Privilege and hindrance on the USA earnings distribution by gender and race/ethnicity: an intersectional framework with 12 groups

Purpose: This paper explores the wages of White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American and “other race” women and men once differences in basic characteristics among these 12 groups are accounted for. The authors aim to extend comparisons beyond those of women and men of the same race or the various races within a given gender. Design/methodology/approach: To undertake the conditional analysis, first, the authors propose a simple re-weighing scheme that allows to build a counterfactual economy in which workers' attributes for all gender–race/ethnicity groups are the same. Second, the authors use a well-known re-weighting scheme that involves logit estimations. Findings: Only Hispanic men, Native American men and Asian women have conditional wages around average. Black men and, especially, White, Black, Hispanic, Native American and “other race” women have conditional wages clearly below average, whereas those of Asian and White men are well above average. The wage differential between a privileged and a deprived group is disentangled into the premium of the former and the penalty of the latter, which brings a new perspective to what has been done in the literature based on pairwise comparisons. In this intersectional framework, the authors document that gender penalizes more than race. Originality/value: This paper examines intergroup earnings differentials using a methodology that allows to examine 12 gender–race/ethnicity groups jointly, which is this work's distinctive feature. The authors' intersectional framework allows to picture the effect of gender and race/ethnicity more broadly than what the literature has shown thus far.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2019-104619RB-C41Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2020-113440GB-100Accepted versio

Poverty among same-sex couple families in the United States: Is there a premium for married couples?

This paper explores the monetary poverty of families headed by same-sex couples, a group understudied in the poverty literature. This research contributes to the literature by documenting how same-sex couples rank with respect to different-sex couples when (a) employing poverty indicators that allow us to move beyond the poverty incidence; (b) measuring not only absolute poverty, which is the usual approach in US studies, but also relative poverty; and (c) distinguishing between married and cohabiting same-sex couples to determine whether they have the same marriage premium as different-sex couples do. Using a reweighting procedure to account for differences in basic characteristics, we document that married/cohabiting male same-sex couples have conditional poverty levels similar to those of married different-sex couples with some indicators, although when using other indicators, they have more poverty. The disadvantage of married male same-sex couples with respect to married different-sex couples increases when moving beyond poverty incidence. Female same-sex couples have more conditional poverty than married different-sex couples regardless of the poverty measure and marital status of the couple. We also find that the marriage premium is unclear for families headed by same-sex couples. Married same-sex couples tend to have more poverty than their cohabiting peers when we move beyond the poverty incidence, with differences among these two groups in the very low tail of their income distributions. Far from the stereotype that married same-sex couples are well off, our results suggest the existence of higher extreme poverty among married female same-sex couples.Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2022-137352NB-C42Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2020-113440GB-I00Universidade de Vigo/CISU

Disentangling occupational sorting from within-occupation disparities: earnings differences among 12 gender-race/ethnicity groups in the U.S.

This paper quantifies the role that occupations play in explaining wage differences among 12 gender–race/ethnicity groups without including occupations as control variables in wage equations. Our approach, based on a counterfactual analysis that involves a re-weighting scheme, has three advantages. First, it allows enlarging the small list of occupations usually employed in the literature. Second, it directly addresses the fact that occupational sorting is not a gender- and race-blind mechanism. Third, it allows for the comparison of all the groups simultaneously after controlling for characteristics. Our analysis shows that, after controlling for characteristics other than gender and race/ethnicity, occupational segregation accounts for around 40–50% of the earnings losses of White, Hispanic, Native American, and “other race” women (relative to the economy’s average wage) and it reaches 63% in the case of Black women. Black men’s occupational sorting also harms them after controlling for attributes, a finding that we do not see in any other male group. On the contrary, around half of the earnings advantages of White and Asian men arises from their occupational sorting. Additionally, this paper develops a decomposition that allows identifying the occupations that bring losses/gains to each group beyond what is expected based on its characteristics, which is also a novelty in respect to what has been done in the literature.Universidade de Vigo/CISUGAgencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2019-104619RB-C41Agencia Estatal de Investigación | Ref. PID2020-113440GB-10

Mental Health Problems and Related Factors in Ecuadorian College Students

Although the mental health problems of college students have been the subject of increasing research, there are no studies about its prevalence in Ecuadorian college students. The aim of this study was to determine the mental health problems and their associated factors in Ecuadorian freshmen university students. A sample of 1092 students (53.7% women; mean age = 18.3 years) were recruited from the Technical Particular University of Loja (Ecuador). Socio-demographic, academic, and clinical characteristics were gathered, as well as information on the participants’ mental health through a number of mental health screens. Prevalence of positive screens was 6.2% for prevalence of major depressive episodes, 0.02% for generalized anxiety disorders, 2.2% for panic disorders, 32.0% for eating disorders, 13.1% for suicidal risk. Mental health problems were significantly associated with sex, area of study, self-esteem, social support, personality and histories of mental health problems. The findings offer a starting point for identifying useful factors to target prevention and intervention strategies aimed at university studentsThis study was funded by grant PY250 from the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (Ecuador)S

Protocol for a randomized controlled dismantling study of a brief telephonic psychological intervention applied to nonprofessional caregivers with symptoms of depression

Background Although depression is a common problem in caregivers and there are effective cognitive-behavioral interventions for its prevention, the ability of caregivers to attend these treatments is often limited by logistics. Furthermore, the efficacy of the components of these interventions is unknown. The objectives of this study are to (a) evaluate the efficacy of a telephone-administered cognitive-behavioral intervention to prevent depression with all its components (cognitive and behavioral) and only with behavioral activation, and to (b) analyze the mediators of the change in depressive symptoms. Methods/Design A randomized controlled clinical trial was designed to dismantle the components of a cognitive-behavioral intervention. Caregivers with elevated depressive symptoms will be randomly assigned to a cognitive-behavioral intervention, an intervention with only the behavioral activation component, or a usual care control group. Each condition will consist of approximately 60 participants. The two interventions will consist of five sessions lasting 90 min each, applied to groups of about 5 participants at a time via conference call. Trained interviewers, blind to the experimental conditions, will conduct the assessments at the pre-treatment, post-treatment and 1-, 3-, 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Discussion This study will provide evidence of the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral intervention to prevent depression in caregivers with elevated depressive symptoms administered via conference call, and on the impact of the behavioral activation component on the overall efficacy of the program. If we find favorable results, it would mean that we have developed a program of prevention of depression of higher clinical utility and efficacy than those currently available, which would make it possible for a large number of caregivers to have access to such resourcesThis study was funded by grant 2012-PN162 (PSI2012-37396) from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain. We wish to thank support from Ministry of Labor and Welfare (Xunta de Galicia)S

A brief problem-solving indicated-prevention intervention for prevention of depression in nonprofessional caregivers

Background: Despite depression being a common problem among nonprofessional caregivers, no studies of prevention of depression targeting this population exist in the literature. The studies of indicated prevention of depression aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a problem-solving intervention in preventing clinical depression in a sample of female caregivers. Method: A controlled randomized trial was conducted among 173 participants (mean age 53.9 years), 89 of whom were randomized to the intervention group and 84 (controls) to usual care. The intervention comprised five weekly 90-minute group sessions. Results: At post-treatment, depression symptoms in the intervention group had remitted significantly more than in the control group, with a large effect size (d = 1.54). The proportion of participants showing clinically significant improvement was significantly larger in the intervention group (80.9% vs. 11.9% among controls), and fewer intervention-group participants had progressed to clinical depression during the study period (4.5% vs. 13.1% among controls). The intervention group also exhibited a significantly greater reduction in emotional distress and caregiver burden than the control group. Conclusions: These findings attest to the short-term efficacy of the interventionUna intervención breve de solución de problemas para la prevención indicada de la depresión en cuidadoras. Antecedentes: a pesar que la depresión es un problema frecuente en los cuidadores no profesionales, en la literatura no hay estudios de prevención indicada de la depresión en esta población. Se evaluó la eficacia de una intervención de solución de problemas para prevenir la depresión clínica en una muestra de cuidadoras. Método: se realizó un ensayo controlado aleatorizado entre 173 participantes (edad promedio 53,9 años), 89 de las cuales fueron asignadas al azar al grupo de intervención y 84 (controles) a atención habitual. La intervención constó de cinco sesiones aplicadas semanalmente en formato grupal de una duración de 90 minutos cada una. Resultados: en el postratamiento, los síntomas depresivos en el grupo de intervención disminuyeron significativamente más que en el grupo control, con un tamaño del efecto d grande de 1,54. La proporción de participantes con mejoría clínicamente significativa fue significativamente mayor en el grupo de intervención (80,9% frente a 11,9% entre los controles); y menos participantes del grupo de intervención progresaron a una depresión clínica durante el período del estudio (4,5% frente a 13,1% entre los controles). El grupo de intervención también tuvo una reducción significativamente mayor en malestar emocional y sobrecarga del cuidador que el grupo control. Conclusiones: estos hallazgos demuestran la eficacia de la intervención a corto plazoThis study was supported by grant 2007/PN017 from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of Spain. This research was also supported from Ministry of Labour and Welfare (Xunta de Galicia)S

Green Microalgae Scenedesmus Obliquus Utilization for the Adsorptive Removal of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) from Water Samples

In view of the valorisation of the green microalga Scenedesmus obliquus biomass, it was used for the biosorption of two nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, namely salicylic acid and ibuprofen, from water. Microalgae biomass was characterized, namely by the determination of the point of zero charge (pHPZC), by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis, simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). Kinetic and equilibrium batch experiments were carried out and results were found to fit the pseudo-second order equation and the Langmuir isotherm model, respectively. The Langmuir maximum capacity determined for salicylic acid (63 mg g−1) was larger than for ibuprofen (12 mg g−1), which was also verified for a commercial activated carbon used as reference (with capacities of 250 and 147 mg g−1, respectively). For both pharmaceuticals, the determination of thermodynamic parameters allowed us to infer that adsorption onto microalgae biomass was spontaneous, favourable and exothermic. Furthermore, based on the biomass characterization after adsorption and energy associated with the process, it was deduced that the removal of salicylic acid and ibuprofen by Scenedesmus obliquus biomass occurred by physical interaction.The Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Lisboa, Portugal) is acknowledged for support through the FCT Investigator Program (IF/00314/2015) and for Andreia Silva’s Ph.D. Grant SFRH/BD/138/780/2018. Thanks are due to FCT/ Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES), for the financial support to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020), through national funds. Likewise, the financial support of the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry-LAQV through national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020) is acknowledged, co-financed by the ERDF under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007265). This research was funded also by the EU and FCT/UEFISCDI/FORMAS, in the frame of the collaborative international consortium REWATER financed under the ERA-NET Cofund WaterWorks2015 Call, this ERA-NET is an integral part of the 2016 Joint Activities developed by the Water Challenges for a Changing World Joint Program Initiative (Water JPI).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Long-Term Effects of a Cognitive Behavioral Conference Call Intervention on Depression in Non-Professional Caregivers

Recent evidence supports the efficacy of conference call cognitive–behavioral interventions in preventing depression in caregivers at post-intervention, but we do not know whether the results are sustained long term. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy of a cognitive–behavioral intervention administered by telephone conference call in preventing depression in caregivers with elevated depressive symptoms, comparing all components of the intervention versus only the behavioral ones. A randomized controlled trial was conducted using a dismantling strategy. At total of 219 caregivers were randomly assigned to a cognitive–behavioral conference call intervention (CBCC; n = 69), a behavioral-activation conference call intervention (BACC; n = 70), or a usual care control group (CG, n = 80). Information was collected on depressive symptoms and depression at pre-intervention and at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 36 months post-intervention. At 36 months, there was a reduction in depressive symptoms (p < 0.001) and a lower incidence of major depressive episodes in both the CBCC and BACC groups compared to CG (8.7%, 8.6%, and 33.7%, respectively). The results show that a conference call intervention was effective in the long term to prevent depression in caregivers and that the behavioral-activation component was comparable to the complete cognitive–behavioral protocolThis research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under grant number 2012-PN162S

Analysis of the Components of a Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for the prevention of Depression Administered via Conference Call to Nonprofessional Caregivers: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Effective and accessible interventions for indicated prevention of depression are necessary and lacking, especially for informal caregivers. Although telephone-based interventions could increase the accessibility for caregivers, randomized controlled trials are scarce, with no examination of prevention to date. Moreover, the efficacy of specific therapeutic components in preventive cognitive-behavioral programs is unknown. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a telephone-administered psychological preventive intervention in informal caregivers with high depressive symptoms. A total of 219 caregivers were randomized to a cognitive-behavioral conference call intervention (CBCC, n = 69), a behavioral-activation conference call intervention (BACC, n = 70), or a usual care control group (CG, n = 80). Both interventions consisted of five 90-minute group sessions. At the post-intervention, incidence of depression was lower in CBCC and BACC compared to CG (1.5% and 1.4% vs. 8.8%). Relative risk was 0.17 for the CBCC and 0.16 for the BACC, and the number-needed-to-treat was 14 in both groups. Depressive symptoms were significantly lower in BACC and BACC groups compared to CG (d = 1.16 and 1.29), with no significant differences between CBCC and BACC groups. The conference call intervention was effective in preventing depression and the behavioral-activation component (BACC) was comparable to the CBCC interventionThis research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under grant number 2012-PN162S