Métodos empíricos em pesquisa do envelhecimento entre minorias: um caso para triangulação sociológica Empirical methods in minority aging research: the case for sociological triangulation

A triangulação, há muito, vem sendo empregada para validar estudos cujos resultados são alvo de críticas por basearem-se em amostras muito pequenas ou por não permitirem generalização. Com um foco especial no uso de múltiplas fontes de dados quantitativos, expandimos o uso da triangulação em um contexto sociológico, argumentando que não só a sociologia é um campo apto ao uso da combinação de diferentes bases de dados, mas que esta é uma ferramenta útil ao se analisarem populações de difícil acesso e menos favorecidas. Destacando exemplos de múltiplas bases de dados empregadas usualmente para explorar questões sobre o envelhecimento de pessoas de origem latino-americana nos Estados Unidos, discutimos como estas distintas fontes podem ser aplicadas para fortalecer os resultados. Concluímos, discutindo a aplicação da triangulação como um meio de tornar as análises sociológicas acessíveis e relevantes para o campo das políticas, o que acreditamos ser um esforço necessário para assegurar uma perspectiva sociológica no âmbito mais amplo da discussão de políticas.<br>Triangulation has long been employed to provide validation for study findings that are easily critiqued because of small sample sizes or lack of generalizability. With a particular focus on using multiple quantitative data sources, we expand the use of triangulation within a sociological context, arguing that not only is sociology a field ripe for the use of combining different datasets, but that it is a useful tool when examining hard-to-reach and disadvantaged populations. Highlighting examples from multiple datasets that are typically employed to explore issues of Hispanic aging in the United States, we discuss how these different sources can be deployed to leverage findings. We conclude by discussing the application of triangulation to make sociological analyses policy accessible and relevant, a necessary pursuit, we argue, to ensure a sociological voice is part of the broader policy discussion

Coping with Time Pressure and Stress: Consequences for Families’ Food Consumption

This study explores the coping strategies that families apply when under time pressure and stress (time stress), and how such strategies affect food consumption at dinnertime. The data were based on photo interviewing methodology with a sample of 12 Norwegian children (ages seven and eight) and their parents. In this case, the children were asked to take photographs during their dinners at home and while shopping for groceries with their parents. The findings show that the most dominant explanation for time stress was the children’s participation in sport activities. In this regard, the families applied several coping strategies, such as skipping dinner and eating snacks instead, consuming convenience food, avoiding preference conflicts, planning for healthy dinners, involving children and grandparents in food preparation, and practising compensatory health beliefs and behaviours. This might be the first study that identifies parents’ use of compensatory health beliefs to justify children’s diets. More specifically, the parents stated that the children’s high activity levels could compensate for unhealthy food consumption. The strategies that were applied had varying influences on the families’ food consumption, depending on the parents’ confidence in cooking and meal-planning skills. It was found that parents with high confidence and skills were more likely to make healthy cooking a priority. Consequently, they served more healthy dishes at dinnertime, compared with other parents. Unlike previous studies, the findings indicate that children’s active lifestyles might not be directly related to healthy diets