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Browsing by Author "Rogers, Annah"

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    Opening the Door?: How Contemporary School Choice Policy in Alabama Operates in an Educational Landscape Marred by Historic Racial Tensions
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2022) Rogers, Annah; Fording, Richard; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Private school choice programs provide students with financial support to help reduce the costs of a private school education. In doing so, they often allow for a more diverse group of students to access private schools. In Alabama, the Alabama Educational Scholarship Program (AESP), a tax-credit scholarship program, allows students meeting income requirements to attend a participating private school of their choice. Across the nation, there is a limited supply of participating private schools. This fact inspired my first two research questions. First, I ask, do private school racial demographics impact the likelihood of participation in a school choice program? Past studies have found that administrators think about the impact of participation on their schools’ identities, and I argue that racial homogeneity may be a part of that identity for some schools. I find evidence that the most exclusively White schools are less likely to participate in the AESP; however, the effect is non-linear. My results show that schools that are 94% or more White are significantly less likely to participate than schools that are less than 85% White. I also ask whether the racial identities of potential “choice” students impact the likelihood of participation in a school choice program? I predict that schools will be influenced not only by their displayed preferences for diversity, but also by the racial diversity of potential choice students; however, I do not find support for this hypothesis.Finally, I ask, what impact does participation in a private school choice program have on levels of private school segregation? In the past researchers have found evidence that choice leads to increased levels of racial and socioeconomic segregation; however, these patterns have been primarily observed in public and charter schools. I find evidence of increased levels of racial isolation and decreased levels of exposure to White students for both Hispanic and Black students; however, I was not able to confirm that participation in the AESP was the cause of these changes. Ultimately, my findings expand our understanding of the relationship between choice and race, while also revealing potential avenues for new research.
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    Racial/Ethnic disparities in drug use during the COVID 19 pandemic: Moderating effects of non-profit substance use disorder service expenditures
    (PLOS, 2022) Ji, Hyunjung; Shin, Su Hyun; Rogers, Annah; Neese, Jessica; Lee, Hee Yun; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; University of Utah
    The COVID-19 pandemic influenced individuals' anxiety and depression across the United States over a short period, and some Americans relied on drugs for coping. This study examines American adults' drug use trajectories in response to changing anxiety and depression levels during the COVID-19 pandemic and the moderating role of substance use disorder (SUD) services provided by non-profit facilities in anxiety/depression-induced drug use. Heterogeneity in such relationships is further explored based on race/ethnicity. This study used a nationally representative sample of 1,176 American adults who reported drug use between May 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. Using individual-fixed effects Poisson estimators, the current study empirically modeled drug use changes according to changing anxiety/depression levels. Interaction terms between anxiety/depression levels and per capita spending by non-profit SUD facilities were used to explore the moderating effect of SUD service expenditures. Racial/ethnic disparities were explored in subgroup analyses on non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic Asian samples. We found more frequent drug use in response to elevated anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. Greater spending on SUD service by non-profit facilities at the county level was associated with reduced drug consumption associated with anxiety and depression, with greater benefits for racial/ethnic minorities. Findings provide important policy implications for distributing public funds for non-profit SUD facilities for mitigating SUD risks, especially among racial/ethnic minorities.