R E S E A R C H N O T E S
In a new study of conservative Protestant child discipline, co-author Bradford Wilcox, of Princeton's Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, finds that although these parents advocate corporal punishment, they are less likely to yell at their pre-schoolers and school-age children. Wilcox says the results cast doubt on assertions that conservative Protestant parents are abusive and authoritarian, as high rates of parental yelling have been associated with abusive parenting and child-development problems.
Despite the use of corporal punishment, Wilcox has found in previous research that conservative Protestant parenting -- exemplified by best-selling child-rearing guides such as "Dare to Discipline" by James Dobson -- advances a style that is warm and expressive, even as it stresses discipline and control.
"In the 1990s, a number of scholars accused conservative Protestant parents of being abusive because they endorse corporal punishment," Wilcox said. "This study, along with my earlier work, shows that these parents are also less likely to yell at their children and more likely to praise and hug their children."
The study was co-authored by John P. Bartkowski at Mississippi State University. It is available [in PDF format] at < opr.princeton.edu/~wbwilcox/ religionparentalyelling.pdf> and was published in the September issue of Social Forces.
It's not surprising that -- on average -- rich people live longer than poor people, with access to better diets, health care and other services. But a new study by Professor Christina Paxson and graduate student Douglas Miller suggests that your life span also is affected by how your income compares to the incomes of others in the community.
Paxson, a professor of economics and public affairs, directs the Center for Health and Wellbeing in Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School, which brings together the interdisciplinary study of health and health policy. Her research examined the relationship between mortality and relative income at the state level -- that is, whether an individual's life expectancy is affected by the average income of others living in the same state. For some groups, it was. Specifically, controlling for their own income, groups that are poorer relative to others who live in the same state are at higher risk of dying. The relationship was especially strong for working-age black men.
"The argument here is that it's good to be richer than those around you," Paxson said. "The evidence supports the idea that you're better off not being the poorest kid on the block" -- whatever block that is.
Many questions remain, Paxson said. "There are so many different theories as to why relative income matters," she said. For example, incomes of others in an area can affect the availability of services and goods. Future research will focus on the causes of death and issues such as social isolation and psychosocial stress, she said, noting that a growing body of evidence points to the link between psychosocial stress and health problems.
Researchers plan to do a similar analysis at the city level. Paxson believes the results will be even more informative.
Paxson and Miller's paper, "Relative Income, Race, and Mortality," is available online [in PDF format] at <www.wws.princeton.edu/ ~rpds/relincome.pdf>.
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