Browsing by Author "Ronald Czaja, Committee Member"

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    Illuminating Individual-Level Sources of Crime for African Americans and Whites: An Examination of Four Theories
    (2006-11-17) Latimore, Traronda; William R. Smith, Committee Member; Ronald Czaja, Committee Member; Charles R. Tittle, Committee Chair; Donald Tomaskovic-Devey, Committee Member; Catherine Zimmer, Committee Member; Melvin Thomas, Committee Member
    This research addresses two important theoretical questions in the sociological study of race and crime: (1) If racial differences exist between African Americans and Whites, can self-control, general strain, social bonding, and social learning theories account for the differences? (i.e., the "racial gap" issue) and (2) Are the processes specified by these theories the same for African Americans and Whites? (i.e., the "racial generality" issue). Using data from randomly selected African American and White adults who live in Wake County, North Carolina, several answers to these questions are suggested. Concerning the "racial gap" issue, this study finds no significant differences in offending between African Americans and Whites. Concerning the "racial generality" issue, the results offer considerable insight into the individual-level sources of crime for both groups. Collectively, the findings offer limited support for social bonding theory and mixed support for self-control, general strain, and social learning theories. The implications of these results, particularly as they pertain to criminological theory and social policy, are also discussed.
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    It Seems So Simple Now: Complementary and Alternative Medicine as a Resource for Sense-Making
    (2009-04-29) Brenton, Joslyn Jane; Ronald Czaja, Committee Member; Maxine Thompson, Committee Member; Michael Schwalbe, Committee Chair
    ABSTRACT BRENTON, JOSLYN. "It All Seems So Simple Now" : The Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Sense-Making. (Under the direction of Michael Schwalbe). The practice of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the United States has grown rapidly since the mid-1970s. But why are people attracted to these alternative practices and therapies? Drawing on social-psychological theory, this study explores people's CAM use in the context of the shortcomings of conventional medical encounters. In-depth interviews with 20 CAM users reveal that people use two key concepts found in virtually all types of CAM, mind-body connection and vitalism, as resources for therapeutic sense-making. People use CAM to make sense of physical problems such as debilitating back injuries, as well as non-physical problems, such as divorce and eating disorders. A gender pattern in CAM use is also examined. Drawing upon feminist theory, this study makes a significant contribution to a much needed understanding of how and why women's and men's CAM use differ. Women's CAM use is seen as an attempt to reinterpret the conditions that cause their suffering, while men's CAM use is seen as an attempt to change the conditions that cause their problems.
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    Keeping the Faith: Religious Transmission and Apostasy in Generation X
    (2006-04-17) Nooney, Jennifer Elizabeth; Ronald Wimberley, Committee Member; Ronald Czaja, Committee Member; Catherine Zimmer, Committee Member; Eric Woodrum, Committee Chair
    This research examines two social processes determining the religiosity of Generation Xers. One is the transmission of religious affiliation and behaviors from Boomer parents to their Generation X children. The other is apostasy -- the process of disengagement from religion -- measured over time as Xers aged into young adulthood. The study flows from and informs several theories of religious change at societal and individual levels, including secularization theory and the related cultural broadening theory, social learning theory, and rational choice theory. The study also speaks to questions of generational continuity and change. Hypotheses are tested using nationally representative data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Analyses show that many of the potent predictors of transmission and apostasy found in past research continue to be strong predictors among members of Generation X. High levels of parental involvement in religion were associated with more effective transmission of religious affiliation. Other factors facilitating transmission included two-parent household structures, religious homogamy among parents, good parent-child relationships, and conservative Protestant or Catholic background. Lower levels of apostasy were associated with high levels of parental and adolescent involvement in 1995, good parent-child relationships, college attendance, and well-educated parents. Results show that Generation X adolescents are adopting the religion of their parents at relatively high rates and that their rates of apostasy compare favorably to those of their Boomer parents during the 1970s. Support was found for each of the perspectives on individual religious change except cultural broadening theory, and by association, the societal-level perspective of secularization theory. None of the results suggest that college education -- a broadening experience that may challenge students' world views -- contributes to apostasy. This research shows that there is no reason to suspect that the religious subsystem of American society is in serious danger owing to a high rate of religious defection in Generation X.
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    Learning Community Participation and Sense of Community
    (2006-10-16) Buck, Alison R.; Randall Thomson, Committee Member; Maxine Atkinson, Committee Chair; Ronald Czaja, Committee Member
    To perform well and persist at universities, students need to feel socially and academically integrated. Many universities have instituted learning communities to promote both types of involvement. I explore whether participants in learning communities develop a greater sense of community in the classroom and the university than non-participants. My sample consists of 273 first year students in 31 small seminar classes in a variety of disciplines. My comparison group is 73 first-year students taking introductory sociology courses. I also control for the effects of race, gender, family income, residence type and course subject. This study represents one of the many ways that sociology can contribute to the understanding of college student behavior
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    Living in Sin, In Sickness and In Health? An Investigation of Cohabitation, Marriage, and Health
    (2009-04-15) Marks, Jennifer; Theodore N. Greenstein, Committee Chair; Virginia Aldige' Hiday, Committee Member; Feinian Chen, Committee Member; Ronald Czaja, Committee Member
    The physical and psychological health benefits of marriage have been well-documented in the family and medical sociology literature. Given the recent increases in the prevalence of cohabitation, this research asks whether marriage still confers the same health benefits, and whether cohabitation might do the same. Using two waves of a nationally representative sample, the effects of union type on eleven health outcomes were examined, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally; processual factors such as social support, health behaviors, and socioeconomic status were also examined. Union type was not a consistent predictor of health outcomes: spouses appear somewhat better off than singles, but major differences between cohabitation and marriage were not found. Further, the health benefits of marriage are primarily afforded to men, and the benefits of both union types are more pronounced for younger persons. Social support was a consistent and positive predictor of physical and psychological health, although men may receive greater benefits than women. Health behavior measures were not effective predictors of health outcomes, but this may be due to measurement issues. Socioeconomic status measures were also consistent predictors of physical and psychological health, although an individual’s employment was more often significant than total household income. Additional analyses were conducted to test the “selection hypothesis†– that healthier people are more likely to enter unions. Results are supportive of selective effects for marriage, but not nearly as much so for cohabitation, implying that perhaps different mate selection processes are at work for the two union types. Theoretical, research, and policy implications are discussed.
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    Theoretical Improvement of Braithwaite's Reintegrative Shaming Theory: Specifying Contingencies for the Process of Shaming
    (2005-08-12) Botchkovar, Ekaterina V.; Rodney Engen, Committee Member; Stacy De Coster, Committee Member; Charles R. Tittle, Committee Chair; Ronald Czaja, Committee Member
    Reintegrative shaming theory has been one of the most undertested and the least empirically supported criminological theories. Drawing mainly on the predictions from self-control theory, general strain theory, and deterrence theory, I attempt to improve Braithwaite's shaming theory by identifying conditions under which its causal process might be more effective in predicting misbehavior. Using data from the first self-report crime and deviance survey ever conducted in Russia, I put shaming theory to the test in its original and elaborated versions. In line with previous research, the study findings indicate that, contrary to the theory's predictions, being reintegratively shamed is positively associated with projected deviance while participating in gossip is unrelated to projected involvement in deviant behavior. While disintegrative shaming was found to be positively associated with future misbehavior, this relationship was not statistically significant controlling for past deviance reports. Interdependency does not seem to enhance the effects of shaming variables. Contrary to shaming theory theory, although anticipated feelings of guilt and fear of losing respect from others for potential misbehavior predict projections of future misconduct, they do not seem to be the links between shaming experiences and projected misconduct. While some of the hypothesized contingencies seemed to condition the effects of shaming on projected deviance, none of these effects were consistent for all types of deviant behavior in this study. These results, in conjunction with the accumulated body of research, suggest that reintegrative shaming theory may be in need of further revision. Suggestions for the future refinement of shaming theory are provided. Overall, this study contributes to the literature in two ways. First, it strengthens shaming theory by specifying some of the boundaries for its explanatory scope. Second, this work provides an extensive empirical test to the original and elaborated statements of shaming theory using data from an unusual locale.