Bob Andersen

• Dangur-Levy, S.; Andersen, R.; Holm, A., 2023, "Sources of mathematics self-efficacy: The interactive role of parental education and perceptions of teachers", Can Rev Sociol., November 60(4): 668 - 685.
  Abstract: Abstract Using US National Education Longitudinal Study (NELS) data, we explore how parental education and primary students? perceptions of their teachers interact to impact students? self-efficacy in mathematics. Our results demonstrate that students tend to have higher self-efficacy if they perceive that their teacher promotes the importance of mathematics. This relationship holds regardless of parental education, though it is strongest for children of parents without a university education. Children of less educated parents also tend to have lower self-efficacy if they attend private schools, which typically have high average parental socio-economic status (SES). School type has no discernable impact on children of university-educated parents. These findings are highly relevant to the Canadian context, which is characterized by schools being stratified by SES and the high importance of STEM education for occupational outcomes.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://doi.org/10.1111/cars.12454

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cars.12454

• Holm, A.; Hjorth-Trolle, A.; Andersen, R., (Forthcoming), "Lagged Dependent Variable Predictors, Classical Measurement Error, and Path Dependency: The Conditions Under Which Various Estimators are Appropriate", Sociological Methods & Research: 00491241231176845 - 00491241231176845.
  Abstract: Lagged dependent variables (LDVs) are often used as predictors in ordinary least squares (OLS) models in the social sciences. Although several estimators are commonly employed, little is known about their relative merits in the presence of classical measurement error and different longitudinal processes. We assess the performance of four commonly used estimators: (1) the standard OLS estimator, (2) an average of past measures (AVG), (3) an instrumental variable (IV) measured at one period previously (IV), and (4) an IV derived from information from more than one time before (IV2). We also propose a new estimator for fixed effects models?the first difference instrumental variable (FDIV) estimator. After exploring the consistency of these estimators, we demonstrate their performance using an empirical application predicting primary school test scores. Our results demonstrate that for a Markov process with classic measurement error (CME), IV and IV2 estimators are generally consistent; LDV and AVG estimators are not. For a semi-Markov process, only the IV2 estimator is consistent. On the other hand, if fixed effects are included in the model, only the FDIV estimator is consistent. We end with advice on how to select the appropriate estimator.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://doi.org/10.1177/00491241231176845

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00491241231176845

• Avan, A.; Hachinski, V.; Aamodt, A. H.; Alessi, C.; Ali, S.; Alladi, S.; Andersen, R.; Anderson, K. K.; Azarpazhooh, M. R.; Bassetti, C. L. A., et al., 2022, "Brain health: Key to health, productivity, and well-being", Alzheimer's and Dementia, July 18(7): 1396 - 1407.
  Abstract: Brain health is essential for physical and mental health, social well-being, productivity, and creativity. Current neurological research focuses mainly on treating a diseased brain and preventing further deterioration rather than on developing and maintaining brain health. The pandemic has forced a shift toward virtual working environments that accelerated opportunities for transdisciplinary collaboration for fostering brain health among neurologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, neuro and socio-behavioral scientists, scholars in arts and humanities, policymakers, and citizens. This could shed light on the interconnectedness of physical, mental, environmental, and socioeconomic determinants of brain disease and health. We advocate making brain health the top priority worldwide, developing common measures and definitions to enhance research and policy, and finding the cause of the decline of incidence of stroke and dementia in some countries and then applying comprehensive customized cost-effective prevention solutions in actionable implementation units. Life cycle brain health offers the best single individual, communal, and global investment.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/alz.12478

• Andersen, R.; Curtis, J.; Brym, R., 2021, "Public support for social security in 66 countries: Prosperity, inequality, and household income as interactive causes", British Journal of Sociology, December 72(5): 1347 - 1377.
  Abstract: It is widely accepted that support for government intervention is highest among people in lower socioeconomic positions, during economic recessions and in less prosperous countries. However, the relationship between income inequality and attitudes toward government intervention is less clear. We contribute new insights to both questions by exploring how subjective household income, economic prosperity, and income inequality interact to influence attitudes. Using mixed-effects and country fixed-effects models fitted to data from 66 countries, we demonstrate that income inequality has a strong positive impact on attitudes toward government intervention in rich countries but no discernable effect in poor countries. Concomitantly, the impact of economic prosperity differs by level of inequality. It has little effect when income inequality is relatively low, a weakening effect as inequality rises, and no apparent effect when inequality is high. Consistent with these findings, the effect of subjective household income on attitudes toward government intervention is strongest in countries that are simultaneously very prosperous and highly unequal. Taken together, these findings suggest that if inequality continues to rise, especially in rich countries, public demand for social spending will eventually increase as well.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33704783/

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12842

• Andersen, R.; Holm, A.; Côté, J. E., 2021, "The student mental health crisis: Assessing psychiatric and developmental explanatory models", Journal of Adolescence, January 86: 101 - 114.
  Abstract: Introduction: Student mental health problems are now commonly understood using a psychiatric model in which diagnosed anxiety and mood disorders are viewed to be so widespread as to constitute a crisis. Less attention is given to the role of developmental processes, such as identity formation and purpose, in understanding the types of distress current university students can experience. We fill this void by simultaneously assessing the effectiveness of both psychiatric and developmental variables in predicting how often students feel emotional distress in the form of frequently feeling too anxious, depressed, or overwhelmed to study. Methods: Binary logit models were fitted to online survey data collected from a cross-sectional, nation-wide sample of 1010 Canadian full-time university students aged 18 to 24 (63% female). Results: Our findings confirm that the psychiatric and developmental models both explain variance in academic distress. We also found that a developmental model operationalized using key measures of identity formation and purpose significantly accounted for academic distress, over and above variance explained by psychiatric diagnoses. In other words, not only do many students with a psychiatric diagnosis experience distress linked to problems with identity/purpose that interferes with studying, but so do a considerable proportion of students without any diagnosis. This impact persists after controlling for a host of variables assessing demographic/family background, academic preparation and performance, and a number of factors believed to aggravate emotional distress. Conclusions: Universities can respond to the mental health crisis by approaching some forms of distress as developmental problems associated with identity and purpose.

  Link(s) to publication:

  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33429156/

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.12.004

• Andersen, R.; Yaish, M., 2018, "Preferences for the distribution of incomes in modern societies: The enduring influence of social class and economic context", Canadian Public Policy-Analyse De Politiques, June 44(2): 190 - 205.
  Abstract: Using International Social Survey Program data, we explore the relationship between economic context and attitudes with respect to the distribution of incomes in 20 modern societies, including Canada. Our findings demonstrate that economic inequality has an enduring influence on attitudes. Consistent with the economic self-interest thesis, preferences for equality are strongest among those in working-class occupations. Moreover, independent of one's own social class, one's father's social class has a similar enduring impact on attitudes later in life. These relationships are relatively similar across the 20 societies we explore. Still, significant differences in attitudes can be explained by national economic context. We find a strong positive relationship between national-level inequality and opinions on how much inequality there ought to be in the income distribution. In contrast to previous research, however, our findings suggest that national-level economic prosperity and equality of opportunity have little influence on public opinion.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2017-014

• Andersen, R.; Brym, R., 2017, "How Terrorism Affects Attitudes toward Democracy: Tunisia in 2015", Canadian Review of Sociology, November 54(4): 519 - 529.
  Abstract: Tunisia is the only country that emerged from the Arab Spring as a democracy. However, Tunisian democracy is threatened by political divisions, economic problems, and the threat of terrorist attacks. We shed light on Tunisia's democratic prospects by examining (1) the degree to which major terrorist attacks in 2015 influenced Tunisian public opinion on democracy and (2) the extent to which preference for a democratic system affected opinions on the prospects for democracy in Tunisia. We use data from three waves of a nationwide survey conducted just before and just after Tunisia's first major terrorist attack, and just after the country's second major terrorist attack. We demonstrate that after the attacks the Tunisian public became less favourable toward democracy and less optimistic that Tunisia would soon be ready for it. Such scepticism was widespread, affecting people who preferred democracy as much as those who did not. We conclude that the prospects for Tunisian democracy are more precarious than is sometimes assumed.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cars.12175

• Alexander, J. T.; Andersen, R.; Cookson, P. W.; Edin, K.; Fisher, J.; Grusky, D. B.; Mattingly, M.; Varner, C., 2017, "A Qualitative Census of Rural and Urban Poverty", Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, July 672(1): 143 - 161.
  Abstract: If we want to build authentic evidence-based policy, we need a strong descriptive foundation of evidence on the everyday experience of poverty. The National Poverty Study (NPS), which is currently in development, provides this foundation with a new “qualitative census” of the everyday conditions of poverty in rural, suburban, and urban sites. The NPS will allow us to build new evidence-based theories of poverty, evaluate and improve existing place-based antipoverty policies, validate official poverty measures, and assist local communities in improving the safety net for vulnerable populations.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002716217714156

• Zhang, T. H.; Brym, R.; Andersen, R., 2017, "Liberalism and Postmaterialism in China: The Role of Social Class and Inequality", Chinese Sociological Review, January 49(1): 65 - 87.
  Abstract: The postmaterialist thesis holds that postmaterialist and liberal values tend to be strongest in affluent locations and among people in higher socioeconomic positions. We demonstrate the degree to which China fails to conform to these expectations and seek to account for Chinese exceptionalism. We use multilevel models fitted to 2006 Chinese General Social Survey data to test the postmaterialist thesis. In general, we find expected associations for postmaterialism but not for liberalism. Indicators of individual-level status, including household income, middle/upper class status, urban residence, and majority ethnic group status are not associated with liberalism. Provincial-level affluence is not positively associated with either postmaterialism or liberalism, while income inequality is positively associated with liberalism. We conclude that in highly collectivist cultures like China's, economic development can have unexpected effects on value change. Growing inequality, which people in lower-status positions perceive as a threat, can promote liberalism, while people who benefit most from rising affluence and growing inequality may be more inclined to support traditional than liberal values.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21620555.2016.1227239

• Brym, R.; Andersen, R., 2016, "Democracy, women’s rights, and public opinion in Tunisia", International Sociology, May 31(3): 253 - 267.
  Abstract: The Arab Spring demonstrated that public opinion can powerfully affect the region’s political life. Tunisia is particularly important in this regard; it is the Arab country where democracy has taken firmest root and is therefore of enormous geopolitical significance insofar as it can serve as a model for other countries in the region. This article assesses the state of Tunisian democracy using data from a 2015 survey of 1580 Tunisian adults. It finds that most of the country’s citizens are ambivalent or skeptical about the Arab Spring’s benefits, while support for freedom of speech has weakened in recent years. A multivariate analysis assesses the impact of socio-demographic factors and support for women’s rights (key to the entrenchment of democracy in Tunisia) on democratic attitudes. It is concluded that, while Tunisia’s political record to date provides grounds for cautiously forecasting that democracy will endure, its path is unlikely to be easy.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0268580916629622

• Andersen, R.; Curtis, J., 2015, "Social Class, Economic Inequality, and the Convergence of Policy Preferences: Evidence from 24 Modern Democracies", Canadian Review of Sociology, August 52(3): 266 - 288.
  Abstract: Using data from the World Values Survey and national-level indicators for 24 modern democracies, we assess the influence of social class and economic inequality on preferences for government responsibility. We improve on previous research by using multilevel models that account for differences in attitudes both within (i.e., over time) and across countries. Our findings are consistent with the economic self-interest hypothesis. Specifically, working class individuals, who tend to gain the most from government intervention because of their low and often more precarious economic position, are more likely than others to support government intervention. We also find a positive relationship between national-level income inequality and support for government intervention. As income inequality rises, its social ills tend to be more pervasive, resulting in public opinion becoming more supportive of governments taking responsibility for their citizens. We further demonstrate that inequality moderates the relationship between social class and attitudes. Although the effect of income inequality is positive for all social classes, attitudes across social classes become more similar as inequality rises.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cars.12077

• Curtis, J.; Andersen, B., 2015, "How Social Class Shapes Attitudes on Economic Inequality: The Competing Forces of Self-Interest and Legitimation", International Review of Social Research, June 5(1): 4 - 19.
  Abstract: Using survey data from the World Values Survey (WVS) and national-level statistics from various official sources, we explore how attitudes toward economic inequality are shaped by economic conditions across 24 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Consistent with the economic self-interest thesis, we find that where income inequality is low, those in lower economic positions tend to be less likely than those in higher economic positions to favor it being increased. On the other hand, where economic resources are highly unequally distributed, the adverse effects of inequality climb the class ladder, resulting in the middle classes being just as likely as the working class to favor a reduction in inequality. Our results further suggest that people tend to see current levels of inequality as legitimate, regardless of their own economic position, but nonetheless desire economic change—i.e., they would like to see inequality reduced—if they perceive it could improve their own economic situation.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/irsr-2015-0002

• Sealey, A.; Andersen, R., 2015, "Income inequality and popular support for redistributive policies in Canada, 1993-2008", Canadian Public Policy, March 41(1): 51 - 64.
  Abstract: Using Canadian Election Study data, we explore the relationship between income inequality and popular support for redistribution in Canada between 1993 and 2008. We demonstrate that the relationship between inequality and attitudes toward redistribution tends to be positive within provinces but negative across them. We argue that two markedly different mechanisms explain this discrepancy. First, within any particular political and economic context, people are more likely to benefit from redistribution, and hence support it, when inequality is high. Second, both inequality and attitudes toward redistribution are affected by characteristics unique to provincial political cultures, which results in attitudes toward redistribution having a different baseline depending on the province. We end with a discussion of the policy implications of these findings.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2014-007

• Milligan, S.; Andersen, R.; Brym, R., 2014, "Assessing Variation in Tolerance in 23 Muslim-Majority and Western Countries", Canadian Review of Sociology, August 51(3): 239 - 261.
  Abstract: Scholars disagree over whether Islam hinders the development of liberal democracy in Muslim-majority countries. We contribute to this debate by assessing the influence of Islam at the individual and national levels on ethnic, racial, and religious tolerance in 23 countries. Our analyses are based on a set of multilevel models fitted to World Values Survey data and national-level contextual information from various sources. Our findings suggest that people living in Muslim-majority countries tend to be less tolerant than are those living in Western countries. Although a significant part of this difference is attributable to variation in level of economic development and income inequality, Muslim countries remain less tolerant even after controlling for these factors. On the other hand, controlling for other individual-level factors, nonpracticing Muslims in Western countries are more tolerant than are all others in both Muslim-majority and Western countries. This finding challenges common claims about the effects of Islam as a religion on tolerance, suggesting that it is Islamic political regimes-not Islam itself-that pose problems for social tolerance. © 2014 Canadian Sociological Association/La Société canadienne de sociologie.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cars.12046

• Andersen, R.; Heath, A.; Sinnott, R., 2012, "Political knowledge and electoral choice", Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, December 12(1): 11 - 27.
  Abstract: This article assesses the impact of political knowledge on electoral choice during the 2001 British election. It explores the impact of knowledge of what party platforms say about taxation, privatization and Europe on the relationships between respondent's positions on these issues and their voting behaviour. The results show that knowledge does in fact affect how people vote. This was especially evident for all issues in the contrast between voting for the Conservatives and voting for the Liberal Democrats. On the other hand, knowledge about party positions on taxation and privatization had little effect on the contrast between voting Labour and voting Liberal Democrat. However, knowledge of party positions on Europe, an issue about which voters would have difficulty finding effective shortcuts, did have a significant impact on all vote choices. A practical political implication of these findings is that the Liberal Democrats seem to benefit when voters are knowledgeable, suggesting that their performance at the polls could be improved with greater exposure.

  Link(s) to publication:

  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13689880208413067

For more publications please see our Research Database