Kristen W. Springer

The Long-term Health Outcomes of Childhood Abuse: An Overview and a Call to Action

While the association between abuse in childhood and adverse adult health outcomes is well established, this link is infrequently acknowledged in the general medical literature. This paper has 2 purposes: (1) to provide a broad overview of the research on the long-term effects of child abuse on mental and physical health including some of the potential pathways, and (2) to call for collaborative action among clinicians, psychosocial and biomedical researchers, social service agencies, criminal justice systems, insurance companies, and public policy makers to take a comprehensive approach to both preventing and dealing with the sequelae of childhood abuse.

Welfare state and infant mortality.

This article seeks to understand the effects of welfare‐state spending on infant mortality rates. Infant mortality was chosen for its importance as a social indicator and its putative sensitivity to state action over a short time span. Country fixed‐effects models are used to determine that public health spending does have a significant impact in lowering infant mortality rates, net of other factors, such as economic development, and that this effect is cumulative over a five‐year time span. A net effect of health spending is also found, even when controlling for the level of spending in the year after which the outcome is measured (to account for spurious effects or reverse causation). State spending affects infant mortality both through social mechanisms and through medical ones. This article also shows that the impact of state spending may vary by the institutional structure of the welfare state. Finally, this study tests for structural breaks in the relationship between health spending and infant mortality and finds none over this time period.

Gender and health: Relational, intersectional, and biosocial approaches

Much of the research on sex/gender and health has been dominated by two foci: 1) empirical examinations of trends and explanations for sex differences in disease incidence and mortality and 2) sex-specific disease patterns and corresponding, often differential, investments of research and policy attention to “men’s health” and “women’s health” needs. Though these efforts have contributed to understanding the distribution and causes of disease and mortality – and have led to dramatic improvements in allocation of resources and in attention to previously neglected health issues affecting men andwomen – they often do not reflect contemporary gender/feminist theory and inadvertently reinforce outmoded binary constructions of sex (male vs. female) and gender (masculine vs. feminine), as well as treat sex and gender as easily separable. Indeed, the existence ofmale/female differences in health outcomes is often considered self-evident and confirming these differences is often privileged over exploring similarities. In this Special Issue, we strive to move the conceptualization of sex/gender and health away from these dominate foci with scholarship that utilizes contemporary feminist, relational approaches to gender (Connell, 2009; Ferree & Hess, 1987; Ridgeway, 2009; Schofield, Connell, Walker, Wood, & Butland, 2000), as well as prioritizing research on intersectional and biosocial approaches to gender and health (Fausto-Sterling, 2005; Hankivsky & Cormier, 2009; Hankivsky, 2011). By relational constructions of gender, we mean theory and research conceptualizing gender as a pervasive system of stratification that structures relationships and interactions between and among men and women, shapes access to resources and status, and signifies power (Connell, 1987; Scott, 1986). Gender is also conceived of as an agential process, whereby the meaning and expressions of gender are negotiated and “performed,” both shaped by and reproducing of social structure (Butler, 1990; West & Zimmerman, 1987). Hallmarks of these approaches are recognition of gender as dynamic and situational, attention to differences among women and among men, and

“Macho Men” and Preventive Health Care Implications for Older Men in Different Social Classes

The gender paradox in mortality—where men die earlier than women despite having more socioeconomic resources—may be partly explained by men’s lower levels of preventive health care. Stereotypical notions of masculinity reduce preventive health care; however, the relationship between masculinity, socioeconomic status (SES), and preventive health care is unknown. Using the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, the authors conduct a population-based assessment of masculinity beliefs and preventive health care, including whether these relationships vary by SES. The results show that men with strong masculinity beliefs are half as likely as men with more moderate masculinity beliefs to receive preventive care. Furthermore, in contrast to the well-established SES gradient in health, men with strong masculinity beliefs do not benefit from higher education and their probability of obtaining preventive health care decreases as their occupational status, wealth, and/or income increases. Masculinity may be a partial explanation for the paradox of men’s lower life expectancy, despite their higher SES.

Femtosecond studies of interparticle electron transfer in a coupled CdS–TiO2 colloidal system

We report the direct femtosecond measurements of the electron transfer process from CdS to TiO2 particles in a coupled colloidal system. The electrons initially created in the conduction band and quickly trapped at the liquid–solid interface in aqueous CdS colloids are found to be transferred to the colloidal TiO2 particles with a time constant of 2 ps, resulting in significantly slower electron–hole recombination. These coupled semiconductor colloids provide a potentially useful system for achieving efficient charge separation, which is important for many chemical reactions involving heterogeneous electron transfer.

AS WE AGE: A REVIEW OF THE WISCONSIN LONGITUDINAL STUDY, 1957–2001

Abstract The authors review the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) across its history of more than 40 years. The WLS began as a study of post-secondary aspirations and educational attainment among Wisconsin high school graduates of 1957, but it has become a major, long-term study of the life-course and aging. The most visible contributions of the WLS to date have been theories and models of the process of stratification. We review those findings and criticisms of them, especially the claim that we ignore social structures and their effects. These criticisms have often been vague or have lacked empirical support. In research on stratification, the concept of social structure has been more a symbolic goal than a guide to theory and research. This review brings readers up to date with the full range of work on the project and an array of future prospects as of 2003, the year in which the WLS begins its second phase of data collection as a study of aging. A full bibliography of WLS publications is appended.

Childhood Abuse as a Risk Factor for Sleep Problems in Adulthood: Evidence from a U.S. National Study

BackgroundAccumulating evidence indicates that stress impairs sleep quality. Few studies, however, have examined the extent to which early life stress can jeopardize sleep in adulthood.PurposeGuided by a life course epidemiological perspective on health, this study examined associations between childhood abuse and adult sleep problems.MethodsWe used data from 835 respondents in the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS). Self-report measures assessed the frequency of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in childhood, as well as global and component indicators of sleep problems in adulthood.ResultsHaving experienced all three types of childhood abuse—even infrequently—was associated with global sleep pathology, as well as specific types of sleep problems. Reports of both frequent physical and frequent emotional abuse—even in the absence of sexual abuse—were also associated with poor sleep.ConclusionsChildhood abuse is a risk factor for individuals’ long-term sleep problems.

Gender and health inequities: A comment on the Final Report of the WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health

The Final Report of the World Health Organization (WHO) Commission on the Social Determinants of Health is a substantial and important contribution to understanding the social factors that shape global health inequities. Although gender is highlighted as a key social determinant of health, the reports conceptual approach inappropriately equates gender and health with womens health. This essay discusses the analytic and policy implications of this shortcoming.

Making Space for Graduate Student Parents: Practice and Politics

Work—family issues of graduate students are nearly invisible, despite record numbers of men and women in graduate school during their peak childbearing years. Furthermore, very little is known about what, if any, services are available for graduate student parents. In this article we describe the theoretical and practical tensions between societys view of idealized mothering and academias vision of graduate students as idealized workers. We then present results of a survey about parental supports for graduate students administered to graduate directors of sociology PhD programs. The results demonstrate that few official policies exist, most situations are accommodated individually, and graduate directors are often unaware of university services for graduate student parents. The article concludes with a detailed presentation of potential departmental and university initiatives designed to support graduate student parents. These initiatives can be readily incorporated by graduate departments and universities to help curb the leaking pipeline of women in academia.

Syringe Disposal Options for Injection Drug Users: A Community-Based Perspective

This study was a qualitative exploration of syringe disposal interventions for injection drug users (IDUs). Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 26 community members who injected drugs and 32 noninjecting community members in Atlanta, Georgia. Both groups supported syringe exchange programs as syringe disposal interventions, while noninjecting community members favored a one-way drop box. IDUs identified fear of arrest for possession of syringes as the most salient barrier to safe syringe disposal, revealing the negative consequences of drug paraphernalia laws.