Search Results
Author: Mernitz, Sara E.
Resulting in 11 citations.
| 1. |
Jang, Bohyun Snyder, Anastasia R. Mernitz, Sara E. |
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The Life Course of High School Dropouts During the Transition to Adulthood Presented: Washington DC, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, March-April 2016 Cohort(s): NLSY97 Publisher: Population Association of America Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; High School Dropouts; Life Course; Modeling, Latent Class Analysis/Latent Transition Analysis; Transition, Adulthood Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. In the United States, about 10% of adolescents did not earn a high school diploma in the late 2000s. The high school dropout results in growing variability in young adult's lives and the beginning of adulthood. Less attention, however, has been given to the life course of those who drop out high school. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, we examined the life course of high school dropouts and its association with risk factors. We focused on heavy drinking because it has a wide range of impacts on health and future outcome. Our preliminary findings using a latent class analysis suggested that 4 classes model best described the life course of high school dropouts (traditional pathway, no transition, employed cohabitor, employed single parent). A multinomial logit model showed that those who had heavy drinking at age 18 were less likely to belong to "no transition" class. |
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Bibliography Citation
Jang, Bohyun, Anastasia R. Snyder and Sara E. Mernitz. "The Life Course of High School Dropouts During the Transition to Adulthood." Presented: Washington DC, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, March-April 2016. |
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Johnston, Carol A. Crosnoe, Robert Mernitz, Sara E. Pollitt, Amanda |
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Two Methods for Studying the Developmental Significance of Family Structure Trajectories Journal of Marriage and Family published online (4 December 2019): DOI: 10.1111/jomf.12639. Also: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jomf.12639 Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult Publisher: Blackwell Publishing, Inc. => Wiley Online Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Family Structure; Methods/Methodology; Modeling, Latent Class Analysis/Latent Transition Analysis Objective: The objective of this research note is to use both sequence analysis (SA) and repeated‐measures latent class analysis (LCA) to identify children's family structure trajectories from birth through age 15 and compare how the two sets of trajectories predict alcohol use across the transition from adolescence into young adulthood. Method: The authors used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth-Child and Youth Cohort (N = 11,515) to identify clusters (using SA) and classes (using repeated‐measures LCA) that represented children's family structure trajectories from birth through age 15. Using two multiple‐group random slope models, the authors predicted alcohol use across adolescence and young adulthood (ages 16-24) among the clusters (Model 1) and classes (Model 2). Results: The SA identified five clusters, but the LCA further differentiated the sample with more detail on timing and identified eight classes. The sensitivity to timing in the LCA solution was substantively relevant to alcohol use across the transition to young adulthood. |
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Bibliography Citation
Johnston, Carol A., Robert Crosnoe, Sara E. Mernitz and Amanda Pollitt. "Two Methods for Studying the Developmental Significance of Family Structure Trajectories." Journal of Marriage and Family published online (4 December 2019): DOI: 10.1111/jomf.12639.
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Kamp Dush, Claire M. Arocho, Rachel Mernitz, Sara E. Bartholomew, Kyle R. |
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The Intergenerational Transmission of Partnering PLoS ONE published online (13 November 2018): DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205732. Also: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0205732 Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult Publisher: PLOS Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Divorce; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Marital Status; Modeling, Poisson (IRT–ZIP); Siblings Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. As divorce and cohabitation dissolution in the US have increased, partnering has expanded to the point that sociologists describe a merry-go-round of partners in American families. Could one driver of the increase in the number of partners be an intergenerational transmission of partnering? We discuss three theoretical perspectives on potential mechanisms that would underlie an intergenerational transmission of partnering: the transmission of economic hardship, the transmission of marriageable characteristics and relationship skills, and the transmission of relationship commitment. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Child and Young Adult study (NLSY79 CYA) and their mothers in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), we examined the intergenerational transmission of partnering, including both marital and cohabitating unions, using prospective measures of family and economic instability as well as exploiting sibling data to try to identify potential mechanisms. Even after controlling for maternal demographic characteristics and socioeconomic factors, the number of maternal partners was positively associated with offspring's number of partners. Hybrid sibling Poisson regression models that examined sibling differential experiences of maternal partners indicated that there were no differences between siblings who witnessed more or fewer maternal partners. Overall, results suggested that the transmission of poor marriageable characteristics and relationship skills from mother to child may warrant additional attention as a potential mechanism through which the number of partners continues across generations. |
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Bibliography Citation
Kamp Dush, Claire M., Rachel Arocho, Sara E. Mernitz and Kyle R. Bartholomew. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Partnering." PLoS ONE published online (13 November 2018): DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205732.
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Mernitz, Sara E. |
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A Cohort Comparison of Trends in First Cohabitation Duration in the United States Demographic Research 38 (27 June 2018): 2073-2086. Also: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26457100 Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97 Publisher: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomic Status (SES) Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. Objective: This study investigates US first cohabitation duration between young adults born in the 1950s and young adults born in the 1980s and how socioeconomic resources contribute to cohabitation duration by cohort. Methods: Using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth 1979 and 1997, I employ life table estimates and competing-risks Cox proportional hazard models to study how cohabitation during and transitions out of cohabitation have changed over time. |
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Bibliography Citation
Mernitz, Sara E. "A Cohort Comparison of Trends in First Cohabitation Duration in the United States ." Demographic Research 38 (27 June 2018): 2073-2086.
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| 5. |
Mernitz, Sara E. |
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Long-term Cohabitation: Prevalence, Predictors, and Mental Health Outcomes Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, 2016 Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97 Publisher: The Ohio State University Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Health, Mental/Psychological; National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth) Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. This dissertation study enhances scholarship on cohabitation by examining long-term cohabitation during a critical period in the life course, young adulthood, a time when these early relationships may alter young adults' future relationship and union trajectories. Further, a critical developmental task during these years is establishing intimacy within romantic unions, suggesting that cohabitation during this period is more important than at any other developmental stage. I use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97), and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) to examine the prevalence of long-term cohabitation over time, identify variables contributing to transitions out of cohabitation and long-term cohabitation, and the mental health implications of young adult long-term cohabitation. These data are well-suited for this study as all are nationally-representative longitudinal studies containing high-quality cohabitation data. |
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Bibliography Citation
Mernitz, Sara E. Long-term Cohabitation: Prevalence, Predictors, and Mental Health Outcomes. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University, 2016. |
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Mernitz, Sara E. |
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Stable Cohabitation and Health during the Transition to Adulthood Presented: Washington DC, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, March-April 2016 Cohort(s): NLSY97 Publisher: Population Association of America Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Health, Mental/Psychological; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Transition, Adulthood Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. During the transition to adulthood, developing and maintaining emotional and physical intimacy with a committed romantic partner is a key developmental task. Many young adults enter into cohabiting unions to fulfill this task, with implications for health and wellbeing. Although marriage is consistently associated with better health outcomes than cohabitation, marriage is becoming less attainable for youth today. Young adults have high expectations for their marriage and marriage requires greater psychological investment. Cohabitation may provide a better alternative, resulting in more stable long-term cohabiting unions, yet the health implications of stable cohabitation are unknown. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, I examine the association between stable cohabitation and emotional health. Using pooled fixed effects regression, I find preliminary evidence that transitioning from a shorter duration cohabitation into a longer stable cohabitation is associated with decreased emotional health. |
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Bibliography Citation
Mernitz, Sara E. "Stable Cohabitation and Health during the Transition to Adulthood." Presented: Washington DC, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, March-April 2016. |
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Mernitz, Sara E. |
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The Mental Health Implications of Emerging Adult Long-Term Cohabitation Emerging Adulthood 6,5 (October 2018): 312-326. Also: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2167696817733913 Cohort(s): NLSY97 Publisher: Sage Publications Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Cohabitation; Health, Mental/Psychological Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. Despite the growing prevalence of cohabitation, past attempts to identify mental health outcomes from cohabitation do not differentiate by cohabitation duration. The current study investigated the mental health implications from long-term cohabitation, defined as those lasting more than 3 years. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, I compared the average individual mental health scores between time spent single, or time spent in a short-term cohabitation, and time spent in a long-term union. Results indicated that externalizing distress, defined as heavy episodic drinking, was lower during time spent in a long-term cohabitation than it was during time spent single. Unexpectedly, the average emotional distress rates were greater during time spent in a long-term cohabitation than they were during time spent single; men appeared to be driving that effect. Overall, long-term cohabitation did not provide an additional mental health benefit above and beyond short-term cohabitation. |
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Bibliography Citation
Mernitz, Sara E. "The Mental Health Implications of Emerging Adult Long-Term Cohabitation." Emerging Adulthood 6,5 (October 2018): 312-326.
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| 8. |
Mernitz, Sara E. Kamp Dush, Claire M. |
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Emotional Health Across the Transition to First and Second Unions Among Emerging Adults Journal of Family Psychology 30,2 (March 2016): 233-244. Also: http://psycnet.apa.org/psycarticles/2015-47616-001 Cohort(s): NLSY97 Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA) Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Gender Differences; Health, Mental/Psychological; Marital History/Transitions; Marriage; Modeling, Fixed Effects The link between romantic relationships and emotional health has been extensively examined and suggests that marriage provides more emotional health benefits than cohabiting or dating relationships. However, the contemporary context of intimate relationships has changed and these associations warrant reexamination among emerging adults in the 2000s. We examined the change in emotional health across the entrance into first and second unions, including cohabiting unions, direct marriage (marriage without premarital cohabitation), and marriage preceded by cohabitation. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997, a nationally representative panel study of youth born between 1980 and 1984 in the United States, pooled fixed-effects regression models indicated that entrance into first cohabiting unions and direct marriages, and all second unions, were significantly associated with reduced emotional distress. Gender differences were found for first unions only; for men, only direct marriage was associated with an emotional health benefit, while both direct marriage and cohabitation benefited women's emotional health. (PsycINFO Database Record © 2015 APA, all rights reserved) |
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Bibliography Citation
Mernitz, Sara E. and Claire M. Kamp Dush. "Emotional Health Across the Transition to First and Second Unions Among Emerging Adults." Journal of Family Psychology 30,2 (March 2016): 233-244.
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| 9. |
Mernitz, Sara E. Pollitt, Amanda |
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Same-Sex Union Formation During the Transition to Adulthood Presented: Denver CO, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2018 Cohort(s): NLSY97 Publisher: Population Association of America Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Gender; Marriage; Transition, Adulthood Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. Romantic unions (i.e., cohabitation and marriage) during the transition to adulthood are critical for young adult development, yet little is known about same-sex unions. Evidence on sexual minority youth suggests that youth commonly form both different- and same-sex relationships but it is unclear if similar patterns occur in romantic unions. We used the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to identify young adults who formed same-sex unions and predicted timing to entrance into a first union and demographic and socioeconomic predictors of this timing. We found that, among young adults who ever form a same-sex union, women who first enter different-sex unions enter these unions faster than men who first form different-sex unions and women and men who first form same-sex unions. Women who first form same-sex unions were slowest to form unions. Demographic and socioeconomic differences in timing to first union, whether same- or different-sex, were concentrated among men. |
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Bibliography Citation
Mernitz, Sara E. and Amanda Pollitt. "Same-Sex Union Formation During the Transition to Adulthood." Presented: Denver CO, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2018. |
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Pollitt, Amanda Mernitz, Sara E. |
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The Influence of Religiosity on Alcohol Use Among Sexual Minority Youth in Same- and Different-Sex Unions Presented: Denver CO, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2018 Cohort(s): NLSY97 Publisher: Population Association of America Keyword(s): Alcohol Use; Cohabitation; Discrimination, Sexual Orientation; Religious Influences; Unions Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. Sexual minority youth and young adults (SMY) are at higher risk for alcohol misuse compared to heterosexual youth. Stigma-based stressors, such as discrimination and internalized homophobia, potentially explain these alcohol use disparities. Sexual minority status is particularly visible when SMY are in same-sex unions and SMY may enter different-sex unions to reduce stigma at the expense of their health and wellbeing. Religious SMY may be most at-risk for minority stressors as they face additional pressure from religious communities, increasing their risk for heavy alcohol use. We use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to examine how religiosity moderates binge drinking among SMY in same- and different-sex unions. Results show few differences in binge drinking between SMY in same- and different-sex unions at low levels of religiosity. At high levels of religiosity, women and men in different-sex unions had reported increased binge drinking, suggesting negative stigma experiences among religious SMY. |
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Bibliography Citation
Pollitt, Amanda and Sara E. Mernitz. "The Influence of Religiosity on Alcohol Use Among Sexual Minority Youth in Same- and Different-Sex Unions." Presented: Denver CO, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2018. |
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Snyder, Anastasia R. Mernitz, Sara E. Jang, Bohyun |
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The Transition to Adulthood Among the Forgotten Half: Home Leaving and Living Arrangement Among Less Educated Young Adults in the United States Presented: Chicago IL, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2017 Cohort(s): NLSY97 Publisher: Population Association of America Keyword(s): Exits; High School Completion/Graduates; Residence; Transition, Adulthood Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. College experiences during emerging adulthood are associated with various life course transitions for young adults, including leaving the family home and living independently, but little is known about how these patterns differ for those who do not attend college. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, we examined the timing of first parental home-leaving and the type of first living arrangement for young adults who do not pursue post- secondary education, comparing young men and women. Life table estimates found that young women exit the family home sooner after finishing high school, and most exit to live with a romantic partner, motivated in large part by early pregnancy. Discrete-time competing risk models found that, controlling for individual, family and contextual factors, female young adults exited earlier to live with a partner. Individual characteristics and family context are significantly associated with the timing and type of home leaving. |
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Bibliography Citation
Snyder, Anastasia R., Sara E. Mernitz and Bohyun Jang. "The Transition to Adulthood Among the Forgotten Half: Home Leaving and Living Arrangement Among Less Educated Young Adults in the United States." Presented: Chicago IL, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2017. |