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INTRODUCTION: Stress from negative life events may be an important risk factor for chronic cardiometabolic conditions, which are increasingly prevalent among young adults. Support from personal networks is known to buffer stress from negative life events. Yet, evidence for these relationships among both young and older adults remains unclear. METHODS: Longitudinal data came from the University of California, Berkeley Social Networks study (2015–2018), which followed young (aged 21–30 years) and late middle age adults (aged 50–70 years) over 4 years. Weighted hybrid fixed and random effects models (completed in 2020) were used to examine causal relationships among 4 negative life events, distinct forms of network support (e.g., social companionship, emergency help), and self-reported chronic cardiometabolic disease outcomes (i.e., hypertension, diabetes, or a heart condition). RESULTS: Among young adults, both the death of a close tie (Average Marginal Effect=0.10, p

Background Sleep is an important, restorative behavior for health, yet many adults report troubled sleep. The existence of a support network may be beneficial for sleep quality, including as a buffer for stressful events, yet few studies have examined these relationships longitudinally. Purpose To examine the causal effect of changes in personal network support on sleep quality both directly and as a buffer of negative life events among young and older adults. Methods The UC Berkeley Social Network survey collected data from young (21–30 year old, n = 475) and late middle-age (50–70 year old, n = 637) adults across three waves between 2015 and 2018. Participants reported on personal network characteristics, negative life events, and number of nights with trouble falling and staying asleep. Fixed effects models are used to examine causal relationships among each age cohort. Results Direct effects of network support on sleep quality were observed among older adults. Insufficient practical support predicted higher rates of trouble falling asleep (incident rate ratio [IRR] = 1.40, p < .01), while a desire for more social companions predicted lower rates of trouble staying asleep (IRR = 0.81, p < .01). Buffering effects of network support on sleep quality were observed among young adults. Changes in partnership status buffer the negative effects of the death of a close tie on trouble falling asleep (IRR = 0.75, p < .01) and persistent difficulties paying bills on trouble staying asleep (IRR = 0.45, p < 0.001) among young adults. Conclusions This study provides evidence for the direct and buffering role of network support on sleep quality. Our results indicate that efforts to improve sleep quality should address personal networks and the support they provide, perhaps especially during times of stress for younger adults.

This paper presents the overall results of a residential customer survey conducted in service areas of MidAmerican Energy Company, a midwest utility. A similar survey was conducted concurrently in the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors and the survey results are presented in a companion paper. The results of this study are compared with the results of other studies performed in the high cost areas of the United States east and west coasts. This is the first ever study of this nature performed for the residential customers in the United States midwest region. Methodological differences in the study design compared to coastal surveys are discussed. Customer survey costing techniques can be categorized into three main groups: contingent valuation techniques, direct costing techniques and indirect costing techniques. Most customer surveys conducted by different organizations in the last two decades used a combination of all three techniques. The selection of a technique is mainly dependent on the type of customer being surveyed. In this MidAmerican study, contingent valuation techniques and an indirect costing technique have been used, as most consequences of power outages to residential users are related to inconvenience or disruption of housekeeping and leisure activities that are intangible in nature. The major contribution of this paper is that particulars of midwest residential customers compared to residential customers of coastal utilities are noted and customer responses on power quality issues that are important to customers are summarized.

Author(s): Lawton, Leora; Sullivan, Michael; Van Liere, Kent; Katz, Aaron; Eto, Joseph | Abstract: A clear understanding of the monetary value that customers place on reliability and the factors that give rise to higher and lower values is an essential tool in determining investment in the grid. The recent National Transmission Grid Study recognizes the need for this information as one of growing importance for both public and private decision makers. In response, the U.S. Department of Energy has undertaken this study, as a first step toward addressing the current absence of consistent data needed to support better estimates of the economic value of electricity reliability. Twenty-four studies, conducted by eight electric utilities between 1989 and 2002 representing residential and commercial/industrial (small, medium and large) customer groups, were chosen for analysis. The studies cover virtually all of the Southeast, most of the western United States, including California, rural Washington and Oregon, and the Midwest south and east of Chicago. All variables were standardized to a consistent metric and dollar amounts were adjusted to the 2002 CPI. The data were then incorporated into a meta-database in which each outage scenario (e.g., the lost of electric service for one hour on a weekday summer afternoon) is treated as an independent case or record both to permit comparisons between outage characteristics and to increase the statistical power of analysis results. Unadjusted average outage costs and Tobit models that estimate customer damage functions are presented. The customer damage functions express customer outage costs for a given outage scenario and customer class as a function of location, time of day, consumption, and business type. One can use the damage functions to calculate outage costs for specific customer types. For example, using the customer damage functions, the cost experienced by an "average" customer resulting from a 1 hour summer afternoon outage is estimated to be approximately $3 for a residential customer, $1,200 for small-medium commercial and industrial customer, and $82,000 for large commercial and industrial customer. Future work to improve the quality and coverage of information on the value of electricity reliability to customers is described.

This article examines the effects of the availability of kin and disability on the ability of elderly persons to live alone in the United States. The first part of the article uses a sample of women aged 65 and over from the 1980 census to study the factors associated with both living in group housing and living alone. Disability and absence of a spouse or children are strongly associated with living in group housing, whereas lack of disability and lack of children are associated with living alone. In the second part, data from the Supplement on Aging to the 1984 National Health Interview Survey are used to investigate the source and amount of help received among those with difficulties in performing Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) or Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs). Those living alone or with nonrelatives are most likely to rely on paid help and this is more likely if they have few living children.