Christopher P. Scheitle

It is well-recognized that scientists face obstacles when it comes to family formation, especially when it comes to having children. The advanced education and training required to become a PhD-lev...

While research has examined how the career decisions and outcomes of scientists are influenced by their partners and children, less research has examined the role of their family of origin. Using data from an original survey fielded on a sample of U.S. graduate students in five natural and social science disciplines, we consider how a students’ closeness to and concerns about caring for their family of origin might influence their educational and career decision-making. Our analysis finds that women and many racially- or ethnically-minoritized groups express greater closeness to their family of origin and greater concerns about caring for their family of origin when compared to men and white students. In turn, closeness to and concerns about caring for one’s family of origin are both independently associated with students saying they picked their graduate program to be close to their family of origin and saying they would like to live close to their family after completing their graduate program. These patterns could lead individuals to seek programs and jobs of less prestige and compensation than they could otherwise obtain and have implications for efforts to recruit and retain these groups in science.

In modern pluralistic contexts, secular discourses are institutionalized in societal structures but can also co-exist with religious discourses in the minds of individuals. As Peter Berger (2014, 2...

While most prior research assumes that if someone attends religious services, they only attend at one place of worship, a handful of studies suggest that some individuals do regularly attend multiple congregations. This paper seeks to answer the following questions: What percentage of U.S. adults who attend religious services attend multiple congregations? What are the socio-demographic and religious characteristics of those who attend multiple congregations and how do they compare to those who only attend one congregation? What are the reasons for attending additional congregations? And, how do the congregational activities of multiple attenders compare to those who only attend one congregation? We examine these research questions using a nationally representative survey of U.S. adults conducted in 2023. Most American adults who attend religious services attend multiple congregations at least occasionally. Comparing those who always attend services at the same congregation to those who attend multiple congregations, we found that they differ in terms of education, marital status, political ideology, sexual identity, religious identity, and overall religious service attendance. This paper provides interesting insights into the religious and socio-demographic profile of U.S. adults who attend multiple congregations.

Past research has identified several factors, such as social ties, that can influence an individual’s attitudes towards a particular religious group. This study extends this literature to consider the role of a scientific worldview in shaping attitudes towards different religious groups. In addition to expanding the literature on religious tolerance, this study advances the social scientific study of religion and science in two ways. First, unlike much research that has considered conflict between religion and science in purely abstract or institutional terms, this study considers how such conflict could impact interpersonal interactions and relationships. Second, unlike much research in this area that has operationalized religion in a generic sense, this study assesses how a scientific worldview influences attitudes towards specific religious groups. Our analysis of survey data collected with a probability sample of U.S. adults finds that, net of other factors, a scientific worldview is negatively associated with personal attitudes towards Christians and Jews, unassociated with attitudes towards Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists, and positively associated with attitudes towards atheists.

Past research suggests that youth who identify with marginalized sexual identities can encounter hostility from their parents due to their sexuality. Such rejection could lead individuals to look to other relationships for material, social, and psychological support as they grow up. We assess this hypothesis by analyzing data produced from a probability survey of U.S. adults that asked respondents to identify the most important people who raised them. Multinomial logistic regression models find that gay or lesbian individuals are more likely than straight individuals to choose their grandmother as the most important person who raised them. Similarly, gay or lesbian individuals are more likely than straight individuals to choose a non-family member—such as a neighbor or teacher—as the second most important person who raised them. These findings provide support for past research that has mainly used qualitative or non-probability data to examine how sexuality shapes family relationships.

Astrology is a multi-million-dollar industry. Its ubiquity in contemporary social life suggests that astrology may be an important component of Americans’ identity and lived experience. Despite this popularity, scholarly attention to the uses and views of astrology is limited and has largely focused on its relationship with religion and religiosity. Further, little is known about who uses astrology in the United States, how, and why. In this article, we conduct a preliminary analysis of how Americans view and utilize astrology, drawing from survey and interview data with Americans and professional astrologers. Nationally representative quantitative data indicate that women, sexual minorities, and younger adults are each more likely to consult their horoscope, consistent with recent research. Qualitative data suggests that astrology can be a marker of identity, self-understanding, and entertainment for the public, rather than strictly as a facet of religious belief and may occupy a cultural space akin to other “personality” indicators for some. For professional astrologers and their clients, astrology is viewed as part of a complex spirituality and used as a tool for decision-making and self-understanding. We conclude by discussing promising directions for future sociological research on astrology.

Religiosity and political conservatism are often hypothesized to be negatively associated with attitudes towards science. Yet, past research has often failed to distinguish between trust in science versus the acceptance of science as a source of truth. Using data generated from a probability survey of U.S. adults, we identify four latent factors within a battery of items asking about individuals’ views on science. Two of these represent science’s power as a source of truth, while the other two represent trust in science and scientists. A structural equation model finds that, all else being equal, measures of religiosity tend to be negatively associated with an individual’s view of science as a source of truth and unrelated to their trust in science. Adherence to Christian nationalism is negatively associated with an individual’s trust in science, while political conservatism and Republican identification is negatively associated with both trust in science and seeing science as a source of truth.

University counseling centers (UCCs) are an important resource for sexual and gender minority (SM/GM) students as they navigate their college experience. This study investigated the mental health needs of SM/GM collegiate clients in 2020-2021 as compared to the mental health needs of SM/GM collegiate clients in 2012-2015. The analyses also specifically explored the current mental health needs of asexual, pansexual, and gender non-binary collegiate clients. Data were from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health 2012-2015 and 2020-2021 academic years. Results indicate SM/GM identifying collegiate clients in 2020-2021 are younger, more racially diverse, reporting more mental health needs, and utilizing services at UCCs at double or triple the rate as compared to 2012-2015. In 2020-2021, all SM/GM clients had more mental health needs than their non-marginalized peers. Asexual and non-binary clients were demographically similar to their peers, while nearly half of the pansexual clients were racial minority identifying, were more often first-generation, and were younger than their peers. Asexual clients showed acute mental health needs as compared to the other SM groups, whereas pansexual and non-binary students had higher levels of reported symptoms than their respective comparison groups. Implications for UCCs including specialized inclusive services and intentional campus relationships are discussed.