Theses/Dissertations - Sociology
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2104/4797
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Browsing Theses/Dissertations - Sociology by Author "Andersson, Matthew."
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Item A comprehensive understanding of racial attitudes for Muslims among whites.(2020-07-10) Li, Ruiqian, 1990-; Andersson, Matthew.; Froese, Paul.How do white racial attitudes shape anti-Muslim opinion in a racially diversifying American society where many whites are anxious about their race’s self-interest? Using ANES 2016, this study examines if the white anxiety informs anti-Muslim opinion independently to ethnocultural prejudice. Based on different statistical methodologies, findings illustrate that white anxiety independently predicts anti-Muslim sentiment, yet a lack of white anxiety does not result in warmness or even acceptance of Muslims. However, both pro- and anti-Muslim attitudes are significantly predicted by ethnocultural prejudice. It indicates that many whites do not need to embrace that whites are ethnoculturally superior to Muslims: they can also perceive Muslims as threat to the group self-interest. Last, this study implies that social scientists should adopt a new theoretical paradigm to understand interracial relationships between white Americans and non-white immigrants in the contemporary America.Item Age differences in links between social media use and mental health : results from a national sample of U.S. adults.(2021-04-21) Zhu, Xi, 1992-; Andersson, Matthew.Now more than ever, American adults are using social networking sites (SNS). While many studies have examined associations between SNS use and mental health among children and adolescents, few studies have considered potential age differences in SNS use effects. Drawing on nationally representative data collected by Gallup in 2017 (N=1501), I examined associations between time spent on SNS and users’ depression and anxiety as well as perceptions of how the Internet affects their social relationships. I also assessed the potential moderating role of age for these associations. Results show that SNS use is unrelated to users’ depression or anxiety once adjusting for demographic background, but is related to perceived positive effects on one’s social relationships. Meanwhile, I find no significant age differences in these associations, suggesting that while older adults use SNS less often, they are influenced by SNS in ways similar to younger individuals.Item Racial biases and COVID-19 anxiety in America : how do healthcare workers compare to the public?(August 2022) Bilaye-Benibo, Tamunosaki, 1993-; Andersson, Matthew.Considering how often marginalized groups are ostracized during infectious disease outbreaks, it is important to revisit the relationship between outgroup bias and anxiety about said outbreaks. American healthcare workers are a group of particular interest given their frontline involvement in clinical outcomes. Using multiple regression and 2020 IAT data, I evaluate relationships between racial bias and COVID-19 anxiety. I find that bias against Black people — implicit or explicit — is negatively associated with COVID anxiety. Additionally, while American healthcare workers’ implicit racial bias has a weaker association with COVID anxiety compared to the public, the association between explicit bias and anxiety is stronger among healthcare workers. Meanwhile, Black respondents show no relationship between implicit bias and COVID anxiety. Overall, my findings show that racial bias is negatively related to COVID anxiety in and out of healthcare, supporting my key contention that racism perpetuates racial inequality through increased apathy toward pandemic-related risks.Item The long arm of childhood bereavement : parental death and pathways to adult health and educational inequalities.(2020-03-23) Wilkinson, Renae Michelle, 1989-; Andersson, Matthew.; Wilkinson, Lindsay R.The death of a parent is generally considered to be among the most devastating kinds of losses that children can experience. While research has examined the associations between childhood parental death and health and educational attainment, the pathways and mechanisms that explain these relationships are not well-understood. This dissertation investigates following questions: Does childhood parental death matter for young adult health and educational attainment? If it does, what mechanisms and pathways account for its lasting effects across the transition to adulthood? Across three empirical studies, I argue that parental death is a distinct form of childhood misfortune that sets in motion chains of risk leading to disparities in health and educational attainment among young adults. This dissertation uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine the impact of childhood parental death on young adult outcomes by considering the mechanisms and pathways that undermine health and inhibit attainment across the transition to adulthood. The first chapter focuses on the patterns in mental health and health-risk behavior across the transition to adulthood following parental death. Growth curve models show that parental death is a significant source of variation in the trajectories of depressive symptoms and body mass of young people from ages 12-32, and these associations are shown to vary by race and gender. The second chapter examines links between parental death and young adult cardiovascular health and whether this relationship is explained by subsequent childhood misfortune and adult status attainment. This study uses a comprehensive measure of cardiovascular health that includes metabolic biomarker data to show that childhood parental death is associated with young adult cardiovascular health risk and this relationship is partly explained by adult attainment. The third chapter shifts attention to the association between parental death and education and investigates the extent to which high school academic performance and behavior account for lowered attainment among bereaved young people. Findings from this study indicate that parental death is associated with lowered odds of college degree attainment and an increased risk of incomplete postsecondary education pathways.