OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationships between socioeconomic status (SES), body mass index (BMI), and vitamin D levels in African American (AA) women living in areas with abundant sunshine; and to explore if diabetes moderates these relationships. SIGNIFICANCE: More AA's live in poverty, and experience obesity, diabetes, and chronic disease compared to other groups. Eighty percent of AA women are overweight or obese, and rates of type 2 diabetes is highest in this group. Minority race, obesity, and diabetes increase risks for low vitamin D, and are associated with p DESIGN AND METHOD: A cross-sectional descriptive research design was used to examine the specified relationships. Data from 611 non-pregnant AA women ≥ age 20 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cycles 2003 - 2006 were studied. SES was measured as poverty to income ratio (PIR), education level, and annual household income. Mean ± SD for BMI was 31 ± 8, and 14ng/ml ± 7ng/ml for vitamin D level. Only 8% of the sample had diabetes (n = 49). One hundred-eighty lived in areas with abundant sunshine. RESULTS: BMI independently predicted the vitamin D level without regard for SES, or geographical locale. Vitamin D supplement use emerged as an independent predictor of vitamin D on covariate analysis. SES did not explain significant variation in the vitamin D level. A moderating influence of diabetes could not be determined. CONCLUSIONS: BMI inversely predicts vitamin D level independent of geographic locale in AA women. Ethno/cultural measures to reduce BMI should be standard in caring for AA women which may affect vitamin D level and/or reduce morbidity and mortality in this group. Persons with low vitamin D suffer with more adverse health outcomes, and future research should examine if vitamin D deficiency accelerates risks for poor health outcomes where BMI is high.

Receptive and expressive vocabulary skills in preschoolers are predictors of later literacy skills. Research shows that children from low socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds are generally behind their peers in the area of vocabulary skills when they enter school. Many preschool programs now focus on increasing these skills through shared book reading interventions. The purpose of the current research is to study the efficacy of a specific shared book reading intervention, dialogic reading, with low-income preschoolers in the area of vocabulary development. The search yielded 10 intervention studies that utilized dialogic reading strategies in interventions with the target population. Studies yielded mixed results but generally found that dialogic reading intervention does have significant positive effects on receptive and expressive vocabulary. Limitations and implications for practice are discussed. / text

Background: Prediabetes (PD) defined as having glucose values above normal but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes, is known to be a risk factor for type 2 diabetes and associated complications. Early prevention efforts can reverse the condition or delay the development of type 2 diabetes. This study examines the sociodemographic risk factors for PD in women. Methods: Using secondary data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey NHANES 2005-2006, chi-square analysis was done to find the prevalence of the disease among different categories of women with respect to age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the associations of the sociodemographic factors with PD among women. A p-value of <0>.05 and 95% confidence intervals were used to determine statistical significance throughout all the analyses performed. Results: In total, 3,461 cases were included in the study analysis. Cases with indications of PD were found in 716 (20.7%) of the sample. Increased age was consistently associated with PD in women [χ=392.3(3), p<.001]. Prevalence of PD peaked for those aged 60 and above. Results of multivariate analysis suggested that being non-Hispanic Blacks was associated with increased likelihood of PD. Education was found to be significantly associated with PD but an inverse relationship could not be established. Conclusions: As an increase in age was found to be associated with PD in women, early screening and education regarding lifestyle changes can help reverse the condition. Minority groups should be an important focus for PD prevention efforts.

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This dissertation contains two empirical papers on income and premature mortality, and one methodological paper that concerns the summary measurement of the extent of social inequalities in health. Income dynamics and adult mortality: Canada and the USA Chapter 4 examines the effects of income level and income drops on all-cause mortality in Canada and the United States. The Canadian data are from the Longitudinal Administrative Databank (LAD), and the US data are from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The LAD consists of personal income tax records for 20% of Canadian filers from 1982 through 2005. The PSID is a survey sampled in 1968 and followed annually through 1997. Analyses of the PSID confirmed previously published findings that used alternative statistical methods. The effect of income level on hazard of death is twice as large in the United States. The effects of income drops differed in Canada and the United States. Income dynamics and adult mortality in Canada: Chapter 5 re-analyses the LAD data to refine causal inference regarding the effects of income level and income drops on all-cause mortality. Exposure at ages 40-55 is analyzed for induction times ranging from 1-18 years. Income level was defined as the mean of the previous five year period, and income drops was measured both as annual change, and as the difference between projected and observed income. The effect of income level attenuated very little over induction time, and was not confounded by work disability. The effect of income drops also attenuated very little over induction time. Men in couple families showed a monotonic dose-reponse effect of income drops, and exclusion of families with potentially confounding characteristics did not affect the estimated risks. The hypothesized dependency of the effect of income drops on income level was not observed. No differences were observed between the two measures of income drops. Overall, there is strong evidence that the effect of income level on risk of death is primarily causal, while evidence for the effect of income drops is mixed.

This dissertation contains two empirical papers on income and premature mortality, and one methodological paper that concerns the summary measurement of the extent of social inequalities in health. Income dynamics and adult mortality: Canada and the USA Chapter 4 examines the effects of income level and income drops on all-cause mortality in Canada and the United States. The Canadian data are from the Longitudinal Administrative Databank (LAD), and the US data are from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The LAD consists of personal income tax records for 20% of Canadian filers from 1982 through 2005. The PSID is a survey sampled in 1968 and followed annually through 1997. Analyses of the PSID confirmed previously published findings that used alternative statistical methods. The effect of income level on hazard of death is twice as large in the United States. The effects of income drops differed in Canada and the United States. Income dynamics and adult mortality in Canada: Chapter 5 re-analyses the LAD data to refine causal inference regarding the effects of income level and income drops on all-cause mortality. Exposure at ages 40-55 is analyzed for induction times ranging from 1-18 years. Income level was defined as the mean of the previous five year period, and income drops was measured both as annual change, and as the difference between projected and observed income. The effect of income level attenuated very little over induction time, and was not confounded by work disability. The effect of income drops also attenuated very little over induction time. Men in couple families showed a monotonic dose-reponse effect of income drops, and exclusion of families with potentially confounding characteristics did not affect the estimated risks. The hypothesized dependency of the effect of income drops on income level was not observed. No differences were observed between the two measures of income drops. Overall, there is strong evidence that the effect of income level on risk of death is primarily causal, while evidence for the effect of income drops is mixed.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify performance differences on the TAKS mathematics assessments in grades three through eight across race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status in the years 2004, 2007, and 2010. The guiding research question was: ?What are the differences in mathematics achievement by mathematical objective as depicted by the Texas achievement tests during the years 2004, 2007, and 2010. To respond to the guiding research question, three independent studies were performed to examine race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status individually by mathematical objective. Statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were performed for race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status at a .05 level of significance. Independent samples t tests were administered to determine differences across gender. For study one, statistically significant differences of objective means were identified across every grade and objective with the exception of objective five (probability and statistics) in grade seven between Asian American students and African American students. Study two examined gender and found that no statistically significant differences exist between male and female students. The findings of study two identified that male students were scoring slightly higher across most objectives in 2004, but by 2010 scores between male and female students were more equivalent with male students scoring slightly higher in grades three through five and female students scoring slightly higher in grades six through eight. Study three examined TAKS mathematics data across socioeconomic identifiers and found that significant differences were mostly found in grade three across all objectives between students not identified as economically disadvantaged and students receiving free meals. After grade three, the number of significant differences drastically decreases with all objectives except for objective six (mathematical processes and tools). Significant differences were present across race/ethnicity and across socioeconomic status, but not across gender. An examination of within group data did not identify any statistical significance.

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the correlation between students’ literacy skills in grade three, and their home literacy environment, as well as parents’ socioeconomic and socio-cultural status. I intend to discuss the correlation between literacy skills and students’ home literacy environment, including multimodal text and electronic resources such as tablets and computers. I also intend to discuss students’ literacy skills in relation to their parents’ country of birth, level of education and profession. My method consists of a parent questionnaire and student results from the National Test in Swedish as a Native Language in grade three. Two classes from two different schools participate in the study. I am using Cronbachs alpha to calculate the internal consistency, in other words how well my questions measure the same thing. I utilize the chi-square method to calculate the probability for a certain correlation. To analyze the results, I am using Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus and cultural capital. My results show no significant connection between literacy and home literacy environment, socioeconomic background or parents’ country of birth. However, I am able to detect a tendency which argues that children with well educated parents achieve higher scores on the National Test than students with low educated parents. The tendency indicates that children with well educated parents have more developed literacy skills than children with low educated parents.

Drawing from Pierre Bourdieu’s socio-cultural approach, this qualitative research project aimed to: (a) understand the responses to current body norms and expectations tied to health and physical appearances amongst underprivileged young women; and; (b) understand to what extent the dominant obesity discourse is inscribed in these women’s bodily habits. Results highlight that participants were aware of the dominant obesity discourse through their perceptions, sentiments, and dispositions towards bodily norms and expectations. Despite their awareness, underprivileged living conditions generated other sets of priorities, such as motherhood, achieving economic stability, completing education, and gaining physical independence which were far greater preoccupations. Underprivileged young women’s ‘choice of the necessary’ is based on optimizing resources and prioritizing needs and responsibilities. Findings support the use of Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts which consider the effects of various aspects of underprivileged living conditions on lifestyles.

Thesis (M.A.)--California State University Channel Islands, 2007. / Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Education. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed August 29, 2008).