Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Understanding The Psychological Significance Of Astrology In Millennial Women's Lives, Rachel June Floyd

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In North America, astrology has been experiencing a resurgence in popularity. This is immediately remarkable given that the United States and Canada are industrialized, modern societies where astrology is widely lamented as a pseudoscience. This dissertation presents a phenomenological exploration of the underlying reasons for this cultural trend, particularly among the demographic that uses it most: millennial women. Existing psychological literature on astrology is primarily dominated by correlational studies or historical analyses and lacks the depth and richness of direct experiences of individuals engaging with this phenomenon. This study sought to address this gap within psychological literature specifically, by conducting …

Examining Access To Decent Work Among Women Veterans: A Psychology Of Working Theory Perspective, Rebecca C. Gaines

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated predictors of decent work among a sample of women Veterans (N = 354), grounded in the Psychology of Working Theory (PWT). A structural equation model demonstrated that women Veterans’ experiences of marginalization, economic constraints, work volition, and career adaptability all directly predicted their ability to secure decent work, and economic constraints and marginalization experiences indirectly predicted decent work via work volition. Proactive personality was additionally examined as a moderator variable and did not significantly moderate any model paths; however, it was found to be a unique predictor of decent work and work volition, as well …

Queer Interethnic Relationships: Couple-Level Minority Stress And Resilience For Intersectionally Marginalized Partners, Sree Sinha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interethnic relationships and same-sex relationships continue to increase in the U.S. While LGBQ and heterosexual people are equally likely to be in romantic relationships, LGBQ individuals are more likely than their straight peers to be in an interracial or interethnic romantic relationship. The present work aims to expand intersectional investigations regarding queer people of color (QPOC), including accounting for their individual as well as relational well-being, by use of the couple-level minority stress (CLMS) paradigm. CLMS theory speaks to the unique stressors experienced as a result of being in a relationship that is societally marginalized, impacting both dyadic and individual …

Older Women’S Stories Of Covid-19 Loss: Communicated Narrative Sense-Making Through Photography, Anne Walker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The diverse array of challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic make it difficult to assess the full impact of this global health crisis. More than 300,000 older Americans died, leaving a nation of grieving survivors in their absence. This profound loss of life will undoubtedly inform the field’s understanding of grief and grieving for many years to come. Pre-pandemic, older women in the United States understood grief to be part of their life stage; COVID-19 amplified the grief experience through both cumulative losses and the isolation particular to the novel coronavirus response. However, few qualitative studies explore older women’s grief, …

The Queer Ecology Of Clouds In Nineteenth-Century British Poetics, Lucien Darjeun Meadows

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout the nineteenth century, British writers were interested in the emergent science of meteorology, and their lyrical writing (their “poetics”), from poetry to creative and scientific prose, often turns to clouds as both meteorological formations and as material metaphors for human-environment interactions. These writers frequently invoke clouds to disrupt or “queer” depictions of human-environment relationships built on human domination of environmental beings. Clouds, in poetic writing, help writers (and readers) instead experience subject-subject relationships of reciprocity—a collaborative, non-hierarchical way of existing with and learning from our ecological relatives.

Dwelling in the confluence of literary studies, queer studies, and ecology, The …

Gender And Disability: An Exploration Of Reflective Practice For Protection And Access Amid Complex Emergencies, Lindsey A. Mandolini

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender and Disability: An Exploration of Reflective Practice for Protection and Access Amid Complex Emergencies is a qualitative research project exploring under what conditions and in what ways disabled persons’ organizations (DPOs) effectively protect and provide access to women and girls with disabilities amid complex emergencies. The study upheld a participatory approach and rights-based framework, emphasizing that authentic inclusion requires centering disabled voices in research. Drawing on extant research, grey literature, and data collected from online practitioner questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, the study conducted a multi-phased reflexive thematic analysis. The research findings culminate in a composite narrative that brings to …

Argentine Women’S Narratives Of Leadership, Ileana Andrea Mocciola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated and examined the narratives of Argentine women leaders while obtaining and exercising leadership positions. This research was based on narrative theory and the feminist standpoint theory. Argentine female participants (N = 10) were subject to interviews that overall lasted 600 minutes and were conducted through the Zoom platform. Fifty-five pages of single-spaced transcripts were analyzed and studied. The results of this study revealed that Argentine women face major challenges when it comes to tokenism, exclusion, mentorship, and stereotypes that prevent and limit them from reaching and succeeding in leadership positions.

Polyamory - The Multiple Complexities Of Multiple Partners, Vianna Isbister

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is an exploration of the relationship between polyamory and how polyamorous people communicate about their relationship dynamics. Drawing from six individual interviews and one focus group, the author compares key language that appears in previous research to the language created by the study participants. Utilizing grounded theory for the analysis, results indicate that the language choices of sexual identity, sexual orientation, and/or relationship model are not sufficient for singularly encompassing a poly experience. Findings indicate that individuals who identify under the umbrella of consensual non-monogamy (CNM) may use the term "polyamory" to describe their own relationship dynamic or …

Queer Is Here, Hopefully To Stay: The Incorporation And Reception Of Lgbtq+ History At The History Colorado Center, Madeline Ohaus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Historically, the documentation of LGBTQ+ histories, struggles, and accomplishments has been absent from museum collections and exhibitions. Scholars argue that given the authoritative nature of museums and their influence on the public, exclusions of LGBTQ+ history can mount to institutional erasure of queer identities. However, in the past decade, there has been an increase in attempts to document and curate exhibitions highlighting and encouraging the public to engage with LGBTQ+ history. While this history is imperative to preserve and display, it can be met with controversy, leading some LGBTQ+ history exhibitions to be relocated or even removed. During the summer …

Not All Trails Are Straight: The Effects Of Attachment On Rural Youth Residential Aspirations, Zach T. Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The out-migration of rural youth is a critical issue for the sustainability of rural communities. Youth out-migration poses challenges for rural communities as they strive to address workforce shortages, population decline, and broader social and economic issues. The departure of youth from rural areas can decrease the diversity of local workforce skills, change the vitality of communities, and undermine community and economic development efforts. In addition, certain groups of young people in rural areas, such as queer young adults, face additional identity-based challenges that can influence their migration decisions and distinguish aspects of their decision-making from other youth. Exploring the …

Intersections Of Environmentalism, Chemistry, And Racism: An Experimental Study Of Halobenzene Hydrogenolysis And Critical Communication Studies Of Equitable Learning Practices Rooted In Black Feminism, Lauren O. Babb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing concentrations of fluorinated aromatic compounds in surface water, groundwater, and soil pose threats to the environment. Fundamental studies that elucidate mechanisms of dehalogenation for C-X compounds (where X represents a halide) are required to develop effective remediation strategies. For halogenated benzenes, previously published research has suggested that the strength of the C-X bond is not rate-determining in the overall rate of dehalogenation. Instead, the rate-determining step has been hypothesized to be adsorption of the C-X compound onto the surface of a catalyst. Building on this hypothesis, in this work, we examine the reaction kinetics of fluorobenzene conversion to benzene, …

Unraveling Dna And Identity: A Humanistic Perspective On Epistemologies And Ethics Of Genetic Ancestry Testing., Eve Carlisle Polley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The advent of DNA ancestry testing motivated a burst of human activities that constitute a scientific-technological-industrial-personal-social movement of immense scale, infused with epistemological and ethical questions of great and important variety. This movement has motivated many discourses in the social sciences, with study subjects ranging from the language usage of geneticists, to moral conundrums faced by test-takers, to potential ramifications in global structures of political power. At the same time, and especially in recent decades, the discourses of the comparative humanities have included with increasing frequency and urgency research and theorization about concepts and consequences of human social identities, alongside …

Authentically (Un)Real Assessing Vh!'S Basketball Wives And Its Violent & Colorist Portrayals Of Black Women., Wilma Denae Powell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Does reality television serve as solely a form of entertainment, or could reality television also be maintaining hegemonic beliefs and reinforcing biased views of Black women? Since 2010, Vh1’s Basketball Wives has given audiences the opportunities to entertain themselves by watching women who are/were married to, dating, or are the mothers of children fathered by professional basketball players. Despite the show’s name, few members of the cast are currently married and audiences only get mere glimpses of the cast in motherly or marital interactions. So, what does Basketball Wives offer audiences who tune in to watch Black women for entertainment? …

What Women Bring To The Fight: An Analysis Of Female Leadership In U.S. National Security, Alison Tobey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Women have held some of the highest-ranking national security positions in the United States, though the overall number of women in leadership positions has remained relatively small until recently. The Biden Administration has achieved gender parity in their national security leadership positions, with over fifty percent of these positions being held by women. Since this is the first time in U.S. history that women have such a significant presence in the defense field, it is important to analyze and understand the changes that can come as a result.

The purpose of this research is to broadly understand the impact that …

Are You My Nurse? The Effects Of Patient-Delivered Gender Microaggressions On Women Trainees’ Clinical Work In Integrated Primary Care, Julia Ratchford Kauffmann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender microaggressions are a form of sexist discrimination that have detrimental effects on women’s psychological well-being. Unfortunately, these sexist occurrences are commonplace in the United States and can be experienced in a variety of ways. As such, there is a need to understand behavioral health providers’ experiences with patient-delivered gender microaggressions. In doing so, we may be able to better support women behavioral health trainees’ during their clinical development by potentially understanding the ways in which women trainees are affected by sexist patient encounters. Therefore, the present study sought to apply the Social Cognitive Model of Counselor Training and the …

Exploring The Relational Impact Of Breast Cancer On Younger Women Partnered With Women, Kaitlin V. Ross

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Approximately 268,600 new cases of breast cancer in women are diagnosed each year in the United States. Due to improvements in cancer detection and treatment, survivorship is higher than in the past. More than ten percent of new diagnoses are in women 45 years or younger. There are approximately one million sexual minority individuals living with cancer in the US, yet this population is understudied in cancer care. For sexual minority women with breast cancer, sociocultural factors such as lack of affirmative care influences their disease experience. Further, sexual minority women and women partnered with women may be subject to …

Crafting Up A Narrative: An Ethnographic Study Of Fair Trade Marketing Practices And The Representation Of Female Handicraft Producers, Jessica Bradley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Unlike the exploitative supply chains that exist under neoliberal globalization, where the social conditions of their supply chain are largely hidden; fair trade attempts to reveal the conditions of their supply chains through transparent marketing practices. Transparency is often presented in the form of storytelling wherein fair trade organizations (FTOs) reveal intimate details of the artisans they partner with to educate consumers on the interrelations of their product supply chains. I wanted to explore the implications of sharing artisan stories to further sales of the handicrafts they produced. How does sharing intimate stories of artisans formulate the perceptions Western consumers …

Care Infrastructure Accessibility And The Gender Wage Gap – A Way To Improve Women’S Ability To Equitably Engage In The Paid Labor Market?, Julia Schinnenburg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

World-wide, women are less integrated into the labor force than men and if they are, they earn considerably less on average. This unequal treatment of women results in negative consequences for all members of society, as it harms women’s financial realities and also affects women’s care receivers due to a lack of resources that women can spend on their care giving. The research presented analyses how much the institution of better accessible care infrastructure could improve women’s ability to work for pay and decrease their daily workloads. The extent to which improved care infrastructure accessibility affects women’s lives is determined …

Trans And Genderqueer Military Service Member-Veterans: An Acculturation Phenomenology Of Civilian Reintegration, Joseph A. Galluzzo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As United States military policy continues to evolve and affirm the accession and retention of trans and genderqueer (TGQ) service members, more TGQ people will join and ultimately separate from military service. Reintegration is a term that represents the experience of beginning to separate from the military and transitioning into civilian life, and those who encounter it are referred to as military service member-veterans (MSMVs). Though empirical knowledge of reintegration for MSMVs overall continues to improve, cultural relevance has only recently been considered, and no research has investigated the reintegration experiences of TGQ MSMVs specifically. The primary purpose of this …

Disclosing For Closure: Negotiating Boundaries For Self-Expansion After Violence, Jadah M. Morrison

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The #MeToo movement has brought the narratives of survivors of sexual assault center stage. As we begin to understand the intricacies of these narratives, we must remember them in their first iteration, their initial disclosure. This study aims to understand the motivations behind the first disclosure of sexual violence. Through looking at these motivations through the lens of self-expansion theory, we can better support survivors of sexual violence in this initial process. Self-discrepancy theory was also used to understand survivors’ sense of self, and the motivations of how survivors seek refuge in their receiver. Thus, privacy management lends itself to …

“By Following Them, I Was Able To Identify Things I Shared With Them” : Conceptualizing How Social Media Use Influences Genderqueer Identity Development, Margeaux Gaiani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Among young genderqueer people, social media can be used as a tool for gender exploration, building support systems, and identity validation. However, literature on how these processes are linked together over time to curate a holistic sense of identity is limited. Using a grounded theory framework, this study seeks to construct a model explaining how gender identity development is linearly influenced by social media use among young genderqueer (transgender, non-binary, genderfluid, etc.) individuals. 20 indepth interviews were conducted with genderqueer participants ranging in age from 18- 26 years old. Participants were recruited through personal contact, referrals, and social media posts. …

The Ghost Town: An Autoethnographic Study On The Effects Of Loss And Trauma On A Saudi Arabian International Student’S Well-Being, Salman J. Alzowibi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We all have fought on grief’s battleground; some of us started at early ages, while others during their developmental age, teen’s years, or later in their adulthood. All of them are valuable resources and sites of knowledge that need to be explored. Yet, recent studies reduced grief into clinical psychological well-being. However, as I lived these experiences, trauma, loss, and grief impact all well-being dimensions. Grief intersects with large structures (e.g., social, economic, cultural, locations, etc.); all these components impact our way of grief how socially displayed (mourning). This dissertation encapsulates my personal experience elevating it to an academic work …

Spiritual Care Of Gay Men In Committed Relationships: An Evidenced-Based Intercultural Approach, Marc J. Coulter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sexual minorities have historically been targets of homophobia, heterosexism, discrimination, and persecution particularly within traditional, conservative religious organizations. As a result, many people who identify as male and gay reject traditional forms of religion and seek alternative spiritual beliefs and practices affirming their sexual orientation, often self-identifying as “spiritual but not religious” (SBNR). Some white, gay male couples in committed relationships also reject traditional views of sexual fidelity and negotiate open, consensual, non-monogamous sexual relationships with their primary partner. Gay couples seeking behavioral health assistance to navigate relational difficulties may encounter clinicians who fail to acknowledge the harmful influence of …

Rape: A Settler-Colonial And Anti-Black Project, Cristy A. Dougherty

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

White feminist theorizations of rape privilege patriarchy as the main source of gender violence, ultimately centering white cisgender women. In doing so, white women are treated as subject in anti-rape discourse while the violence inflicted on women of color is rendered as secondary and insignificant. Conversely, Indigenous and Black feminist analytics center Indigenous and Black women’s experiences with sexual violence, ultimately pointing to the ways in which rape has been used as a tool to perpetuate heteropatriarchy, settler-colonialism, and anti- Black racism. For instance, Deer (2015) explains that Indigenous women experience disproportionately high rates of sexual violence that spans generations. …

An Examination Of Racial And Ethnic Differences In Internalized Mental Health Stigma And Perceived Mental Health Barriers Due To Stigma Among Women Veterans, Christe’An D. Iglesias

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The stigma associated with mental illness can serve as a barrier for receiving treatment. Veterans may avoid seeking care due to stigma-related negative beliefs about one’s self or others. Research suggests that the stigma of mental illness can adversely impact service utilization. Although studies have shown that racial and ethnic minoritized individuals are more likely to experience poor mental health outcomes, no studies have examined how mental illness stigma differs across racial groups among women veterans. The objective of this secondary analysis is to examine how internalized mental health stigma and perceived barriers to access to care related to mental …

Fatty Fatty Two-By-Four—Can’T Get Through The Dressing Room Door?: An Examination Of Excess As Queer Failure, Miranda Dottie Olzman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Failure and fat are not linear. It is taught, learned, reminded, and internalized. Our bodies have memories that are built through repeated moments. And for me, failure has been a part of my body’s map since I was born. This project is the culmination of many failures. In this dissertation, I am examining queer failure in multiple contexts including body size, as well as religion to create a corpulent critique. I do this by examining the lineage of queer failure as well as queer temporality as it is linked to failure (Edelman; Muñoz; Halberstam; Love) with fat queer bodies serving …

So What, Now What? Using Social Media Activism To Inform Power-Conscious Prevention Of Gender-Based Violence, Andrea R. Thyrring

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We will not end gender-based violence by responding to it. Experts and national organizations agree that effective primary prevention programs are essential to stopping harmful behaviors before they start (DeGue et al, 2014; American College Health Association, 2016; American College Health Association, 2018; Townsend, 2017; Schneider & Hirsch, 2018; McMahon et al, 2019), so much so that primary prevention to address gender-based violence on college campuses has been mandated by state and federal policy (SB 19-007, 2019; Institutional Security Policies and Crime Statistics, 2020). In order to be effective, primary prevention programs should be tailored to the community in which …

Mothering Through Our Pain: Single Black Mothers’ Narratives, Yolanda E. Surrency

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Black women’s voices and historical contributions have been dismissed, and even excluded, making it difficult for their cultural knowledge to be transmitted to future generations. Black women battle with an unsettled consciousness from subscribing to the normalization of what dominant culture defines as good mothering. This study uses Black feminism to examine single Black mothers who navigate the negative images of the welfare queen and the matriarch. This narrative study uses Black feminism to examine the stories of single, Black mothers and their daughters. The purpose is to investigate Black mothers’ lived experiences to understand their struggles and resistance. Purposeful …

The Resilience Of Female Survivors Of Intimate Partner Violence In Southwest Nigeria: An Interdisciplinary Analysis, Tobi F. Oloyede

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Female survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Nigeria endure harsh and traumatic experiences that affect their rights as women and their well-being. As the phenomenon of IPV persists in Nigeria, it is not only a family problem but a critical social and psychological problem. This study examined Nigerian female survivors’ hidden strength, agency, and resilience, rather than their powerlessness and vulnerability. Analysis of survey questionnaires, interviews, and secondary scholarship reveals that some Nigerian female survivors of IPV are able to cope whilst navigating stressful and traumatic experiences. The results also show that survivors’ ability to thrive and cope under …

Navigating The Athletic Terrain For Transgender Athletes: Identity, Policy, And The Future, Lia M. Bevins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Transgender athletes face scrutiny because they do not fit within the traditional and constructed bounds of male and female. The objective of this study was to discover how to provide advocacy to this marginalized population amidst discriminating policies and transphobic environments. The research included a survey of high school coaches from thirty schools throughout Tennessee along with interviews with five transgender athletes from across the United States. All five athletes reported that leaders were the most impactful allies in their lives and can be the main sources of advocacy for transgender athletes. Survey findings showed that not every coach throughout …