Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Sense Of Community In Young Adulthood And Its Relation To Early Childhood Experiences, Madeline Gritzan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present study focused on sense of community and community involvement in emerging and young adulthood and examined how these relate to involvement in an early childhood developmental (ECD) program. This study explored the effects of early childhood participation in the Better Beginnings Better Futures (Better Beginnings) program on entrance into communities later in life. The research objectives were to (i) identify factors related to developing sense of community in emerging and young adulthood and (ii) understand differences in adulthood sense of community based on early childhood experiences. The sample consisted of young adults who participated in three …

“Invisible” Parent Experiences Of Homelessness And Separation From Their Children In Canada, Rachel A. Caplan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Family homelessness includes a sub-group of individuals whose experiences remain largely hidden or “invisible” within Canadian homelessness systems: parents who have been separated from their children. Yet, to date, little research has focused on the experiences of “invisible” parents who have experienced homelessness, mental illness, and separation from their children in Canada. The purpose of this dissertation was to help fill this notable gap in the literature, as well as to inform community psychology and family homelessness theory, research, practice, and policy in Canada.

The Canadian At Home/Chez Soi (AHCS) research demonstration project included a subset of parents with mental …

Youth-Adult Community Partnerships: Student Voice And Choice In Addressing Racism, Sarah Ranco

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Researchers have documented many benefits of youth engagement, however there is a need for more systematic research on participation in different contexts. This study has investigated how a youth-adult partnership addressed racism within a high school, as well as the experiences of participants during this process. This project was a case study of a school-based, youth-adult partnership consisting of eight (N = 8) participants. Five participants were students in Grades 11 and 12, two were school/school board staff, and one was the author; I directly participated in the partnership as a facilitator. Qualitative data were collected through field notes, interviews …

Access To The Healthcare System For Acb People Living In Waterloo Region, Ontario: A Racial And Socio-Ecological Examination, Tiyondah Fante-Coleman

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Little research has investigated the barriers and facilitators to accessing healthcare for African, Caribbean, and Black people in Canada. This thesis identifies barriers and facilitators using a socio-ecological framework in two papers. Five focus groups were held with 22 ACB participants in Waterloo, Ontario. Thematic analysis guidelines informed the analysis of focus group data. The first paper identified barriers at the social (racism and employment, immigrant status) and institutional (wait times, out-of-pocket expenses) levels. Community connections was the sole facilitator at the social level. The second paper identified four barriers at the interpersonal level: physicians’ style of care, lack of …

Bridging The Gaps In Bringing In The Bystander: An Intersectional Approach To Campus-Based Sexual Violence Prevention, Anne E. Rudzinski

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This paper draws upon pilot-test data from an intersectional approach to a sexual violence prevention program on university campuses. While many programs have been created to address the sexual violence epidemic, many focus heavily on white, heterosexual, and cisgender scenarios. This research utilizes the Bringing in the Bystander® workshop, a community-based prevention initiative focused on preventing sexual violence through inspiring students to intervene in pro-social ways. In this analysis, the program maintained the same pedagogical structure, but contained a wider variety of narratives designed to include stories and scenarios about contexts relevant to the experiences of LGBTQ+ and racialized students. …

Building Young People’S Capacity For Critical And Transcendent Engagement: Examining The Institution, The Community, And The Individual As Protagonists Of A School Setting, Livia Dittmer

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As a powerful socializing force in Western society, schools have significant influence on young people’s development into adulthood. As powerful agents of societal maintenance and change, adolescents have significant influence on communities and institutions such as schools. In this embedded case study, I use structuration theory, German Critical Psychology, and systems thinking to examine the dynamic relationship between institutional structures and student agency in a school setting. I specifically examine the influence of this relationship on young people’s capacity for critical and transcendent engagement, constructs described further in this work. In the setting of Nancy Campbell Academy (NCA), an international …

Long-Term Effects Of A Universal Program On Child Welfare Youth's Psychosocial Outcomes, Alexis Gilmer, Colleen Loomis

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present project conducted two studies to better understand the impacts of former involvement with the child welfare system on young adults’ psychosocial outcomes at ages 18 and 30. In the first study (N = 598, M_age = 18.47 years) participants who were involved with child welfare during youth had higher rates of depression than those not involved in care. Using a quasi-experimental design, we hypothesized that participation in a universal community program would moderate the relationship between child welfare system involvement and negative outcomes; the hypothesis was not supported. The second study explored trends ten years later …

Exploring Profiles Of Lgbtq Social Wellbeing In Waterloo Region, Canada, Kendra Hardy

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Literature on the wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people has predominantly examined the negative experiences associated with LGBTQ identity; however, a growing body of literature explores the positive wellbeing of LGBTQ people. The present study examines social wellbeing as the connections across six elements identified in previous literature: discrimination, sense of safety, outness, social support, sense of belonging, and community acceptance. Latent profile analyses (LPA), a person-centered approach, was used to explore these elements of social wellbeing with cisgender LGBQ (n = 406) and transgender (n = 110) participants from a sample of LGBTQ …

The Muslimah Project: A Collaborative Inquiry Into Discrimination And Muslim Women’S Mental Health In A Canadian Context, Brianna Hunt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

In Canada, Muslim women face a unique form of discrimination based on their religious, racial, and gender identities (Helly, 2012; Mohanty, 2003; Zine, 2008). These complex forms of discrimination make it difficult to access adequate supports for positive mental health and wellbeing (Burgess, Ding, Hargreaves, van Ryn & Phelan, 2008). Grounded in feminist intersectional theory and practice (Hill Collins & Bilge, 2016), the present manuscript emerges from a community-based project centered around Muslim women’s experiences of discrimination and resulting adverse mental health impacts. Through a series of five focus groups (N=55) the research team engaged with Muslim women from diverse …

Social Support, Discrimination, And Self-Esteem In Lgbtq+ High School And Post-Secondary Students, Kirstie Taylor

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus) people are at a disadvantage compared to their heterosexual and cisgender (non-transgender) counterparts. LGBTQ+ people are likely to be discriminated against based on their gender or sexual identities. Drawing on data from the OutLook Study in Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada, this paper examines discrimination and social support among high school and post-secondary students, and how they are related to self-esteem. Using t-tests, we found that transgender students in high school reported significantly higher levels of direct transphobia and of victimization compared to transgender post-secondary students. Using multiple linear regressions, we found indirect homophobia …

Changing The Narrative Of Social Determinants Of Health: Messaging For Ontarians, Emily Churchill

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are conditions in which people live, such as physical environment or political context, which impact health. In Canada, SDOH are the greatest determinants of life expectancy. Despite evidence that broader social structural factors are key determinants of health, a majority of the public Ontario hold an individualistic view of health and do not see the government as having a role in decreasing health inequities. It is imperative to address the gap between public opinion and existing evidence as governmental policy will have the greatest effect on decreasing health inequities caused by SDOH. This thesis is …

Free, Prior, And Informed Decision-Making About Proposed Development On Indigenous Territories In Northern Ontario, Courtney Arseneau

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This case study examined the experiences of consultation and consent-seeking processes among nine Indigenous communities in northern Ontario that, individually and collectively, are faced with complex decisions to be made since the discovery of several significant mineral deposits on their traditional territories. In examining the processes involved in making informed development decisions, this dissertation addressed four key research questions: 1) What are the roles, processes, laws and rights frameworks that influence resource governance in the Matawa First Nations region? 2) How is free, prior, and informed decision-making described by people living and working in the Matawa First Nations region? 3) …

Using Social Media To Engage Toronto Communities For Resiliency And Stress Planning, Martha Ta

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

As Toronto’s low-income areas grow, the city’s neighbourhoods experience a segregation by low- and high-income, contributing to chronic stress as environmental determinants and leading to negative health outcomes and chronic diseases. This study identified Crescent Town as one of the Toronto neighbourhoods with potentially high levels of chronic emotional stress through an analysis of emotions indicated by Tweets, as well as triangulation with administrative data describing relevant neighbourhood indicators. Crescent Town community members (n=23) were engaged using concept mapping to identify existing neighbourhood stressors and assets and empowered to strategize solutions. The ten-cluster solution created with six clusters describing neighbourhood …

Older Adults’ Social Networks And The Role Of A Telephone Helpline Program, Harmanpreet (Preet) Chauhan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Over the past century, advances in health care, higher levels of education, and improved living conditions have resulted in increased human life expectancy. However, with longer life expectancy comes potential challenges to quality of life, as individuals may face numerous transitions in older age: children leaving home, employment to retirement, or physical declines possibly leading to lack of mobility. As a result, older adults may experience social isolation and difficulty in building new relationships. This is problematic, as lack of social connection is a strong predictor of lower physical and mental health (Fiori & Jager, 2012; Fiori, Smith, & Antonucci, …