Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Re-Evaluating Peacebuilding In The Democratic Republic Of Congo: A Case Study In Dongo, Wilita Sanguma

Master's Theses

Re-evaluating Peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A case study in Dongo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo) is a country rich with natural resources centered in the heart of Africa. Since the colonial era, the country has seen more bloodshed than peace and development. From 1996 to 2003, Congo experienced the worst conflict since World War II, with over six million people dead. Despite having the largest United Nations peacekeeping troops present; Congo continues to be plagued by violence. This research thesis argues that the international community failed to promote a lasting peace in Congo because the international …

Does Attachment To Parents Mediate The Relationship Between Couple Conflict And Adolescent Self-Regulation?, Lisa Tensmeyer Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

Adolescent self-regulation follows a developmental trajectory over time with ups and downs during maturation. This paper uses growth curve analysis to look at change in self-regulation over time. Although self-regulation scores may increase during latency, adolescents differ in levels of self-regulation due to biological and socialization factors. In addition, exposure to couple conflict has been shown to affect levels of self-regulation. The current study examined the role of attachment to parents as a mediator between couple conflict and adolescent self-regulation outcomes, controlling for gender of child. Participants were 681 families with a child between the ages of 11 and 13 …

Cost-Effectiveness Of Outpatient Treatment For Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, And Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Dwayne M. Horton

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the cost effectiveness of treating Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (NOS), as well as the effects that modality of therapy (i.e. individual, family, and mixed therapy), license of therapist, and secondary diagnosis had on recidivism and total cost of treatment in the care of these patients. One-thousand and thirty-eight patients (56 males, 982 females) diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa, 1,674 patients (56 males, 1,618 females) diagnosed with Bulimia Nervosa, and 1,997 patients (197 males, 1,800 females) diagnosed with Eating Disorder NOS were included in this study. Results revealed that family therapy was the …

Materialism And Psychological Well-Being: A Meta-Analytic Study, Kaylene Joy Fellows

Theses and Dissertations

The scholarly study of materialism is becoming more common in a variety of disciplines. This thesis provides an empirical review of this burgeoning body of literature by conducting a meta-analysis of the relationship between materialism and psychological well-being. A weighted overall effect size from 47 published and unpublished samples indicated that materialism was significantly related to lower psychological well-being. This effect size was modest in strength (r = .159). Materialism scale, psychological scale valance, age of sample, and publication status of the study did not moderate this relationship. Culture did moderate the relationship, with a stronger relationship in individualistic cultures …

Factors Affecting Relationship Quality In African-American/Caucasian Bi-Racial Couples, Joriann Lynn Mcgrath

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the direct actor/partner effects of self-esteem, coming to terms, and relationship quality and the indirect effects of self-esteem on relationship quality when mediated by coming to terms. The sample included 160 interracial couples of which 69.4% were made up of an African-American male and a Caucasian female, while 30.6 were made up of an African-American female and a Caucasian male. These couples completed the RELATionship Evaluation (RELATE), a survey questionnaire. This study used three variables from the RELATE: self-esteem, coming to terms, and relationship quality. Results from Structural Equation Modeling indicated that self-esteem had a negative effect …

Self-Reporting, Recognition Of Symptoms And Characteristics Of Anxiety And Depression And Seeking Professional Help, Eliana V. Brito

Student Dissertations & Theses

This study examined whether adults (age 25 to 50) self-report symptoms of anxiety and/or depression and whether these individuals accurately identify the symptoms that are associated with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder. Do these individuals believe the symptoms associated with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder are severe enough to seek professional help? The participants included 30 females and 20 males. Zung’s Self-Rating Depression (SDS; 1971) and Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS; 1965) were administered. A third questionnaire was also developed to help identify if individuals are able to accurately identify symptoms, distinguish between the two disorders, and …

Pagkababae At Pagkalalake (Femininity And Masculinity): Developing A Filipino Gender Trait Inventory And Predicting Self-Esteem And Sexism, Vivienne Velez Valledor-Lukey

Child and Family Studies - Dissertations

This study focused on the construction of a gender trait inventory from a Filipino perspective, guided by social constructionist, symbolic interactionist, and feminist theories. Traits that were identified as being typical of Filipino men and women were grouped into positive (i.e., socially desirable) and negative (i.e., socially undesirable) subscales. Development and validity testing were conducted using data from 296 Filipino university students. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to develop the subscales of the instrument. The Filipino femininity subscale included positive traits such as being caring and supportive and negative traits such as being timid or keeping things to one's …

Attachment Security Among Toddlers: The Impacts Of Supportive Coparenting And Father Engagement, Sangita Pudasainee-Kapri

Child and Family Studies - Theses

The present study examined the longitudinal associations among supportive coparenting and father engagement during infancy and mother-child attachment at age three within an at-risk sample (N= 1371), using secondary data from Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing (FFCW) study. Mothers reported on coparenting and father engagement during the one-year phone interview and mother-child attachment was assessed using the Toddler Attachment Sort-39 (TAS-39) at age three during the three-year in-home interview. Findings suggest that supportive coparenting was significantly associated with higher levels of father engagement and more secure mother-child attachment relationship across three racial/ethnic groups including white, African American, and Hispanic. Interestingly, …

Living A Parallel Life: Memoirs And Research Of A Transnational Korean Adoptee, Mary C. Robinson

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

This thesis project consists of two parts: a memoir of my experience as a Korean adoptee, and a research paper examining how transracial, transnational adoption affects identity development in Korean adoptees. The memoir, as a first person narrative, gives voice to the research as one example of the findings. The majority of research on Korean adoptees has focused on levels of adjustment within a short time frame after adoptees’ placement in their adoptive homes. While the overwhelming majority of the prior research has declared positive and overall satisfactory adjustment for most adoptees, serious flaws exist in the methodologies that do …

Community Perspectives On Black Parent Engagement In West Las Vegas Before And After Desegregation: A Case Study, Tonia Faye Holmes-Sutton

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

According to research on parent engagement in K-12 schools, disconnects often exist between parent involvement as defined by school leaders and the African American families and communities they serve (Delgado-Gaitan, 1991; Tillman, 2009). Unfortunately, these competing definitions and conceptions of parent involvement often result in school leaders and administrators perceiving that Black students do not achieve as well as their White peers because Black parents are not involved or engaged in the education of their children (Cooper, 2010; Cooper, 2009; Fields-Smith, 2005). This perception undermines the development of positive home-school relations between school leaders, educators, and Black parents, and in …

Exploring The Relationship Between First Year First Generation College Students And Their Parents, Jerica L. Turek

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The first year of college is one that is crucial for all students entering higher education due to the major transition issues that must be successfully navigated in order to persist to the sophomore year. Parental support has been shown to have a positive effect during this transition by providing positive coping mechanisms and allowing children to develop higher level of autonomy. The level of parental support is at a high level for members of the Millennial Generation, which is characterized by a close parent-child relationship, as well as a high level of parental involvement in the education process. While …

Mental Health Treatment For Children And Adolescents: Cost Effectiveness, Dropout, And Recidivism By Presenting Diagnosis And Therapy Modality, David Fawcett

Theses and Dissertations

As many as one in five children and adolescents may suffer from a mental health disorder, yet there are barriers that often prevent children from receiving optimal treatment. The current study explores the influence of practitioner license type, therapy modality, diagnosis, age, and gender on mental health therapy for children and adolescents. Data was provided by Cigna, a leading health care insurance provider in the United States. Participants include 106,374 boys (53.2%) and 93,753 girls (46.8%) ages 3 to 18 (M = 12.1, SD = 3.9) who were treated in outpatient facilities throughout the United States of America. Results indicate …

There's No Place Like Home: How Residential Attributes Affect Family Functioning, Carly Marie Thornock

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which actual (e.g., density and openness) and perceptual (e.g., crowding and distance) elements of the spatial home environment act as predictors of family functioning. Data were gathered from 126 families whose child was attending a university’s preschool/kindergarten facility in a mid-sized community in the Western United States. Structural equation modeling (SEM, AMOS 19.0) was employed to examine the strength of the relationships within the model. Results showed that though actual home items (specifically density and great room openness) affect family functioning outcomes, perceived crowding was especially influential as a …

Chronic Child Neglect: Cys Staff Perspectives On Repeat Clients, Erin M. Murphy

Capstone Collection

Since the late 1960‘s, child protection agencies have acted under federal mandate to intervene in cases of child abuse and neglect. In accordance with state child protection laws, these agencies provide monitoring and support services to "at-risk" families. Despite these efforts, studies have shown that a record number of parents who receive services are re-reported to the agency for additional offenses within a short period of time. The available literature attributes recidivism to delayed or mismanaged interventions and adverse socio-economic conditions among parents, but research that considers employee perspectives on chronic neglect is scant. This paper explores inter and extra-agency …

The Cross-Border Migrant Experience In Lang Son Province, Northern Viet Nam, Donald Hickerson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The crossing of national borders between nations of the developing world provides opportunities for the poor who seek sources of livelihood, while putting migrants, especially women migrants, at risk of exploitation and abuse. It is against the backdrop of these contradictory effects of migration for poor women that this thesis examines the experiences of a group of daily cross-border migrant women in northern Viet Nam. The study focuses on the role of networks in their lives. Based on 22 in-depth interviews with Vietnamese women migrants who work at the Viet Nam-China border region, I develop an analytical framework that seeks …

The Effects Of Couple-Centered And Therapist-Centered Process On The Dyadic Attachment Of Distressed Therapy-Seeking Couples: A Multilevel Longitudinal Analysis, Justin Paul Zamora

Theses and Dissertations

This study is an empirical investigation of 35 clinically distressed therapy seeking couples receiving sequential sessions of both therapist-centered and, alternatively, couple- centered, enactment-based therapy processes. Using a mixed-level longitudinal analysis with a repeated measure design, analysis of secure attachment, and the interrelated dimensions of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance were examined demonstrating that couple- centered, enactment-based sessions produced higher levels of post-session and within-session attachment gains than therapist-centered process for both males and females. Couple-centered, enactment-based process was observed to have a unique treatment effect after the second session, where both partners experienced higher levels of attachment followed by …

The Intersection Between Home And School: Developing A Scale To Measure Parental Perceptions Of Childhood School Stress, Teresa Marie Henke

Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Parents in the home and educators in the schools are key adults in the most important contexts in the daily lives of school-age children. In the demanding, achievement, and accountability oriented culture of today, it is expected that children experience normal everyday stressors as they move between these two environments. The impact of stress related to daily hassles has been reported to have both cognitive and physical effects on the present and future well-being of children. This study represented an attempt to advance the understanding of childhood stress in the intersection between school and home by investigating the perceptions …

The Contradictory Nature Of Natural Mothering: A Discursive Analysis, Britni Lee Ayers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In our contemporary sociopolitical rhetoric breastfeeding is something that is natural and something women ought to do because breast is best. The problem with this contemporary discourse of breastfeeding and motherhood is that the dominant medical, political, technological, and patriarchal discourses surrounding breastfeeding have merged to create an highly unattainable definition of what it means to be a "good mother" (Blum 1993). Moreover, upon a close examination, the most pressing political and Social debates of today surrounding the welfare reform, women's employment, reproductive technologies, and abortion, among many others, construct distinctions between "good mothers" and "bad mothers." However, there has …

Perform + Function: A Proposal For A Healthy Public Housing Community, Brandon M. Harvey

Masters Theses

PERFORM+FUNCTION: Proposal for A Healthy Public Housing Community

Architecture exists in Place, the integrated context of both the built and natural environments, including socio-economic, cultural, and political climates that influence our growth, development, and survival. As architecture necessitates around human purposes, it is important that architecture is built for and sited in an environment compatible for human well-being. My thesis focuses on human habitation and its immediate relationship with human health, assessing the performance and functionality of Place that have an impact on human health. Using public housing as the vehicle of my investigation, I will seek the appropriate application …

First-Time Homebuyers' Perceived Preparedness: A Realtors' Perspective, Jordan Jerome Aaberg

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Realtors are usually homebuyers' first contact in buying a home. It is the realtor's goal to work in the best interest of the client. Agents provide all avenues of opportunity to first-time homebuyers (FTHBs) such as FTHB programs, mortgage options, and connections with inspectors, appraisers, and title companies. Realtors work with clients and other real estate agents in connecting sellers and buyers and creating real estate transactions. FTHBs have the option to trust their agents wholeheartedly and accept what they are saying to be true and in their best interest, or they can become educated about the home-buying process and …

Frank Lloyd Wright: Influences And Worldview, Brock Stafford

M.A. in Philosophy of History Theses

Wright was uniquely qualified to see the changing face of America. Born two years after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the end of the Civil War, Wright lived to nearly ninety-two years of age. During his lifetime, he lived through the American Industrial Revolution, both World Wars, the Wright Brothers flight, the invention of television.... Architecturally, he straddles the gap between the neoclassical period of the 19th century, marked by the admiration of Greek and Roman architecture, and the modernism of the 20th. Philosophically, he was a product of the early 19th century Romanticism, but followed his own, often …

Dual Physician Couples: An Exploration Of Family Stressors And Coping, A. Benjamin Zinke

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Physician families have experienced significant changes in the last half century as the rise of female physicians has resulted in an increase in the number of dual physician couples. The present research is a qualitative study of dual physician couples (N = 32). A social exchange framework is used to conceptualize the costs and rewards that dual physician couples experience with regards to work and family domains. A constructivist grounded theory was used as a theory of methodology so that findings were grounded in the data. Results of this study showed that couples tended to struggle for what was important …

Couple Communication As A Mediator Between Work-Family Conflict And Marital Satisfaction, Sarah J. Carroll

Theses and Dissertations

Using a sample of married individuals employed full-time (N = 1,139), this study examined the mediating effects of constructive and destructive communication between partners on the relationship between work-family conflict and marital satisfaction. Results from structural equation modeling revealed that work-family conflict was significantly and negatively related to marital satisfaction. This relationship became insignificant when constructive and destructive communication were added to the model, evidence for full mediation. This was confirmed with Sobel's test for mediation. Results suggest that teaching communication skills may be a potent point of intervention for couples who experience high levels of work-family conflict.

The Role Of Trait Forgiveness In Moderating The Relationship Between Materialism And Relationship Instability In Couples, Lance J. Dome

Theses and Dissertations

With evidence growing of the negative impact materialism exerts on the individual and the marital relationship, this study examines the effects of materialism on the marital relationship as well as the potential moderating effects of forgiveness. Specifically examined is the association between materialism and marital instability considering trait forgiveness as a potential moderating variable. The data for this study were taken from the Flourishing Families Project. Materialism, forgiveness, and marital instability measures with actor effects, partner effects, and moderation effects are analyzed. The findings of this study supported the hypothesis that materialism is related to marital instability and that forgiveness …

The Mediating Influence Of Child Self-Regulation On The Relationship Between Couple Attachment Security In Parents And Anxiety In Their Children, David P. Adamusko

Theses and Dissertations

This two wave panel study examined child self-regulation as a potential mediator of the relationship between marital attachment security in parents and anxiety in their adolescent child. Data for this study were taken from the two parent families in waves three and four of the Flourishing Families project which included 335 two-parent families with children between the ages of 14 and 16. Both parents and child completed the Novak and Clayton (2001) Self-regulation Scale with the child's self-regulation as the target, and both husbands and wives completed a modified version of the Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire (Fraley, Waller, & …

Parents’ Perceptions Of Partners In Print, A Family Literacy Program, Rebecca Jane Godbey

LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations

Partners in Print, a family literacy program, was brought to the urban elementary school in this study to educate and empower kindergarten and first grade parents to promote literacy development at home. This research aimed to explore the impact of participation in this program after consistent participation by utilizing a one-group pre-test, post-test research design. The Parent Empowerment and Home Literacy Environment Survey, which included both structured and unstructured questions, was administered before and after participation in the program to elicit notions of parent empowerment and growth in the home literacy environment. Parent participants also completed a document review of …

Land Is Life: A Policy Advocacy Case Study Of The Northern Thailand Land Reform Movement, Jason Lubanski

Capstone Collection

This case study provides an in-depth examination of the work of the Thailand Northern Land Reform Movement using the framework of Jeff Unsicker's "Policy Advocacy Circles". Due to increasing population pressures, the liberalization of land markets, and agribusiness pressures, Thailand has experienced an increase in land ownership inequality and a growing number of landless and nearly landless small-scale farmers. In order to address this situation, agricultural communities have joined together at local and national levels to fight for the legislation of land reform policies, including Community Land Titles, progressive land taxes, and a National Land Bank to assist with land …

Marketing Vermont As A Multicultural Brand, Shambulia Gadsden Sams

Capstone Collection

Considered one of the most ethnically diverse countries, race diversity is at its highest and most rapid growth in the United States due to the increase in the minority population. Vermont has long been the U.S.’s least diverse state, being the 2^nd whitest state in the U.S., yet, according to the 2010 census, the racial and ethnic population has increased. However, the visibility of that growth amongst the minority population in Vermont is stagnating in only marketing to a Caucasian-centric base. This capstone paper will examine the Marketing of Vermont as a Multicultural Brand and how it has and …

Interracial, Yet Intrafaith: Does A Common Religion Predict Higher Relationship Quality In Interracial Romantic Relationships?, Danielle Fenn

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to analyze the association between relationship quality and religious discrepancy of interracial couples who are either married or cohabiting. Two variables of religious discrepancy (religious affiliation discrepancy and religiosity discrepancy) were studied. The sample included three groups of interracial couples: Hispanic-white, Asian-white, and Black-white. The data were analyzed using a structural equation model and regression estimates of the three groups were compared. Results showed a significant relationship in only three of the 12 relationships between the two variables of religious discrepancy and relationship quality. Significant negative relationships were found between religious denomination discrepancy and …

A Comparison Of The Effects Of Negative Communication And Spirituality On Relationship Quality Among Different Groups Of Latino And Anglo Couples, Sergio Benjamin Pereyra

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the direct relationship between actor/ partner effects of negative communication, spirituality and relationship quality and also examined negative communication when mediated by spirituality among four types of couples. The sample included 300 heterosexual Anglo couples (AC), 319 heterosexual female Anglo/ male Latino couples (FAML), 292 heterosexual female Latina/ male Anglo couples (FLMA), and 177 heterosexual Latino couples (LC) who completed a survey questionnaire known as the RELATionship Evaluation (RELATE). Variables from this questionnaire that were used in the study included measures of negative communication, spirituality, and relationship quality. Results from Structural Equation Modeling indicated that negative communication …