Elyse A Jennings
Biographic Data
| ID | 335278 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Elyse A Jennings |
| GIVEN NAMES | Elyse A |
| FAMILY NAME | Jennings |
| SIGNATURE | JENNINGS E A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Harvard University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-2373-2138 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 20 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 103 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 20 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Social support receipt as a predictor of mortality
The mechanisms connecting various types of social support to mortality have been well-studied in high-income countries. However, less is known about how these relationships function in different socioeconomic contexts. We examined how four domains of social support—emotional, physical, financial, and informational—impact mortality within a sample of older adults living in a rural and resource-constrained setting. Using baseline survey and longitu…
In-Person Social Interactions and Anxiety During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Although the anxiety symptoms of women and men were similarly affected by declines in in-person social interaction, the modifying influence of household size is unique to women, likely due to gender-specific social roles. For women, living in larger households may mean greater caregiving burden, exacerbating the detrimental association between physical distancing and anxiety. On the other hand, both women and men may have used virtual means to co…
More than Measurement Error
This paper describes discrepancies in spouses’ reports of the use of female‐controlled, nonvisible contraceptive methods using data from rural Nepal that were collected monthly from both spouses of 822 couples between 2008 and 2016. We find that spouses in about half of couples provided discrepant reports during the period of observation, and these discrepancies occurred in 14 percent of the months of observation. We then investigate these discre…
Marital experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural South Africa
This paper advances the understanding of how marital transitions may influence mental health by investigating these associations among a population of rural, Black South Africans aged 40+ that was directly impacted by apartheid. Using two waves of data from 4,176 men and women in Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI), we investigated associations between marital experiences and depressiv…
The double-edged role of accessed status on health and well-being among middle- and older-age adults in rural South Africa
Supporting social capital theory, we find that having higher accessed status is associated with better health and well-being for older adults in a setting with limited formal support resources. However, the explanatory power of both theories appears to depending on other key factors, such as gender and network size, highlighting the importance of contextualizing theories in practice
Associations between cognitive function and marital status in the United States, South Africa, Mexico, and China
We investigate the associations between marital status and cognitive well-being among adults aged 50 and older across four settings: the United States, rural South Africa, Mexico, and China. Using a standardized measure of immediate word recall, we assess whether people in each non-married status have worse cognitive function than their married counterparts, and the extent to which these associations vary across settings. We theorize that the pra…
Who is at Risk? Social Support, Relationship Dissolution, and Illness in a Rural Context
This study focuses on a cohort of adults (40-plus) in rural South Africa to unpack associations between physical health and receipt of social support, and the extent to which these associations were moderated by marital status. We use logistic regression to estimate the odds of having received emotional, physical, or financial support separately for men (N = 2247) and women (N = 2609). Our results suggest having an Activity of Daily Living (ADL) …
Grandchild Caregiving and Cognitive Health Among Grandparents in Rural South Africa
Objectives: We investigate how caregiving for grandchildren is associated with cognitive function among rural South Africans, and whether the association differs by gender. We further investigate whether measures of physical activity or social engagement mediate this association. Methods: Data were from interviews with 3668 Black, South African grandparents in the "Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South …
Support in times of need
The relationship between mental health and receipt of social support is not well understood in low- and middle-income countries. In this paper, we focus on a cohort of older adults (40-plus) in rural South Africa to unpack associations between mental health and receipt of social support, and the extent to which marital status modifies these associations. We use baseline data from a population-based study, Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudina…
Receipt of emotional support among rural South African adults
As the world undergoes rapid ageing, informal support from friends and relatives is becoming especially important among older adults in middle- and low-income countries, where formalised social protections may be limited. We use new data from a cohort of adults aged 40 and older in rural South Africa to explore how receipt of emotional support differs by gender and marital status. Our findings suggest that women are more likely to get emotional s…
How Religion, Social Class, and Race Intersect in the Shaping of Young Women's Understandings of Sex, Reproduction, and Contraception
Using a complex religion framework, this study examines how and why three dimensions of religiosity-biblical literalism, personal religiosity, and religious service attendance-are related to young women's reproductive and contraceptive knowledge differently by social class and race. We triangulate the analysis of survey data from the Relationship Dynamics and Social Life (RDSL) study and semi-structured interview data from the National Study of Y…
Spatial and Temporal Dimensions of Migration on Union Dissolution
This investigation uses data from Nicaragua to evaluate the temporal and geographic influences of migration on union dissolution. We investigate the impact of three migration types: internal (within Nicaragua), South-South international (to Costa Rica), and South-North international (to the United States). We perform event history analyses using data from the Latin American Migration Project (LAMP) to test whether longer migrations (time) and mig…
Family composition and marital dissolution in rural Nepal, 1945-2008
The presence, number, sex, and age composition of children within families can have important influences on couples' marital outcomes. Children are valued across settings, but their value in settings where there is an absence of formalized social security is distinctive. This paper explores the influences of childlessness, and different number, age, and sex compositions of children, on the odds of marital dissolution among couples in rural Nepal.…
Predictors of Marital Dissolution During a Period of Rapid Social Change
Few studies have examined the causes and consequences of marital dissolution in non-Western settings. This article explores the fundamental factors that may predict marital dissolution in a mainly agrarian setting in South Asia, where collectivism has historically been valued over individualism and where life is centered on the family. Using event history analyses with retrospective life history data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study conducted…
The influence of wives' and husbands' fertility preferences on progression to a third birth in Nepal, 1997-2009
As couples across the globe increasingly exercise conscious control over their reproduction, both spouses' family-size preferences have the opportunity to influence their fertility. Using couple-level measures of rural Nepalese spouses' family-size preferences and more than a decade of monthly panel data collected subsequently on fertility outcomes, we investigate how both spouses' preferences influence progression to a third birth in a country w…
Response of sensitive behaviors to frequent measurement
Marital Discord and Subsequent Dissolution
The author examined the influence of marital discord on separation and divorce in a rural South Asian setting. Little is known about how marital discord influences marital outcomes in settings with low personal freedom and limited access to independence. Using a sample of 674 couples from the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal, the author investigated the impact of marital discord on the rate of marital dissolution and the extent to which wives…
The Influence of Neighbors' Family Size Preference on Progression to High Parity Births in Rural Nepal
Large families can have a negative impact on the health and well‐being of women, children, and their communities. Seventy‐three percent of the individuals in our rural Nepalese sample report that two children is their ideal number, yet about half of the married women continue childbearing after their second child. Using longitudinal data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study, we explore the influence of women's and neighbors' family size preferenc…
A Micro-Level Event-Centered Approach to Investigating Armed Conflict and Population Responses
In this article, we construct and test a micro-level event-centered approach to the study of armed conflict and behavioral responses in the general population. Event-centered approaches have been successfully used in the macro-political study of armed conflict but have not yet been adopted in micro-behavioral studies. The micro-level event-centered approach that we advocate here includes decomposition of a conflict into discrete political and vio…
The Effect of Parents' Attitudes on Sons' Marriage Timing
Theories of family stability and change, demographic processes, and social psychological influences on behavior all posit that parental attitudes and beliefs are a key influence on their children's behavior. We have evidence of these effects in Western populations, but little information regarding this social mechanism in non-Western contexts. Furthermore, comparisons of mothers' and fathers' independent roles in these crucial intergenerational m…
The Effect of Parents' Attitudes on Sons' Marriage Timing
Theories of family stability and change, demographic processes, and social psychological influences on behavior all posit that parental attitudes and beliefs are a key influence on their children's behavior. We have evidence of these effects in Western populations, but little information regarding this social mechanism in non-Western contexts. Furthermore, comparisons of mothers' and fathers' independent roles in these crucial intergenerational m…
A Micro-Level Event-Centered Approach to Investigating Armed Conflict and Population Responses
In this article, we construct and test a micro-level event-centered approach to the study of armed conflict and behavioral responses in the general population. Event-centered approaches have been successfully used in the macro-political study of armed conflict but have not yet been adopted in micro-behavioral studies. The micro-level event-centered approach that we advocate here includes decomposition of a conflict into discrete political and vio…
Marital Discord and Subsequent Dissolution
The author examined the influence of marital discord on separation and divorce in a rural South Asian setting. Little is known about how marital discord influences marital outcomes in settings with low personal freedom and limited access to independence. Using a sample of 674 couples from the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal, the author investigated the impact of marital discord on the rate of marital dissolution and the extent to which wives…
Predictors of Marital Dissolution During a Period of Rapid Social Change
Few studies have examined the causes and consequences of marital dissolution in non-Western settings. This article explores the fundamental factors that may predict marital dissolution in a mainly agrarian setting in South Asia, where collectivism has historically been valued over individualism and where life is centered on the family. Using event history analyses with retrospective life history data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study conducted…
The influence of wives' and husbands' fertility preferences on progression to a third birth in Nepal, 1997-2009
As couples across the globe increasingly exercise conscious control over their reproduction, both spouses' family-size preferences have the opportunity to influence their fertility. Using couple-level measures of rural Nepalese spouses' family-size preferences and more than a decade of monthly panel data collected subsequently on fertility outcomes, we investigate how both spouses' preferences influence progression to a third birth in a country w…
Grandchild Caregiving and Cognitive Health Among Grandparents in Rural South Africa
Objectives: We investigate how caregiving for grandchildren is associated with cognitive function among rural South Africans, and whether the association differs by gender. We further investigate whether measures of physical activity or social engagement mediate this association. Methods: Data were from interviews with 3668 Black, South African grandparents in the "Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South …
How Religion, Social Class, and Race Intersect in the Shaping of Young Women's Understandings of Sex, Reproduction, and Contraception
Using a complex religion framework, this study examines how and why three dimensions of religiosity-biblical literalism, personal religiosity, and religious service attendance-are related to young women's reproductive and contraceptive knowledge differently by social class and race. We triangulate the analysis of survey data from the Relationship Dynamics and Social Life (RDSL) study and semi-structured interview data from the National Study of Y…
Spatial and Temporal Dimensions of Migration on Union Dissolution
This investigation uses data from Nicaragua to evaluate the temporal and geographic influences of migration on union dissolution. We investigate the impact of three migration types: internal (within Nicaragua), South-South international (to Costa Rica), and South-North international (to the United States). We perform event history analyses using data from the Latin American Migration Project (LAMP) to test whether longer migrations (time) and mig…
The Influence of Neighbors' Family Size Preference on Progression to High Parity Births in Rural Nepal
Large families can have a negative impact on the health and well‐being of women, children, and their communities. Seventy‐three percent of the individuals in our rural Nepalese sample report that two children is their ideal number, yet about half of the married women continue childbearing after their second child. Using longitudinal data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study, we explore the influence of women's and neighbors' family size preferenc…
Family composition and marital dissolution in rural Nepal, 1945-2008
The presence, number, sex, and age composition of children within families can have important influences on couples' marital outcomes. Children are valued across settings, but their value in settings where there is an absence of formalized social security is distinctive. This paper explores the influences of childlessness, and different number, age, and sex compositions of children, on the odds of marital dissolution among couples in rural Nepal.…
Receipt of emotional support among rural South African adults
As the world undergoes rapid ageing, informal support from friends and relatives is becoming especially important among older adults in middle- and low-income countries, where formalised social protections may be limited. We use new data from a cohort of adults aged 40 and older in rural South Africa to explore how receipt of emotional support differs by gender and marital status. Our findings suggest that women are more likely to get emotional s…
Response of sensitive behaviors to frequent measurement
A Micro-Level Event-Centered Approach to Investigating Armed Conflict and Population Responses
In this article, we construct and test a micro-level event-centered approach to the study of armed conflict and behavioral responses in the general population. Event-centered approaches have been successfully used in the macro-political study of armed conflict but have not yet been adopted in micro-behavioral studies. The micro-level event-centered approach that we advocate here includes decomposition of a conflict into discrete political and vio…
The Effect of Parents' Attitudes on Sons' Marriage Timing
Theories of family stability and change, demographic processes, and social psychological influences on behavior all posit that parental attitudes and beliefs are a key influence on their children's behavior. We have evidence of these effects in Western populations, but little information regarding this social mechanism in non-Western contexts. Furthermore, comparisons of mothers' and fathers' independent roles in these crucial intergenerational m…
The Influence of Neighbors' Family Size Preference on Progression to High Parity Births in Rural Nepal
Large families can have a negative impact on the health and well‐being of women, children, and their communities. Seventy‐three percent of the individuals in our rural Nepalese sample report that two children is their ideal number, yet about half of the married women continue childbearing after their second child. Using longitudinal data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study, we explore the influence of women's and neighbors' family size preferenc…
Marital Discord and Subsequent Dissolution
The author examined the influence of marital discord on separation and divorce in a rural South Asian setting. Little is known about how marital discord influences marital outcomes in settings with low personal freedom and limited access to independence. Using a sample of 674 couples from the Chitwan Valley Family Study in Nepal, the author investigated the impact of marital discord on the rate of marital dissolution and the extent to which wives…
Response of sensitive behaviors to frequent measurement
Predictors of Marital Dissolution During a Period of Rapid Social Change
Few studies have examined the causes and consequences of marital dissolution in non-Western settings. This article explores the fundamental factors that may predict marital dissolution in a mainly agrarian setting in South Asia, where collectivism has historically been valued over individualism and where life is centered on the family. Using event history analyses with retrospective life history data from the Chitwan Valley Family Study conducted…
The influence of wives' and husbands' fertility preferences on progression to a third birth in Nepal, 1997-2009
As couples across the globe increasingly exercise conscious control over their reproduction, both spouses' family-size preferences have the opportunity to influence their fertility. Using couple-level measures of rural Nepalese spouses' family-size preferences and more than a decade of monthly panel data collected subsequently on fertility outcomes, we investigate how both spouses' preferences influence progression to a third birth in a country w…
Family composition and marital dissolution in rural Nepal, 1945-2008
The presence, number, sex, and age composition of children within families can have important influences on couples' marital outcomes. Children are valued across settings, but their value in settings where there is an absence of formalized social security is distinctive. This paper explores the influences of childlessness, and different number, age, and sex compositions of children, on the odds of marital dissolution among couples in rural Nepal.…
Spatial and Temporal Dimensions of Migration on Union Dissolution
This investigation uses data from Nicaragua to evaluate the temporal and geographic influences of migration on union dissolution. We investigate the impact of three migration types: internal (within Nicaragua), South-South international (to Costa Rica), and South-North international (to the United States). We perform event history analyses using data from the Latin American Migration Project (LAMP) to test whether longer migrations (time) and mig…
Support in times of need
The relationship between mental health and receipt of social support is not well understood in low- and middle-income countries. In this paper, we focus on a cohort of older adults (40-plus) in rural South Africa to unpack associations between mental health and receipt of social support, and the extent to which marital status modifies these associations. We use baseline data from a population-based study, Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudina…
Receipt of emotional support among rural South African adults
As the world undergoes rapid ageing, informal support from friends and relatives is becoming especially important among older adults in middle- and low-income countries, where formalised social protections may be limited. We use new data from a cohort of adults aged 40 and older in rural South Africa to explore how receipt of emotional support differs by gender and marital status. Our findings suggest that women are more likely to get emotional s…
How Religion, Social Class, and Race Intersect in the Shaping of Young Women's Understandings of Sex, Reproduction, and Contraception
Using a complex religion framework, this study examines how and why three dimensions of religiosity-biblical literalism, personal religiosity, and religious service attendance-are related to young women's reproductive and contraceptive knowledge differently by social class and race. We triangulate the analysis of survey data from the Relationship Dynamics and Social Life (RDSL) study and semi-structured interview data from the National Study of Y…
Grandchild Caregiving and Cognitive Health Among Grandparents in Rural South Africa
Objectives: We investigate how caregiving for grandchildren is associated with cognitive function among rural South Africans, and whether the association differs by gender. We further investigate whether measures of physical activity or social engagement mediate this association. Methods: Data were from interviews with 3668 Black, South African grandparents in the "Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South …
Marital experiences and depressive symptoms among older adults in rural South Africa
This paper advances the understanding of how marital transitions may influence mental health by investigating these associations among a population of rural, Black South Africans aged 40+ that was directly impacted by apartheid. Using two waves of data from 4,176 men and women in Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI), we investigated associations between marital experiences and depressiv…
The double-edged role of accessed status on health and well-being among middle- and older-age adults in rural South Africa
Supporting social capital theory, we find that having higher accessed status is associated with better health and well-being for older adults in a setting with limited formal support resources. However, the explanatory power of both theories appears to depending on other key factors, such as gender and network size, highlighting the importance of contextualizing theories in practice
Associations between cognitive function and marital status in the United States, South Africa, Mexico, and China
We investigate the associations between marital status and cognitive well-being among adults aged 50 and older across four settings: the United States, rural South Africa, Mexico, and China. Using a standardized measure of immediate word recall, we assess whether people in each non-married status have worse cognitive function than their married counterparts, and the extent to which these associations vary across settings. We theorize that the pra…
Who is at Risk? Social Support, Relationship Dissolution, and Illness in a Rural Context
This study focuses on a cohort of adults (40-plus) in rural South Africa to unpack associations between physical health and receipt of social support, and the extent to which these associations were moderated by marital status. We use logistic regression to estimate the odds of having received emotional, physical, or financial support separately for men (N = 2247) and women (N = 2609). Our results suggest having an Activity of Daily Living (ADL) …
In-Person Social Interactions and Anxiety During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Although the anxiety symptoms of women and men were similarly affected by declines in in-person social interaction, the modifying influence of household size is unique to women, likely due to gender-specific social roles. For women, living in larger households may mean greater caregiving burden, exacerbating the detrimental association between physical distancing and anxiety. On the other hand, both women and men may have used virtual means to co…
More than Measurement Error
This paper describes discrepancies in spouses’ reports of the use of female‐controlled, nonvisible contraceptive methods using data from rural Nepal that were collected monthly from both spouses of 822 couples between 2008 and 2016. We find that spouses in about half of couples provided discrepant reports during the period of observation, and these discrepancies occurred in 14 percent of the months of observation. We then investigate these discre…
Social support receipt as a predictor of mortality
The mechanisms connecting various types of social support to mortality have been well-studied in high-income countries. However, less is known about how these relationships function in different socioeconomic contexts. We examined how four domains of social support—emotional, physical, financial, and informational—impact mortality within a sample of older adults living in a rural and resource-constrained setting. Using baseline survey and longitu…
Psychology (19 works) · Population (16 works) · Demography (14 works) · Sociology (14 works) · Medicine (13 works) · Social Psychology (13 works) · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving (12 works) · Family Dynamics and Relationships (9 works) · Health disparities and outcomes (9 works) · Social Psychology (9 works)