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P. Reese
schedules of federal population censuses
shortly after their birth, economist Joseph
Ferrie can assess the effect of early life
circumstances on later life outcomes in
the United States. This will provide a
more accurate projection of the longevity
and late-life health of Americans entering
their mid-70s. Ferrie with Karen Rolf of
the University of Nebraska at Omaha
and Werner Troesken of the University
of Pittsburgh followed 40,000 individuals
born between 1900 and 1930. They
find that individual, household, and
community-level influ-ences all had
substantial effects on a person’s life
expectancy. For example, those born in
1918 during the influenza pandemic of
1918-19 lived two years less than those
born in 1915. They find those born in
the second (April to June) and third
(July to September) quarters of the year
have shorter lifespans, and they continue
to study the reasons behind this. Also,
household variables—either genetic or
environmental—have a large impact on
lifespans, and parental characteristics such
as education levels and occupation have
little impact on longevity.
HIV/AIDS
Researchers are increasingly documenting
the social context of infection risk and the
ways in which systems of inequality result
in disproportionate infection rates among
disadvantaged groups. However, little is
known about the everyday experiences of
those infected and how socioeconomic
factors shape their experiences. In an
ethnographic study of African American
women infected with HIV/ AIDS in
Chicago, sociologist Celeste Watkins-
Hayes is exploring how work, family
dynamics, social support networks, and
intimate relationships affect infected
black women. The study seeks to define
how HIV/AIDS impacts their daily
living, life chances, and social outcomes.
Currently in the data analysis stage, the
study is funded through the Center for
AIDS Prevention Studies’ Collaborative
HIV-Prevention Research in Minority
Communities Program, University of
California, San Francisco.
Law professor Dorothy Roberts continues
her work on gender, sexuality, and implications
for HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.
She is co-editing a volume of papers with
Rhoda Reddock of the University of the
West Indies that were presented at a
symposium on the topic. The research,
started while she was a Fulbright scholar
in Trinidad and Tobago, is part of a
comprehensive research initiative to
investigate how gender norms, expectations,
behaviors, and associated power relations
influence sexuality, in addition to the
implications for HIV/AIDS risk and
prevention in the Carribbean. Roberts is
Kirkland and Ellis Professor of Law.
Peer Effects
Economist Greg Duncan
continues his body of work looking
at peer empathy. In previous
work, he has found that having a
college roommate from a different
socioeconomic group makes
one more empathetic to that
particular socioeconomic group,
and college males who binge drank
in high school drank much more
in college if they roomed with
another binge drinker. Duncan and
Guang Guo of the University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill have
received funding for a replication
study at a second major public Celeste Watkins-Hayes discusses
university. It will focus on the her research on HIV/AIDS and
effects of racial and class diversity African American women.
on attitudes and behaviors and of
problem-drinking behavior. Duncan and
Guo will also employ a novel approach
to gather DNA and data exploring geneenvironment
interactions between certain
dopamine transporter genes and a random
assignment to a freshman roommate with a
drinking history.
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