Search Results

Source: National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Artigliere, Stephanie L.
Do Teenage Daughters Benefit From Their Professional Working Mothers?
Presented: Ithaca, NY, National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Ithaca College, March 31-April 2, 2011
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)
Keyword(s): Educational Aspirations/Expectations; Educational Attainment; Gender Attitudes/Roles; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Maternal Employment; Mothers and Daughters; Undergraduate Research

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

This study will examine how professional working mothers in dual-earner families influence their teenage daughters' future aspirations and educational attainment. These mothers inspire their daughters by providing positive role models through their own high educational attainment and career choices. As important mentors in teenage girls' lives these mothers expose their daughters to future opportunities such as attending college, entering a predominantly male field of work, or holding a leadership position. Economists have not looked at this important relationship to determine if such mentoring leads to better economic outcomes for adolescent girls. This mentoring is potentially meaningful if this type of role modeling leads young women to pursue more lucrative careers or more education. I hypothesize that those teenage daughters with professional working mothers in dual-earner families will achieve higher levels of educational attainment, apply to more prestigious colleges, and have a more favorable attitude toward women having professional careers. To test this hypothesis, I will build and estimate an econometric model using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, which has information on more than 1000 mother-daughter pairs. The sample will consist of intact families and family and individual specific controls will be used to net out the influence of the mother's employment from other factors that are likely influences on the daughter's gender role attitudes and choices with respect to schooling. Some of these controls include the mother's: age, education, occupation, marital history, and marital status. The goal of this study is to estimate the causal impact of a having a professional working mother on the educational decisions and aspirations of her teenage daughter. This knowledge is potentially important for policymakers who are interested in improving the economic independence of young women.
Bibliography Citation
Artigliere, Stephanie L. "Do Teenage Daughters Benefit From Their Professional Working Mothers?" Presented: Ithaca, NY, National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Ithaca College, March 31-April 2, 2011.
2. Desalva, Christina J.
An Analysis of the Effects of Early Childhood Household Income on Obesity During Young Adulthood
Presented: Ithaca, NY, National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Ithaca College, March 31-April 2, 2011
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: National Conferences on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Child Health; Food Stamps (see Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program); Geocoded Data; Household Income; Nutritional Status/Nutrition/Consumption Behaviors; Obesity; Undergraduate Research

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

Between the years 1988 and 2006, obesity rates in the United States increased by eleven percent. This increase is both a health and fiscal concern for Americans; nine percent of annual U.S. healthcare expenditures are attributed to obesity. Policy makers cannot reduce the costs associated with obesity unless they comprehend its underlying causes. Some experts cite increased consumption of fast food as the explanation. However, healthier alternatives are frequently too expensive for low-income families who often rely on food stamps. Studies suggest consumption habits acquired in early childhood are difficult to reverse. Therefore, even when household income as a young adult is higher, an increased risk for obesity may persist due to poor dietary habits acquired as a low-income child. This study uses regression analysis to investigate the correlation between household income during early childhood years and the prevalence of overweight and obesity as a young adult. The data are from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Child and Young Adults (NLSY79 Child and Young Adults), with a sample size of n=7,816. The main explanatory variables are household income at ages two through six. Information regarding specific foods consumed is provided through geo-code data used to control for the density of fast food restaurants located near observations' place of residence. The response variable is the Body Mass Index (BMI) of individuals from the ages of thirteen through eighteen. Previous studies evaluate the effect of current income on BMI; few examine the effect of early childhood household income on BMI. I hypothesize that there will be a negative correlation between early childhood household income and young adult BMI.
Bibliography Citation
Desalva, Christina J. "An Analysis of the Effects of Early Childhood Household Income on Obesity During Young Adulthood." Presented: Ithaca, NY, National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Ithaca College, March 31-April 2, 2011.