Family Life Decisions and Well Being
This nationwide telephone interview project of women between the ages of 25-45 is designed to help researchers understand how decisions to remain childless or to have children affect women’s lives. Recent advances in medical research have provided many new ways for women to get pregnant, but little is known about the social impact of these medical procedures and decision making. We are also interested in the decision process for childless women and the consequences of childlessness for their well-being and their marriages. By asking a randomly selected sample of women about their family situations, we will be able to better understand these areas. This five-year research project is being conducted conjointly with researchers at Pennsylvania State University and is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Over 5,000 women and their partners will be interviewed during the first year of the study. Three years later, all childless women and women who desire children will be reinterviewed to determine the consequences of infertility on their lives. The goal is to provide a public use data set for other researchers who are interested in issues of fertility, infertility and well-being among adults.
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Dr. Lynn White Professor Ph.D. University of Washington (Seattle) Areas of Specialization: Email: lwhite3@unl.edu
Dr. Julia McQuillan Assistant Professor Ph.D. University of Connecticut Areas of Specialization: Email: jmcquillan2@unl.edu
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Substance Abuse and Mental Health among Rural Latino Adolescents Principal Investigator: Dan R. Hoyt, PhD. Department of Sociology Co-Investigator: Rosalie A. Torres Stone, PhD. Department of Sociology This project explored the meaning of culture among Latino youth living in rural Nebraska communities. As little previous research has been conducted examining how to measure and test ethnic identity and cultural attainment, focus groups were conducted to help gather data to begin the process of developing a survey to validly measure these constructs. Five focus groups were conducted in two rural communities in the spring of 2002. Rural Nebraska Latino youth between the ages of 12 and 16 were asked to discuss a variety of topics including what culture means to them and what types of images they think of when asked about their culture. As many participants had varying degrees of English and Spanish speaking abilities, focus groups were conducted by bi-lingual facilitators. All groups were tape recorded and transcribed to be used for coding purposes and development of a measure of the meaning of culture. The long range goal of this research is to provide information for how culturally-informed prevention and treatment programs may have to be designed to address differences across contrasting cultural contexts. |
Dr. Dan R. Hoyt Professor and Director of the Bureau of Sociological Research Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Areas of Specialization: Email: dhoyt2@unl.edu Website: http://www.danrhoyt.com
Dr. Rosalie Torres Stone Assistant Professor Ph.D. University of Connecticut Areas of Specialization: Email: rstone2@unl.edu
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Worksite Survey of Policy and Environmental Factors Influencing Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Tobacco. Nebraska Health and Human Services System Cardiovascular Health Program Due to the large amount of time that many Nebraskans spend at work, worksites provide unique opportunities for public health interventions. However, there is currently no data available to provide baseline measures related to physical activity, nutrition and tobacco use. The purpose of this study is to assist the Cardiovascular Health Program of the Nebraska Health and Human Services System in focusing its efforts on the areas of greatest need in order to increase the physical activity levels and healthy eating habits of Nebraska residents in hopes of cardiovascular disease prevention. A cross-sectional self-administered mail questionnaire will be sent to approximately 3,000 Nebraska worksites. Worksites will be sampled from a variety of industry types and range in the number of Nebraskans employed. Once data is collected (spring of 2004), a report will be prepared to provide a guide to planning interventions and baseline estimates to chart intervention success
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The Nutrition Study: A Staged Base Intervention to Increase Fruit and Vegetable Intake of Young Adults Primary Investigator: Dr. Nancy Betts PhD., Dept. of Nutritional Science & Dietetics Research Manager: Jaime Ruud, Dept. of Nutritional Science & Dietetics The purpose of the Nutrition study is to find out about the nutritional habits of young adults, ages 19 to 24, in the United States today. Some of the questions included in this telephone survey will ask the respondents how often and what kinds of fruits and vegetables they eat, as well as, what types of things influence their eating behaviors. Research is being funded by the USDA (The United States Department of Agriculture). One thousand 19 to 24 old adults were randomly selected from a nationwide list to participate and a letter with a $2.00 incentive to encourage respondents to complete the study was sent. Those who agreed to participate will be contacted three to four times by telephone over the course of a year. All respondents are compensated for their time and participation with $5.00. The main goal of this study is to understand eating habits and reasons for lack of nutrition within the young adult population. |
Nancy Betts |
