Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Current studies of abstinence pledges have often focused on the effects of the pledge from a public health standpoint. However, these studies overlook the potential to use abstinence pledges as a lens for understanding more symbolic issues of sexuality and meaning. It is clear from previous research that adolescents who pledge are not a unified group. Pledgers can differ both in their commitment to the pledge and in the context under which the pledge was taken. These distinctions mediate the way the pledge may interact with an adolescent's 'sexual script'; stressing the importance of differences among adolescents who have taken a pledge. Abstinence pledges present an opportunity to question monolithic definitions and understandings of terms such as abstinence and sex.
This paper examines the variation in interpretation and practice of abstinence along dimensions of pledging consistency, gender and religion using the Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. Differences among adolescents by are highlighted by comparing variables in an "ideal romantic relationship" roster, which allowed respondents to place behaviors such as kissing or marriage in an ideal temporal sequence. These measures will give an indication of how gender, ethnicity and religion impact the way adolescents view sexuality and abstinence.

Publication Type: Abstract
Abstract: Author: Joan O’Connell (joan.oconnell@uchsc.edu), University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center

Title: An examination of one lifetime economic consequence of problematic drinking, Alcohol dependence and educational attainment

Rationale: Problematic alcohol use has been associated with both immediate economic consequences, such as costs associated with accidents, and lifetime economic consequences such as educational attainment and wages. Although patterns of alcohol consumption and the prevalence of alcohol dependence vary by race and ethnicity, the relationship between problematic alcohol use and education has not been explored by race and ethnicity.

Objective: To examine the relationship between problematic alcohol use and years of school completed by race and ethnicity.

Methodology: Data were drawn for persons aged 23-57 years from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) which included detailed data on socio-demographic characteristics, alcohol consumption, DSM-IV-defined alcohol dependence, family history of alcohol use, and educational attainment (n=27,732). Alcohol dependence is employed as the measure of problem drinking since it includes psychological and physical symptoms of problematic use. We examine the association between alcohol dependency and highest grade or year of school completed by race and ethnicity. To account for the effects of possible unobserved heterogeneity, we employ a number of econometric models including 2SLS. Instrumental variables include taxes and parental problematic substance use. Race/ethnicity classifications consist of African American, American Indian and Alaskan Native, Asian, Hispanic, Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and non-Hispanic White.

Results: Gender, age, and race/ethnicity significantly influenced years of education. In general lifetime alcohol dependence was negatively associated with educational attainment; coefficient estimates varied by race/ethnicity. Parameter estimates ranged from less than one year (beta=-0.17, p<0.01) to more than three years (beta=-3.40, p<0.05) depending on the model specification and the specification of the instruments.

Conclusions: Despite current efforts at prevention and treatment, underage drinking accounts for nearly 20% of consumer expenditures on alcohol. The societal burden of early and problematic alcohol consumption is a public policy problem due to immediate and lifetime health and economic consequences of such use. One lifetime consequence is lower educational attainment which in turn affects occupation and wages. Findings concerning racial and ethnic differences in alcohol consumption and dependence and related economic consequences inform efforts to fund and improve the effectiveness of prevention and treatment programs that address the needs of diverse populations.

Themes: Addiction, Obesity and Cost, Disparities in Health, Labor Effects of Health, Behavioral Economics

Key terms: Addiction, Substance Abuse, Costs/Expenditure, Prevention

Disclosure information: The author is on the faculty of the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center and has no conflict of interest with regard to this project.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The Lifetime Original The Truth About Jane is a highly rated, award-winning telefilm and one of the first U.S. TV movies concerning teen lesbianism. It presents what seems to be a healthy, normative understanding of adolescence, in line with broader, liberal parental discourses of youth homosexuality. I argue, however, that this narrative is complicated because it risks fixing lesbian and gay sexual identity in essentialist terms, something that may serve an ultimate purpose of assuring straight parents that gay and lesbian children will grow up no different than other children. The identity work of the title character, Jane, and her mother, Janice, is examined using Foucault’s understanding of confession as a ritual of discourse, which provides the means of producing the truth of one’s sexuality and reducing guilt but is always constrained by being compelled and adjudicated, in this case by a straight viewer. The analysis also focuses on key extratextual elements of the film’s production and reception, which include being promoted as part of a “commitment” on the part of Lifetime to address pressing social issues and being produced in the context of “women’s television” and for an audience comprised mostly of heterosexual wives and mothers. I conclude by positing the TV movie as a regulatory scheme for mediating the representation of the American family, one that seems flexible and open to reworking the very notion of family by incorporating new conceptions of youth homosexuality but that ultimately contains the specter of deviant sexuality.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Authors featured in Criminology & Public Policy's special issue devoted to criminal justice policy present and defend their policy propositions (Criminology & Public Policy, Volume 6, Issue 4, November 2007).

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: I pose two fundamental questions about lifetime employment in Japan: How big is it? And how is it changing? I examine various concepts and methods and conclude that lifetime employment covers roughly 20 percent of the Japanese labor force: (i) The ex-ante measure of the core workforce consisting of male standard workers in large firms and in government, is 19%; (ii) The proportion of lifetime workers defined as those in the age group 50 to 54 who have never left their employers since school graduation, is 18%; (iii) The 30 year survival probability of job separations is 20%. Yet the lifetime employment rate varies considerably by gender, firm size and education level. Women do not benefit from lifetime employment while men in large firms and in government are most likely to be covered by it. At its extreme, the proportion of lifetime workers among male university graduates in large firms is 55% and the 30 year survival probability of male workers in government is 65%. The evidence is mixed regarding changes in lifetime employment. Overall, the decline in the core workforce, standard employment and full-time employment suggests a decline in lifetime employment. On the other hand, the proportion of lifetime workers and the probability of surviving job separations show an upward trend or no change. My interpretation is that although the population of workers who are ex-ante covered by lifetime employment may be shrinking, the likelihood of job separations has remained stable for those who are already in the system.