Parents of the Future
Population Numbers and Reproductive Health
Alexander Suvorov
Endocrinology, forthcoming
Abstract:
A recent study published in Lancet predicts a remarkable drop in population numbers following a peak that will be reached by 2064. A unique feature of the upcoming population drop is that it will be almost exclusively caused by decreased reproduction, rather than factors that increase rates of mortality. The reasons for decreased reproduction are also unique, as, unlike previous centuries, today, limited reproduction is hardly due to a shortage in resources. In other words, the predicted population drop is almost exclusively due to changes in reproductive behavior and reproductive physiology. Today, global changes in reproductive behavior are mostly explained by social sciences in a framework of demographic transition hypotheses, while changes in reproductive physiology are usually attributed to effects of endocrine disrupting pollutants. This review outlines a complementary/alternative hypothesis, which connects reproductive trends with population densities. Numerous wildlife and experimental studies of a broad range of animal species demonstrated that reproductive behavior and reproductive physiology are negatively controlled via endocrine and neural signaling in response to increasing population densities. The causal chain of this control system, although not fully understood, includes suppression of every level of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) cascade by hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, activated in response to increasing stress of social interactions. This paper discusses evidence in support of a hypothesis that current trends in reproductive physiology and behavior may be partly explained by increasing population densities. Better understanding of the causal chain involved in reproduction suppression by population density related factors may help developing interventions to treat infertility and other reproductive conditions.
When taking action means accepting responsibility: Omission bias predicts parents' reluctance to vaccinate due to greater anticipated culpability for negative side effects
Gary Sherman et al.
Journal of Consumer Affairs, forthcoming
Abstract:
Omission bias is the tendency to consider harm from inaction preferable to equivalent harm from action. In this work, we explored how individual differences in omission bias shape parental vaccine-related decisions. Parents with a stronger omission bias showed greater negative emotional response to physician vaccine policy, placed lower trust in medical providers, and assigned a lower priority on vaccination. We observed this pattern of results even among parents who prioritize vaccination. Heightened anticipation of moral culpability for action (e.g., a child experiences vaccine side effects) and a diminished anticipation of moral culpability for possible harms of not acting (e.g., a child contracts a vaccine-preventable disease) accounted for the effects we observed. These results suggest that parents' reluctance to vaccinate their children stems -- in part -- from the heightened perceived moral culpability that comes with taking action (versus not taking action).
Do high childcare costs and low access to Head Start and childcare subsidies limit mothers' employment? A state-level analysis
Liana Christin Landivar et al.
Social Science Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Access to affordable childcare is crucial to mothers' employment. Yet, childcare costs and access to Head Start, childcare subsidies, and state-funded preschool vary dramatically across U.S. states. Using data from the 2016 American Community Survey five-year estimates, we apply hierarchical logistic regression models to show mothers are more likely to work in states with inexpensive childcare, higher Head Start enrollment and childcare subsidy participation, and increased availability of state-funded preschool. Childcare subsidy access is associated with higher maternal employment amongst those with lower levels of educational attainment, whereas state-funded preschool is associated with higher employment primarily among the college educated. Additionally, our analysis revealed that Head Start has a stronger association with maternal employment in states where childcare costs are high, reducing the negative relationship of employment with expensive childcare. As national discussions continue to center on the importance of childcare, our research adds evidence that public programs support maternal employment through reducing out-of-pocket childcare costs.
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The Impact of State-Level Prenatal Substance Use Policies on Infant Foster Care Entry in the United States
Danielle Atkins & Christine Piette Durrance
Children and Youth Services Review, forthcoming
Participants and Setting: We use data on foster care entries for children less than 1 year from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System from 2000-2016.
Method: We employ a difference-in-difference approach to estimate the effect of state-level policies treating prenatal substance use realized at birth as child abuse or neglect on the rate of foster care entry for children less than age 1 year.
Results: We find these policies increase the rate of entry into the foster care system for children under the age of 1 year by approximately 9.5 percent (p<0.10). Falsification tests support no change in other age groups or unrelated reasons for removal.
Health Endowments, Schooling Allocation in the Family, and Longevity: Evidence from US Twins
Peter Savelyev et al.
College of William and Mary Working Paper, July 2021
Abstract:
We analyze data from the Minnesota Twin Registry (MTR), combined with the Socioeconomic Survey of Twins (SST), and new mortality data, and contribute to two bodies of literature. First, we demonstrate a beneficial causal effect of education on health and longevity in contrast to other twin-based studies of the US population, which show little or no effect of education on health. Second, we present evidence that parents compensate for differences in their children's health endowments through education, but find no evidence that parents reinforce differences in skill endowments. We argue that there is a bias towards detecting reinforcement both in this paper and in the literature. Despite this bias, we still find statistical evidence of compensating behavior. We account for observed and unobserved confounding factors, sample selection bias, and measurement error in education.
Doll play prompts social thinking and social talking: Representations of internal state language in the brain
Salim Hashmi et al.
Developmental Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
Doll play provides opportunities for children to practice social skills by creating imaginary worlds, taking others' perspectives, and talking about others' internal states. Previous research using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) found a region over the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) was more active during solo doll play than solo tablet play, implying that doll play might present opportunities for rehearsing theory of mind and empathy skills, even when playing alone. In this research, we addressed this more directly by investigating 4-8-year-old children's (N = 33) use of internal state language (ISL; i.e., references to emotions, desires, and cognitions) when playing with dolls and on tablets, both by themselves and with a social partner, and their associated brain activity in the pSTS using fNIRS. We found that children used more ISL about others when playing with dolls than when playing on tablets, particularly when they were playing alone. This mirrored the patterns seen in pSTS activity in previous research. When individual variability in ISL about others was considered, more ISL about others was linked to stronger pSTS activation. Thus, variability in pSTS activity during play is not about the perceptual or physical differences between toys (e.g., dolls are more human-like) but about what children think about when they engage in different kinds of play. This is the first research to investigate brain activity during spontaneously occurring ISL and indicates that children have a tendency to take and discuss others' perspectives during doll play, with implications for social processing in the brain.