Lance D. Erickson

Informal Mentors and Education: Complementary or Compensatory Resources?

Few studies have examined the impact of mentoring (developing a special relationship with a nonparental adult) on educational achievement and attainment in the general population. In addition, prior research has yet to clarify the extent to which mentoring relationships reduce inequality by enabling disadvantaged youths to compensate for the lack of social resources or to promote inequality by serving as a complementary resource for advantaged youths. The results of a nationally representative sample of youths show (1) a powerful net influence of mentors on the educational success of youths and (2) how social background and parental, peer, and personal resources condition the formation and effectiveness of mentoring relationships. The findings uncover an interesting paradox—that informal mentors may simultaneously represent compensatory and complementary resources. Youths with many resources are more likely than are other young people to have mentors, but those with few resources are likely to benefit more from having a mentor—particularly a teacher mentor—in their lives.

A Multi-National Study of Interparental Conflict,Parenting, and Adolescent Functioning: South Africa, Bangladesh, China, India, Bosnia,Germany, Palestine, Colombia, and the United States

Abstract This study assessed the associations between interparental conflict (IPC), parenting, and individual functioning among data gathered from school-going adolescents in Bangladesh, China, India, Bosnia, Germany, Palestine, Colombia, United States and three ethnic groups within South Africa. Specifically, we tested the validity of the spillover dynamic found in much research in the U.S., whereby marital conflict spills over into parenting and into the psychological and social functioning of children and adolescents. Previous analyses of these same data showed complete invariance in the linkages between parenting and adolescent functioning. This study thus provided a meaningful extension to the substantive literature on family processes. We followed recommendations within cross-cultural psychology to “transport and test” models validated in one culture to other cultures as an initial step in systematic comparative research. The findings revealed substantial invariance across the samples in documenting significant direct and indirect associations. Similar to prior research in the U.S., IPC was associated with youth outcomes directly, and more often indirectly, via parenting.

Environmental Contingencies and Genetic Propensities : Social Capital, Educational Continuation, and Dopamine Receptor Gene DRD2

Studies of gene‐environment interplay typically focus on one environmental factor at a time, resulting in a constrained view of social context. The concept of environmental contingency is introduced as a corrective. Drawing on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and qualitative comparative analysis, the authors focus on an example involving social capital, a gene associated with a dopamine receptor (DRD2), and educational continuation beyond secondary school. For boys, (1) DRD2 risk is associated with a decreased likelihood of school continuation; (2) one configuration of social capital—high parental socioeconomic status, high parental involvement in school, and a high‐quality school—compensates for this negative relationship, consistent with environmental contingency; but (3) boys with DRD2 risk are less commonly observed in settings that are rich in social capital.

Adolescent Social Initiative Antecedents in the Ecology of Social Connections

This article reports on an investigation of adolescent social initiative, a particular form of adolescent social competence. Specifically, the study explored the extent to which variations in this form of social competence can be understood as a function of the history of interpersonal relationships in the lives of adolescents. The sample (N = 750) consisted of two age cohorts (ages 11-13 and 14-17) that were assessed annually for 3 consecutive years (1995-1997) by way of a mailed self-report survey. Findings indicated that positive aspects of the parent-adolescent relationship (support, behavioral control) measured 2 years previous predicted adolescent social initiative directly or indirectly through the quality of interpersonal relationship with best friend, school officials, and community adults measured 1 year previous to the assessment of social initiative and/or through adolescent individual characteristics (self-esteem, antisocial behavior) measured concomitantly with social initiative. Although significant variance in the change in social initiative across the 3-year period was accounted for in both cohorts, a larger set of predictors was associated with social initiative among the younger cohort, suggesting that the social identity of younger adolescents was still dependent on their recent experiences in a variety of social relationships, whereas the parental relationship was the primary predictor for the older cohort.

MODELING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AND DELINQUENCY: AN APPLICATION OF INTERACTIONAL THEORY

Many studies have addressed whether delinquent behavior is associated with various aspects of schooling and academics. However, this research has been limited to examining unidirectional effects. Building on Thornberrys interactional theory, we develop a conceptual model that posits reciprocal associations among delinquent behavior, school attachment, and academic achievement. The model is tested with two waves from the Add Health data set (n = 9,381) that include measures of transcript grade point average (GPA). The results of a set of structural equation models provide evidence that academic achievement is associated with less delinquent behavior over time, as well as with higher school attachment. However, the effects of delinquency are limited to an attenuating effect on subsequent school attachment; delinquency does not directly influence academic achievement. Thus, we find only partial support for interactional theory.

Family predictors of adolescent substance use: the case of high school students in the Cape Metropolitan Area, Cape Town, South Africa.

Family predictors of tobacco and alcohol use were studied in random samples of school-going Black, Coloured, and White adolescents (total N=1,800) in the Cape Town Metropolitan Area. The subjects ranged in age from 14 to 17 years, with a mean age of 15.95 years. Logistic regression analysis of the data showed invariance across the three racial groups in terms of the specific family variables that were predictive, as well as their direction and magnitude of association with substance use. Essentially, higher rates of substance use for all three groups were predicted by parental behavioural control, parental monitoring/knowledge and limit setting, marital relations and family stress. The findings extend the work on South African adolescent substance use by providing a view into the proximal (family) socialising forces that are related to substance use. The findings also extend the broader work on identifying specialised effects of dimensions of socialization on adolescent functioning. The discussion section includes commentary on the cultural invariance found when measuring socialising forces at this level of generality.

Family and school socialization and adolescent academic achievement: A cross-national dominance analysis of achievement predictors

Abstract This study investigates the socialization conditions of connection, regulation, and respect for psychological autonomy within the family and school contexts as predictors of adolescent academic achievement across 10 national/ethnic groups. We assess the extent to which these socialization dimensions in the family and school can be similarly measured within these samples. The correlations are evaluated for unique contributions, and the relative importance of these predictors is examined for adolescent achievement in each sample, separately by gender of youth. Results suggest a consistent association of maternal knowledge, paternal support, and teacher support with academic achievement in these national/ethnic groups. However, some variability across gender and sample in regard to the unique contributions and relative importance of these predictors was indicated

Association between latent toxoplasmosis and cognition in adults: a cross-sectional study

Latent infection from Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is widespread worldwide and has been associated with cognitive deficits in some but not all animal models and in humans. We tested the hypothesis that latent toxoplasmosis is associated with decreased cognitive function in a large cross-sectional dataset, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). There were 4178 participants aged 20-59 years, of whom 19.1% had IgG antibodies against T. gondii. Two ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models adjusted for the NHANES complex sampling design and weighted to represent the US population were estimated for simple reaction time, processing speed and short-term memory or attention. The first model included only main effects of latent toxoplasmosis and demographic control variables, and the second added interaction terms between latent toxoplasmosis and the poverty-to-income ratio (PIR), educational attainment and race-ethnicity. We also used multivariate models to assess all three cognitive outcomes in the same model. Although the models evaluating main effects only demonstrated no association between latent toxoplasmosis and the cognitive outcomes, significant interactions between latent toxoplasmosis and the PIR, between latent toxoplasmosis and educational attainment, and between latent toxoplasmosis and race-ethnicity indicated that latent toxoplasmosis may adversely affect cognitive function in certain groups.

Rural health care bypass behavior: how community and spatial characteristics affect primary health care selection.

PURPOSE (1) To assess the prevalence of rural primary care physician (PCP) bypass, a behavior in which residents travel farther than necessary to obtain health care, (2) To examine the role of community and non-health-care-related characteristics on bypass behavior, and (3) To analyze spatial bypass patterns to determine which rural communities are most affected by bypass. METHODS Data came from the Montana Health Matters survey, which gathered self-reported information from Montana residents on their health care utilization, satisfaction with health care services, and community and demographic characteristics. Logistic regression and spatial analysis were used to examine the probability and spatial patterns of bypass. RESULTS Overall, 39% of respondents bypass local health care. Similar to previous studies, dissatisfaction with local health care was found to increase the likelihood of bypass. Dissatisfaction with local shopping also increases the likelihood of bypass, while the number of friends in a community, and commonality with community reduce the likelihood of bypass. Other significant factors associated with bypass include age, income, health, and living in a highly rural community or one with high commuting flows. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that outshopping theory, in which patients bundle services and shopping for added convenience, extends to primary health care selection. This implies that rural health care selection is multifaceted, and that in addition to perceived satisfaction with local health care, the quality of local shopping and levels of community attachment also influence bypass behavior.

Prevalence of and Factors Associated With Subclinical Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and PTSD in Urban and Rural Areas of Montana: A Cross-Sectional Study

PURPOSE Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an important clinical problem, but little is known about PTSD in rural, nonclinical populations. To better understand PTSD in rural areas, we examined the prevalence and risk and protective factors in urban, rural, and highly rural communities in Montana for both subclinical posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and PTSD. METHODS We compared the prevalence of PTSS and PTSD in urban, rural, and highly rural communities in bivariate and multivariable regression analyses using self-reported cross-sectional survey data from the Montana Health Matters study (N = 3,512), a state-representative household-based survey done in 2010-2011. We also explore potential risk and protective factors for PTSS and PTSD and whether risk and protective factors for each differ by rurality. FINDINGS There were no differences in the level of PTSS by rurality in bivariate or multivariate models, and the bivariate relationship between rurality and PTSD became nonsignificant in a multivariate model. Only locus of control was predictive for PTSS; however, gender, age, marital status, income, employment status, community fit, locus of control, and religiosity were associated with PTSD. Some risk and protective factors operate differently by rurality. CONCLUSIONS Although our findings are subject to weaknesses common to cross-sectional data and are based on questionnaire reports, it appears that there are different risk and protective factors for PTSS and PTSD, suggesting that PTSD may be qualitatively different from PTSS. Furthermore, differences in risk and protective factors across urban and rural communities suggest more attention is needed to understand PTSD in rural communities.