The Power of Self-Labels: Examining Self-Esteem Consequences for Youth with Mental Health Problems.

New evidence on a classic sociological debate allows for a test of the consequences of self-labeling with mental illness. While a medicalized "insight" perspective emphasizes the importance of self-labeling for psychological well-being and recovery, a sociologically informed "outsight" perspective draws from modified labeling, self-labeling, and stigma resistance theories to suggest that self-labeling can generate negative consequences for self-esteem. We engage this debate by examining the effects of mental illness self-labels on a crucial component of psychological well-being for persons with mental health problems-self-esteem-by using longitudinal data that followed 427 sixth-grade youth over two years.

Social Mobility and Sense of Purpose From Midlife to Old Age: Examining the Role of Major Life Events.

Purpose in life (PIL) has been linked with numerous health benefits and adaptive aging, yet it diminishes with age, possibly due to loss of social or familial roles through life transitions. Drawing from the longitudinal surveys of the Midlife in the US study ( = 3418), we use time-varying coefficient models to investigate how the trajectory of PIL differs across cumulatively (dis)advantaged, upwardly mobile, and downwardly mobile groups and the role of major life events in shaping these trajectories. We found the upwardly mobile group exhibits higher PIL than the cumulatively disadvantaged and downwardly mobile groups.

Intersectionality in quantitative health disparities research: A systematic review of challenges and limitations in empirical studies.

Rationale: Quantitative health disparities research has increasingly employed intersectionality as a theoretical tool to investigate how social characteristics intersect to generate health inequality. Yet, intersectionality was not designed to quantify, predict, or identify health disparities, and, as a result, multiple criticisms against its misapplication in health disparities research have been made. As such, there is an emerging need to evaluate the growing body of quantitative research that aims to investigate health disparities through an intersectional lens.

Early-Life Adversities and Recalcitrant Smoking in Midlife: An Examination of Gender and Life-Course Pathways.

Background: Little is known about life-course factors that explain why some individuals continue smoking despite having smoking-related diseases.

Purpose: We examined (a) the extent to which early-life adversities are associated with the risk of recalcitrant smoking, (b) psychosocial factors that mediate the association, and (c) gender differences in the associations.

Methods: Data were from 4,932 respondents (53% women) who participated in the first and follow-up waves of the Midlife Development in the U.

Homophily, Close Friendship, and Life Satisfaction among Gay, Lesbian, Heterosexual, and Bisexual Men and Women.

Friends play important roles throughout our lives by providing expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. We examined sexual orientation, gender, and age differences in the number of friends people can rely on for expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. Additionally, we examined the extent to which people relied on same-gender versus cross-gender friends for these types of support.