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Culture, Society & Family Researcher news SMU In The News

Inside Higher Ed: Having fewer children hits male scientists hard, finds Anne Lincoln research

Inside Higher Ed covered the research of SMU sociologist Anne Lincoln in an Aug. 16 article “Parenthood Gaps and Premiums.”

Lincoln presented the research in mid-August at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.

The research, which Lincoln conducted with Elaine Howard Ecklund of Rice University, examined physicists and biologists in academic careers and various aspects surrounding their marital and family status, including satisfaction with the number of children they have. The study was based on a survey of faculty members at the 20 top-ranked graduate programs in both physics and biology, according to the article.

The publication noted: “Why are some disciplines more successful than others at attracting female faculty members and having them rise through the ranks? After decades of discussion of gender equity in the professoriate, increasing attention is going to the phenomenon that disciplinary patterns differ — both in attracting a critical mass of women and in their satisfaction levels.”

The study was funded under a grant of the Research on Science and Engineering program of the National Science Foundation to understand the lack of gender diversity in academic science.

Also covering the research:

EXCERPTParenthood Gaps and Premiums“:

While men are in the majority for both fields, women make up 43 percent of biologists in the departments and only 20 percent of the physicists. The men and women in the study differed in key family characteristics. Men were more likely to be married (83 percent vs. 72 percent) while women were more likely to be divorced (22 percent vs. 16 percent). Men had only slightly more children than did women in the two fields, with men having an average of just over two children, and women just under two.

While the gap in numbers of children was small, attitudes about children and careers were notably different. Of the women in the survey, 45 percent said they had fewer children than they would have liked because of their scientific careers. Only 24 percent of men felt that way. While the numbers show that these regrets are much more prevalent among women, the authors of the paper wrote that they found the male regrets to be “striking.” In fact, the title they gave to their presentation was “Male Scientists Want to Be Fathers.”

Read “Parenthood Gaps and Premiums.”

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Culture, Society & Family Economics & Statistics Health & Medicine

Federal school lunches linked to childhood obesity, says SMU research

School-lunch-kids2a.jpgWith children going back to school, parents are concerned that their youngsters are staying fit and eating right, especially those who dine in a school cafeteria.

New research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture finds that children who eat school lunches that are part of the federal government’s National School Lunch Program are more likely to become overweight.

The same research study found, however, that children who eat both the breakfast and lunch sponsored by the federal government are less heavy than children who don’t participate in either, and than children who eat only the lunch, says economist Daniel L. Millimet at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Millimet authored the study with economists Rusty Tchernis, Georgia State University, and Muna S. Hussain, Kuwait University.

“The fact that federally funded school lunches contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic is disconcerting, although not altogether surprising,” said Millimet, whose research looks at the economics of children, specifically topics related to schooling and health.

The new study was published in the Summer issue of The Journal of Human Resources. It is titled “School Nutrition Programs and the Incidence of Childhood Obesity.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees the federal lunch and breakfast programs. Through USDA the federal government reimburses schools for a portion of school lunch costs and also donates surplus agricultural food items. While USDA does require that the meals meet certain nutritional standards, schools choose the specific foods.

A la carte items outside the guidelines
Schools also can serve individual food items a la carte, which fall outside the scope of the federal guidelines and allow students to choose additional foods.

For their study, the researchers analyzed data on more than 13,500 elementary school students. Students were interviewed in kindergarten, first and third grades, and then again in later grades.

“First, it is very difficult to plan healthy but inviting school lunches at a low price,” Millimet said. “Second, given the tight budgets faced by many school districts, funding from the sales of a la carte lunch items receives high priority. That said, it’s comforting to know that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the federal school nutrition programs, takes the issue very seriously. The USDA sponsors not only my research, but that of others as well, to investigate the issues and possible solutions.”

The USDA is partnering with First Lady Michelle Obama to fight what experts say is a childhood obesity epidemic among America’s school children. The First Lady on May 18 released the results and recommendations of The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity report, which said that more than 30 percent of American children ages 2 to 19 are overweight or obese. The report recommends serving healthier foods in schools.

Lunches may not be in compliance
Judging from the results of the study, Millimet said, the food being served in school lunches may not maintain a healthy weight in children. The food in school breakfasts appears to be healthier, however.

“Technically what is going on is that the federal government establishes nutrition guidelines for lunches and breakfasts if schools wish to receive federal funding,” Millimet said. “But there’s evidence that school lunches are less in compliance with these guidelines than breakfasts. The other possible issue is that these days schools try to make money from a la carte items at lunch. And it’s possible that even if the school lunch is healthy, kids buying lunch are more likely to tack on extra items that are not healthy.”

Nutritionists strongly advocate eating breakfast for a healthy lifestyle, Millimet said, noting that — up to a point — any breakfast is better than no breakfast.

The National Student Lunch Program supplies meals to about 30 million children in 100,000 public and nonprofit private schools, according to the USDA.

The School Breakfast Program gives cash assistance to more than 80,000 schools for about 10 million children.

Obesity among students takes jump
The study cites data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey taken between 1971 and 1974 and again from 2003 to 2004 that found the prevalence of overweight preschool children ages 2-5 jumped from 5 percent to 13.9 percent. Among school-aged children, it jumped from 4 percent to 18.8 percent for children 6-11; and 6.1 percent to 17.4 percent for those 12-19.

Millimet is a professor and director of undergraduate studies in the SMU Department of Economics. Tchernis is an associate professor in Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, and Hussain is an assistant professor in Kuwait University’s Department of Economics. — Margaret Allen

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650 or email news@smu.edu.

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Culture, Society & Family Health & Medicine Researcher news SMU In The News

UPI: Abusive mothers can improve parenting

UPI covered the research of SMU psychologists Ernest Jouriles, Renee McDonald, David Rosenfield and Deborah Corbitt-Shindler in a July 30 story “Abusive mothers can improve parenting.”

UPI covered the research of SMU psychologists Ernest Jouriles, Renee McDonald, David Rosenfield and Deborah Corbitt-Shindler in a July 30 story “Abusive mothers can improve parenting.”

EXCERPT:

DALLAS, July 30 (UPI) — Abusive mothers, who are taught parenting skills and given emotional support, can improve their parenting skills, two U.S. researchers say.

Ernest Jouriles and Renee McDonald of Southern Methodist University in Dallas say parenting improved in impoverished, neglectful, abusive mothers after home visits, classes and emotional support from therapists.

The study, published in the Journal of Family Psychology, says large improvements in mothers’ parenting were observed in families given instruction and emotional support compared to families that did not receive the services.

Jouriles is professor and chairman of the SMU Psychology Department. McDonald and Rosenfield are associate professors. Corbitt-Shindler is a psychology department doctoral candidate.

Read the full story:Abusive mothers can improve parenting

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Culture, Society & Family Economics & Statistics Technology

Africa’s cell phone boom can’t trump dire need for schools, roads, power, water

The fast-growing use of cell phones in Africa — where many people lack the basic human necessities — has made headlines worldwide the past few years.

The surprising boom has led to widespread speculation — and hope — that cell phones could potentially transform the impoverished continent.

But new research by economists Isaac M. Mbiti and Jenny C. Aker finds that cell phones — while a useful and powerful tool for many people in Africa — cannot drive economic development on their own.

Mbiti, at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and Aker, at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., say that while there is evidence of positive micro-economic impacts, so far there’s limited evidence that mobile phones have led to macro-economic improvements in African countries.

Not a magic bullet
Cell phones can do only so much, say the researchers.

Many Africans still struggle in poverty and still lack reliable electricity, clean drinking water, education or access to roads.

“It’s really great for a farmer to find out the price of beans in the market,” says Mbiti, who has seen the impact of the cell phone boom firsthand while conducting research in his native Kenya. “But if a farmer can’t get the beans to market because there is no road, the information doesn’t really help. Cell phones can’t replace things you need from development, like roads and running water.”

Mbiti and Aker will publish their findings in the article “Mobile Phones and Economic Development in Africa” in the Journal of Economic Perspectives. The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Global Development, an independent nonprofit policy research organization, has published a working version of the paper online.

Needed: Infrastructure, policies, research

To really have an impact, say Mbiti and Aker, the cell phone boom requires complementary access to public infrastructure, such as reliable electricity.

“Also needed are appropriate policies and regulations that can promote the development of innovative mobile phone-based applications such as mobile banking services that have the potential to positively impact the economic livelihood of Africans,” Mbiti says.

The researchers also cite areas where more research is needed, such as the number of direct and indirect jobs created by the cell phone industry; whether mobile phones actually drive increases in gross domestic product; accurate mobile phone penetration rates; and whether cell phones are driving consumer surpluses due to increased market competition.

While there are some limited assessments of the impact by economists — in Niger, Uganda and rural South Africa, for example — more research by economists is needed, say Mbiti and Aker. They hope their study will spur economists to delve deeper into the long-term impact.

Boom improves daily life
Despite the extreme poverty of many Africans, mobile phone coverage has jumped from 10 percent of the population in 1999 to 60 percent in 2008, say Mbiti and Aker. Mobile phone subscriptions have skyrocketed from 16 million in 2000 to 376 million in 2008, they say.

As a result, cell phones have had some dramatic effects, particularly in rural Africa, say the researchers: farmers can compare market prices for the grain they grow; fisherman are able to sell their catch every day and reduce spoilage and waste by locating customers; health workers remind AIDS patients to take their daily medicine; day laborers find job opportunities; Africans have an affordable way to easily and quickly transfer money; health clinics can collect, measure, monitor and share health data; families share news of natural disasters, conflicts and epidemics; people learn to read and write to send text messages; election campaigns are monitored to prevent cheating; and new jobs are being created, such as small shops that sell, repair and charge cell phone handsets, as well as sell pre-paid phone credits.

Cell phones too costly for many Africans
But extreme poverty means cell phones remain out of reach for many Africans, say the researchers.

In some countries, for example, as few as 2 percent of the population can get access to a cell phone, say Mbiti and Aker.

In Niger the cost of a one-minute call can run 38 cents a minute — 40 percent of a household’s daily income. The cheapest mobile phone available costs the equivalent of enough millet to feed a family of five for five days. About 300 million Africans live on less than $1 a day, and 120 million live on less than 50 cents a day, say the researchers.

Critical infrastructure lacking
One impediment is the lack of adequate infrastructure. A fast-growing mobile phone company in Nigeria, for example, struggled to maintain electricity to the 3,600 base stations that communicate its cellular signals, they say. Ultimately the company kept the mobile towers operational by deploying its own generators — which burned 450 liters of diesel a second.

In sub-Saharan Africa, say the researchers, only 29 percent of roads are paved, and barely 25 percent of people have access to electricity. While it’s efficient for a manufacturer to take customer orders via mobile phone, their production is limited by the lack of a reliable power source and access to markets.

Mbiti is an assistant professor of economics in SMU’s Department of Economics. He is a 2010-2011 MLK Visiting Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Aker is assistant professor of development economics, Fletcher School and Department of Economics at Tufts. She is also a non-resident fellow, Center for Global Development, Washington, D.C.

SMU is a private university in Dallas where nearly 11,000 students benefit from the national opportunities and international reach of SMU’s seven degree-granting schools.

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Culture, Society & Family Learning & Education Mind & Brain

Abusive mothers improve their parenting after home visits, classes and emotional support from therapists

Mothers who live in poverty and who have abused their children can stop if they are taught parenting skills and given emotional support.

A new study has found that mothers in families in which there is a history of child abuse and neglect were able to reduce how much they cursed at, yelled at, slapped, spanked, hit or rejected their children after a series of home visits from therapists who taught them parenting skills.

There were large improvements in mothers’ parenting in families that received the intensive services, compared to families that did not receive the services, according to SMU psychologists Ernest Jouriles and Renee McDonald at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, two of the study’s eight authors.

As a result of the intensive, hands-on training, the women in the study said they felt they did a better job managing their children’s behavior, said Jouriles and McDonald. The mothers also were observed to use better parenting strategies, and the families were less likely to be reported again for child abuse.

“Although there are many types of services for addressing child maltreatment, there is very little scientific data about whether the services actually work,” said McDonald. “This study adds to our scientific knowledge and shows that this type of service can actually work.”

Help for violent families
The parenting training is part of a program called Project Support, developed at the Family Research Center at SMU and designed to help children in severely violent families.

The study appears in the current issue of the quarterly Journal of Family Psychology. The article is titled “Improving Parenting in Families Referred for Child Maltreatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial Examining Effects of Project Support.” SMU psychologist David Rosenfield also authored the study.

The research was funded by the federal Interagency Consortium on Violence Against Women and Violence Within the Family, along with the Texas-based Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.

“Child maltreatment is such an important and costly problem in our society that it seems imperative to make sure that our efforts — and the tax dollars that pay for them — are actually solving the problem,” said Jouriles. He and McDonald are co-founders and co-directors of the SMU Family Research Center.

In 2007, U.S. child welfare agencies received more than 3 million reports of child abuse and neglect, totaling almost 6 million children, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Poor and single with children
The study worked with 35 families screened through the Texas child welfare agency Child Protective Services, CPS. The parents had abused or neglected their children at least once, but CPS determined it best the family stay together and receive services to improve parenting and end the maltreatment.

In all the families, the mother was legal guardian and primary caregiver and typically had three children. On average she was 28, single and had an annual income of $10,300. Children in the study ranged from 3 to 8 years old.

Half the families in the study received Project Support parenting education and support. The other half received CPS’s conventional services.

New parenting skills + help
Mental health service providers met with the 17 Project Support families weekly in their homes for up to 6 months.

During that time, mothers, and often their husbands or partners, were taught 12 specific skills, including how to pay attention and play with their children, how to listen and comfort them, how to offer praise and positive attention, how to give appropriate instructions and commands, and how to respond to misbehavior.

Also, therapists provided the mothers with emotional support and helped them access materials and resources through community agencies as needed, such as food banks and Medicaid. The therapists also helped mothers evaluate the adequacy and safety of the family’s living arrangements, the quality of their child-care arrangements and how to provide enough food with so little money.

Services provided to families receiving traditional child welfare services varied widely. The range of services included parenting classes at a church or agency, family therapy or individual counseling, videotaped parenting instruction, anger-management help, GED classes and contact by social workers in person or by phone.

Fewer recurrences of abuse
Only 5.9 percent of the families trained through Project Support were later referred to CPS for abuse, compared with almost 28 percent of the control group, the researchers found.

“The results of this study have important implications for the field of child maltreatment,” said SMU’s Rosenfield.

Project Support was launched in 1996 to address the mental health problems of maltreated children and children exposed to domestic violence, both of which often lead to considerable problems for children later in life, such as substance abuse, interpersonal violence and criminal activity. Previous studies have shown the program can improve children’s psychological adjustment as well as mothers’ ability to parent their children appropriately and effectively, according to the researchers.

Project Support: A promising practice
With funding from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Project Support has been included in a study evaluating 15 “promising practices” nationally for helping children who live in violent families.

Jouriles is professor and chairman of the SMU Psychology Department. McDonald and Rosenfield are associate professors.

Other researchers were William Norwood, University of Houston; Laura Spiller, Midwestern State University; Nanette Stephens, University of Texas; Deborah Corbitt-Shindler, SMU; and Miriam Ehrensaft, City University of New York.

SMU is a private university in Dallas where nearly 11,000 students benefit from the national opportunities and international reach of SMU’s seven degree-granting schools. For more information see www.smuresearch.com.