N J Spence
Biographic Data
| ID | 23654 |
|---|---|
| NAME | N J Spence |
| GIVEN NAMES | N J |
| FAMILY NAME | Spence |
| SIGNATURE | SPENCE N J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-0724-9429 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 63 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 14 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
State Power and Covid-19 Vaccination Efforts
The COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to assess how different forms of state power shape public health outcomes during a global crisis. Drawing on Michael Mann's distinction between infrastructural and despotic power, we construct a typology of states and evaluate its predictive power for COVID-19 vaccination rates in 161 countries across three pandemic periods (2021, 2022, 2023). Our analysis shows that infrastructural power-a stat…
Getting back to normal? Identity and role disruptions among adults with Long Covid
Long COVID is a novel chronic illness with a variety of symptoms that people who have labelled themselves 'long-haulers' experience for an extended duration following a COVID-19 infection. We draw on in-depth interviews conducted in March-April 2021 with 20 working-aged adults in the U.S. who self-identified as long-haulers to understand the consequences for identities. The results demonstrate that Long COVID has important consequences for identi…
Support amid uncertainty
Long COVID is characterized by persistent and debilitating long-term symptoms from COVID-19. Many persons with Long COVID began gathering in online communities during the early phases of the pandemic to share their illness experiences. This qualitative interview study explored the subjective experiences of 20 persons with Long COVID recruited from five online communities. Their understandings of illness and associated implications for social rela…
Where the Fault Lies
The unprecedented number of deaths in the U.S. attributed to opioids has been referred to as an “epidemic of addiction.” Media coverage of the epidemic has stoked public discussion of addiction on social media platforms. This article describes how addiction is represented in comments on media coverage of the “opioid epidemic” and examines the relationship between media framing and audience representations of addiction. Content analysis methods we…
‘It’s so scary how common this is now
Deaths from opioid overdose in the US have increased five-fold since 1999. Ohio ranks second among states in drug overdose deaths, with more than 39 deaths for every 100,000 people. In light of this, opioid addiction and related issues have garnered substantial media attention. However, few studies have examined the content and framing of opioid-related media coverage or explored ways that audiences react to coverage of the crisis within their co…
Opportunity Costs and Latinas’ Family Formation Attitudes
Cultural ideals and acculturation influence Latinas’ fertility-related attitudes and family size preferences within the context of the U.S. social and economic structure. In this context, there may be “costs” associated with enacting preferences favoring family building over other opportunities or demands. This article draws on data collected from focus groups conducted with college-educated Latinas in the Bronx, New York ( n = 16) to demonstrate…
Does Adolescent Family Structure Predict Military Enlistment? A Comparison of Post-High School Activities
This article investigates the link between adolescent family structure and the likelihood of military enlistment in young adulthood as compared with alternative post-high school activities. The authors use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and multinomial logistic regression analyses to compare the odds of military enlistment with college attendance or labor force involvement. They find that alternative family structu…
Status Configurations, Military Service and Higher Education
The U.S. Armed Forces offer educational and training benefits as incentives for service. This study investigates the influence of status configurations on military enlistment and their link to greater educational opportunity. Three statuses (socioeconomic status of origin, cognitive ability and academic performance) have particular relevance for life course options. We hypothesize that young men with inconsistent statuses are more likely to enlis…
Racial Differences in Depression Trajectories among Older Women
Despite recent increases in life course research on mental illness, important questions remain about the social patterning of, and explanations for, depression trajectories among women in later life. The authors investigate competing theoretical frameworks for the age patterning of depressive symptoms and the physical health, socioeconomic, and family mechanisms differentiating black and white women. Using data from the National Longitudinal Surv…
Adolescents’ Sexual Initiation
Pathways to the All-Volunteer Military
OBJECTIVES: The present study investigates the role of a disadvantaged background, the lack of social connectedness, and behavioral problems in channeling young men to the opportunities of the all-volunteer military instead of to college and the labor market. METHODS: Data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the United States. The analytic sample consists of 6,938 white, black, and other males. RESULTS: The…
The mental health and psychosocial adjustment of Cuban immigrants in south Florida
Age at first birth, parity, and post-reproductive mortality among white and black women in the US, 1982-2002
The Long-Term Consequences of Childbearing
Growing evidence points to relationships between patterns of childbearing and health outcomes for mothers; yet a need remains to clarify these relationships over the long term and to understand the underlying mechanisms. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women ( N = 1,608), the author found that the long-term consequences of childbearing vary by health outcome. Early childbearing is associated with higher risk of activiti…
Pathways to the All-Volunteer Military
OBJECTIVES: The present study investigates the role of a disadvantaged background, the lack of social connectedness, and behavioral problems in channeling young men to the opportunities of the all-volunteer military instead of to college and the labor market. METHODS: Data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the United States. The analytic sample consists of 6,938 white, black, and other males. RESULTS: The…
Age at first birth, parity, and post-reproductive mortality among white and black women in the US, 1982-2002
The mental health and psychosocial adjustment of Cuban immigrants in south Florida
Where the Fault Lies
The unprecedented number of deaths in the U.S. attributed to opioids has been referred to as an “epidemic of addiction.” Media coverage of the epidemic has stoked public discussion of addiction on social media platforms. This article describes how addiction is represented in comments on media coverage of the “opioid epidemic” and examines the relationship between media framing and audience representations of addiction. Content analysis methods we…
Racial Differences in Depression Trajectories among Older Women
Despite recent increases in life course research on mental illness, important questions remain about the social patterning of, and explanations for, depression trajectories among women in later life. The authors investigate competing theoretical frameworks for the age patterning of depressive symptoms and the physical health, socioeconomic, and family mechanisms differentiating black and white women. Using data from the National Longitudinal Surv…
Getting back to normal? Identity and role disruptions among adults with Long Covid
Long COVID is a novel chronic illness with a variety of symptoms that people who have labelled themselves 'long-haulers' experience for an extended duration following a COVID-19 infection. We draw on in-depth interviews conducted in March-April 2021 with 20 working-aged adults in the U.S. who self-identified as long-haulers to understand the consequences for identities. The results demonstrate that Long COVID has important consequences for identi…
Does Adolescent Family Structure Predict Military Enlistment? A Comparison of Post-High School Activities
This article investigates the link between adolescent family structure and the likelihood of military enlistment in young adulthood as compared with alternative post-high school activities. The authors use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and multinomial logistic regression analyses to compare the odds of military enlistment with college attendance or labor force involvement. They find that alternative family structu…
Adolescents’ Sexual Initiation
The Long-Term Consequences of Childbearing
Growing evidence points to relationships between patterns of childbearing and health outcomes for mothers; yet a need remains to clarify these relationships over the long term and to understand the underlying mechanisms. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women ( N = 1,608), the author found that the long-term consequences of childbearing vary by health outcome. Early childbearing is associated with higher risk of activiti…
Age at first birth, parity, and post-reproductive mortality among white and black women in the US, 1982-2002
Adolescents’ Sexual Initiation
Pathways to the All-Volunteer Military
OBJECTIVES: The present study investigates the role of a disadvantaged background, the lack of social connectedness, and behavioral problems in channeling young men to the opportunities of the all-volunteer military instead of to college and the labor market. METHODS: Data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health in the United States. The analytic sample consists of 6,938 white, black, and other males. RESULTS: The…
The mental health and psychosocial adjustment of Cuban immigrants in south Florida
Racial Differences in Depression Trajectories among Older Women
Despite recent increases in life course research on mental illness, important questions remain about the social patterning of, and explanations for, depression trajectories among women in later life. The authors investigate competing theoretical frameworks for the age patterning of depressive symptoms and the physical health, socioeconomic, and family mechanisms differentiating black and white women. Using data from the National Longitudinal Surv…
Status Configurations, Military Service and Higher Education
The U.S. Armed Forces offer educational and training benefits as incentives for service. This study investigates the influence of status configurations on military enlistment and their link to greater educational opportunity. Three statuses (socioeconomic status of origin, cognitive ability and academic performance) have particular relevance for life course options. We hypothesize that young men with inconsistent statuses are more likely to enlis…
Does Adolescent Family Structure Predict Military Enlistment? A Comparison of Post-High School Activities
This article investigates the link between adolescent family structure and the likelihood of military enlistment in young adulthood as compared with alternative post-high school activities. The authors use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and multinomial logistic regression analyses to compare the odds of military enlistment with college attendance or labor force involvement. They find that alternative family structu…
Opportunity Costs and Latinas’ Family Formation Attitudes
Cultural ideals and acculturation influence Latinas’ fertility-related attitudes and family size preferences within the context of the U.S. social and economic structure. In this context, there may be “costs” associated with enacting preferences favoring family building over other opportunities or demands. This article draws on data collected from focus groups conducted with college-educated Latinas in the Bronx, New York ( n = 16) to demonstrate…
‘It’s so scary how common this is now
Deaths from opioid overdose in the US have increased five-fold since 1999. Ohio ranks second among states in drug overdose deaths, with more than 39 deaths for every 100,000 people. In light of this, opioid addiction and related issues have garnered substantial media attention. However, few studies have examined the content and framing of opioid-related media coverage or explored ways that audiences react to coverage of the crisis within their co…
Where the Fault Lies
The unprecedented number of deaths in the U.S. attributed to opioids has been referred to as an “epidemic of addiction.” Media coverage of the epidemic has stoked public discussion of addiction on social media platforms. This article describes how addiction is represented in comments on media coverage of the “opioid epidemic” and examines the relationship between media framing and audience representations of addiction. Content analysis methods we…
Support amid uncertainty
Long COVID is characterized by persistent and debilitating long-term symptoms from COVID-19. Many persons with Long COVID began gathering in online communities during the early phases of the pandemic to share their illness experiences. This qualitative interview study explored the subjective experiences of 20 persons with Long COVID recruited from five online communities. Their understandings of illness and associated implications for social rela…
Getting back to normal? Identity and role disruptions among adults with Long Covid
Long COVID is a novel chronic illness with a variety of symptoms that people who have labelled themselves 'long-haulers' experience for an extended duration following a COVID-19 infection. We draw on in-depth interviews conducted in March-April 2021 with 20 working-aged adults in the U.S. who self-identified as long-haulers to understand the consequences for identities. The results demonstrate that Long COVID has important consequences for identi…
State Power and Covid-19 Vaccination Efforts
The COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to assess how different forms of state power shape public health outcomes during a global crisis. Drawing on Michael Mann's distinction between infrastructural and despotic power, we construct a typology of states and evaluate its predictive power for COVID-19 vaccination rates in 161 countries across three pandemic periods (2021, 2022, 2023). Our analysis shows that infrastructural power-a stat…
Psychology (12 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Medicine (8 works) · Political science (6 works) · Psychiatry (5 works) · Demography (4 works) · Gerontology (4 works) · Law (4 works) · Population (4 works) · Criminology (3 works)