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Throughout parts of the Western world, populist nationalism has gained increasing momentum. Despite cross-national differences in populist leaders and parties, one common feature stands out: xenophobic prejudice. This paper examines in the U.S. context, first, a common assumption linking outgroup threat perception with support for restrictive immigration. Second, more importantly, this paper tests how and the extent to which collective (state-level) social capital independently influences the American citizens' anti-immigrant attitudes, as well as whether it moderates the association between outgroup threat and preference for restricting immigration. Multilevel models based on a nationally representative sample show that people who hold higher perceptions of outgroup threat are indeed more likely to oppose immigration. By contrast, living in a state endowed with more social capital is associated with pro-immigration attitudes. Last, the association between security threat and anti-immigrant preference is weaker (stronger) in states with higher (lower) measures of social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networks and resources embedded in them are shown to promote mental health. This study examines whether there may be deleterious consequences of interpersonal ties and social capital on loneliness and depression in later life. Using data from the latest wave of National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP) 2015–2016, we examine how relational burden is associated with mental health outcomes among older American adults. We also assess whether relational burden measured at the contextual, or regional, level may moderate the link between collective efficacy (neighborhood cohesion) and depression/loneliness. Individual-level relational burden stemming from both kin and non-kin members is associated with higher levels of depression and loneliness. Moreover, regional-level kin and non-kin types of relational burden significantly amplify the negative relationship between collective efficacy and depression. For loneliness, however, we do not find such cross-level interaction. Unlike prior research using conventional measures of social capital (e.g. trust, frequency of social interaction, and organizational participation) to evaluate its potential downside, our study contributes to the literature by directly operationalizing the concept of 'relational burden', stress due to excessive demands from others, at individual and contextual levels of analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual attitudes towards immigration are powerfully driven by ethnic context, that is, size of foreign-born population. We advance the literature by examining how the change (growth) in foreign-born population, in addition to its size (level), is related to two distinct outcomes: natives' views on legal and unauthorized immigration. By analysing a probability US sample, we find that an increase in the state-level immigration population is positively related to Americans' approval of a policy aimed at containing the flow of undocumented immigrants. The proportion of immigrants in a state, however, is not a significant predictor of support for such restrictive policy. With respect to legal immigration, neither the amount of recent change in, nor the size of, the immigration population matters. Our study provides strong evidence for contextual effects: net of compositional factors, a dynamic change in foreign-born population has an independent impact on how Americans view unauthorized, but not legal, immigration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous literature has recognized the importance of social relationship in understanding people's engagement in aggressive behavior. Yet, largely due to data limitations, only few studies have empirically explored how social status precisely influences interpersonal violence. In this research, we investigate the determinants of peer-to-peer violence by focusing on individual's positions in the status hierarchy within adolescent peer networks. More specifically, our study examines and demonstrates the extent to which the likelihood of interpersonal violence rises, first, as a function of one's status (popularity) and, second, due to ambiguity between status positions of the parties involved in a physical altercation. Using a unique dataset collected on school-based children in Laos (Lao People's Democratic Republic) in 2016 (N = 1,332), we employ exponential random graph models to show the influence of status on the odds of involvement in on-campus violence. Results indicate that higher status, that is, more popular, students are more likely to be involved in a physical fight compared to their lower status counterparts. Moreover, we find a significant degree of similarity in status among students who engage in a fight. In other words, status ambiguity surrounding dyads in the peer network increases the likelihood of bringing them into a conflict situation. Our findings provide implications for understanding how social status shapes the dynamics of negative networks. By analyzing sociocentric network data, the present study extends and moves beyond prior findings mainly based on individual-level (non-dyadic) data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the multilevel associations between perceived socioeconomic status (SES) and subjective wellbeing (SWB) among community residing South Korean adults. Based on primary survey data, this research provides evidence on the contingent ways in which status perception and wellbeing are associated across individual and contextual (residential-community) levels. Three related but distinct questions guide the analysis. First, net of objective SES indicators (income, education, employment status, homeownership and financial assets), is perceived status related to SWB? Second, is the community-level status, net of individual-level status, associated with wellbeing? Lastly, how do residential characteristics moderate the linkage between status perception and SWB? Results from fitting hierarchical linear models reveal that perceived status is significantly and positively related to SWB. Adjusting for individual-level controls, significant contextual effect also emerges, i.e., residence in a higher-status community is associated with greater wellbeing. Finally, the relationship between status perception and SWB is stronger in lower-quality communities measured in terms of aggregate perceived SES, level of business commercialization (e.g., density of factories), suicide prevalence, and proportion of government welfare recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the gendered labor market consequences of immigrant social networks. Based on a nationally representative sample and using alternative analytic strategies, the present study investigates how and the extent to which informal job search, that is, finding a job through a personal contact, is associated with the earnings outcome for male and female immigrant workers in South Korea. Unlike most previous studies, it distinguishes between job contact sources: bonding and bridging. Contrary to the notion that immigrant women are 'doubly disadvantaged' in the labor market, findings indicate that informal job search yields lower monthly income for male workers only. In addition, significant evidence suggests that for the male subsample, securing a job through a bonding (co-ethnic) tie results in an earnings penalty. Negative income returns on using a bridging (inter-ethnic) tie, on the other hand, receive conditional empirical support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows that ageism (systemic discrimination against people because of their age) significantly undermines physical and psychological wellbeing, particularly among older adults. Our aim is to contribute to the literature by investigating whether this negative association varies across national religious context. We estimate multilevel models by drawing on a subset of data (ages 55 and above) from the fourth round of the European Social Survey (2008/2009). We find that ageism is negatively related to measures of wellbeing (happiness, life satisfaction, self-rated health). More importantly, the relationship is less pronounced in countries with higher levels of religiosity. These findings suggest that the country's religious environment serves as a buffer against deleterious health consequences of ageism for the older population. Our study thus provides additional evidence on ageism as a critical risk factor and sheds novel light on the moderating role of country-level religiosity as a protective factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in social isolation globally, creating heightened levels of stress and anxiety. This study investigates the link between social isolation and mental well-being in later life, and how it varies across countries. Research Design and Methods We draw on a subset of older adults from Global Behaviors and Perceptions in the COVID-19 Pandemic, a unique global online survey of 13,660 participants from 62 countries. We use mixed-effects models to analyze the data. Results Social isolation (distancing) significantly predicts poor mental health operationalized as coronavirus-induced distress (p <.01). At the aggregate level, average distress varies positively across countries with higher numbers of coronavirus-related deaths (p <.10) and more fragile state capacity (p <.05), while varying negatively across those with more stringent anticoronavirus policies (p <.05). Finally, we report several cross-level interactions between social isolation and the total number of deaths (p =.025), policy stringency (p =.065), state fragility (p =.061), and globalization index (p =.071). Discussion and Implications Our study shows that a proper understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on the mental well-being of older adults should consider the moderating role of national context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the network antecedents of receiving job search assistance, specifically how and to what extent social capital relates to this process. Data come from probability samples on four East Asian countries. Hierarchical linear models are estimated to investigate the associations between social capital and inequality in the receipt of information and influence from personal contacts during job search. Adjusting for confounders, organizational affiliation, civic participation, and frequency of social interaction significantly predict the rate of assistance. Also significant are network size and diversity. Net of compositional effects, regional-level civic participation is further associated with the outcome. Finally, three significant cross-level interactions are observed with respect to social network characteristics (size and diversity). Understanding why some people receive more job search assistance is fundamental to status attainment and labor market inequality. Findings herein shed new light on this critical, yet underexplored, issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between suicidality and smoking behavior. Specifically, it examines how and the degree to which suicide ideation and plan are associated with the probability of being a regular smoker among school-based children. Data come from Lao Student Health Survey (2017), a project funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea. Using primary hierarchically nested data (students clustered in classrooms across schools), we investigate the complex interplay between suicidality and smoking behavior in Lao PDR, a low-income country located in Southeast Asia. Results from fitting two-level random intercept models show that net of controls (e.g., gender, age, parental regulation, self-rated health, household SES), the likelihood of daily smoking is higher among students who have seriously considered committing suicide or have planned a suicide attempt. Controlling for individual-level factors, significant classroom-level contextual effects are also found with respect to peer relations. Finally, we observe a cross-level interaction: the positive association between suicide intent and odds of smoking is weaker in classrooms with better peer relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]