An exploratory analysis of the factors that influence food choice among young women

Food sales represent a significant proportion of hospitality industry income; however, little research has been conducted into the factors that influence food purchasing behaviour. This study employed a sequential mixed method research design to identify the factors that influence food choice among 18-30-year-old females. The study is important because this age group has considerable spending power and has been found to have different consumption priorities to their male counterparts. While confirming the importance of previous studies, this study found that physical health, time, marketing, price, and the quality of food are major factors of influence in the purchasing and consumption decision.

Learning from the margins : young women, social exclusion and education

This collection of ground-breaking international essays address the educational, social, work and biographical experiences of young women who are routinely constructed as ‘at risk’ and on the margins. Drawing on research from an international range of scholars, this book brings together important new perspectives on the gendered dimensions of social exclusion and educational marginalisation.

To stay or to go? 'At risk' young women speak about their influences and experiences in making decisions about post-compulsory schooling

Recent research indicates that young women who leave school early (ie at or before year 10) are the group most 'at risk' of becoming only marginally attached to the labour force or unemployed. Young women from low socio-economic backgrounds are more often those who 'choose' to leave schooling, often for complex reasons, some of which are only marginally connected to their schooling experiences. In order to better understand-and address-the needs of this cohort, it is necessary to examine the multi layered connections between students' lives in and out of school.

This paper reports on the initial stage of a three year ARC-funded study, 'Young women negotiating from the margins of education and work.' In interviews and focus groups, young women identified as 'at risk' of leaving school early speak about the factors that have influenced their decisions. We examine the data with specific reference to the question: what type of social capital do these young women deploy in making their choices? Recent research (Croninger & Lee, 2001) suggest that teachers' support and guidance are a form of social capital that can make a difference, particularly in regards to students from lower socio-economic backgrounds. We discuss the young women's and teachers' interview data in light of recent debates about social capital and education.

The association between physical activity and depressive symptoms in young women : a review

Objective : This review synthesises results of studies examining the association between physical activity (PA) and depressive symptoms and the effects of PA intervention studies on depression among young women.
Methods : A search of electronic databases and bibliographic searches of observational and intervention studies was conducted that included women between the ages of 18 and 35.
Results : A total of eight observational and five intervention studies were identified. Evidence from observational studies indicated that physical activity was inversely associated with depressive symptoms in young women. Even a small amount of physical activity was found to be associated with reduced depressive symptoms. No clear dose–response relationship was shown. Evidence from intervention studies indicated that physical activity reduced depressive symptoms. Direct study comparisons were difficult due to variations in study methods and measures. The studies provided little or no information on understanding dose–response effects or on the mechanisms involved.
Conclusion : The limited number of studies examining physical activity and depressive symptoms in young women and the methodological problems identified in a number of these studies, make it difficult to draw firm conclusions. However, this review suggests that engaging in even low levels of physical activity may be protective against depressive symptoms in young women. There is a need for objective measures of physical activity in future studies, particularly with a focus on those with clinical depression in non-student populations.

Psychosocial factors and survival of young women with breast cancer: a population-based prospective cohort study

Purpose: Most women with early-stage breast cancer believe that psychosocial factors are an important influence over whether their cancer will recur. Studies of the issue have produced conflicting results.

Patients and Methods: A population-based sample of 708 Australian women diagnosed before age 60 years with nonmetastatic breast cancer was observed for a median of 8.2 years. Depression and anxiety, coping style, and social support were assessed at a median of 11 months after diagnosis. Hazard ratios for distant disease-free survival (DDFS) and overall survival (OS) associated with psychosocial factors were estimated separately using Cox proportional hazards survival models, with and without adjustment for known prognostic factors.

Results: Distant recurrence occurred in 209 (33%) of 638 assessable patients, and 170 (24%) of 708 patients died during the follow-up period. There were no statistically significant associations between any of the measured psychosocial factors and DDFS or OS from the adjusted analyses. From unadjusted analyses, associations between greater anxious preoccupation and poorer DDFS and OS were observed (P = .02). These associations were no longer evident after adjustment for established prognostic factors; greater anxious preoccupation was associated with younger age at diagnosis (P = .03), higher tumor grade (P = .02), and greater number of involved axillary nodes (P = .008).

Conclusion: The findings do not support the measured psychosocial factors being an important influence on breast cancer outcomes. Interventions for adverse psychosocial factors are warranted to improve quality of life but should not be expected to improve survival.

Why do young women drop out of sport and physical activity? A social ecological approach

This study explored significant individual, social, and environmental factors and how they interact to influence participation in physical activity for adolescent young women. These factors were explored at two transitional life stages: from primary to secondary school and from middle to upper years at secondary school. Ten focus groups with young women and 10 interviews with teachers were conducted and multiple, interrelated themes emerged. Our findings indicated that there are a number of strategies that could be undertaken to increase the participation of young women in physical activity. These include: (1) enhancing intrinsic motivation for sport and physical activity; (2) appealing to young women’s need for socialising through opportunities for informal physical activity; (3) educating parents about the benefits of sport and physical activity; (4) overcoming gender stereotypes about what is acceptable behaviour for young women; (5) improving physical education teachers’ understanding of gender issues and motivating less physically active students; (6) the provision of accessible sport and physical activity facilities, programs, and services in schools; and (7) prioritorisation of sport and physical activity in the school curriculum. These strategies are not ‘quick fixes’, but rather require a whole-ofcommunity approach and, in some cases, a reorientation of societal values.

A prospective study of overweight, physical activity and depressive symptoms in young women

This study examined the prospective associations of BMI, physical activity (PA), changes in BMI, and changes in PA, with depressive symptoms. Self-reported data on height, weight, PA, selected sociodemographic and health variables and depressive symptoms (CESD-10) were provided in 2000 and 2003 by 6,67 young adult women (22–27 years in 2000) participating in the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH). Results of logistic regression analyses showed that the odds of developing depressive symptoms at follow-up (2003) were higher in women who were overweight or obese in 2000 than in healthy weight women, and lower in women who were active in 2000 than in sedentary women. Changes in BMI were significantly associated with increased odds of depressive symptoms at follow-up. Sedentary women who increased their activity had lower odds of depressive symptoms at follow-up than those who remained sedentary. Increases in activity among initially sedentary young women were protective against depressive symptoms even after adjusting for BMI changes. These findings indicate that overweight and obese young women are at risk of developing depressive symptoms. PA appears to be protective against the development of depressive symptoms, but does not attenuate the depressive symptoms associated with weight gain. However, among initially sedentary young women, even small increases in PA over time may reduce the odds of depressive symptoms, regardless of weight status.

(Re)producing power-knowledge-desire : young women and discourses of identity

This study focuses on three young women in their final year of school using data gathered during a year-long process of individual conversational interviews, the contents of which were largely determined by their interests. Three themes arise from critical incidents during this year - the debutante ball, teenage pregnancy and dieting. These themes are used to focus wide ranging explorations of what it is to be a young woman at this particular time. The broader cultural production of discursive positions available to, and developed by, these young women as part of their identity formation is discussed. Methodological issues concerning power relationships between research participants are also the focus of critical attention. It is considered that young women's bodies and bodily practices are central to understanding the processes involved in their identity formation. It is in this context that the focus turns to bodies that matter. In contemporary Western cultures 'adolescent bodies' could be said to matter 'too much' in the sense that they are increasingly the focus for disciplinary practices in institutions such as schooling, the church, the family, health care, health promotion and the media. This disciplining is legitimised because adolescence is socially constructed as a 'becoming'. In this case it is a matter of 'becoming woman'; a sort of apprenticeship which allows for knowledgeable others to provide not only guidance and nurturance, but discipline. Using insights gained from feminist poststructuralist theory and cultural feminism this thesis argues that the discourses and practices generated within and across institutions, which are normalised by their institutional base, are gender differentiated. The focus is on young women's embodied subjectivity and how the discourses and practices they engage with and in work to construct an ideal feminine body-subject. The discursive production of a gendered identity has a considerable impact on young women's health and their health-related behaviours. This is explored specifically in the thesis in relation to sexuality and the cultural production of the 'ideal' female body. It is argued that health education and health promotion strategies which are designed to influence young women's health related behaviours, need to consider the forms of power, knowledge and desire produced through young women's active engagement with institutionalised discourses of identity if they are to have an ongoing impact

Music video and gendered pleasures in the lives of young women and men

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the cultural and social significance of music video in the lives of a group of young women and men. In so doing the thesis pays particular attention to issues of gender and pleasure. This research examines the interaction of a group of young people with music video in relation to four areas of research. Firstly, the importance of music video in terms of social interaction and the pleasure this entails is explored. Secondly the thesis looks at the ways in which gender is seen by the young people in this study to be established by music video performers. Thirdly, how gender becomes inscribed on the body is explored, and fourthly I examine the process of sexualization of the body. Theoretically this thesis draws upon feminist theory, poststructuralist theory, music video scholarship and educational theories. This eclectic approach has been necessary as this research speaks simultaneously to several distinct areas of scholarship: education, cultural studies and feminism. My research with a young audience of music video took place within a secondary school. Over two semesters I conducted research with two separate classes of Media Studies students who were aged fifteen and sixteen. A total of 49 students were interviewed, however I chose mainly to work with a small group of eleven students - five girls and six boys. The school where I conducted this research is located in a working class suburb of a provincial and industrial Australian city . The young people's social positioning in terms of class and ethnicity has been considered in some depth in relation to the construction of the gendered subject. Methodologically the thesis is skewed towards the audience, and also towards dealing with what is normally unspoken in the research process. For example, much academic research does not include the author of the research as an integral part of that research. In this thesis I include myself in a number of ways: historically, personally and as a feminist. This thesis places a high priority on ethics and the effects of research on those who participate in the research process. The thesis uses a number of research methods: structured interviews, informal conversations, memory-work and written responses to music videos. Generally the research methods used in this thesis have been developed reflexively; that is, they have developed directly in relation to the participants’ reactions, responses, suggestions, interests and comments. The research seeks to demonstrate the place of music video in the lives of the young people who participated in the study. I look at how the young people in this study connect music video to other cultural forms and social interactions. In this way the intertextuality of music video is demonstrated. The research looks at how young viewers 'read' the gender of music video performers, and how this affects their own gendering. The social and cultural meanings which are attached to certain parts of the body are also examined. Theorizing the body in terms of its social meanings is a significant part of this thesis. The research argues that young people often experience music video as pleasurable, and that music video can provide young people with access to powerful speaking positions. This is demonstrated through transcripts of our conversations and interviews, and also through the young people's written comments. However, these powerful speaking positions invariably invoke dominant discourses (homophobia and racism, for example). Thus the disruptive potential of music video is called into question. These dominant discourses are gendered in nature. Pleasure in the text (music video) and cultural inscriptions of gender on the body then, are realized differently for the girls and for the boys in this study. My research into music video, gender and young people has implications for research methodology generally, and for music video scholarship specifically. Music video scholarship to date has rarely focussed upon the audience of this cultural form. My research has certain implications for the ways in which research is currently conducted with young people in relation to popular culture generally, and music video specifically, and gendered subjectivity.