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Purpose – We examine trends in religious attendance by educational group, with an emphasis on the “moderately educated”: individuals with a high school degree but not a four-year college degree.

Methodology – We conduct multivariate ordinary least-squares (OLS) regression models using data from the General Social Survey (from 1972 to 2010) and the National Survey of Family Growth (from 1982 to 2008).

Findings – We find that religious attendance among moderately educated whites has declined relative to attendance among college-educated whites. Economic characteristics, current and past family characteristics, and attitudes toward premarital sex, each explain part of this differential decline.

Implications – Religion is becoming increasingly deinstitutionalized among whites with moderate levels of education, which suggests further social marginalization of this group. Furthermore, trends in the labor force, American family life, and attitudes appear to have salient ramifications for organized religion. Sociologists of religion need to once again attend to social stratification in religious life.

The association between religion and material well-being is fundamental to research on inequality and stratification. Broadly considered, this association includes questions about how religious affiliation and religiosity are associated with work behaviors, education, income, wealth, and related family processes. Early social sciences debated if and how these traits and outcomes are related and offered important insight into the mechanisms that might explain empirical patterns (Simmel, 1997; Sombart, 1911; Weber, 1905/1930). However, the religious landscape and the mechanisms creating religion and well-being have both changed dramatically since the early days of the social sciences. The proliferation of Protestant denominations, the changing role of Catholics, and the increased presence of other religious traditions are beyond the scope of these early works. Moreover, the relationship between religion and stratification is no longer a function of large-scale shifts in the mode of production but rather reflects changing individual and group approaches to human capital, work, and saving. In the 1960s, sociologists revived these debates, but empirical challenges and a narrowing of the discussion to focus on Protestant–Catholic differences weakened and ultimately ended the literature's momentum (Broom & Glenn, 1966; Glenn & Hyland, 1967; Laumann, 1969; Lazerwitz & Rowitz, 1964; Lenski, 1961).

Low-income mothers who use welfare benefits are frequently portrayed as “faces of dependency” in the prevailing public discourse on America’s poor. This discourse, often anchored in race, class, and gender stereotypes, perpetuates the assumption that mothers on welfare lack skills to employ constructive agency in securing family resources. Scholars, however, have suggested that their welfare program use is embedded in complex survival strategies to make ends meet. While such studies emphasize maternal inventiveness in garnering necessary resources and support, this literature devotes little attention to the costs of these strategies on maternal power as well as how mothers negotiate gender and the oppression that usually accompanies such support. Feminist scholars in particular point to the importance of exploring these issues in the contexts of mothers’ romantic unions and client–caseworker relationships. Guided by an interpersonal, institutional, and intersectional framework, the authors explored this issue using longitudinal ethnographic data on 19 Mexican-immigrant, low-income mothers from the Three-City Study. Results showed mothers negotiated gender and power by simultaneously “doing,” “undoing,” and/or “redoing” gender using three strategies that emerged from the data: symbolic reliance, selective reliance, and creative nondisclosure. Implications of these findings for the future research are discussed.

This chapter illuminates the central role of kin networks and the routines they construct to maintain family ties and support young fathers in jail. Recent research demonstrates variation in incarcerated fathers’ contact with children. There is less focus on variation in contact with extended kin networks and how kin networks contribute to father–child contact during an incarceration period. Forty-three incarcerated young fathers (ages 19–26) in three Southern California jails, 79% of whom self-identified as Latino, were interviewed to explore fathers’ descriptions of family contact during jail. Incarcerated young fathers rely on kin networks to coordinate routines for contact during jail, including father–child contact. Father inclusion in family life during jail depends not only on the mother of the child but – perhaps integrally – extended paternal kin. Available paternal kin can facilitate connectedness between children and incarcerated fathers in family contexts of complicated parental circumstances (e.g., parental relationship dissolution). Family members mitigate family challenges to maintain ties despite carceral policies meant to isolate fathers from families and children. A continued focus on kin networks and their role in maintaining family connectedness is crucial to understanding and reducing the collateral consequences to family members and incarcerated persons following release from jail.

Despite hospitals’ efforts to reduce health care-associated infections (HAIs), success rates vary. We studied how leadership practices might impact these efforts.

We conducted eight case studies at hospitals pursuing central line-associated blood stream infection (CLABSI)-prevention initiatives. At each hospital, we interviewed senior leaders, clinical leaders, and line clinicians (n=194) using a semi-structured interview protocol. All interviews were transcribed and iteratively analyzed.

We found that the presence of local clinical champions was perceived across organizations and interviewees as a key factor contributing to HAI-prevention efforts, with champions playing important roles as coordinators, cheerleaders, and advocates for the initiatives. Top-level support was also critical, with elements such as visibility, commitment, and clear expectations valued across interviewees.

Results suggest that leadership plays an important role in the successful implementation of HAI-prevention interventions. Improving our understanding of nonclinical differences across health systems may contribute to efforts to eliminate HAIs.

The purpose of this study is to examine cross-sectional associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and mental health among police officers.

The sample was from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress study data (132 male and 51 female officers). Standardized surveys were administered to participants. Regression coefficients were obtained from models adjusted for age, sex, race and alcohol intake. All statistical tests were performed using a statistical significance level at p < 0.05.

Regression analyses showed significant positive associations between ACEs and mental health (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder [PTSD]: β = 1.70, p < 0.001 and depressive symptoms: β = 1.29, p < 0.001). Resiliency significantly modified the association between ACEs and PTSD. A positive and significant association was observed among officers with lower resiliency (β = 2.65, p < 0.001). The association between ACEs and PTSD was stronger among male officers compared to females (β = 2.66, p < 0.001 vs. β = 0.59, p ≤ 0.248, respectively).

Child abuse and development of PTSD or depression could not be traced through time as this was a cross-sectional study. Recall bias may affect results.

PTSD and depression associated with ACEs can affect the interpretation of threat and can exacerbate emotional regulation in officers. An inquiry should be expanded regarding work assignments of victimized officers, such as child exploitation and pornography investigation.

There are few studies on ACEs and the mental health of police officers. The present study is among the first to associate multiple police mental health issues with ACEs.