Elizabeth Tighe

Cross-Survey Analysis to Estimate Low-Incidence Religious Groups

Population-based surveys are of limited utility to estimate rare or low-incidence groups, particularly for those defined by religion or ethnicity not included in the U.S. Census. Methods of cross-survey analysis and small area estimation, however, can be used to provide reliable estimates of such low-incidence groups. To illustrate these methods, data from 50 national surveys are combined to examine the Jewish population in the United States. Hierarchical models are used to examine clustering of respondents within surveys and geographic regions. Bayesian analyses with Monte Carlo simulations are used to obtain pooled, state-level estimates poststratified by sex, race, education, and age to obtain certainty intervals about the estimates. This cross-survey approach provides a useful and practical analytic framework that can be generalized both to more extensive study of religion in the United States and to other social science problems in which single data sources are insufficient for reliable statistical inference.

The Work Preference Inventory: Assessing intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations: Correction.

The Work Preference Inventory (WPI) is designed to assess individual differences in intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations. Both the college student and the working adult versions aim to capture the major elements of intrinsic motivation (self-determination, competence, task involvement, curiosity, enjoyment, and interest) and extrinsic motivation (concerns with competition, evaluation, recognition, money or other tangible incentives, and constraint by others). The instrument is scored on two primary scales, each subdivided into 2 secondary scales. The WPI has meaningful factor structures, adequate internal consistency, good short-term test-retest reliability, and good longer term stability. Moreover, WPI scores are related in meaningful ways to other questionnaire and behavioral measures of motivation, as well as personality characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors.

Community-Based Substance Abuse Reduction and the Gap between Treatment Need and Treatment Utilization: Analysis of Data from the “Fighting Back” General Population Survey

Despite the utility of substance abuse treatment, large numbers of people with serious substance use problems do not get the treatment that is needed. Communities that participated in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations “Fighting Back” program (see Saxe et al., this issue) developed a range of strategies to facilitate the provision of treatment to community members. As part of the national evaluation of Fighting Back, a general population survey conducted in 1995, 1997, and 1999 in 12 of the Fighting Back communities and 29 comparison communities assessed problem substance use, dependence, and treatment. These data were used to examine whether the gap between treatment need and treatment utilization was reduced in the Fighting Back communities. Results indicated that the discrepancy between treatment need and utilization of specialized treatment was unchanged, with as few as 6% to 7% identified as needing treatment actually receiving treatment. There were, however, a number of characteristics that distinguished those who received treatment from those who did not: (1) females were more than seven times less likely to receive treatment when needed than were males; (2) African Americans were four times less likely and Hispanics three times less likely than White respondents; (3) those 25 years and younger were four times less likely than those over 25; (4) unemployed and those living in poverty were three times more likely to receive treatment. The implications of these findings are that even within comprehensive approaches to substance abuse, more must be done to identify those in need of treatment, to understand the factors that explain the discrepancies between those in need of treatment who do and do not receive treatment, and to develop methods for getting those in need into treatment.

How Hard Is It to Be a Jew on College Campuses

Despite the academic successes of Jewish students on college campuses in the United States, challenges remain, particularly in terms of social involvement and ability to practice religion, much like the challenges that face students who are members of other ethnic and religious minorities. In this paper we examine data from 1,087 Jewish students at eight elite colleges and universities in the United States. The greater the percentage of Jewish students on campus and, individually, the more Jewish students feel connected to other students, including Jewish friends, the more at ease they feel. Those more engaged in Jewish religious practices experience greater difficulty, especially if there are no kosher dining facilities on campus. Both the “invisible hand” of social structure and the practical matters of Jewish observance affect Jewish students’ personal sense of ease.