on tasks related to family-building decision-making (including research, reflection, discussions with partner, discussions with others, and logistics) were associated with fertility-specific quality of life or anxiety among new patients. METHODS: Couples or individuals (N = 156) with upcoming initial consultations with a reproductive specialist completed the Fertility Quality of Life (FertiQoL) tool, which produces a Core (total) score and four subscales: Emotional, Relational, Social, and Mind-Body. We developed questions to measure time spent in the previous 24 h on tasks related to family-building. We tested for differences by gender in time use (McNemar\u27s Test) and used ordinary least squares regression to analyze the relationship between time use and FertiQoL scores. RESULTS: In the week before a new consultation, a higher percentage of women reported time spent in the past 24 h in research, reflecting, discussion with others, and logistics compared to male partners (all p \u3c 0.05). In adjusted models, more time spent reflecting was associated with worse FertiQoL scores for both men and women, as well as with higher anxiety for men. Time spent in discussion with others was associated with higher anxiety for women but better Social FertiQoL scores for men. CONCLUSIONS: Couples seeking infertility consultation with a specialist reported spending time on tasks related to family-building before the initial visit. There were gender differences in the amount of time spent on these tasks, and time was associated with fertility-specific quality of life and anxiety