Social Sciences
Raising a child doesn’t take a village, U-M research shows
It doesn't take a village to raise a child after all, according to University of Michigan research. "In the African villages that I study in Mali, children fare as well in nuclear families as they do in extended families," said U-M researcher Beverly Strassmann, professor of anthropology and faculty associate at the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR). "There's a naïve belief that villages raise children communally, when in reality children are raised by their own families and their survival depends critically on the survival of their mothers." Read More
College of Literature Science & the Arts, Institute for Social Research
Positive thinking: Optimism lowers risk of having stroke
A positive outlook on life might lower the risk of having a stroke, according to a new University of Michigan study. A nationally representative group of 6,044 adults over age 50 rated their optimism levels on a 16-point scale. Each point increase in optimism corresponded to a 9 percent decrease in acute stroke risk over a two-year follow-up period. Researchers analyzed self-reported stroke and psychological data from the ongoing Health and Retirement Study, collected between 2006 and 2008. The findings appear in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Read More
College of Literature Science & the Arts, Institute for Social Research
Cultivating wisdom: U-M studies identify a promising way
Adopting a psychologically distanced perspective enhances wisdom, according to University of Michigan research published online in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. "Although humans strive to be wise, they often fail to do so when reasoning about issues that have profound personal implications," said U-M psychologist Ethan Kross, who co-authored the article with doctoral student Igor Grossmann. "These experiments suggest a promising way for people to reason wisely about such issues." Read More
Cell phones helping to bridge the digital divide for low income teens, but online visits costly
Without Internet access at home, teens from low income households are more likely than their wealthier counterparts to use their cell phones to go online. But those teens with the least money who are using their phones for Internet access are likely paying the most to get online, according to a new study by UM researchers Katie Brown, Scott Campbell and Rich Ling. Read more
Akil, Groves elected to National Academy of Sciences
Neuroscientist Huda Akil, Ph.D., Co-Director of the Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute and Medical School professor, and survey methodologist Robert Groves, director of the U.S. Census Bureau and a U-M professor, have been elected members of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors attainable by an American scientist. Elected along with 70 others, Groves and Akil bring the number of U-M faculty elected to the National Academy of Sciences to 25. Read More
Health care policy, innovation institute planned at U-M’s North Campus Research Complex
A new health care policy institute – one that is expected to become one of the largest of its kind in the nation – will be established at the U-M's North Campus Research Complex. The Institute’s mission is to enhance the health and well-being of local, national and global populations through innovative, interdisciplinary health services research. More than 500 researchers could eventually join the new Institute on the NCRC campus with many more engaging virtually, making it one of the nation’s largest concentrations of healthcare policy and services researchers. Read More
Biomedical, Public Health, Public Policy, Social Sciences
College of Engineering, College of Literature Science & the Arts, College of Pharmacy, Medical School, School of Dentistry, School of Nursing, School of Public Health
Air pollution near Michigan schools linked to poorer student health, academic performance
Air pollution from industrial sources near Michigan public schools jeopardizes children's health and academic success, according to a new study from U-M researchers. They found that schools located in areas with the state's highest industrial air pollution levels had the lowest attendance rates—an indicator of poor health—as well as the highest proportions of students who failed to meet state educational testing standards. Minority students appear to bear the greatest burden, according to a research team led by Paul Mohai of the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment and Byoung-Suk Kweon of the U-M Institute for Social Research. Read More
Environment, Public Health, Social Sciences
Institute for Social Research, School of Natural Resources and Environment
Racial wealth gap with young children widening
The wealth gap in the United States between white and black households with children nearly doubled to $47,000 between 1994 and 2007, according to a new report. "Diverging Pathways: How Wealth Shapes Opportunity for Children," written by University of Michigan researcher Trina Shanks and released April 7 by the Insight Center for Economic Development, found that the percentage of black households with no net worth or living in debt is on the rise. In 2007, about 70 percent of Latino and black households with young children were poor and 40 percent had no financial assets—more than twice the respective rates for white households. The widening racial gap in wealth—what a family owns versus what it owes—has significant consequences for children's health and thought development, such as problem-solving and decision-making, Shanks says. Read More
Conscientious people earn more and save more for retirement
Americans who are more conscientious have higher lifetime earnings and save more for retirement, according to researchers at the Michigan Retirement Research Center. Individuals who are at the 85th percentile of conscientiousness earn about $1,500 more per year than the average American, which amounts to about $96,000 more in lifetime earnings and $158,000 more in lifetime savings. "Conscientious people are reliable, meet deadlines and pay their bills on time," said Angela Lee Duckworth, a University of Pennsylvania psychologist and co-author of a paper on the subject with U-M economist David Weir. "They are very hard working and self-disciplined. These are the people who go running, stick to their diets, and tend not to procrastinate." Read More
Public nuisance? Cell phone use might actually spark conversations with strangers
Talking or texting on a cell phone in public might seem off-putting to people nearby, but a new study suggests that using mobile devices may actually help spark conversations with strangers. The U-M study examined how mobile communication influences the extent to which people engage with others in public. The new findings indicate that overall frequency of cell phone use in public does not cause them to shun nearby strangers. In fact, the result may be the opposite. "Those who use the cell phone in public to get news have more relevant fodder for conversing with strangers and probably increased motivation to do so," said Scott Campbell, the study's co-author. Read More