Futurity.org » sociology

At cash-strapped schools, obesity rules

A'ndrea Elyse Messer-Penn State — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:46:01 +0000

PENN STATE (US) — Going to a financially impoverished school may have more of a negative impact on a child’s weight than poverty in their own home, a new study finds.

The study, published in Social Science and Medicine, finds that poor schools even influence how parental education protects children from becoming overweight.

Rural hot spots point to terrorism threats

Neil Tickner-Maryland — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:02:06 +0000

U. MARYLAND (US) — Nearly a third of all terrorist attacks from 1970 to 2008 occurred in just five metropolitan U.S. counties, but rural areas were hit, too, a new report says.

The largest number of events clustered around major cities:

Younger couples more stressed about divorce

Andy Henion-Michigan State — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:30:41 +0000

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — Divorce at a younger age hurts people’s health more than divorce later in life, researchers have found.

Michigan State University sociologist Hui Liu says the findings, which appear in the journal Social Science & Medicine, suggest older people have more coping skills to deal with the stress of divorce.

Intervene early to cut college drinking

A'ndrea Elyse Messer-Penn State — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:22:55 +0000

PENN STATE (US) — New tailored interventions can help prevent dangerous drinking during students’ first few weeks of college, a new study reports.

“Research shows there is a spike in alcohol-related consequences that occur in the first few weeks of the semester, especially with college freshmen,” says Michael J. Cleveland, research associate at the Prevention Research Center and the Methodology Center at Penn State University.

Lower emissions, less money, long life?

Richard Ashby-Leeds — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:12:19 +0000

U. LEEDS (UK) — Countries with high incomes and high carbon emissions do not achieve higher life expectancies than those with moderate incomes and lower carbon emissions, a new study finds.

The finding challenges the assumption that human well-being requires growth in both economic activity and carbon emissions.

Racism may harm your health

Amy Hodges-Rice — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:45:11 +0000

RICE (US) — A new study finds 18 percent of blacks and 4 percent of whites report emotional and/or physical distress due to racial discrimination.

“Discriminatory behavior very well may be a ‘missing link’ in the analysis of racial and ethnic health disparities,” Rice University sociologist Jenifer Bratter says. “It’s important to acknowledge and study its impact on long-term health.

Divorce fears keep couples unhitched

Ted Boscia-Cornell — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:58:38 +0000

CORNELL (US) — With the share of married adults in the US at an all-time low, new research finds that fear of divorce may be keeping young people from tying the knot.

For a study published in the journal Family Relations, both men and women expressed widespread apprehension about divorce—even in those with no personal experience of divorce.

Do minorities get ‘hosed’ on water bill?

Andy Henion-Michigan State — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:45:51 +0000

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — White flight from urban centers often means minority residents are left to pay to maintain aging water and sewer systems, a new study finds.

This “structural inequality” is not necessarily a product of racism, but does mean that racial minorities pay systematically more than white people for basic municipal services.

English proficiency test gets ‘F’ for stress

Kristen Parker-Michigan State — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 17:00:24 +0000

MICHIGAN STATE (US) — The nationally mandated language proficiency test, given to students whose second language is English, causes psychological stress for children who can least afford it, a new study shows.

Without some major overhaul, the English Language Proficiency Assessment is expected to negatively impact the academic success of the country’s more than 5 million English Language Learners (ELLs, defined as those who speak another language), warn researchers in the journal TESOL Quarterly.

Is U.S. eco-policy also God’s policy?

Neil Tickner-Maryland — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:32:26 +0000

U. MARYLAND (US) — A majority of Americans professing belief in God favor cooperative international efforts to combat climate change and the spread of nuclear weapons—branding it a moral obligation—a new public opinion poll shows.

The nearly 1,500 Americans surveyed include large numbers of Catholics and Evangelicals.