Bruce Rankin

The Effects of Neighborhood Disadvantage on Adolescent Development

A conceptual framework for studying emerging neighborhood effects on individual development is presented, identifying specific mechanisms and processes by which neighborhood disadvantage influences adolescent developmental outcomes. Using path analyses, the authors test the hypothesis that these organizational and cultural features of neighborhoods mediate the effects of ecological disadvantage on adolescent development and behavior; they then estimate the unique contribution of neighborhood effects on development using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). The study involves samples of neighborhoods from two sites, Chicago and Denver. The analyses support the hypothesis that the effects of ecological disadvantage are mediated by specific organizational and cultural features of the neighborhood. The unique influence of neighborhood effects is relatively small, but in most cases these effects account for a substantial part of the variance explained by the HLM model.

Modernity, Traditionality, and Junior High School Attainment in Turkey.

This study focuses on the impact of modernityand traditionality on junior high schoolattainment of children in Turkey. Using thenationwide Turkish Family Structure Survey, theprimary objectives are to determine whetherjunior high school attainment varies by region,city size, and by family background. Based ona sample of 2025 16 year-old adolescents, weprovide the first multivariate, nationwideanalysis of the factors associated with juniorhigh school attainment of children in Turkey. The results of the multivariate logisticregression analysis show significant variationin childrens junior high school attainment byfamily background, region and urban location,which are factors that help explain persistentgender inequality in education.

Religiosity, the headscarf, and education in Turkey: an analysis of 1988 data and current implications

Previous research highlights the continuing relevance of family culture in explaining educational inequalities in Turkey, especially patriarchal beliefs and practices that discourage investment in the education of girls. We extend that research by introducing two much‐debated, but empirically untested, aspects of family culture – parental religiosity and headscarf preferences. An analysis of a nationally representative sample of 15–19 year olds in 1988 shows that while religiosity had no significant effect on educational attainment, children who lived in families whose fathers expected them to wear a headscarf in public had lower educational attainment, especially girls. The large negative headscarf effect suggests that the government ban on headscarves in schools may be an obstacle to eliminating gender inequality in education. The results are discussed in light of recent trends in Turkish society.

A Cultural Map of Turkey

There is a growing body of empirical research on national patterns of cultural consumption and how they are related to social stratification. This paper helps to broaden the basis of comparison by focusing on cultural patterns in Turkey, a developing, non-Western, and predominantly Muslim context. Our analysis of cultural tastes and activities using data from a new nationally-representative survey shows three broad cultural clusters that clearly map onto differential positions in the social structure and are largely differentiated by degree and form of engagement with Turkey’s emerging cultural diversity, particularly their orientation towards Western cultural forms. In general, local cultural modalities do not distinguish groups, attesting to the robustness of local culture. The results are discussed in light of previous work on cultural patterns in other national contexts.

Unemployment, Economic Strain and Family Distress: The Impact of the 2001 Economic Crisis

This essay focuses on economic hardship in the wake of the 2001 economic crisis and the impact of the resulting economic strain on individual and family distress (i.e., stress, emotional distress, physical health, and marital problems). Previous research on the impact of the economic crisis in Turkey has relied on small and non-representative samples or was limited to descriptive analyses. This research analyzes a nationally representative sample of 1,107 urban households using multivariate techniques. The OLS regression results show that, while the negative effects of the economic crisis were widely felt, those who lost their jobs, had a longer duration of unemployment, and who experienced higher levels of economic strain were affected most. Economic hardship and high and increasing levels of economic strain had a strong negative effect on perceived stress levels, emotional distress, physical health problems and marital problems. Renters were particularly hard hit by the crisis and report more strain and personal distress than non-renters.

Economic Crises and the Social Structuring of Economic Hardship: The Impact of the 2001 Turkish Crisis

Drawing on a growing cross-national literature on the social impact of economic crises, this paper investigates the social structuring of economic hardship among urban households in Turkey following the 2001 economic crisis. My goal is to compare the Turkish crisis to other recent crises, particularly in Latin America and Asia, and to assess competing claims about the vulnerability of different social groups. Using data from the study entitled Turkish Family Life under Siege —a nationally representative sample of urban households of work-aged married couples—the results paint a picture of widespread social devastation as measured by key labor market outcomes: job loss, unemployment duration, earnings instability, and under-employment. The findings suggest that existing patterns of social inequality related to class and status—education, age, ethnicity, and occupation—were reinforced and exacerbated by the 2001 macro-economic crisis. In contrast to claims that the impact was skewed towards higher socio-economic groups, the brunt of the 2001 crisis was felt by disadvantaged social groups with few assets to buffer economic hardship. Economic hardship was higher among labor force participants who are younger, less educated, male, Kurdish-speakers, private-sector employees, and residents of non-central regions. I discuss the implications with respect to the previous research on economic crises, the role of Turkish contextual factors, and the need for social policy reform, particularly in the context of the current global economic crisis.

Cultural omnivorousness in Turkey

Recent cultural consumption research has drawn attention to the emergence of the high status ‘cultural omnivore,’ that is, individuals who consume a wide range of cultural products, including the expected ‘high culture,’ but more ‘popular’ forms as well. Initially reported in studies conducted in the developed West, this study broadens the basis of comparison by investigating the case of Turkey – a non-western, predominantly Muslim, developing country with a long history of state-led westernization. Using data from a nationally representative survey of adults, the study examines 34 cultural tastes in three domains – music, food, and literature – and participation in five different cultural activities for evidence of an omnivorous pattern. The items used include indicators of ‘high’ and ‘popular’ culture, as well as ‘local’ and ‘global/western’ culture. The results of a latent class analysis clearly identify an omnivorous group. A distinctive feature of the Turkish cultural field is that groups are largely defined by their orientation towards local versus global forms, with omnivores consuming both, in contrast to groups that restrict their diet to ‘local’ forms. Further analysis shows that, similar to studies in other contexts, Turkish omnivorousness is associated with higher social position, especially education and income. Omnivores also tend to be younger and more secular in their views towards the role of religion in the public sphere. The article concludes that, in addition to the high/popular distinction, the local/global is a critical symbolic boundary shaping cultural identities in Turkey.