Search Results

Author: Ash-Houchen, William
Resulting in 7 citations.
1. Ash-Houchen, William
Strain, Depression, and Adolescent Substance Use: A Temporal-Ordering Analysis
Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, Texas Woman's University, 2018
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT)
Keyword(s): Bullying/Victimization; Depression (see also CESD); General Strain Theory; Homelessness; Parental Marital Status; Stress; Substance Use; Trauma/Death in family

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Using an integrated theoretical model drawing from Agnew's general strain theory and Pearlin's stress-process models, this study sought longitudinal associations between stressful events, and three outcome measures: depression, illicit substance use, and polysubstance use.

Data for this dissertation were drawn from five waves (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010) of interview data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997) consisting of 16,868 person-waves constructed from 6,392 adolescents enrolled in the study. Using a temporal ordering data analysis technique, stressful events from a previous interview wave were utilized as explanatory variables in predicting current depression and substance use. Other variables in the analysis, like social support, were believed to be acting contemporaneously to reduce depression and substance use. Using generalized least squares regression (GLS) for panel data for depression and generalized estimating equations (GEE) for panel data in STATA for the dichotomous substance use outcomes, results indicated that stressful events measured in the past were significantly associated with current depression, and with current substance use, controlling even for prior depression and substance use. Results also indicated that social support exerts a protective effect against the strain-depression and strain-substance use relationship. Race-specific and gender-specific modeling of each outcome demonstrated marked differences among relevant factors, with gender-specific models better explaining depression, and race-specific models better predicting substance use. Moderation analysis of relevant predictors and these key social statuses indicated that several salient and significant differences existed among the effects of the explanatory variables. Theoretical and policy contributions from this study are related to empirical support for the inclusion of depression as a negative affective state in general strain theory, while also reflecting important social structural conditions, like poverty, in predicting these relationships.

Bibliography Citation
Ash-Houchen, William. Strain, Depression, and Adolescent Substance Use: A Temporal-Ordering Analysis. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, Texas Woman's University, 2018.
2. Ash-Houchen, William
Lo, Celia C.
Racial/Ethnic Differences in Illicit Substance Use: A Temporal-Ordered Test of General Strain Theory
Journal of Drug Issues 50,2 (April 2020): 209-230.
Also: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022042620904707
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: College of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Keyword(s): Bullying/Victimization; Depression (see also CESD); Ethnic Differences; General Strain Theory; Homelessness; Household Influences; Racial Differences; Substance Use; Trauma/Death in family

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This longitudinal study applied general strain theory to elaborate specific stressful events' lagged effects on risk of illicit substance use among non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, and Hispanic adolescents, and relatedly evaluated the moderating role of race/ethnicity in explaining illicit use. Data were drawn from five waves representing 9 years (2002-2010) of the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), totaling 16,868 person-waves, and we engaged temporal ordering and generalized estimating equations (GEE) for panel data in STATA for data analysis. Results showed specific events affected risk of illicit substance use differentially across racial/ethnic groups. Strains commonly encountered in disorganized spaces affected non-Hispanic White's risk. Measured strains did not affect non-Hispanic Black respondents and findings for Hispanic respondents point to the family as a possible strain. Results indicated legal drug use and depression increased risk of illicit use greatly. Race/ethnicity's role in illicit use's associations with several variables illustrates differential implications for racial/ethnic groups in policy and preventive interventions.
Bibliography Citation
Ash-Houchen, William and Celia C. Lo. "Racial/Ethnic Differences in Illicit Substance Use: A Temporal-Ordered Test of General Strain Theory." Journal of Drug Issues 50,2 (April 2020): 209-230.
3. Ash-Houchen, William
Lo, Celia C.
Gerling, Heather M.
Cheng, Tyrone C.
Gender and Childhood Victimization: A Longitudinal Study of Heavy Drinking in Young Adulthood
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 (October 2021): 11089.
Also: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182111089
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: MDPI (Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)
Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Bullying/Victimization; Childhood Adversity/Trauma; Depression (see also CESD); Gender Differences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The present longitudinal study, for 12 years, followed a group of young adults, examining (1) whether/how victimization in childhood increased the likelihood of heavy drinking; (2) whether depression mediated the strain-heavy drinking relationship; and (3) whether/how relationships among strain, depression, and heavy drinking differed across two gender groups. Data came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 cohort, dating 2004-2015 (5 interview waves and 22,549 person-wave measurements total). We linked consumption of 5+ drinks (during the month prior) to four discrete measures of violent victimization, to one measure of stressful events, and to depression. We needed to consider repeat measures of the same variables over time, so we used generalized estimating equations (GEE) to analyze data. Depression was found to increase heavy drinking uniformly. Empirical evidence confirmed that in the strain-heavy drinking relationship, depression plays a minor mediating role. Gender moderated heavy drinking's associations. Specifically, bullying in childhood raised risk for female respondents. The current strain was associated with a higher risk of heavy drinking among male respondents. Childhood victimization, as well as current life stress, play an important role in depression and heavy drinking. Future research should focus on the development of specific, targeted care to reduce heavy drinking's harm and promote equity among Americans.
Bibliography Citation
Ash-Houchen, William, Celia C. Lo, Heather M. Gerling and Tyrone C. Cheng. "Gender and Childhood Victimization: A Longitudinal Study of Heavy Drinking in Young Adulthood." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 (October 2021): 11089.
4. Lo, Celia C.
Ash-Houchen, William
Gerling, Heather M.
Data Spanning Three Decades Illustrate Racial Disparities in Likelihood of Obesity
Presented: Montreal, QC, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2017
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Ethnic Differences; Obesity; Racial Differences; Socioeconomic Factors

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Obesity rates have risen significantly in recent decades, with underprivileged Americans being associated with suffering higher rates. Obesity's elevation of health risks, furthermore, appears unequally distributed across different racial/ethnic groups, according to the literature. The present study examined racial disparities in obesity as a function of socioeconomic factors, using a sample of American adults from a 32-year longitudinal study. We accounted for the time factor as we evaluated obesity's associations with selected socioeconomic factors; we also examined race/ethnicity's moderating role in obesity-socioeconomic factors associations over time. We used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to obtain a final sample of 119,066 person-waves for analysis. A subsample of person-waves numbering 65,702 represented data from White respondents; one numbering 31,618 represented data from Black respondents; and one numbering 21,429 represented data from Hispanic respondents. Needing to consider repeated measures of the same variables over time, we chose generalized estimated equations (GEE) for use in the data analysis. Speaking generally, the obtained results suggested that for the two smaller subsamples, minority ethnicity status introduced disadvantages that helped explain links between obesity and race/ethnicity. Results also showed that White-Black racial disparities in obesity have widened slightly in the past three decades, while White-Hispanic racial disparities have stabilized during the same time period.
Bibliography Citation
Lo, Celia C., William Ash-Houchen and Heather M. Gerling. "Data Spanning Three Decades Illustrate Racial Disparities in Likelihood of Obesity." Presented: Montreal, QC, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2017.
5. Lo, Celia C.
Ash-Houchen, William
Gerling, Heather M.
Cheng, Tyrone C.
Data Spanning Three Decades Illustrate Racial Disparities in Likelihood of Obesity
Ethnicity and Health published online (4 March 2018): DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2018.1447650.
Also: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13557858.2018.1447650
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Routledge ==> Taylor & Francis (1998)
Keyword(s): Ethnic Differences; Obesity; Racial Differences; Socioeconomic Factors

Obesity rates have risen significantly in recent decades, with underprivileged Americans associated with higher rates of the condition. Risks associated with obesity, furthermore, appear unequally distributed across different racial/ethnic groups, according to the literature. The present study examined racial disparities in obesity as a function of socioeconomic factors, using a sample of American adults from a 32-year longitudinal study. We accounted for the time factor as we evaluated obesity's associations with selected socioeconomic factors; we also examined race/ethnicity's moderating role in obesity-socioeconomic status associations over time. We used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to obtain a final sample of 118,749 person-waves for analysis. A subsample of person-waves numbering 65,702 represented data from White respondents; one numbering 31,618 represented data from Black respondents; and one numbering 21,429 represented data from Hispanic respondents. Needing to consider repeated measures of the same variables over time, we chose generalized estimated equations (GEE) for use in the data analysis. Speaking generally, the obtained results suggested that for the two smaller subsamples, minority race/ethnicity could have introduced disadvantages that helped explain links between obesity and race/ethnicity. Results also showed that White-Black disparities in obesity have widened slightly in the past three decades, while White-Hispanic disparities have stabilized during the same time period.
Bibliography Citation
Lo, Celia C., William Ash-Houchen, Heather M. Gerling and Tyrone C. Cheng. "Data Spanning Three Decades Illustrate Racial Disparities in Likelihood of Obesity." Ethnicity and Health published online (4 March 2018): DOI: 10.1080/13557858.2018.1447650.
6. Lo, Celia C.
Ash-Houchen, William
Gerling, Heather M.
Cheng, Tyrone C.
From Childhood Victim to Adult Criminal: Racial/Ethnic Differences in Patterns of Victimization-Offending among Americans in Early Adulthood
Victims and Offenders: An International Journal of Evidence-based Research, Policy, and Practice published online (17 April 2020): DOI: 10.1080/15564886.2020.1750517.
Also: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15564886.2020.1750517
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Keyword(s): Bullying/Victimization; Crime; Ethnic Differences; Racial Differences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

A sample of Americans in early adulthood was surveyed to determine (1) whether and how victimization shapes future offending among non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, and Hispanics and to examine (2) whether and how a victimization-offending relationship differs by race/ethnicity. Study data came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 cohort. Violent victimization was indicated by experiencing bullying or by having seen a person suffer a gunshot; each variable was measured once for childhood and once for adolescence. Criminal offending was indicated by arrest(s) occurring after a respondent's immediate past interview with a researcher, covering 2004-2015, and we used a final sample numbering 58,783 person-waves for our study. Needing to consider repeat measures of the same variables over time, we used generalized estimating equations (GEE) in our data analysis. Generally, the results showed that an experience of violent victimization in childhood increased the likelihood of crime commission in early adulthood, across all racial/ethnic groups. Yet for each distinct group, we also observed a distinct pattern(s) in the victimization-offending relationship. Minimizing offending thus will require exploiting what is known (and what is learned in the future) about race/ethnicity's role in victimization.
Bibliography Citation
Lo, Celia C., William Ash-Houchen, Heather M. Gerling and Tyrone C. Cheng. "From Childhood Victim to Adult Criminal: Racial/Ethnic Differences in Patterns of Victimization-Offending among Americans in Early Adulthood." Victims and Offenders: An International Journal of Evidence-based Research, Policy, and Practice published online (17 April 2020): DOI: 10.1080/15564886.2020.1750517.
7. Lo, Celia C.
Gerling, Heather M.
Ash-Houchen, William
Cheng, Tyrone C.
Violent Victimization, Stressful Events, and Depression: A Longitudinal Study of Young Adults in the U.S.
Community Mental Health Journal 57 (2021): 502-511.
Also: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10597-020-00673-w
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Bullying/Victimization; Childhood Adversity/Trauma; Depression (see also CESD); Stress

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

We surveyed a sample of young adults in the United States to determine (1) whether/how depression is affected by violent victimization during childhood and/or by recent stressful events, as well as (2) whether any observed links between depression and violent victimization and/or stressful events would be uniform across racial/ethnic groups. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 cohort, we measured respondent depression in 5 interview waves dating 2004-2015. Our final sample for analysis numbered 22,549 person-waves. Our study showed that violent victimization in childhood, and recent stressful events, as well, alike exacerbated depression. Moreover, as we analyzed, in turn, the data for each ethnic subsample, we observed differential patterns in depression's associations with victimization. Childhood violent victimization--and also recently encountered stress--has a significant role in the development of depression in adulthood; this role appears to be moderated by race/ethnicity.
Bibliography Citation
Lo, Celia C., Heather M. Gerling, William Ash-Houchen and Tyrone C. Cheng. "Violent Victimization, Stressful Events, and Depression: A Longitudinal Study of Young Adults in the U.S." Community Mental Health Journal 57 (2021): 502-511.