Jeffrey Dew

Lifestyle behavior pattern is associated with different levels of risk for incident dementia and Alzheimer's disease: the Cache County study.

To identify distinct behavioral patterns of diet, exercise, social interaction, church attendance, alcohol consumption, and smoking and to examine their association with subsequent dementia risk.

Economic Pressure and Marital Conflict in Retirement-Aged Couples

Tests of the relationship between economic difficulties and marital distress have generally excluded retirement-aged couples. Given the aging U.S. population and the upcoming retirement of the baby boom cohort, this research gap is problematic.To rectify this omission, this study uses longitudinal data from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH; N = 3,853) and assesses whether the family stress model operates differently for three retirement-aged groups of couples (one group that retired before the study, one that retired during the study, and one group of retirement-aged couples that did not retire during the study) and a comparison group of younger couples. The family stress model did not operate for married couples that began the NSFH already retired but did operate for the two other retirement-aged couples. The authors discuss the potential mechanisms behind these findings and the implications for the upcoming retirement of the baby boom cohort.

Has the Marital Time Cost of Parenting Changed Over Time

Qualitative and quantitative research has suggested that married couples handle the increasing demands of intensive parenting norms and work expectations by reducing spousal time (e.g., the time that spouses spend alone with each other). Using nationally representative time-diary data, this study examined whether married individuals with children at home lost more spousal time in the years 1975-2003 than individuals without children at home. The analyses showed that on average married individuals have reduced their spousal time by 50 minutes a day. Contrary to expectations, however, individuals with minor children at home had lower time declines than individuals without children. The strategies that assisted married individuals with children to protect their spousal time differed between weekdays and weekend days.

Fatherhood and Men's Lives at Middle Age.

This article uses data on 2,024 men who were followed through the third wave of the National Survey of Families and Households to examine the implications of fatherhood experiences for men’s involvement in altruistic social activities at middle age. We find that middle-aged men (ages 45-65) who at some point in their lives become fathers are significantly more likely to have altruistically oriented social relationships and be involved in service organizations compared with men who have never become fathers. Furthermore, it appears that the defining aspect of the effect of fatherhood is the level of engagement with children while they are growing up. Neither current residential status nor whether current nonresidence occurs because of nest leaving is found to distinguish men’s altruistic ties.

The Social and Cultural Predictors of Generosity in Marriage Gender Egalitarianism, Religiosity, and Familism

This study focuses on the social and cultural sources of an important dimension of solidarity in contemporary marriages: marital generosity. Marital generosity is defined here as freely giving to one’s spouse by regularly engaging in small acts of service, forgiving one’s spouse, and displaying high levels of affection and respect. Using recent data from a national sample, the Survey of Marital Generosity (N = 1,368 couples), we explored the associations between gender egalitarianism, familism, religiosity, and generous behavior among spouses aged 18 to 45. Our results suggest that domestic gender egalitarianism—where spouses reported sharing housework and child care—is linked to greater reports of marital generosity. Religiosity is also positively associated with marital generosity. Finally, the most potent predictor of generosity in this study is commitment, where spouses are personally dedicated to their partner and to continuing the relationship.

Marriage and Finance

This chapter reviews interdisciplinary research concerning the association between marriage and personal finances. The first section of the chapter discusses financial practices within marriage and the financial differences between married couples and other family types. The second section reviews the research on the ability of financial factors to predict marital formation, satisfaction/conflict, and dissolution. The chapter also suggests future research avenues.

Skin Carotenoid Response to a High-Carotenoid Juice in Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown an increase in serum carotenoid status among children when fed carotenoids. This study looked at the effect and dose-response of a known amount of carotenoid consumption on change in skin carotenoid status among children. METHODS Participants were children aged 5 to 17 years from Cache County, UT (n=58). Children were randomly assigned to one of three groups: high (n=18) or low (n=18) dose of a carotenoid-rich juice (2.75 mg carotenoids/30 mL juice), or placebo juice (n=22). Children were asked to drink an assigned dose of the juice (30 to 120 mL/day) based on the weight of the child and group assignment, every day for 8 weeks. Skin carotenoids were measured every 2 weeks by resonance Raman spectroscopy. Participants were asked to maintain their usual diet throughout the study. Usual diet was assessed using three averaged 24-hour recalls; diet constancy was measured using food frequency questionnaires administered at baseline, Week 4, and Week 8. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to assess the group differences in skin carotenoid status over time. RESULTS The high-dose and low-dose groups had mean±standard deviation increases in skin carotenoid status of 11,515±1,134 and 10,009±1,439 Raman intensity counts, respectively (both P values <0.001, for change in means compared with baseline) at Week 8, although they showed significant change from baseline by Week 2. The placebo groups change of 985 Raman intensity counts was not statistically significant. The difference in change between the 2 experimental groups was not significant at Week 2, 4, 6, or 8. CONCLUSIONS Consumption of 30 to 120 mL (2.75 to 11 mg carotenoids) of a carotenoid-rich juice significantly increased skin carotenoid status over an 8-week period among children aged 5 to 17 years. The amount of carotenoids found in this amount of juice is equal to the amount found in approximately 23 to 92 g cooked carrots per day.

Marital Investments and Community Involvement: A Test of Coser’s Greedy Marriage Thesis

It is customary to test Coser’s greedy marriage thesis by comparing marital status groups. We propose a new approach that uses the marital dyad as the unit of analysis and examine whether investments in the marital relationship discourage community involvement through formal volunteering. Data from a U.S. national sample of 1,368 married couples revealed mixed support for the proposed relationship. Consistent with the greedy marriage thesis, wives’ soulmate view of marriage was negatively associated with their own and their husbands’ reports of volunteering. Although these associations were attenuated by religious service attendance, wives’ soulmate view had a more dampening effect than husbands’ soulmate view on their own and their husbands’ volunteering. However, the time couples spend alone together was positively associated with husbands’ reports of volunteering, which counters the greedy marriage thesis. These findings suggest that the greedy nature of marriage is, in part, determined by its participants—how they define and manage their marriage.

Lifestyle Behavior Pattern Predicts Incident Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. The Cache County Study

To identify distinct behavioral patterns of diet, exercise, social interaction, church attendance, alcohol consumption, and smoking and to examine their association with subsequent dementia risk.

Beyond the Wage Premium: Fatherhood and Men’s AssetAccumulation

This study examines the association between becoming a father and mens asset accumulation trajectories. It is the first study to include nonmarried fathers in addition to married fathers. We used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort (the 1979 and 1985–2000 wave) and multilevel modeling techniques to examine the research questions. Findings revealed that the association between fatherhood and mens total asset accumulation depended on marriage. Upon becoming fathers, married men increased their rates of asset accumulation. By way of contrast, unmarried men who became fathers had a decline in their rate of asset accumulation, on average. Race also moderated the association between fatherhood and asset accumulation.