Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

School-Based Sexuality Education, Gender, And Relationship Self-Efficacy: A Moderated-Mediation Analysis Of Sexual Behavior In First-Year College Students, Sara C. Schmidt

Theses and Dissertations

While the effectiveness at abstinence-only versus comprehensive sexuality education in preventing adolescent risky sexual behavior is widely researched, little is known about whether material learned in secondary school sexuality education classes impacts emerging adult sexual behavior in the college environment. Furthermore, research suggests that self-efficacy – or beliefs in one’s abilities to organize and execute actions – may be more critical than knowledge or skills in terms of how individuals enact behavior. We hypothesized a moderated-mediation effect by which the causal impact of type of sexuality education on four different sexual behaviors during the first year in college is transmitted …

Key Characteristics Of Teacher Leaders In Schools, Angela Lumpkin, Heather Claxton, Amanda Wilson

Administrative Issues Journal

Teacher leaders who share their specialized knowledge, expertise, and experience with other teachers broaden and sustain school and classroom improvement efforts. Teacher leaders can transform classrooms into learning laboratories where every student is engaged in relevant and well-designed curricular content, every teacher embraces the use of more effective instructional strategies, and authentic assessments provide evidence of rich student learning. This work describes four essentialities associated with teacher leaders: a focus on student learning, along with the importance of empowerment, relationships, and collaboration. In addition to gleaning insights from the literature, examples of the impact of teacher leaders in schools are …

A Model For Filipino Work Team Effectiveness, Cristina A. Alafriz, Mendiola Teng-Calleja, Ma. Regina Hechanova, Ivan Jacob A. Pesigan

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

This study utilized a sequential mixed method approach in developing a model for team effectiveness in Philippine organizations. In the first phase, qualitative data were gathered to elicit the factors that were deemed important to creating effective teams. In the second phase, a survey composed of three factors identified in the first phase: team member competencies, quality of relations, and leadership, was administered to 418 employees from 85 Filipino work teams from various sectors and industries. Results revealed that the three significant predictors accounted for 60% of the variance in perceived team effectiveness. The proposed model of input-process-output was partially …

Perceptions Of The Contract-For-Service Relationship: The Impact Of Trust, Abby M. Foreman, Matthew R. Fairholm

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This paper discusses contract-for-services, the dominant mechanism of social service delivery in the United States. The development of the use of contract-for-services mechanism in social service delivery in the 20th century is outlined as well as the increasingly interdependent relationship that exists between nonprofit social service organizations and the government. The contracting relationship itself is one that is inherently insecure, which is assumed to create competition and create an incentive for high performance. Evidence, however, indicates that competition is often less than vigorous in social service contracting. In addition, there is a growing consensus that trust is a central component …

What Kills Love? Factors Influencing The Ending Of Love In Romantic Relationships, Michelle Duda

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports the results of an online survey study that examined dimensions of love, positive behaviors, negative behaviors, and relationship satisfaction in current romantic relationships where the individual currently had a feeling of being in love with their partner ("still in love" or SIL group) versus in past romantic relationships where the individual once had a feeling of being in love with that person, but ceased loving - essentially, fell out of love with - that person over the course of the relationship ("fell out of love" or FOL group). An MTurk sample of 202 individuals (Mean age = …

Personal Network Recovery Enablers And Relapse Risks For Women With Substance Dependence, Suzanne Brown, Elizabeth M. Tracy, Min Kyoung Jun, Hyunyong Park, Meeyoung O. Min

Social Work Faculty Publications

We examined the experiences of women in treatment for substance dependence and their treatment providers about personal networks and recovery. We conducted six focus groups at three women’s intensive substance abuse treatment programs. Four coders used thematic analysis to guide the data coding and an iterative process to identify major themes. Coders identified social network characteristics that enabled and impeded recovery and a reciprocal relationship between internal states, relationship management, and recovery. Although women described adding individuals to their networks, they also described managing existing relationships through distancing from or isolating some members to diminish their negative impact on recovery. …

The Relationship Between Traumagenic Dynamic Responses Towards Childhood Sexual Abuse, Ethnic Identity, Social Support, Trauma Severity, And Attitudes Towards Interpersonal Relationships In Adolescent Females, Nita J. Makhija

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study used the theory of traumagenic dynamics (TD) to examine how symptomatology resulting childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are related to the attitudes adolescent females have towards interpersonal relationships. The ultimate goal being that this understanding can inform the creation and implementation of empirically based clinical interventions that specifically target CSA-related symptoms which are associated with the endorsement of unhealthy attitudes towards romantic relationships. In examining this relationship, family support and ethnic identity were examined as protective factors against the endorsement of unhealthy attitudes towards romantic relationships, and trauma severity and the presence of domestic violence in the home were …

The Link Between Insecure Attachment And Depression: Two Potential Pathways, Cassandra C. Devito

Masters Theses

A wealth of research demonstrates a strong link between insecure attachment and depressive symptoms. However, thus far no work has discerned different pathways to depression for each of the insecure subtypes: anxious and avoidant attachment. This work looks at the behaviors that couples engage in during a conflict interaction as a potential mediator for the attachment-depression relationship, with different behaviors mediating the link between anxious and avoidant attachment and depression. For anxiously attached individuals, it was predicted that lack of support and response from the partner (actual or perceived) would account for the relationship between their attachment and depressive symptoms. …

Intimacy Uncertainty And Identity In Gay Male Couples Dealing With A Serodiscordant Hiv Status, Scott Allen Eldredge

Doctoral Dissertations

When individuals are diagnosed with a chronic illness, their lives instantly change. Daily routines are interrupted and attendance to the symptoms and side effects of illness and medication becomes a daily chore. However, the patient is not the only one that feels the disruptive effects of illness and the partner of the chronically ill patient must also contend with the daily effects of an illness that they themselves do not have. In the case of HIV, the infectious nature of the disease, along with the stigma associated with the disease, serve to be additional sources of stress in an already-stressful …

Relationships Among Constructive Communication, Self-Efficacy, And Motivation In Latino Men Who Smoke: A Path Analysis, Alexander Malik Khaddouma

Masters Theses

Previous authors have posited that the health and functioning of romantic relationships may play a role in individual partners’ motivation to engage in healthier behavioral patterns. This effect of romantic relationship functioning may be particularly applicable to Latino couples, given the cultural value of familismo (Galanti, 2003). Utilizing specific factors of Lewis and colleagues’ (2006) Interdependence Model, the present study tested a model of motivation for smoking cessation in which self-efficacy mediates the effect of perceived spousal constructive communication patterns on male partners’ motivation to quit smoking. The model was tested in a sample of 173 Latino couples who underwent …

Self-Actualization On Steroids: An Exploration Of Social Skills, Dating, And Lifestyle Training For Heterosexual Men In A Western Cultural Context, James Daniel Wolfe

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In 2005, Rolling Stones editor and New York Times writer Neil Strauss published a New York Times bestselling book titled The Game outlining his experience infiltrating the pick-up artist community in Los Angeles. The launching of this popular book was followed by the formation of companies that teach heterosexual men dating and relationship skills. From manipulation tactics to true social skills and personal growth, these companies are numerous and varied in what they teach men about dating and relationships. Masculinity norms of Western culture have been shown to discourage men from seeking help, especially for romantic relationships. These new forms …

The Fatherhood Factor: The Impact Of The Father-Child Relationship On The Social, Interpersonal, And Recidivism Risk Factors Of Previously Incarcerated Men, Larissa A. Maley

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Of the men who return home from prison, nearly 7 out of 10 will be re-arrested and sent back within 3 years of their release (Travis, Solomon, & Waul, 2001). This trend has large- scale implications, not just for individuals, but for their families and communities as well. Clearly, understanding the factors that contribute to a man’s success or failure in staying out of prison is extremely important in constructing policy and programs to assist these at-risk individuals and communities. Of the few studies that have explored the lives of previously incarcerated men, some have found fatherhood to be a …

Factors Affecting The Acquisition And Transfer Of Novel Attribute Relationships To New Product Categories, Stewart Shapiro, Mark Spence, Jennifer Gregan-Paxton

Mark Spence

This article investigates two factors posited to affect consumers' ability to learn a novel attribute relationship (e.g., "no pesticides → USDA organic symbol") and apply this recently acquired knowledge when making judgments in a new product category. The first factor concerns the nature of the attribute encoding process and, in particular, whether it allows for comparison of examples. The second factor focuses on the relationship between the learning and transfer domains, and examines the influence of perceptual similarity (manipulated two ways: similarity in the elements comprising the attribute relationships, and similarity between the base and target domains) on the transfer …

Practice Of Consensual Bdsm And Relationship Satisfaction, Hannah M.E. Rogak

Culminating Projects in Community Psychology, Counseling and Family Therapy

Sexual behaviors and styles that differ from that of the majority culture have been pathologized since civilizations began to form. One such category of sexual variation is BDSM (bondage-discipline/dominance-submission/sadism-masochism), which remains subject to widespread discrimination in the United States. Research on the treatment of BDSM practitioners by the legal, medical and mental health systems, as well as popular culture representations, suggests widespread discrimination in the United States. Feminist theory posits that such routine stigmatization from one's social context can lead to significant emotional and social stress. A growing body of literature, however, describes those who engage in BDSM activities as …

U.S. Relationships With Iran, Israel, And Pakistan: A Realist Explanation, Aaron Daniel Coates

Master's Theses

The purpose of this work is to assess U.S. relations with Iran, Israel, and Pakistan throughout the Cold War into the contemporary age of Islamic extremism. It demonstrates how the international relations theory of realism is most applicable to these relations when compared to the four competing theories of neorealism, liberalism, neoliberal institutionalism, and constructivism. Each case study is examined and evaluated in full detail. Particular emphasis is allotted to variables such as foreign aid, interventionism, sanctions, geography, and political and cultural similarities. The thesis concludes by offering a brief explanation as to the lessons that should be learned from …

Construct Validity Analysis Of The Organizational Cohesion Scale, Kristen Ruga

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Organizational cohesion is a multifaceted construct that has been defined and assessed in a multitude of ways. For the purpose of this study, the researcher has defined organizational cohesion as the extent to which employees within an organization feel a sense of unity with one another. Practitioners are often faced with uncertainty regarding the necessary assessment materials when trying to evaluate organizational cohesion. An easily accessible and valid scale had yet to be created to measure organizational cohesion. The Organizational Cohesion Scale (OCS) is an eight-item assessment of an employee’s perception of the cohesion they have experienced with their peers …

The Relationship Context Of Contraceptive Use At First Intercourse, Wendy Manning, Monica Longmore, Peggy Giordano

Wendy Manning

CONTEXT: Despite widespread efforts to increase contraceptive use to prevent both pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases among sexually active adolescents, most prior work examining adolescent contraceptive use does not explicitly recognize that sexual decision-making inherently involves both partners in a couple.

METHODS: An analytic sample of 1,593 females who first had intercourse during adolescence (prior to age 18) was drawn from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth. Logistic regression and multinomial logistic regression techniques were used to model the effects of sexual partners' characteristics and relationship type on contraceptive use at first intercourse and contraceptive method selected at first …

Young Adult Dating Relationships And The Management Of Sexual Risk, Wendy Manning, Peggy Giordano, Monica Longmore, C Flanigan

Wendy Manning

Young adult involvement in sexual behavior typically occurs within a relationship context, but we know little about the ways in which specific features of romantic relationships influence sexual decision-making. Prior work on sexual risk taking focuses attention on health issues rather than relationship dynamics. We draw on data from the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS) (n = 475) to examine the association between qualities and dynamics of current/most recent romantic relationships such as communication and emotional processes, conflict, demographic asymmetries, and duration and the management of sexual risk. We conceptualize 'risk management' as encompassing multiple domains, including (1) questioning the …

Adolescent Romance And Delinquency: A Further Exploration Of Hirschi's "Cold And Brittle" Relationships Hypothesis, Peggy Giordano, Wendy Manning, Monica Longmore, R Lonardo

Wendy Manning

Hirschi argued that delinquent youth tend to form relatively "cold and brittle" relationships with peers, depicting these youths as deficient in their attachments to others. The current analysis explores connections between delinquency and the character of adolescent romantic ties, drawing primarily on the first wave of the Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study, and focusing on 957 teens with dating experience. We examine multiple relationship qualities/dynamics in order to explore both the "cold" and "brittle" dimensions of Hirschi's hypothesis. Regarding the "cold" assumption, results suggest that delinquency is not related to perceived importance of the romantic relationship, level of intimate self-disclosure or …

Sometimes We Need To Press 'Reset' Button And Return To Basics, Erin O'Flaherty

UCF Forum

I’m not a germaphobe by any means, but I love cleanliness. When I clean, I really clean, and I usually won’t stop until the mixed smells of my various cleaning products permeate my house.

Emotional Fit With Culture: Predictor Of Individual Differences In Relational Well-Being, Jozefien De Leersnyder, Batja Mesquita, Heejung Kim, Kimin Eom, Hyewon Choi

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

There is increasing evidence for emotional fit in couples and groups, but also within cultures. In the current research, we investigated the consequences of emotional fit at the cultural level. Given that emotions reflect people’s view on the world, and that shared views are associated with good social relationships, we expected that an individual’s fit to the average cultural patterns of emotion would be associated with relational well-being. Using an implicit measure of cultural fit of emotions, we found across 3 different cultural contexts (United States, Belgium, and Korea) that (1) individuals’ emotional fit is associated with their level of …

Relationship Trends Across Two Generations: An Examination Of Relationship Quality In Children With Divorced Parents, Hadley W. Burke, Hannah Joyner

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship quality trends in offspring of divorced and non-divorced parents. Relationship domains included self, friendship, and romantic relationships. 68 undergraduate students completed an online survey pertaining to these three relationship dimensions. Results indicated that there were not statistically significant positive correlations between offspring of married parents versus divorced parents and their self-relationship, friendship, and romantic relationships.

Communication As Yoga, Kristen Caroline Blinne

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I am in conversation with the following questions: How can individuals and communities teach and learn to engage more peacefully, nonviolently, and compassionately with each other? Further, how can one practice a style of communication that helps at least one person suffer less each day? In asking these questions, my goal has been to imagine as well as attempt to actualize a world where individuals and communities work together to create less suffering in each other's lives by first developing compassionate awareness of our interconnectedness, then "waking up" not only to our own divinity but also to …

Social Media’S Impact On Listening And Loneliness, Charles Veenstra

Pro Rege

This paper was presented at the International Listening Association Convention in Montreal, Canada, June 22, 2013.

Drinking Bourbon With Cupid, Joseph L. Kirkenir

SURGE

It was Valentine’s Day, and rather than enjoying the suspiciously commercial holiday with a romantic partner, I was alone watching reruns of “How I Met Your Mother,” from a cozy armchair with a cigar in one hand and a glass of bourbon in the other. The show prompted me to examine the nature of relationships; specifically, how the media portrays them vastly different than reality and the implications that arise as a result. Romantic relationships in film and literature appear to be idealized to a ridiculous degree. Unfortunately for us, this means that we create unrealistic expectations for our partners …

'I Like You Both The Same, But For Different Reasons': Differences Between Communication Mediums Related To Self-Disclosure, Responsiveness, And Self-Awareness, Kevin Joseph Wallpe

Theses and Dissertations

As computer-mediated communication (CMC) increasingly becomes a part of people's everyday lives (Mesch & Talmud, 2006), it becomes important to understand what differentiates this mode of communication from traditional face-to-face (FtF) communication. Some studies have shown that CMC interactions are related to greater liking (relative to FtF) of previously unacquainted interaction partners (McKenna, Green, & Gleason, 2002; Ramirez & Zhang, 2007), whereas others have concluded just the opposite -- that FtF interactions are related to more liking of previously unacquainted interaction partners (Mallen, Day, & Green, 2003; Okdie, Guadagno, Bernieri, Geers, & Mclarney-Vesotski, 2011). What leads to the inconsistent findings …

Measurement Issues With Couple-And Family-Level Data, Dean M. Busby, Franklin O. Poulsen

Faculty Publications

Early in my (D.B.) training as a family therapist, I did some co-therapy with a clinical psychology student who wanted to learn how to work with couples. The couple we were working with was quite volatile, and it was not uncommon for the dialogue between the spouses to get heated. While it was challenging enough to keep the interactions between the partners moving in a productive direction, my co-therapist was quite uncomfortable with conflict and would emotionally "check out" of the session as soon as things became intense. Each time a session was challenging and conflict became intense, my co-therapist …

Growing Ideas - Shocking Language! - Swearing, University Of Maine Center For Community Inclusion And Disability Studies

Early Childhood Resources

When children swear, it is important to understand the hidden meaning behind those troubling words. As with any behavior, it is important to learn as much as you can about a child and what may be causing this swearing behavior. Young children usually do not know what the swear words mean, so what is the swearing behavior communicating? Is a child saying..."I am angry!" "This word makes people pay attention!" "I want to be like my favorite TV character!" "I need a friend!" or " I feel sick or hurt."

School Culture And Mentoring Relationships, Crucial To Developing Confidant Professional Identities Among Lbote Pre-Service Teachers, Lynn D. Sheridan

Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)

Abstract presented at the AARE-NZARE 2014 Conference, 30 November-4 December, Brisbane, Australia

The Influence Of Ideal Similarity On The Relation Between Self-Discrepancy And Attraction, Natalie Jamila Hall

Master's Theses

Some research indicates that individuals with high self-discrepancy (distance between the actual self and the ideal self) are more prone to interpersonal attraction than those with low self-discrepancy and that perceived ideal similarity (how closely a target individual resembles your own ideal self) strongly influences attraction. To test the hypothesis that ideal similarity moderates the relationship between self-discrepancy and attraction, manufactured Facebook profiles were used to manipulate perceived ideal similarity of target before having participants rate the target on measures of liking and respect. This study surveyed 232 college students; 111 from a mid-sized, private Midwestern university and 121 from …