Different Levels Of Socioeconomic Status Research Articles

Investigation of the relationship between socioeconomic status and literacy in PISA Türkiye data

Previous researchers have identified socioeconomic status as a significant predictor of achievement/literacy. However, it is important to recognize that the influence of socioeconomic status on literacy may vary at different levels of socioeconomic status. Thus, this study analyzes the relationship between socioeconomic status and literacy scores for all domains in PISA Türkiye data from 2003 to 2022 through the Classification and Regression Trees and linear regression methods. Upon examining the results, separate investigations carried out for the lower and upper socioeconomic status groups indicate that R2 values were found to be equal to or greater than .80 in 37 out of the 42 analyses. From 2003 to 2009, the R2 values in both groups were considerably high; however, there has been a notable decline in subsequent periods. The year 2009 demonstrated particularly high R2 values by ESCS in all domains for both upper and lower groups. Consequently, socioeconomic status exhibited a greater predictive power on literacy scores across all domains in the lower socioeconomic group than upper socioeconomic group.

Greenness moderates the relationship between self-rated social standing and depression among older adults in the Canadian longitudinal study on aging

IntroductionGreenness is considered to be a health-promoting feature of both natural and built environments and has the potential to influence mental health outcomes. However, most studies to date have neglected to address whether greenness differentially affects mental health outcomes for individuals across the socioeconomic spectrum. Our study explored if greenness is a moderating factor in the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and mental health using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).MethodsA cross-sectional design was used to compare mental health outcomes between individuals with different levels of SES and residential greenness. We used self-rated social standing as a measure of SES and depression score measured using the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies 10-Item Depression Scale (CESD-10) as a measure of mental health. Greenness was measured using the annual maximum Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within a 1,000 m buffer area of participants' residential postal code locations.ResultsThere was a statistically significant moderating effect of greenness for the relationship between self-rated social standing and depression score. As greenness increased, individuals with lower self-rated social standing had the greatest decreases in depression score.DiscussionThe results of our study suggests that targeting greening interventions at individuals and communities with low SES may reduce depressive symptoms overall, as well as decrease socioeconomic inequalities in depression.

Examining the effects of social assistance on suicide-related behaviour among impoverished older adults in Korea using a nationwide cohort study from 2010–2019

Suicide rates among older adults in Korea are one of the highest in the world. Although prior research found that poverty is associated with suicide mortality among older adults in Korea, it is unknown whether being a recipient of social assistance may reduce suicide risk among older adults living in poverty. We examined the impact of the public assistance program on suicide-related behaviour (SRB). Data from a nationwide cohort in the Korean National Health Insurance Database, including demographic and medical treatment information, linked to the vital statistics for 2010–19 was used. The entire Korean population born before 1951 was included (n = 7,889,086). Flexible parametric survival model was performed to assess whether the risk of SRB hospitalisation and death differed across a) different levels of socioeconomic status, and b) social assistance status among the poor, using gender-stratified models. Older age, chronic disease, poverty, and being out of the labour market were associated with higher SRB hospitalisation and death for both genders. Among those living in poverty, social assistance recipients had lower rates for SRB death and hospitalisation, compared to the low-income non-recipients. Men who were non-recipients had 0.21 higher hazards ratio (95%CI 0.20 to 0.22) for SRB deaths compared to recipients, and the difference was 0.11 (95%CI 0.10 to 0.11) in women, with similar patterns for SRB hospitalizations. Poverty was associated with higher SRB death and hospitalisation among older adults in Korea. Social assistance targeting the older population may help reduce SRB.

Gene-environment interplay in internalizing problem behavior.

Behavior genetic methods are useful for examining mechanisms underlying the interaction between genetic and family environmental factors of internalizing problem behavior (INT). Previous twin studies, however, have shown little consistency in interaction patterns, depending on type and operationalization of measured environments. The aim of the current study was to explore different gene-by-environment interaction patterns among different family-level environmental risk factors and resources known to correlate with INT. Using an empirical-based approach, we combined various indicators of the family environment to derive four dimensions: positive parenting, negative parenting, lack of parental resources, and socioeconomic status. We then used a genetically informed design of twins raised in the same family to test whether interaction patterns followed a diathesis stress or vantage sensitivity model formulation. The sample consisted of 2,089 twin pairs and their families from two twin birth cohorts (ages 11 and 17) participating in Wave 1 of the German TwinLife study of social inequalities. In line with a vantage sensitivity pattern of interaction and with the bioecological model of development (Bronfenbrenner & Ceci, 1994), evidence for a general mechanism of gene-environment interaction with increasing nonshared environmental variance for more adverse and less propitious family conditions was found. In preadolescence, parenting behavior had a greater moderating influence on INT compared to general family conditions like socioeconomic status. Interventions for INT that directly involve parents, thus, may be more important in preadolescent populations whereas individual interventions for adolescents may be more successful if they are adapted to different levels of socioeconomic status. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Problems and Tasks of Higher Pedagogical Education at the Present Stage of Country’s Development

The analysis of the reasons why numerous attempts to update the Russian education system do not lead to the desired result and cause increasing criticism is carried out. One of the main reasons is seen in the violation of the systematic approach in solving the issues of the development of education in modern conditions. It is pointed out that the educational sphere, in fact, is always based on solving three problems: “what to teach”, “how to teach”, “why to teach”.The key question, that illuminates everything else, is the main question – in what social, economic and technological structure of society a person who receives education at any level, from preschool to university, has to live and work. Violation of the sequence of solving these problems, their inconsistency and the lack of a scientific justification ahead of the decisions made, inevitably lead to internal contradictions in the system being built and reduce its effectiveness.The analysis of why the Bologna system, which is widespread in a large number of countries with different levels of socio-economic status, turned out to be ineffective in Russia was made. It is shown that this system in its origin is a system of general higher non-professional education and an attempt to adapt it for receiving professional education in our country cannot be successful by its definition. It is said about the need of building a domestic multi-level system of professional higher education in modern conditions.

"More is better" or "better near the middle"? A U.S.-based individual participant data meta-analysis of socioeconomic status and depressive symptoms.

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a widely researched construct in developmental science, yet less is known concerning relations between SES and adaptive behavior. Specifically, is the relation linear, with higher SES associated with better outcomes, or does the direction of association change at different levels of SES? Our aim was to examine linear ("more is better") and quadratic ("better near the middle") associations between components of SES (i.e., income, years of education, occupational status/prestige) and depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale), and to explore moderation by developmental period (adolescence, young, middle, and older adulthood), gender/sex (female, male), and race/ethnicity (Asian American, Black, Latinx, multiracial, Native American, White). We hypothesized that there would be more support for a model containing quadratic associations. We conducted a two-stage meta-analytic structural equation model of 60 data sets (27,242 correlations, 498,179 participants) within the United States, accounting for dependencies between correlations, which were identified via the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research and handled using a two-step approach. Income was quadratically associated with depressive symptoms, but the quadratic model did not explain more variance in depressive symptoms than the linear model. Developmental period and race/ethnicity moderated the associations: Income was quadratically associated with depressive symptoms among middle-aged adults, and years of education were quadratically associated with depressive symptoms among White samples. Our findings suggest that researchers and clinical practitioners should consider the elevated risk of depressive symptoms for individuals from low and high-income backgrounds in the United States. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Human Capital in Territories with Different Level of Socio-Economic Well-Being: Assessment and Influence

Introduction. In modern foreign policy problems of Russia’s development, the need to implement the formation and preservation of the human capital of the population is increasing. Formation and effective use of human capital influences the creation of new technologies and products. At the same time, for many less developed regions – the so-called depressed territories – their socio-economic condition is associated with a low level of reproduction and implementation of the human capital of the population. The accumulation of human capital can have a beneficial effect on the development of depressed territories. The purpose of the article is to assess the human capital of municipalities with different levels of socio-economic status. Materials and Methods. The study has used a database of statistical indicators of municipalities of the Perm region. To assess the human capital of the population, we have used the index method, in which statistical indicators are combined into blocks: demography, education, health and sports, economics, culture. Results. A correlation between the values of the educational and demographic indices has been revealed. We have found a relationship between the level of socio-economic status of the territory and the educational index. Territories develop most rapidly in the presence of not only the necessary infrastructure for the formation of human capital, but also a developed economy. None of the development indices of the quality of human capital (education, health and sports, culture) have a direct impact on the economic growth of territories. In some depressed municipalities, there is a high birth rate of the population in the presence of social infrastructure and the quality of human resources necessary for the development of human capital. Discussion and Conclusion. The practical significance of the study is determined by the need to influence the regional policy of human capital management in peripheral and depressed territories. It is proposed to adopt at the legislative level mechanisms for identifying depressed areas and measures to support them. This article can be used in public administration to create a strategy for the spatial development of the country.

Disasters as opportunities for enhancing sustainability values: Disaster experience and environmental awareness in rural China

AbstractThis study evaluates whether people in general alter their perception of environmental pollution after disasters and the extent to which individual and contextual characteristics moderate this relationship. Results of multilevel regression analyses of data from rural China indicate that the experience of disasters heightens awareness of environmental pollution in local communities, net of various individual‐level and community‐level factors. Additionally, well‐maintained social relationships between villagers attenuate the impact of disasters and make people less aware of environmental pollution, and environmental degradation in the village enhances the impact and increases people's environmental awareness. Furthermore, the impact is not significantly different between residents in villages of different economic levels, and between residents of different levels of socioeconomic status. The results highlight the potential for promoting sustainability after experiencing disruptive shocks and stressors triggered by disasters, and demonstrate that it is crucial to understand environmental awareness as a dynamic process in changing local contexts.

Is School Funding Unequal in Latin America? A Cross-Country Analysis of Interregional Disparities in Public Spending

Education spending has increased significantly in Latin America, but less is known about how resources are distributed. Using original data, this study measures the inequality in per-pupil spending between regions with different levels of socioeconomic status within Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. We find that Brazil has the widest funding gap due to inequalities in local revenues between high- and low-socioeconomic-status regions. However, the country’s funding gap has narrowed over time. School funding in Colombia has become more regressive, but its gap is half the size of the gap in Brazil. The distribution of school funding in Peru has changed from being regressive to progressive. Education spending in Chile and in Ecuador is consistently progressive. However, while the progressiveness of funding in Ecuador is driven by transfers targeted at disadvantaged rural areas, the funding formulas in Chile address socioeconomic inequalities beyond the rural-urban gap.

Preschool Depression and Hippocampal Volume: The Moderating Role of Family Income.

Depression and low socioeconomic status have both been associated with hippocampal volume alterations. Whether these factors interact to predict neurobehavioral outcomes has not been adequately studied. The authors investigated family income as a moderator of the relationship between depression and hippocampal volume in a longitudinal sample. Longitudinal behavioral data, beginning at preschool age, and behavioral and neuroimaging data from school age to adolescence were used to assess the impact of preschool only and total preschool to adolescent depression symptoms on hippocampal volumes using family income as a moderator (N= 176). Depression severity during the preschool period interacted with family income to predict hippocampal volumes at the intercept (ie, age 13 years; B=-0.078, p= .003). Interaction decomposition revealed that only individuals with relatively high family income exhibited smaller hippocampal volume with increasing depression severity (B=-0.146, p= .005). Family income was associated with hippocampus volumes only in individuals with low to moderate preschool depression severity (B= 0.289, p= .007 and B= 0.169, p= .030, respectively). Preschool depression severity interacts with family income to predict hippocampal volume across development, such that the effects of early depression are evident only in those with higher income. These findings suggest that hippocampal volume may not be an effective marker of risk for depression at different levels of socioeconomic status, and emphasizes the importance of the environmental context when assessing risk markers for depression. Future research should explore how socioeconomic stress may eclipse the effects of depression on hippocampal development, setting alternative neurodevelopmental risk trajectories.

A prospective cohort study on socioeconomic status and risk of all-cause mortality among patients with type 2 diabetes based on latent class analysis

Objective: To investigate the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and all-cause mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods: A total of 17 553 patients with type 2 diabetes were recruited under the National Basic Public Health Service Project in Changshu county, Qingjiangpu district, and Huai'an district in Huai'an city of Jiangsu province as participants. Latent class analysis was applied to classify the individuals based on five socioeconomic indicators. Then, Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the associations of different levels of SES with all-cause mortality, and stratified analysis was performed according to age and area. Results: Among 100 529.08 person-years of the fo1low-up, the median follow-up time was 5.7 years, and 1 829 deaths occurred during the follow-up period. According to the relevant results of the latent class model, the model of the "three classes" was the best. The related population was then divided into low SES (8 256 people, 47.0%), medium SES (4 427 people, 25.2%), and high SES groups (4 870 people, 27.8%). Compared to patients with high SES, the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio (95%CI) of all-cause mortality associated with low SES for males and females were 1.84 (1.53-2.21) and 1.41 (1.51-1.72), respectively. Stratified analysis showed that the hazard ration (95%CI) of all-cause mortality associated with low SES for males and females were 1.99 (1.12-2.95) and 2.01 (1.20-3.23), respectively, in people younger than 60 years old, and were 1.90 (1.57-2.31) and 1.40 (1.13-1.73) in people over 60 years old. The HR values (95%CI) for all-cause mortality associated with low SES for the male and females were 1.54 (1.17-2.04) and 1.27 (1.02-1.59) in the urban population with 2.11 (1.55-2.85) and 2.64 (1.17-3.35) in rural population, respectively. Conclusions: Lower SES increased the risk of all-cause mortality in type 2 diabetic patients, which is more significant in younger and rural populations.

Cross-dimensional assimilation effect in facial trustworthiness evaluation: The asymmetry of in-group favoritism under the moderation of socioeconomic status

<p indent="0mm">It is common for within-dimensional assimilation effect in the social evaluation of faces under social context. Recent studies have also found a cross-dimensional assimilation effect in the facial trustworthiness evaluation with the socioeconomic status (SES) background information as social context. However, whether the SES of evaluators moderates this cross-dimensional assimilation effect remains unclear, since the relationship between evaluators and evaluatees has largely been ignored in studies of the assimilation effect. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate whether the SES of evaluators moderates the impact of the SES background information for evaluated faces on facial trustworthiness evaluation, and thereby to explore the broader theoretical issue on the interaction between evaluator and evaluatee on assimilation effect. There were two phases in the experiment. In the first phase, participants completed a status-color association training task, to learn how to associate colored backgrounds (purple/blue) with different levels of SES (high-SES/low-SES). This was to enable the participants to accurately perceive the SES information of the evaluated faces based on the background color in the subsequent evaluative task. In the second phase, they completed a facial trustworthiness rating task that used a 100-point scale to evaluate the trustworthiness of the faces displayed on colored backgrounds indicating high- or low-SES (<italic>T</italic>_high-SES/<italic>T</italic>_low-SES). After that, the facial trustworthiness baseline (<italic>T</italic>₀) was also measured by presenting participants the isolated faces without the colored backgrounds. The cross-dimensional assimilation effect of SES information of evaluated faces on facial trustworthiness (<italic>T</italic>_change) was calculated as follows: <italic>T</italic>_change=<italic>T</italic>_high-SES–<italic>T</italic>₀ or <italic>T</italic>₀–<italic>T</italic>_low-SES. One-sample <italic>t</italic>-test analysis revealed that the presence of high/low SES background information for the evaluated faces led to the evaluators’ trustworthiness evaluation being closer to the faces’ SES background information. That is, both the high and low SES information for the evaluated faces led to a significant assimilation effect on facial trustworthiness evaluation. But the assimilation of low SES information among low-SES participants is non-significant. Furthermore, a 2 (SES background information for evaluated faces: High vs. low) × 2 (SES of evaluators: High vs. low) repeated-measures ANOVA of the <italic>T</italic>_change showed a significant interaction of evaluators and evaluatees’ SES. Simple effect analysis revealed that the assimilation of low-SES information on facial trustworthiness evaluation among low-SES participants is significantly smaller than that among high-SES participants, which was also supported by the item-based ANOVA analysis. In summary, the results of the experiment suggested: (1) Both high-SES and low-SES information for evaluated faces exerted an assimilation effect on facial trustworthiness evaluation; (2) the assimilation effect is moderated by the SES of evaluators with an asymmetry of the in-group favoritism among high-SES evaluators and low-SES evaluators. The present study also contributed to the literature on the assimilation effect, by showing that: (1) Assimilation effect can occur not only between context and evaluative targets in the within dimension but also in cross-dimensions; (2) the social relationship between evaluator and evaluatee should be taken into account when evaluating the assimilation effect of social context.

Differential effects of socio-economic status and family environment of adolescents on their emotional intelligence, academic stress and academic achievement

In this paper the researcher has presented the results of a study conducted to find out whether adolescents belonging to different levels of Socio-economic status and Family Environment differ in their Emotional Intelligence, Academic Stress and Academic Achievement. The study was conducted on a sample of 858 adolescents studying in various secondary schools of Aligarh district in Uttar Pradesh State, India. Standardized scales were employed for data collection. Multiple Analysis of variance technique (MANOVA) was applied to observe the effect. The homogeneity of the covariance matrices was verified using the Box’s M value. Results revealed that Socio-economic Status (SES) and Family Environment have significant effect on all the said variables. Post hoc analysis (Tukey HSD Test) findings revealed that differences exist with regard to Emotional Intelligence, Academic Stress and Academic Achievement among adolescent groups with different levels of Socioeconomic Status and Family Environment.

Predictors of Academic Achievement at Different Levels of Socioeconomic Status

Success is a concept that is desired by everyone. In the Turkish education system, Anatolian high schools are considered one of the most prestigious schools which accept students via national central exams. The purpose of this study is to reveal indicators explaining the placement into Anatolian high schools, which is an important sign of success, in socioeconomically different regions. Logistic regression analyses were used as a prediction design. Data was collected from the 1049 10th grade high school students in Istanbul. According to findings, the indicators affecting the probability of studying in Anatolian high school differ between the low life quality indexed region (LLQR) and the high life quality indexed region (HLQR). In LLQR GPA, gender, number of people in the household, and mother&amp;rsquo;s monetary contribution were found as significant indicators. In HLQR GPA, father&amp;rsquo;s income and mother&amp;rsquo;s education level were found as significant indicators. These results are discussed using the main theories of educational sociology.

ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ПРЕДИКТОРЫ КАЧЕСТВА ЖИЗНИ НАСЕЛЕНИЯ РЕГИОНА

At the present stage of development of society and the state, the problem of studying environmental predictors of the life quality of population has been largely actualized, since it is the state of the environment that affects such an important component of the quality of life of the population as its health, expressed in life expectancy. The task of this work is to find such characteristics that reflect the ecological living conditions and ecological behavior of the population and can be used in economic analysis. Based on the main provisions of the eco-system approach, to calculate the integral environmental indicator for assessing the quality of life of the population, we introduced three indicators, such as the proportion of the capture of pollutants from stationary sources from the total amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere from stationary and mobile sources, the energy intensity of GRP and the proportion of organizations that have implemented environmental innovations in the total number of organizations. The authors have developed a methodology for assessing the environmental component of the life quality of population in relation to the regions of the Russian Federation, which includes the following components and analysis tools: a system of indicators characterizing the level of the environmental component of the life quality of population in the regions; an index method for assessing the environmental component of the life quality of population of the regions; a grouping of regions of the Russian Federation characterized by different levels of socio-economic status and environmental component quality of life of the population of the regions; positioning and typology of regions according to the criteria "ecological sub-index of the quality of life of the population" - "socio-economic situation". The authors have developed a methodology for assessing the environmental component of the life quality of population in relation to the regions of the Russian Federation, which includes the following components and analysis tools: a system of indicators characterizing the level of the environmental component of the life quality of region's population; an index method for assessing the environmental component of the life quality of region's population; a grouping of Russian regions characterized by different levels of socio-economic status and environmental component of life quality of region's population; positioning and typology of regions according to the criteria "ecological sub-index of the quality of life of the population" - "socio-economic situation". According to the proposed methodology, the socio-economic situation of the Russian regions was considered as a condition for the development of the ecological component of the life quality of region's population, also all regions are ranked according to the socio-economic situation, 10 of them are leaders and 10 outsiders.

Health Inequality Analysis in Europe: Exploring the Potential of the EQ-5D as Outcome.

Objective: This study explored the additive value of the multi-item EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) as an outcome measure in health inequality analyses, relative to the single-item EuroQol visual analog scale (EQ VAS).Methods: A sample comprising the general population from Italy, the Netherlands, and United Kingdom (UK) completed the EQ-5D-5L and the EQ VAS. The level of education was selected as a proxy for socio-economic status (SES). EQ-5D-5L level sum scores (LSS) were compared against EQ VAS scores. Stratified and multivariable analyses were used to study the associations between SES and the LSS/EQ VAS relative to the presence of chronic health conditions.Results: A total of 10,172 people participated in this study. In the UK and Netherlands, the LSS was worst for respondents with a low educational level and better for respondents with middle and high educational levels. For Italy, the LSS was best for respondents with a middle educational level compared to respondents with low and high educational levels. The same patterns were observed for the EQ VAS, but differences were slightly smaller. Multivariable analyses showed generally stronger predictive relations in the UK, and with the LSS. The presence of chronic health conditions and being unable to work were independent strong predictors, canceling out the effects of education.Conclusions: In three different European countries, the EQ-5D measures show the presence of education-dependent health inequalities, which are universally explained in regression analysis by independently the presence of chronic health conditions and the inability to work. In stratified analysis, the EQ-5D-5L LSS discriminates slightly better between participants with different levels of SES compared to the EQ VAS.

Entomological characterization of Aedes mosquitoes and arbovirus detection in Ibagu\xe9, a Colombian city with co-circulation of Zika, dengue and chikungunya viruses

BackgroundDengue, Zika and chikungunya are arboviruses of significant public health importance that are transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. In Colombia, where dengue is hyperendemic, and where chikungunya and Zika were introduced in the last decade, more than half of the population lives in areas at risk. The objective of this study was to characterize Aedes spp. vectors and study their natural infection with dengue, Zika and chikungunya in Ibagué, a Colombian city and capital of the department of Tolima, with case reports of simultaneous circulation of these three arboviruses.MethodsMosquito collections were carried out monthly between June 2018 and May 2019 in neighborhoods with different levels of socioeconomic status. We used the non-parametric Friedman, Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests to compare mosquito density distributions. We applied logistic regression analyses to identify associations between mosquito density and absence/presence of breeding sites, and the Spearman correlation coefficient to analyze the possible relationship between climatic variables and mosquito density.ResultsWe collected Ae. aegypti in all sampled neighborhoods and found for the first time Ae. albopictus in the city of Ibagué. A greater abundance of mosquitoes was collected in neighborhoods displaying low compared to high socioeconomic status as well as in the intradomicile compared to the peridomestic space. Female mosquitoes predominated over males, and most of the test females had fed on human blood. In total, four Ae. aegypti pools (3%) were positive for dengue virus (serotype 1) and one pool for chikungunya virus (0.8%). Interestingly, infected females were only collected in neighborhoods of low socioeconomic status, and mostly in the intradomicile space.ConclusionsWe confirmed the co-circulation of dengue (serotype 1) and chikungunya viruses in the Ae. aegypti population in Ibagué. However, Zika virus was not detected in any mosquito sample, 3 years after its introduction into the country. The positivity for dengue and chikungunya viruses, predominance of mosquitoes in the intradomicile space and the high proportion of females fed on humans highlight the high risk for arbovirus transmission in Ibagué, but may also provide an opportunity for establishing effective control strategies.Graphical abstract

The effect of hazard awareness training on teen drivers of varying socioeconomic status

Objective To compare the effectiveness of the Risk Awareness and Perception Training (RAPT) program among teens of various socioeconomic status (SES). Methods A secondary analysis was undertaken of data collected from 5036 teen participants for a study in 2011. They were randomly assigned to either receive RAPT or a placebo training. The total number of crashes (property damage only and injury) within the first 12 months after licensure was recorded. A Poisson regression model was employed to investigate the effectiveness of RAPT in terms of crash frequency among teens in different levels of SES, as measured by SES level (high or low) or poverty rate. Results Poverty rate was significantly associated with participants’ crash frequency within the first 12 months after licensure such that when poverty rate increased, the crash frequency increased. The interacting effect of poverty rate and training was also significant. When compared to participants who did not receive RAPT, participants who received RAPT had fewer crashes when poverty rate increased. Conclusion The RAPT program attenuated the negative effect of teen drivers’ SES on crashes. No significant effect of sex or age was found, indicating that in terms of crashes, regardless of age or sex, RAPT is equally effective at reducing crashes for lower SES teens.

Mental Health Issues among Caregivers of Young Children in Rural China: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Links to Child Developmental Outcomes.

Previous research has found that there are high rates of mental health problems among caregivers in rural China and that caregiver mental health may be a significant predictor of developmental delays among infants and toddlers in these rural areas. In this paper, we use data from a survey of 986 caregiver-child pairs in rural China to examine the risk factors of caregiver mental health and measure the association between caregiver mental health and child development outcomes. To conduct the empirical analysis, we assess caregiver mental health using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) questionnaire and measure child developmental outcomes using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Developmental Third Edition (Bayley-III). The results show that 32% of caregivers have depressive symptoms, 42% have anxiety symptoms, and 30% have symptoms of stress. The data also demonstrate that caregiver identity and age as well as different measures of socioeconomic status (SES) (characterized by caregiver education, father’s education, and household wealth) are all significantly linked to symptoms of caregiver mental health problems. The analysis shows that caregiver depression, anxiety, and/or stress are significantly associated with lower early childhood development (ECD) outcomes in all areas measured (cognition, language, social-emotion, and motor skills). The heterogeneous analysis demonstrates that there are differences in the effects of caregiver mental health problems on ECD among households are from families that are endowed with different levels of SES. On the basis of the findings the study concludes that policymakers should pay more attention to caregiver mental health problems in order to improve child developmental outcomes in rural China. The study cannot, however, draw casual conclusions and cannot rule out the possibility of recall bias when measuring caregiver mental health, which may limit the external validity of the findings.

Estimates of gelotophobia and perceived stress among obese individuals.

The present research was carried out to estimate gelotophobia among obese individuals. Perceived stress and differences on socio-demographic factors were also studied. The survey design cross-sectional study was conducted from January to June in 2018. A sample of 70 consenting participants (men = 22, women = 48) with BMI ≥ 25 were recruited through purposive sampling. The instruments of Geloph<15> and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were used to assess the level of gelotophobia and level of stress in the sample. Demographic details of sample were also recorded to achieve study objectives. The estimate of gelotophobia among obese individuals in the current study showed that 45(64.2%) majority sample had moderate level of gelotophobia, while 7(10%) of the sample had high level of gelotophobia. Statistically significant differences were observed in the level of gelotophobia among individuals having different levels of socio-economic status (p < .05) and with history of being ridiculed by peers (p < .05). However, the present study did not show any significant demographic difference in perceived stress (p > .05). The findings of the study could provide evidence in favour of developing and implementing suitable intervention programmmes to help control risk of gelotophobia among obese individuals. The study could also assist in creating awareness and understanding about harmful consequences of bullying and nurturing a healthier narrative of conversations and humour among the youth.