Juan Xi

Experiencing a Forced Relocation at Different Life Stages: The Effects of China's Three Gorges Project- induced Relocation on Depression

Guided by the life course perspective and the stress severity perspective, this study aims to evaluate the question: Does the Three Gorges Project–induced relocation affect people of different ages differently? Using a quasi-experimental design, we collected pre- and post-relocation data from a sample (n = 1,056) that consists of both relocatees and nonmovers from the Three Gorges region in China. We found that relocatees of all age groups have experienced a similar level of elevation of depressive symptoms due to the relocation. No age group was exempted from the detrimental effects of the Three Gorges Project–induced relocation. Although it is usually much easier for young adults to relocate, as compared to older adults, a forced relocation is such an extraordinary stressor that its strong effects have overridden other forces that normally shape our life experiences at different life stages.

A multi-level analysis showing associations between school neighborhood and child body mass index

Objective:The objective of this study is to examine associations between aspects of the environment in school neighborhoods and childhood body mass index percentile (BMIp).Methods:Trained medical students visited 46 elementary schools in the Kansas City metropolitan area to conduct medical screenings that included the height and weight measurements of 12 118 boys and girls 4–12 years of age in the academic year 2008–2009. For the same time period, aspects of the built environment in a 2-mile radius around each school was obtained from the Walkscore database. Other environmental characteristics (for example, population change) of these areas were also obtained from various sources. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to estimate the associations between neighborhood- and individual-level factors and BMIp.Results:Population size along with the number of fast-food restaurants and grocery stores were positively associated with BMIp, whereas population change along with the number of parks and fitness centers were inversely associated with BMIp.Conclusions:After considering individual-level factors and the random effects of schools, environmental elements of school neighborhoods predict childhood BMIp. This study offers evidence of the health influence of school neighborhoods in a way that can inform neighborhood redevelopment efforts.

Fundamental resource dis/advantages, youth health and adult educational outcomes

Recent studies find lasting effects of poor youth health on educational attainment but use young samples and narrow life course windows of observation to explore outcomes. We apply a life course framework to three sets of Health and Retirement Study birth cohorts to examine early health status effects on education and skills attainment measured late in life. The older cohorts that we study were the earliest recipients of U.S. policies promoting continuing education through the GI Bill, community college expansions and new credentials such as the GED. We examine a wide range of outcomes but focus on GEDs, postsecondary school entry and adult human capital as job-related training. We find that older U.S. cohorts had considerable exposure to these forms of attainment and that the effects of youth health on them vary by outcome: health selection and ascription group effects are weak or fade, respectively, in outcomes associated with delayed or adult attainment. However, poorer health and social disadvantage in youth and barriers associated with ascription carry forward to limit attainment of key credentials such as diplomas and college degrees. We find that the human capital - health gradient is dynamic and that narrow windows of observation in existing studies miss much of it. National context also matters for studying health-education linkages over the life course.

Unmet expectations of adjustment and depressive symptoms among people with chronic traumatic spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVE We attempted to gain a better understanding of overall adjustment among people with chronic traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) by identifying participants who experienced unmet expectations of adjustment to TSCI. We also examined the relationship between unmet expectations and depressive symptoms. METHOD This was a prospective cohort study. Participants who survived at least 1 year postinjury (N = 863) were assessed at 2 time points separated by 10 years. Using a 10-point ladder (1 = worst and 10 = best adjustment), self-predicted future adjustment was measured at Time 1. At Time 2, current adjustment was reassessed using the same scale to evaluate differences between predicted and actual adjustment. Adjustment expectations were considered unmet when actual adjustment ratings at Time 2 were lower than predicted adjustment at Time 1. We measured depressive symptoms by using the Older Adult Health and Mood Questionnaire at both time points. RESULTS More than half of our participants experienced unmet expectations of adjustment over a 10-year period, and having unmet expectations was positively associated with depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION Unmet expectations of adjustment after TSCI are common among those injured, and they are important predictors of depressive symptoms.

Gender Differences in Purpose in Life: The Mediation Effect of Altruism

A strong meaning or purpose in life, as a key indicator for psychological well-being, has been found to enhance health and longevity in a large amount of empirical research. In this study, we focus...

Functional principal component analysis in age–period–cohort analysis of body mass index data by gender and ethnicity

ABSTRACT In this paper, we propose a two-stage functional principal component analysis method in age–period–cohort (APC) analysis. The first stage of the method considers the age–period effect with the fitted values treated as an offset; and the second stage of the method considers the residual age–cohort effect conditional on the already estimated age-period effect. An APC version of the model in functional data analysis provides an improved fit to the data, especially when the data are sparse and irregularly spaced. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method using body mass index data stratified by gender and ethnicity.

Types of integration and depressive symptoms: a latent class analysis on the resettled population for the Three Gorges Dam project, China

Focusing on Chinas Three Gorges Project (TGP)-Induced Resettlement, the largest scale resettlement induced by a single development project, this study aims to investigate different types of integration patterns among the TGP re-settlers and how modes of integration associate with depressive symptoms. Using Latent Class Analysis, we analyzed survey data on 407 TGP re-settlers. We detected three integration patterns among these re-settlers: the fully integrated (68%), the culturally and economically integrated (21%) and the unintegrated (11%). We found that different integration types were linked to different levels of depressive symptoms. Unless fully integrated and experienced a warm feeling toward new community, re-settlers were vulnerable to elevated depressive symptoms. Our findings that culturally and economically integrated re-settlers had similar levels of depressive symptoms as the unintegrated re-settlers highlighted the importance of subjective dimension of integration and resettlement. We also found that rural re-settlers and those who move with the whole village were more likely to fall into the unintegrated category. Policy implications were discussed.

Day Care Hopping: Stabilizing Day Care Options for Low‐income Mothers through Subsidies

We examined how to allocate a subsidy to low‐income women that would stabilize children in day care at a Young Womens Christian Association (YWCA). The subsidy is to alleviate day care hopping (i.e. when parents move from day care to day care) leaving unpaid tuitions at each place. Day care hopping is really a survival strategy for the working poor, but is detrimental to children, parents, and the day care facilities. Using a focus group method, we identify the best way to allocate the subsidy to benefit both the parents, children and the YWCA.