Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Connecting Children And Families: Expectations And Experiences Of Professional Foster Parents, Samantha A. Goodrich

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Conceptualizing Success In Therapeutic Wilderness Experiences: The Creation And Maintenance Of Instructor-Participant Relationships, Chelsea I. Ambrozaitis

Honors Scholar Theses

Researchers have noted that relationships created between instructors and clients in therapeutic wilderness experiences are unique (Russell, 2003; Russell & Phillips-Miller, 2001; Sklar, Anderson, & Autry, 2007; Taniguchi et al., 2009), but little research has been done to explore these relationships. The present study is an investigation of how instructors build and maintain relationships with participants, conceptualize these relationships, and define success in these tasks. Nine instructors from a wilderness program for at-risk youth participated in interviews. Data were analyzed using a line-by-line coding technique. Results of this study add to existing research on wilderness therapy and therapeutic wilderness experiences, …

Building Steprelationships: Emerging Adult Stepchildrens' Perceptions And Experiences Of Their Stepparents, Luke Thomas Russell

Honors Scholar Theses

A grounded theory study was conducted with ten (7 female, 3 male) emerging-adults in stepfamilies to examine their perceptions and experiences of their stepparents, and what factors influence the development and maintenance of these steprelationships. Three primary categories emerged from the data: (1) Stepchildrens' perceptions of their stepparents presence in their lives, including both physical closeness and physical and emotional involvement (2) The perceived level of authenticity within the steprelationship, and (3) The level of clout stepchildren afforded to their stepparents' position within their lives and families.

Additional factors found to influence the levels of presence, authenticity, and clout were …