Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Sexual Behavior And Substance Use Among Women Across The Spectrum Of Sexual Orientation, Margaret M. Wolff

Dissertations and Theses

Background: Compared to non-sexual minority women, sexual minority women are at greater risk for substance use and abuse, sexual risk behaviors, and unplanned teen pregnancy; few studies measure differing associations by sexual orientation (e.g., identity, behavior, attraction) or discordance (e.g., heterosexually-identified women with female partners) components. Minority stress may explain sexual minority women’s health disparities; thus, as U.S. policies evolve to reflect growing acceptance of all sexual minorities, research should examine sexual minority women’s health risk behaviors using multidimensional constructs of sexual orientation.

Methods: Using the female sample of the 2002-2013 National Survey of Family Growth (Aims 1-2 n=25,523; …

Desirable Conversations: Sexuality And Women With Intellectual Disabilities, Neera Malhotra

Dissertations and Theses

The American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD, 2011) assert that individuals with intellectual disabilities, irrespective of gender, have an equal right to learn about and experience their own sexuality. A review of the extant literature indicated that the voices of women with intellectual disabilities on the topic of familial culture, as it relates to sexuality, are rarely included (McCarthy, 1993; Shakespeare, 2000; Siebers, 2012).

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the role of familial culture and lived experiences of women with intellectual disabilities, ages 21-35, in understanding their own sexuality. Eight women participated in individual …

Substantive Representation By The Unelected: The Role Of Staff Gender On Mayoral Priorities In U.S. Cities, Sara M. Hottman

Dissertations and Theses

The literature on descriptive and substantive representation focuses on elected representatives, but overlooks the gender of those who play an integral role in policy process (agenda-setting) and outcomes (implementation): The elected’s chief of staff, senior policy advisors, and, in council-manager systems, the city manager. This thesis examines the role policy staff and city manager gender plays in substantive representation. After analyzing staff composition and agenda priorities — gleaned from State of the City addresses — for mayors of the 50 most-populous cities in the United States, I found substantial evidence to support my hypotheses that the chief of staff’s gender, …