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Objective: This study explored the influence of demographic characteristics on attitudes toward the benefits of breast-feeding, approval of public breast-feeding, and the use of infant formula. Additionally, the study examined whether attitudes were related to infant feeding practices among mothers enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Texas. Design: This study used a cross-sectional design. Setting: Participants completed questionnaires at WIC clinic sites across Texas. Participants: Mothers of young children who were receiving WIC benefits. Main Outcome Measure(s): Attitudes toward the benefits of breast-feeding, attitudes toward public breast-feeding, attitudes toward infant formula, and the choice of infant feeding practice. Analysis: Descriptive statistics, multivariate ordinary least squares regression, and multinomial logistic regression. Results: A key finding was that many Hispanic mothers held favorable attitudes toward both breast milk and infant formula. Younger and less educated mothers were least likely to agree with the benefits of breast-feeding. Mothers with positive attitudes toward the benefits of breast-feeding were likely to exclusively breastfeed and use both formula and breast milk. Conclusions and Implications: Attitudes toward breast-feeding, public breast-feeding, and infant formula and their influence on breast-feeding behavior should inform the curriculum of breast-feeding promotion programs. (Contains 4 tables.)

This study examined multiple dimensions of religious involvement and the risk of divorce among a nationwide sample of 2,979 first-time married couples. Multivariate proportional hazards modeling was used to analyze two waves of the National Survey of Families and Households. Results indicated that although each partner's religious attendance bore a modest relationship to marital dissolution, the risk of divorce was lower if husbands had conservative theological beliefs and when both partners belonged to mainline Protestant denominations. Conversely, the risk of divorce was elevated if husbands attended services more frequently than their wives and if wives were more theologically conservative than their husbands. These patterns withstood controls for sociodemographic covariates, marital duration, and marital quality. Directions for future research are discussed.

This study examines the short- and long-term impact of AmeriCorps participation on members' civic engagement, education, employment, and life skills. The analysis compares changes in the attitudes and behaviors of participants over time to those of individuals not enrolled in AmeriCorps, controlling for interest in national and community service, member and family demographics, and prior civic engagement. Results indicate that participation in AmeriCorps led to positive impacts on members, especially in the area of civic engagement, members' connection to community, knowledge about problems facing their community, and participation in community-based activities. AmeriCorps had some positive impacts on its members' employment-related outcomes. Few statistically significant impacts were found for measures of participants' attitude toward education or educational attainment, or for selected life skills measures. Within a subset of community service programs that incorporate a residential component for members, the study also uncovered a short-term negative impact of participation on members' appreciation for ethnic and cultural diversity, which disappeared over time. The implications of these findings for future research on national service are discussed. (Contains 4 tables and 17 footnotes.)

Many Americans exhibit declining religiosity during early adulthood. There is no consensus about why this occurs, though longstanding assumptions suggest the secularizing effects of higher education, normative deviance and life course factors. We evaluate these effects on decreasing frequency of religious practice, diminished importance of religion and disaffiliation from religion altogether. Results from analyses of the Add Health study indicate that only religious participation suffers substantial declines in young adulthood. Contrary to expectations, emerging adults that avoid college exhibit the most extensive patterns of religious decline, undermining conventional wisdom about the secularizing effect of higher education. Marriage curbs religious decline, while cohabitation, nonmarital sex, drugs and alcohol use each accelerate diminished religiosity--especially religious participation--during early adulthood. (Contains 4 tables and 13 notes.)