Lu, Yun; Yang, Xiaozhao Y (2020): The Two Faces of Diversity: The Relationships between Religious Polarization, Religious Fractionalization, and Self-rated Health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior. DOI: 10.1177/0022146520904373
A dominant discourse in the social sciences theorizes that religious diversity puts individuals’ health at risk via interreligious hostility. However, this discourse overlooks the different subtypes of religious diversity and the moderation of political institutions. To better understand the issue of diversity and health, in this study, we distinguish between two subtypes of religious diversity—polarization and fractionalization— and argue that their impacts on health are heterogeneous. Using a sample of 67,399 individuals from 51 societies drawn from the 2010–2014 wave of the World Values Survey, our multilevel analyses show that religious polarization is negatively associated with individual health, whereas the health effects of religious fractionalization are positive. Moreover, the associations between religious polarization/ fractionalization and individual health are found to depend on the democratic level of the state. In more democratic countries, the negative effects of polarization on health are mitigated, and the positive effects of fractionalization are stronger
| the_two_faces_of_diversity.pdf |
Nie, F., & Yang, X. Y. (2019). The Moral Community Divide: Underage Marijuana Use Across Religious Contexts. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 58(1), 153-173.
Compared to individual‐level research on religion and marijuana use, much less research has been conducted to investigate how the overall religious context of a geographic location may influence marijuana use during adolescence and early adulthood. Using multilevel analyses on two waves of the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) merged with county‐level variables from the U.S. Census and the Religious Congregations and Membership Study (RCMS), this study finds that a county's higher Catholic population share is negatively associated with underage marijuana use frequency even after controlling for a wide range of individual and county‐level variables. Besides being robust, the Catholic contextual effect on marijuana use is also diffusive, influencing both Catholic and non‐Catholic youth who live in the same county. This study highlights the importance of viewing religious influence on substance use as a contextual, cultural force across different kinds of religious moral communities.
| the_moral_community_divide_underagemarijuana_use_across_religious_contexts.pdf |
Yang, X.Y., Hu, A., Schieman, S. (2019), Relative deprivation in context: How contextual status homogeneity shapes the relationship between disadvantaged social status and health, Social Science Research, doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2019.03.011
We examine the relationship between disadvantaged social status and adverse health outcomes within a context-contingent thesis of relative deprivation. We argue that the health effect of low relative status depends on contextual status homogeneity, which is measured as income inequality and group diversity. Applying mixed-effect modeling to the pooled 2011–2013 Chinese General Social Survey and exploring the cross-level interactions, we found that 1) people in the bottom socioeconomic quartile report significantly better health when contextual income inequality is lower; 2) racial-ethnic minorities report significantly better health when contextual ethnic diversity is higher; and 3) religious minorities also report significantly better health when contextual religious diversity is higher. Ethnic minorities and Muslims even report better health than the majorities in highly diverse contexts. Thus, contextual status homogeneity can modify or even eliminate the health disparities caused by relative deprivation. The context-level moderation of relative deprivation may be explained by the processes of social comparison, institutional resources, and social capital formation. Our findings suggest that health disparities are an interactive product of contextual homogeneity and individual's relative deprivation, and underscore the importance of the nature of the social environment where relative deprivation occurs. In this way, we contribute to knowledge about reducing health disparities along the social gradient.
| relative_deprivation_in_context.pdf |
NIE, F., YANG, X. Y., & OLSON, D. V. (2018). RELIGIOUS CONTEXT MATTERS: EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RELIGIOUS CONTEXT AND UNDERAGE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION. REVIEW OF RELIGIOUS RESEARCH 60 (2), 199-222
Previous research has demonstrated that individual religious beliefs and practices may reduce the likelihood of underage alcohol consumption, but less is known about how the overall religious cultural influence of a religion may influence individual alcohol consumption behaviors. Using multilevel analyses on two waves of the National Study of Youth and Religion merged with county-level variables from the U.S. Census and the Religious Congregations and Membership Study, we find that a county’s higher Catholic population share leads to more frequent underage drunkenness even after controlling for a wide range of individual and county-level variables. Contrary to other studies’ findings discovered at individual level, a greater population share of conservative Protestants is also linked with higher level of underage drunkenness. This study highlights the importance of viewing religious influence on health behaviors as a contextual, cultural force.
| religious_context_matters.pdf |
X. Y. Yang (2017). How community-level social and economic developments have changed the patterns of substance use in a transition economy? Health & Place, 46, 91-100
Most social changes take place at the community level before indirectly affecting individuals. Although the contextual effect is far-reaching, few studies have investigated the important questions of: how do community-level developments affect drinking and smoking, and how do they change the existing gender and income patterns of drinking and smoking, particularly in transition economies? In this study, I used a Chinese panel dataset between 1991 and 2011 to reveal the moderating effects of community developments. Through multilevel growth curve modeling that controls for age, period, and cohort effects, as well as individual- and community-level covariates, I found that community-level economic development and social development are negatively associated with drinking and smoking. Moreover, economic and social developments also moderate the important influences of income and gender: women start to drink more in communities with higher economic development; the traditionally positive association between income and smoking/drinking is also reversed, i.e. the rich start to smoke and drink less in communities with higher social development. This study concludes that the rapid changes in communal social and economic structures have created new health disparities based on the gender and socioeconomic hierarchy.
| how_community-level.pdf |
Rockett, I. R. H., Jiang, S., Yang, Q., Yang, T., Yang, X. Y., Peng, S., & Yu, L. (2017). Prevalence and regional correlates of road traffic injury among Chinese urban residents: A 21-city population-based study. Traffic Injury Prevention, 18(6), 623-630
Objective: This study estimated the prevalence of road traffic injury among Chinese urban residents and examined individual and regional-level correlates.
Method: A cross-sectional multistage process was used to sample residents from 21 selected cities in China. Survey respondents reported their history of road traffic injury in the past 12 months through a community survey. Multilevel, multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify injury correlates.
Results: Based on a retrospective 12-month reporting window, road traffic injury prevalence among urban residents was 13.2%. Prevalence of road traffic injury, by type, was 8.7, 8.7, 8.5, and 7.7% in the automobile, bicycle, motorcycle, and pedestrian categories, respectively. Multilevel analysis showed that prevalence of road traffic injury was positively associated with minority status, income, and mental health disorder score at the individual level. Regionally, road traffic injury was associated with geographic location of residence and prevalence of mental health disorders.
Conclusions: Both individual and regional-level variables were associated with road traffic injury among Chinese urban residents, a finding whose implications transcend wholesale imported generic solutions. This descriptive research demonstrates an urgent need for longitudinal studies across China on risk and protective factors, in order to inform injury etiology, surveillance, prevention, treatment, and evaluation.
Method: A cross-sectional multistage process was used to sample residents from 21 selected cities in China. Survey respondents reported their history of road traffic injury in the past 12 months through a community survey. Multilevel, multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify injury correlates.
Results: Based on a retrospective 12-month reporting window, road traffic injury prevalence among urban residents was 13.2%. Prevalence of road traffic injury, by type, was 8.7, 8.7, 8.5, and 7.7% in the automobile, bicycle, motorcycle, and pedestrian categories, respectively. Multilevel analysis showed that prevalence of road traffic injury was positively associated with minority status, income, and mental health disorder score at the individual level. Regionally, road traffic injury was associated with geographic location of residence and prevalence of mental health disorders.
Conclusions: Both individual and regional-level variables were associated with road traffic injury among Chinese urban residents, a finding whose implications transcend wholesale imported generic solutions. This descriptive research demonstrates an urgent need for longitudinal studies across China on risk and protective factors, in order to inform injury etiology, surveillance, prevention, treatment, and evaluation.
Yang, T., Yang, XY., et al (2016): Violent injuries and regional correlates among women in China: results from 21 cities study in China. European journal of public health 26(3): 513-523
Background: Ecological models depict violent injuries against women being influenced by both individual and environmental characteristics. However, only few studies examined the association between regional variables and the likelihood of violent injuries. Our study is a preliminary assessment of the impact of regional variables on the likelihood that a woman has experienced violent injuries. Methods: Participants were 16 866 urban residents, who were identified through a multi-stage sampling process conducted in 21 Chinese cities. Out of the sampled population, 8071 respondents were female. Subsequent analyses focused solely on the female sample. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed to examine regional variation in violent injuries. Results: Prevalence of violent injuries against women is 10.7% (95% CI: 7.8%, 15.5%). After controlling for individual-level characteristics, higher regional male–female ratio (OR: 1.97, P < 0.05), population growth rate (OR: 4.12, P < 0.01) and unemployment rate (OR: 2.45, P < 0.01) were all associated with an elevated risk of violent injuries among Chinese women caused by physical attack. Conclusions: The results suggest violent injuries among Chinese women caused by physical attack have become an important social and public health problem. The findings point to the importance of developing effective health policies, laws and interventions that focuses on the unequal economic development between different regions.
| violent_injuries_among_women_in_china.pdf |
Yang, T., Barnett, R., Rockett, I. R. H., Yang, X. Y., Wu, D., Zheng, W., & Li, L. (2015). The impact of regional economic reliance on the tobacco industry on current smoking in China. Health & Place, 33(1), 159-171.
The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary assessment of province of residence and other contextual factors on the likelihood of being a current smoker in China. A cross-sectional, multistage sampling process was used to recruit participants, and their smoking status and sociodemographic characteristics were obtained through face-to-face interviews. The contextual variables were retrieved from a national database. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the impact of provincial economic reliance on the tobacco industry, as well as individual-level characteristics, on the likelihood of being a current smoker. Participants totaled 20,601 from 27 cities located in 26 of the 31 municipalities/provinces in China. Overall smoking prevalence was 31.3% (95% CI: 19.3–33.2%), with rates being highest in Yinchuan City in Ningxia Province (49.8%) and lowest in Shanghai (21.6%). The multilevel analysis showed an excess likelihood of being a current smoker for individuals living in provinces with the highest rate of cigarette production relative to those with the smallest (p<0.001). Findings underscore the importance of restricting cigarette production and regulating the marketing of tobacco products in China.
| the_impact_of_regional.pdf |
Wang H, Yang XY, Yang T, Cottrell RR, Yu L, Feng X, Jiang S (2015): Socioeconomic inequalities and mental stress in individual and regional level: a twenty one cities study in China. International Journal for Equity in Health, 14(25), doi:10.1186/s12939-015-0152-4
Objectives: This study will examine explanatory variables including socioeconomic inequalities related to mental stress at both the individual and regional level.
Methodology: A cross-sectional multistage sampling process was used to obtain participants. Data on mental stress and individual socioeconomic status were gathered via face to face interview. Regional variables were retrieved from a national database. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to assess socioeconomic variances in mental stress.
Results: Among the 16,866 participants, 27.2% reported severe levels of mental stress (95% CI: 19.4%-35.1%). Multilevel regression analysis indicated that lower individual educational attainment and income, and lower regional Per Capita GDP was associated with mental stress. The results also indicated that managers, clerks, and professional workers manifested higher stress levels than those in other occupations.
Conclusions: Based on the results of this study individual and regional socioeconomic inequalities in China are associated with mental stress.
Methodology: A cross-sectional multistage sampling process was used to obtain participants. Data on mental stress and individual socioeconomic status were gathered via face to face interview. Regional variables were retrieved from a national database. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was used to assess socioeconomic variances in mental stress.
Results: Among the 16,866 participants, 27.2% reported severe levels of mental stress (95% CI: 19.4%-35.1%). Multilevel regression analysis indicated that lower individual educational attainment and income, and lower regional Per Capita GDP was associated with mental stress. The results also indicated that managers, clerks, and professional workers manifested higher stress levels than those in other occupations.
Conclusions: Based on the results of this study individual and regional socioeconomic inequalities in China are associated with mental stress.
| socioeconomic_inequalities_and_mental_stress.pdf |
