Patterns Of Social Inequality Research Articles

Gambling in a U.S. Census Matched Sample: Examining Interactions between Means and Motives in Predicting Problematic Outcomes.

The influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on risk of Problem Gambling (PG) is complex, particularly given recent evidence that SES should be understood in both objective and subjective terms. Likewise, financial gambling motives have been found to be predictive of PG; however, financial motives are less understood in comparison to other gambling motives. Preliminary findings on SES and gambling points towards a pattern of social inequality in which those with the least financial resources (e.g., income) or that feel financially deprived relative to others (e.g., perceived deprivation) experience greater harm and problems. In a weighted, census matched sample of adults in the U.S. (N = 1,348), the present study examined the interaction between financial gambling motives and income and financial gambling motives and perceived deprivation in predicting PG. Findings provided support for both financial gambling motives and perceived deprivation as robust predictors of PG. Further, results provided unique insights into the role subjective economic standing may play in the relationship between financial motives for gambling and risk of PG.

Algorithmic identification of persons with dementia for research recruitment: ethical considerations

ABSTRACT Underdiagnosis, misdiagnosis, and patterns of social inequality that translate into unequal access to health systems all pose barriers to identifying and recruiting diverse and representative populations into research on Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease related dementias. In response, some have turned to algorithms to identify patients living with dementia using information that is associated with this condition but that is not as specific as a diagnosis. This paper explains six ethical issues associated with the use of such algorithms including the generation of new, sensitive, identifiable medical information for research purposes without participant consent, issues of justice and equity, risk, and ethical communication. It concludes with a discussion of strategies for addressing these issues and prompting valuable research.

Stratified Public Connections—Beyond the Taste for News?

ABSTRACT Many scholars have expressed concerns about the well-being of modern societies in the age of digitalisation and datafication, with opaque algorithms on social media supposedly structuring human agency and eroding the foundations of democracy. To address these concerns, I conducted multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) on a rich body of representative survey data on Danish citizens (N = 5660) to examine how citizens connect to and engage within the public sphere, thus providing a sociological contextualisation for understanding the complex interplays between news consumption, broader media usage, cultural lifestyles, and patterns of social inequality. The results showed how tendencies of mistrust and political alienation are not distinctive of social media users; rather, such challenges should be understood through the notion of social stratification. This finding contributes to the discussion on inequality in terms of access to and participation in the public sphere.

Experiences of the Migrant Farmworkers during the Syndemic Due to COVID-19 in Spain

The present article addresses the COVID-19 syndemic, that is, the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 with other diseases that interact and are determined by patterns of social inequality. The living and working conditions of migrant farmworkers increases the transmission of COVID-19. Descriptions of the experiences of migrant farmworkers provided by the professionals from different organizations that tend to them allowed the authors to discover the syndical nature of COVID-19. This study is based on qualitative descriptive research. Seventeen workers from different organizations participated in the study, through in-depth interviews between January and June 2022. A thematic analysis was performed to analyze the qualitative data. Two main themes emerged: Non-compliance with the collective labor agreement, and non-compliance with workplace health and safety standards. The results suggest that the adverse living and working conditions of the migrant farmworkers increased their risk of COVID-19 infection, due to the lack of compliance with the health measures decreed. The vulnerability experienced by migrant farmworkers increased work conflicts and prompted their mobilization to fight for their rights.

Class Identification, Deferred Elimination, and Social Reproduction in Education: ‘Ontological Ambivalences’ Experienced by Working-Class Students at Elite Universities in China

China’s transition from a redistributive economy to a market economy has created an evolving and intensifying social class structure that requires a class perspective and class analysis tools to capture reconfigured social relations and new patterns of social inequalities. Drawing on a three-year life-story study of working-class students at elite universities in China and working with Bourdieu’s theoretical tools, this article highlights the emotional costs of class mobility and two associated forms of ‘ontological ambivalences’. The findings show ‘mundane reflexivity’ in class struggles against classifications but more importantly, demonstrate the symbolic violence involved therein and indicate the difficulties of individual agency to achieve politically effective resistances. Although based on the specific context of China, this article contributes to reflections on neoliberal policies elsewhere by shedding light on how neoliberalism relates to and enhances class struggles and the significance of adopting a relational class perspective to understand and address social inequalities.

Comparison of Social Inequality in Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination among Teenagers with Parental Reports and Healthcare Providers' Records in the 2019 National Immunization Survey-Teen.

Background: Relatively little is known about social inequality in human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination among teenagers in the United States. This study aims to investigate whether there is a social disparity in HPV vaccination among teenagers and if so, whether it can differ according to the source of teen vaccination information (parental reports and provider records). Methods: We used the data from the 2019 National Immunization Survey-Teen (NIS-Teen; 42,668 teenagers, aged 13–17) including parent-reported vaccination status. Among them, 18,877 teenagers had adequate provider-reported vaccination records. Two socioeconomic status (SES) measures were used: mother’s education and annual family income. Multivariate logistic analyses were conducted. Results: False negatives of parental reports against provider records were more than two times higher (p < 0.001) in low-SES teens than in high-SES teens. In both SES measures, the proportion of HPV-unvaccinated teenagers was lowest at the highest SES level in analyses with parental reports. However, it was the opposite in analyses with provider records. Interestingly, regardless of the vaccination information source, the HPV unvaccinated rate was highest in the middle-SES teens (>12 years, non-college graduates; above poverty level, but not >USD 75 K). Conclusions: Significant social inequality in HPV vaccination among teenagers exists in the United States. The pattern of social inequality in HPV vaccination can be distorted when only parent-reported vaccination information is used.

Prenatal air pollution exposure and adverse birth outcomes: windows of susceptibility and socio-economic inequalities

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Air pollution exposure has been associated with adverse birth outcomes. However, few studies have investigated potential gestational windows of susceptibility. Further, the extent to which this association differs across socioeconomic status (SES) is underexplored. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate windows of susceptibility and explore potential social inequalities in the association between prenatal air pollution exposure and adverse birth outcomes. METHODS: We used a Spanish national-wide birth registry study which includes all newborns born between 2009 and 2010 (n=353,750) and whose mothers resided in the peninsula or the Balearic Islands. Maternal exposures to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 µm (PM10), 2.5 µm (PM2.5), and 2.5-10µm (PMcoarse) were estimated at the residential address throughout pregnancy on a daily basis using spatiotemporal land use machine-learning models. Birth outcomes (i.e., birth weight, gestational age, prematurity, and small or large for gestational age) and SES characteristics of the parents (i.e., education, occupation, ethnicity, area-level deprivation index) were obtained from the registry. Confounder adjusted associations between pollutant concentrations and birth outcomes, windows of susceptibility, and SES disparities were examined using regression models. RESULTS:Higher air pollution concentrations were associated with lower birth weight and increased prematurity [e.g., 20 gram decrease in birth weight (95%CI -25.3, -15.2) per each 10μg/m3 increase in PM10]. Results revealed that exposure during the third trimester were driving these associations and that effect on birth weight and prematurity was greater in magnitude for children from low SES families. Air pollution exposure was not associated with being small or large for gestational age. CONCLUSIONS:Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy was associated with adverse birth outcomes, with the third trimester of pregnancy being the most susceptible window. A pattern of social inequality was observed in this association, with a greater impact on newborns from families with fewer resources. KEYWORDS: Air pollution, birth outcomes, socio-economic inequalities, windows of susceptibility, pregnancy

Down with Covid: patterns of electoral turnout in the 2020 French local elections

ABSTRACT This article contributes to the ongoing research effort assessing the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on turnout in the municipal elections held in France in March and June 2020. Holding the election in pandemic times caused turnout to drop significantly, but unevenly so across the electorate. We use both aggregate electoral results at the polling station level and individual-level data drawn from a survey we conducted between June and July 2020. If fear of contagion partly explains voters’ abstention, this article highlights the contradictory effects of the pandemic on the socioeconomic determinants of voter turnout. On the one hand, the variation in turnout levels by age, which usually is quite significant in France, has considerably decreased in 2020. On the other hand, the differences in turnout levels according to the voters’ economic and social status have been reinforced during the pandemic. This analysis of local individual data shows that the health crisis has generated important consequences also on the patterns of social inequalities in political representation.

Superdiversity: reconfiguration of cultural complexity of the contemporary contexts

Conceptualization of the social-cultural contexts of the 21st century in terms of superdiversity implies diversification of the current diversity due to the changing patterns of global migration and transnationalization. The concept of superdiversity introduced by S. Vertovec means a new way for describing and analyzing contemporary social and cultural processes. The author considers three interrelated aspects of superdiversity: descriptive, methodological and practical (political). As a rule, superdiversity implies new immigrants who move from a larger number of countries than before, including those that did not have colonial relations with the places attracting immigrants. The emerging contexts of superdiversity are not limited to the growth of diversity in terms of ethnicity - a multidimensional approach to superdiversity allows it to reflect patterns of social inequality, creolization and the experience of social contacts determined by diversification of migration channels and social statuses of immigrants, of their ethnic, gender and age characteristics. Under the permanent mobility, multiple identities and diverse transnational practices, not everything can be represented in terms of we-they, majority-minority, inside-outside. Therefore, superdiversity is not related to the Other or minorities but presents a new framework for all residents of the country, regardless of their origin. Moreover, in local contexts, cultural diversity is increasingly perceived as a norm. Thus, the concept of superdiversity contributes to the development of a new cultural narrative that would replace the outdated concepts of assimilation and multiculturalism.

Mismos caminos, distintos destinos. Explorando el efecto de las trayectorias educativas y del origen social en las transiciones hacia la educación postobligatoria

Las transiciones a la educación postobligatoria son un elemento clave para comprender las desigualdades educativas y sociales. La elección de los estudios postobligatorios por parte de los y las jóvenes está mediada por patrones de desigualdad social, así como por sus trayectorias y experiencias escolares previas. Partiendo de este marco, este artículo responde al objetivo de comprender de qué forma las trayectorias escolares de los y las jóvenes en la etapa de la educación obligatoria contribuyen a explicar sus elecciones acerca del itinerario postobligatorio. Más allá de un análisis que incorpore los factores descriptivos de las trayectorias escolares -como la repetición de curso o el rendimiento académico- el análisis incorpora también las experiencias de los y las jóvenes en su paso por la escuela. Para ello se utilizan los datos de un cuestionario realizado durante el curso 2018-2019 a N=1380 jóvenes en su primer curso de educación postobligatoria. Se ha realizado un análisis factorial y un posterior análisis de conglomerados –clúster–, que resultan en la construcción de cuatro tipos de trayectorias escolares: los/as “buenos/as”, los/as “esforzados/as”, los/as “liantes/as”, y los/as “desplazados/as”. Los resultados muestran cómo estas trayectorias escolares, mediadas por el origen social, influyen en las elecciones postobligatorias. En definitiva, el artículo pone de relieve la importancia ejercida por la trayectoria escolar y aporta una nueva evidencia a la desmitificación de la retórica existente sobre la “libre elección” en la transición a los estudios postobligatorios

Social inequalities in overweight and obesity in 26 European countries

Abstract Background Previous studies have shown inequalities in overweight and obesity in disfavor of the socially disadvantaged groups. This study examines the extent of these inequalities in 26 European countries. Methods Data from the 2017 EU Statistics on Income and living Conditions (EU-SILC) were used (18 years and older, n = 482,595). A body mass index of 25.0 to 29.9 kg/m2 was classified as overweight and 30.0 and more as obese. Educational level (EL) was used as socioeconomic indicator. Generalized linear models were fitted to compute low-versus high absolute (RD) and relative (RR) inequality. Absolute inequality amplitude (RDA) was calculated as RD/Prevalence. Results Among men, average EU inequalities for overweight were slightly in disfavor of the low educated (RR = 1.05, RDA=5%). A mixed inequality pattern was observed across countries, as the risk of overweight was higher among high educated men in most Eastern countries, in contrast to other parts of Europe (RR from 0.74 to 1.19, RDA from -27% to 20%). Male obesity showed more pronounced inequalities (RR = 1.22, RDA=18%), and a consistent pattern of higher risk among the low educated and wide variation across countries (RR from 1.20 to 2.18, RDA from 16% to 49%). Among women, significant inequalities in overweight were observed (RR = 1.23, RDA=21%), with a consistent pattern of higher risk among the lowest EL, and substantial variation across countries (RR from 1.06 to 1.53, RDA from 7% to 36%). Inequalities were even larger for female obesity, with average RR and RDA reaching 1.49 and 35%, and wider variation (RR from 1.35 to 2.77, RDA from 12% to 88%). Conclusions Social inequalities in weight status are widespread in Europe, but vary substantially between countries. Inequalities are larger among women. For male overweight, a reverse inequality is observed in most Eastern countries. This study allows countries to benchmark the inequalities observed nationally to the situation in other EU countries. Key messages Social inequalities in weight status are widespread in Europe. The pattern of social inequalities in overweight and obesity varies substantially by country and gender.

Pengaruh Pandemi COVID-19 terhadap Kelompok Masyarakat Ekonomi Kelas Bawah

The economic cycle plummeted because of the C-19 pandemic outbreak, how then the working class people who are required to maintain health and break the chain of C-19 development at the same time are forced to work to continue their survival. How many workers because of this epidemic they are infected and then laid off, the pattern of social inequality is very clear in social life, where workers who are actually in the lower class category must continue to do work directly while the elites work in a relaxed and safe manner from their homes (WFH). Every day cases of C-19 infection increase the government's policy regarding large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) is considered very ineffective because it cannot answer the confusion caused by this system in other fields.) Things like this then contract the thinking of the working class to resist by not believing or not being afraid of the C-19 epidemic on the pretext of religion "death has been determined by God" and other justifications, therefore we as a society must really be aware of the dangers and handling of the outbreak.

Equidad en el acceso y la graduación en la Educación Superior: Reflexiones desde el Cono Sur

El análisis de la equidad de los sistemas de educación superior que se han masificado en América Latina supone prestar especial atención a las chances que tienen los y las jóvenes de los sectores de menores ingresos de acceder y obtener un título. La región del Cono Sur constituye en tal sentido un caso de interés para apreciar cuáles son algunos resultados en términos de acceso y graduación de la aplicación, por un lado, de políticas selectivas de admisión, diversificación institucional y privatización (Chile) y, por el otro, acceso gratuito y sin restricciones en el sector público, en un entorno institucional diversificado en un caso (Argentina) o con baja diversificación institucional en el otro (Uruguay). El análisis comparativo de estos países revela la importancia de analizar no sólo las políticas públicas e institucionales de acceso, las fuentes de financiamiento y la evolución de los indicadores sobre acceso y graduación en cada caso, sino también lo que ocurre en términos de la diferenciación institucional, su asociación con la estratificación social y con la asignación de prestigio. Así los indicadores muestran mejoras en el tiempo, pero en contextos institucionales que mantienen ciertos patrones de desigualdad social.

Social Class Inequalities in Tooth-brushing Time: The Role of Material, Behavioral, Psychosocial, and Workplace Environmental Factors among the South Korean Population

Background : Inequality in health should be prevented. The aims of this study were to assess inequalities prevalent in tooth-brushing after lunch (TAL) and in tooth-brushing before sleep (TBS) among Koreans using the NMSC indicator and to assess the role of material, health behavioral, psychosocial, and workplace environmental (WPE) determinants in associating the indicator with tooth brushing activities. Methods : The data were from the 4 th KNHANES with 6,710 workers and entrepreneurs from 19 to 54 year old , who were grouped into 12 social class positions. TAL and TBS were the outcomes. Data analysis was performed using a logistic regression sequence. The results were reported as OR and 95% CI. Results : The proportion of owner groups was higher for TBS than for TAL, whereas that of worker groups was higher for TAL than for TBS. The highest probability was shown by expert workers (TAL) and capitalists (TBS) among various models. WPE factors had the highest explanatory power for both . Conclusions : Non-gradient social class disparities related to tooth brushing were recognized for the Korean adults. The behavior of brushing teeth at two different times revealed a different pattern of social inequality regarding oral health. Thus, workplace-based o ral health promotion programs should be implemented .

Introduction: social policies and social inequalities in contemporary Turkey

Turkey undertook a series of social policy reforms in the 2000s, including a large-scale transformation in health care, recalibration of its pension system, the introduction of a new industrial relations regime, reconstruction of its labour market, the launch of a wide range of social assistance programs and alterations in social care arrangements. This wide range of social policy changes and their impact on the patterns of social inequalities in Turkey has created a highly fruitful research agenda that has attracted the considerable interest of academics from different social science disciplines. This special issue contributes to this literature by offering a critical analysis of recent social policy changes and the changing patterns of social inequalities covering an impressive range of issues: social care, child labour, youth unemployment, young women's employment, the role of faith-based organizations in social welfare and the pension reform. This introduction to this special issue briefly reviews the history of social policy development in Turkey and scholarly debates on the direction of social policy changes in the last decade. Then the article examines contemporary policy trends and the patterns of social inequalities in three policy areas, namely, employment and income generation, education, and housing, which are also selected to reveal the changing character of social policy arrangements and to complement the comprehensive picture that this special issue sketches.

‘It is like school sometimes’: friendship and sociality on university campuses and patterns of social inequality

ABSTRACTWhilst most social and educational research on friendship focuses on children at school, it remains a crucially important factor for students in higher education – and can play a key role in the maintenance, exacerbation or subversion of dominant forms of social inequalities. This paper explores the complexities of such dynamics in relation to friendship and social life at university, utilising data from an in-depth qualitative study of HE students at a UK campus university. Students stressed the importance of friendship for comfort and a sense of ‘belonging’. Nevertheless, students describe the continuation of cliques, hierarchies, and exclusions that are more commonly linked to sociality at school. Despite the conception that friendship is an individual experience, it is very much influenced by social positionings such as gender, class, age, and ethnicity – having significant repercussions for students in relation to happiness and wellbeing at university.

The timing of a time out: the gap year in life course context

Based on biographical interviews from a three-generation study in Norway, this article examines the place of the contemporary ‘gap year’ within life course transition trajectories and intergenerational relations embedded in wider patterns of social inequality. Under the heading of taking a gap year, young people on academic transition trajectories are often granted a time out after upper secondary, during which they can recuperate from competitive school experiences and resolve uncertainties about which type of higher education to pursue. For those following vocational transition trajectories, in contrast, a gap year appears irrelevant and out of the question. The timing of their educational decisions in the life course does not coincide with arrangements for a legitimate break. Whereas a gap year before university may be seen as understandable and even beneficial, a person taking a break before or during vocational education is more likely to be described as a ‘dropout’ or an ‘early school leaver’. Based on empirical analysis, the article discusses similarities and differences between contemporary gap years in Norway and what Erik Erikson described as the institutional moratorium. Young people’s access to the moratorium of a gap year appears to be a privilege unequally distributed in the population.

Neo-Marxian social class inequalities in self-rated health among the employed in South Korea: the role of material, behavioral, psychosocial, and workplace environmental factors

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to examine the pattern of social inequality in self-rated health among the employed using the Wright’s social class location indicator, and to assess the roles of material, behavioral, psychosocial, and workplace environmental factors as mediating factors in explaining the social class inequality in self-rated health in South Korea.MethodsThis study used data from the 4th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2009. Study subjects included the employed population of 4392 men and 3309 women aged 19–64 years. Subjects were classified into twelve social class positions based on the Wright’s social class map. The health outcome was self-rated health. Material, psychosocial, behavioral, and workplace environmental factors were considered as potential mediators in explaining social class health inequality. We calculated prevalence ratios of poor self-rated health according to social class, adjusted for age and mediating factors using Poisson regression models.ResultsNonskilled workers and petty bourgeoisie reported worse self-rated health than other social classes among men. The age-adjusted prevalence of petty bourgeoisie and nonskilled workers were about four-fold greater than that of managers. Expert supervisors in the contradictory class location had a greater prevalence of poor self-rated health than experts in men. In women, the prevalence of poor self-rated health was greater in most social classes than their male counterparts, while the differences among social classes within women were not statistically significant. Workplace environmental factors explained the social class inequality by from 24 to 31% in nonskilled and skilled workers and nonskilled supervisors, respectively, and material factors showed an explanatory ability of about 8% for both nonskilled workers and petty bourgeoisie in men.ConclusionsWe showed the inequality in self-rated health according to the Wright’s social class in an industrialized Asian country. Policy efforts to improve workplace environments in nonskilled and skilled workers and nonskilled supervisors would have a moderate effect on reducing the magnitude of social class inequality in self-rated health. Furthermore, the means to improve power relations in the workplace should be devised to further reduce the social class inequalities in health.

Gender, Occupation and First Birth: Do ‘Career Men’ Delay First Birth Too?

In the period following the turn of the Century European total fertility rates (TFR) dropped to well below replacement. Work examining this highlights that cohort postponement in births contributes to low TFRs. It is generally recognised that women in more advantaged occupations often postpone childbearing in contrast to those in less advantaged occupational groups. However, relatively little research has been conducted on men in similar terms. This paper contrasts the timing of first birth by occupational class between men and women using individual level data in a case study of Scotland. The data are an extract from the Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS). This provides a 5.3% sample of the population of Scotland from the 1991 Census. The research applies the Cox proportional hazard model to estimate the speed to first birth during a period of observation between 1991 and 2006. Class is measured using NS-SEC 8 class analytic version. The model controls marital status, educational attainment, raised religion and urban-rural geography. It is found that ‘career men’ who occupy more advantaged occupational positions do not delay first birth in contrast to men in other occupational categories. This is in contrast to the well-known phenomenon of career women who have later childbearing. Our analysis shows that gender inequalities in how the social structure influences childbearing offer an avenue of explanation for wider patterns of social inequality.

Partnership and Race in Mission Encounters in Tanzania

Abstract I examine racial and ethnic dynamics in encounters between Tanzanian church personnel, and visiting American partners or short-term missionaries. Contemporary mission work in Tanzania is situated within a historical context that includes, but is not ultimately determined by, race or ethnicity. Several kinds of engagements and partnerships exist between American religious organisations and the Tanzanian church, which I describe ethnographically, and discuss how encounters between Tanzanian Christians and American visitors become ethnically inflected. Two cases—encounters with Maasai and Chagga people respectively—provide a comparative illustration. Finally, I address the role played by new types of partnership between Tanzanian and American religious organisations, and how themes of hospitality and identities as guests and hosts contribute to encounters between American and Tanzanian Christians. In these encounters, multiple areas of shifting meanings of race come together, resulting in disjunctures of understanding. I suggest that these disjunctures, coupled with the guest-host dynamic and the lack of in-depth knowledge characteristic of short-term mission in general, reveal patterns of social inequality and tensions inherent in the changing context of Christian mission.