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Author: Mykyta, Laryssa
Resulting in 3 citations.
1. Bennett, Ian M.
Mykyta, Laryssa
Elo, Irma T.
Does Literacy Predict Self-Rated Health and Chronic Illness in Midlife?
Presented: Dallas, TX, Population Association of America Meetings, April 2010
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Educational Attainment; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Illnesses; Life Course; Literacy; Mortality

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper contributes to the literature on literacy and health across the life course. Literacy is associated with a range of poor health-related outcomes, including mortality among older adults in the United States. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) 1979, we examine whether literacy assessed at ages 16-24 is independently associated with poor/fair self-rated health status and chronic conditions at midlife. Results from logistic regression analyses reveal that respondents with low literacy (<7th Reading Grade Level (RGL)) had significantly higher odds of reporting fair/poor self-rated health compared to those with high literacy (>=12th grade RGL) even after controlling for socio-demographic variables, including educational attainment. Although low literacy also exhibited significant bivariate association with chronic illness, neither literacy nor educational attainment retained a significant association with chronic disease in the fully adjusted model. Together these results indicate that literacy contributes to the risk of poor/fair self-rated health status in mid-life independent of educational attainment and poverty history. The lack of association between chronic illness and literacy may be a result of the age of the sample for whom cardiovascular health is not yet a major factor.
Bibliography Citation
Bennett, Ian M., Laryssa Mykyta and Irma T. Elo. "Does Literacy Predict Self-Rated Health and Chronic Illness in Midlife?" Presented: Dallas, TX, Population Association of America Meetings, April 2010.
2. Mykyta, Laryssa
Socioeconomic (Dis)advantage, Contextual Risk and Educational Outcomes in Early Adulthood
Presented: Detroit, MI, Population Association of America Meetings, April-May 2009
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Behavior, Prosocial; Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS); Educational Attainment; Family Structure; Parenting Skills/Styles; Pearlin Mastery Scale; Peers/Peer influence/Peer relations; School Dropouts; Volunteer Work

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

A vast body of literature addresses the effects of poverty on adolescent outcomes, yet few researchers have examined how economic disadvantage shapes the transition to adulthood in the U.S. If, as Furstenberg (2003; 2006) argues, family background creates divergent experiences for youth, then young adults from affluent, modest or limited means face different trajectories in the transition to adulthood. Understanding these differences and the factors that contribute to them has important implications for the reduction of inequality as well as for policies to improve children's life chances. In this paper, I explore the relationship between family income and educational outcomes typically considered as markers in the transition to adulthood. Specifically, I address how family socioeconomic status (SES) and changes in economic position in childhood influence educational outcomes in early adulthood. I also explore the extent to which family, peer, school and neighborhood contexts mediate the effects of family SES on educational outcomes.
Bibliography Citation
Mykyta, Laryssa. "Socioeconomic (Dis)advantage, Contextual Risk and Educational Outcomes in Early Adulthood." Presented: Detroit, MI, Population Association of America Meetings, April-May 2009.
3. Mykyta, Laryssa
The Timing of Childhood Poverty, Contextual Risk and Educational Outcomes in Early Adulthood
Presented: San Francisco CA, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2009
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Young Adult
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Behavior, Prosocial; Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS); Children, Poverty; Educational Attainment; Family Structure; Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME); Parenting Skills/Styles; Pearlin Mastery Scale; Peers/Peer influence/Peer relations; Poverty; School Characteristics/Rating/Safety; School Dropouts

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

In this paper, I use data on the children of female respondents in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY-C) to construct a measure of childhood poverty that captures both the duration and timing of economic disadvantage at ages 0 through 14. I use this measure to examine how exposure to poverty throughout childhood influences educational attainment in early adulthood (ages 20-24). I also explore the extent to which a youth’s family, peer and school environment mediate the negative effects of poverty. Consistent with previous research, my findings suggest that exposure to persistent and long term childhood poverty significantly reduces educational attainment, particularly for females, even when mediating family, peer and school contexts are considered. However, early childhood poverty does not affect educational attainment as young adults who escape poverty by age 5 do not differ significantly from those with no poverty experience. My results also suggest that contextual factors mediate the effect of poverty exposure on educational attainment in early adulthood, and that family processes reduce the effects of poverty experience on educational outcomes more than peer or school environment.
Bibliography Citation
Mykyta, Laryssa. "The Timing of Childhood Poverty, Contextual Risk and Educational Outcomes in Early Adulthood." Presented: San Francisco CA, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2009.