Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

"It's The Way You Sing It": Translating Music Therapy For Isolated Older Adults Affected By Covid-19 To The Television Screen, Eunice Wong

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

The current Covid-19 pandemic has increased the likelihood of loneliness and social isolation among older adults due to the restrictions on movement and visitations in care facilities. Loneliness and social isolation have consistently been identified as risk factors for poor mental and physical health in older people. Meanwhile, a growing number of older adults are utilizing technological resources to enhance their interpersonal relationships and overall quality of life. In the winter of 2020/2021, an innovative music therapy-informed television program was designed and produced for isolated older adults in need of mental and emotional support. This project, produced jointly by a …

Clinical Geography: A Proposal To Embrace Space, Place And Wellbeing Through Person-Centered Practice, Jessica M. Finlay, Graham D. Rowles

Graduate Center for Gerontology Faculty Publications

This essay envisions how geography can operationalize nuanced understandings of space and place to enrich the lives of individuals across the lifespan. We propose a focused integration of geography into person-centered practice: a clinical geography dedicated to working directly with people to promote optimal physical and mental health outcomes and wellbeing. Our proposal integrates spatial modifications to facilitate access and utility, behavioral interventions to maximize effectiveness in using space, and therapeutic engagement to nurture a deeper sense of ‘being in place’ that enhances wellbeing and quality of life. This focus is timely given societal instability and precariousness resulting from incongruous …

The Impact Of Special Interest Groups On The Federal Dietary Guidelines: Consequences For American Health, Dory Mcmillan

School of Professional Studies

This research paper explores the impact of relationships between lobbyists and both the USDA and HSS, and the impact these relationships have on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans that the agencies work together to create. The paper focuses specifically on the information the guidelines present in regard to red meat consumption, and the impacts this may have on American health, and healthcare costs associated. It was hypothesized that a relationship would be found between special interest groups and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and/or the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Research found there was a relationship between special …

Relationship Satisfaction & Diet: Exploring The Mechanisms Through Which Intimate Relationships Influence Physical Health, Lindsey Robinson, Dylan Hillock, Dr. Josh Novak

Southeastern Council on Family Relations Conference

Understanding how intimate relationships influence physical health has been an important topic of focus; however, research remains unclear on the mechanisms through which this influence occurs. The purpose of this study was to examine how relationship satisfaction relates to diet quality, through mental health (depression and anxiety) and diet self-efficacy. Using a dyadic mediation model with a sample of 234 heterosexual couples, researchers found that women's higher relationship satisfaction was associated with better diet through lower depression and higher diet self-efficacy. Results revealed the same association between women's relationship satisfaction and diet through lower anxiety. Interestingly, rather than mediation through …

Why Does The Importance Of Education For Health Differ Across The United States?, Blakelee R. Kemp, Jennifer Karas Montez

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The positive association between educational attainment and adult health (“the gradient”) is stronger in some areas of the United States than in others. Explanations for the geographic pattern have not been rigorously investigated. Grounded in a contextual and life-course perspective, the aim of this study is to assess childhood circumstances (e.g., childhood health, compulsory schooling laws) and adult circumstances (e.g., wealth, lifestyles, economic policies) as potential explanations. Using data on U.S.-born adults aged 50 to 59 years at baseline (n = 13,095) and followed for up to 16 years across the 1998 to 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement …

In Praise Of Doing Nothing, Simon Gottschalk

Sociology Faculty Research

No abstract provided.

Ontology Of Personhood In Ayurveda From The Perspective Of Patients And Physicians In Palampur, Himachal Pradesh: An Independent Study, Denise Defelice

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Scholars in western biomedicine describe the body as a physical entity distinct from mind and soul. However, the human body in Indian systems of medicine integrates the multiple natures of personhood and is both deeply physical and spiritual. This study demonstrates the unique view of personhood, being, health, and illness in Ayurveda through literature research and interviews with practitioners and patients. This study extends past a search for the ontology of personhood in Ayurveda and discusses the implications of this ontology on the way one views oneself and the world around him or her. Through this integrative approach, this study …

The Influence Of Religious Homogeneity Upon Life Expectancy: A Cross-National Comparative Analysis, Donald J. Ebel

Sociology Department Publications

Research upon health and life expectancy has focused primarily upon individual and community level analyses, with extrapolations to national level data. In this study, the unit of analysis is shifted from individual health statistics to the national level. Life expectancy data for every nation and in the world (total n=191, restricted n=138) is explored, controlling for a variety of socio-economic factors. Two hypotheses are tested which offer the explanation homogeneity in both religion (H1) and ethnicity (H2), determines differences in life expectancy between nations. The first hypothesis, that religious homogeneity supports positive health outcomes is supported. The second hypothesis, that …

The Experiences And Perceptions Of African American Women Who Reside In Nursing Homes, Lakeisha De Lon Riley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the experiences and perceptions of African American women who reside in a nursing home and to understand African American women's decisions for admitting to the facility. Social Learning Theory was applied to answer the question of how African American women's experiences and perceptions toward long-term care influence healthcare decisions and admission to a nursing home. Eleven participants interviewed in the study were at least 60 years old, admitted into the facility within the past two years and who had not previously resided in a nursing home. Yin's five step approach …

Contextualizing The Relationship Between Culture And Puerto Rican Health: Towards A Place-Based Framework Of Minority Health Disparities, Giovani Burgos, Fernando I. Rivera, Marc A. Garcia

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

In both the culture of poverty literature and the acculturation literature, Puerto Ricans are portrayed in negative terms. The culture of poverty framework attributes Puerto Rican poverty to the mental, behavioral, and moral pathology of Puerto Rican individuals and to Puerto Rican culture. Similarly, outdated acculturation frameworks also trace the poor health of immigrants and racialized minorities, such as Puerto Ricans, to equivalent perceived deficiencies. In this paper, we argue that both the culture of poverty and acculturation frameworks are two pillars of the White Racial Frame (Feagin 2009) that sustains racial inequality in the United States. To build our …

Obesity Over The Life Course: Perspectives In Health And Mortality, Noura E. Insolera

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation seeks to examine obesity in different contexts throughout the life course. Through empirical analyses, separate stages of the life course are considered: namely childhood through adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood. By using a life course perspective, it is possible to consider longitudinal and intergenerational approaches to these questions, which will update and inform the current debates surrounding obesity.

Beginning with children, the intergenerational transmission of diet disease knowledge, socioeconomic status, and child health behaviors are considered in their associations with the outcomes of child diet in 2002, and in turn their associations with child obesity in 2007. Information …

Women And Healthcare In Appalachia: Impeding Circumstance And The Role Of Technology, Ashley Cano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades, healthcare access and quality in central and southern Appalachia have trailed the rest of the country. Entrenched poverty and low educational attainment compound healthcare problems. This study examines the healthcare obstacles women encounter in southern and central Appalachia and analyzes how technology use, such as Internet searching and social media affect women’s healthcare decisions. Data were analyzed from four focus groups conducted with women from the region. Results indicate that seeing a physician or not did not influence women’s propensity to search the Internet for health-related information or to seek support through social media sites. Additionally, women reported …

Research Brief No. 24 - (In)Visible Minorities In Canadian Health Data And Research, Mushira Khan, Karen Kobayashi, Sharon M. Lee, Zoua M. Vang

Population Change and Lifecourse Strategic Knowledge Cluster Research/Policy Brief

This study examines the nature and extent of data and research on the role of race or visible minority status on health in Canada. Visible minorities represent a rapidly growing segment of Canada’s population. Approximately one in five Canadians is a member of a visible minority group. Policy makers and researchers are often unable to answer important questions related to visible minority health such as: Are visible minority Canadians healthier or less healthy than their white counterparts? Do risk factors for health conditions differ for visible minority and white Canadians? And how do different visible minority groups compare with one …

Celiac Is A Social Disease: Family Challenges And Strategies, Gonzalo Bacigalupe, Aleksandra Plocha

Gonzalo Bacigalupe, EdD, MPH

Celiac disease is the most common autoimmune inherited disorder in the United States, affecting approximately 1% of the population. Little research exists on the impact of family processes on adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD), the only treatment for celiac disease. The objective of this qualitative study was to examine the barriers that families with a celiac child face and the strategies they use to adhere to the recommended diet. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 families with a child between the ages of 6 and 12 diagnosed with celiac disease. Grounded theory and narrative analysis were used to analyze …

Ba Design Visual Communication Re-Branding Project With Men's Health Forum Ireland, Technological University Dublin

Students Learning with Communities

No abstract provided.

The Reverberating Risk Of Long-Term Care, Allison K. Hoffman

All Faculty Scholarship

The Fiftieth Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid offers an opportunity to reflect on how American social policy has conceived of the problem of long-term care. In this essay, based on a longer forthcoming article, I argue that current policies adopt too narrow a conception of long-term care risk, by focusing on the effect of serious illness and disability on people who need care and not on the friends and family who often provide it. I propose a more complete view of long-term care risk that acknowledges how illness and disability reverberates through communities, posing insecurity for people beyond those in …

Socioeconomic Status And Health: Education And Income Are Independent And Joint Predictors Of Ambulatory Blood Pressure, Wendy C. Birmingham, Jenny M. Cundiff, Bert N. Uchino, Timothy W. Smith

Faculty Publications

Epidemiological research suggests that different indicators of socioeconomic status (SES) such as income and education may have independent and/or interactive effects on health outcomes. In this study, we examined both simple and more complex associations (i.e., interactions) between different indicators of SES and ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) during daily life. Our sample consisted of 94 married couples who completed a one-day ABP protocol. Both income and education were independently related to systolic blood pressure and only income was significantly related to diastolic blood pressure. There were also statistical interactions such that individuals with high levels of both income and education …

Health-Related Strains And Subsequent Delinquency And Marijuana Use, Lisa Kort-Butler

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

General strain theory provides one framework for explaining the relationship between physical health and delinquency, pointing to mechanisms such as negative emotions, social bonds, and stress proliferation. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used to examine these hypothetical mediators. Controlling for demographic factors, prior illicit behavior, and other strains, results from a series of regressions indicated that health-related strain (HRS) was positively associated with subsequent delinquency and marijuana use. Stressors at school were the primary mediators of these effects. Absences from school and social life due to health problems exerted an independent effect. The results lend …

A Dyadic Analysis Of Couple Attachment Behaviors As Predictors Of Dietary Habits And Physical Activity Levels, Stephanie Young

Theses and Dissertations

While there is substantial evidence that marriage impacts health, no studies have explicitly analyzed the association between attachment behaviors and health practices. This study examines the relationship between couples' attachment behaviors and health practices, as measured by physical activity levels and dietary habits. Couple data was analyzed from the RELATE database (n= 4,957 couples). An Actor Partner Interdependence Model, using a multinomial logistic regression, was used to examine the relationships between attachment behaviors and health practices, as measured by activity level and dietary habits. Results for actor paths indicate that wives' own attachment behaviors significantly influence their own health practices. …

Coping With Pediatric Cancer: Conversational Methods Utilized By Parents And Children When Dealing With Pediatric Cancer, Chelsi Morgan Walls

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study analyzed how people perceived parents should communicate with their child regarding pediatric cancer treatments. When dealing with pediatric cancer, it is vital that parents and their child communicate about the illness in order to effectively cope with the cancer. Using Uncertainty Management Theory, appraisals, inferences, and illusions, are examined in this study to discover how much affect-management and buffering would be used to manage the illness. Under UMT, the coping mechanisms of affect-management (i.e., religious coping and behavioral disengagement), and buffering (avoidance and child distraction) depend upon how individuals appraise the uncertain situation (positive vs. negative), the inferences …

The Effect Of Prenatal And Postnatal Care On Childhood Obesity, Michael M. O. Seipel, Kevin Shafer

Faculty Publications

Childhood obesity continues to be a major public health problem in the United States. If this problem is unresolved, some children will be at risk for disorders such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and cancer and will become a high economic and social burden for society. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, Child and Young Adult sample (N = 6,643), this study examined the relationship between the effect of pre- and postnatal characteristics and obesity. The findings of this study show that the probability of childhood obesity can be lessened if pregnant women do not smoke and …

Let's Talk About Sex Baby, Elizabeth Cohen

Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on parental relationships, communication, and lifestyles and their potential in shaping their children's sexual attitudes and behaviors. Prior research has examined the effect of the media and schools on adolescent sexuality; however, there is little information on parents. The literature review was an evaluation of studies and written works focused on these three factors, media, schooling, and parental involvement, potentially having an effect on adolescent’s sexual attitudes and behaviors. It was found that media had a strong ability to over sexualize the youth of America. The educational aspect was two dimensional, there was clearly a positive aspect …

Resources And Relationships: Food Insecurity And Social Capital Among Middle School Students, Don Edward Willis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the relationship between food insecurity and Social capital among 5th-7th graders attending an intermediate school in Northwest Arkansas where nearly 70 percent of students participate in the free or reduced lunch program. The central research questions are: Does Social capital have a direct impact on children's food insecurity? And, does Social capital mediate the influence of negative circumstances on children's food insecurity? This study finds that Social capital does have a significant association with food insecurity, even when controlling for multiple demographic and circumstantial factors. However, there appears to be no mediation of circumstance by Social capital. …

The Long Term Effect Of Parental Involvement In A Child's Education: A Ten-Step Approach, Eraina Ross-Aseme

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Parental Involvement in a child's education is very important to the child becoming a productive citizen. Some parents find themselves getting in at the start of their child entering elementary school; parental involvement should begin before the school age years. Research has demonstrated the effectiveness of establishments such as schools, churches and businesses partnering in a child's education. The goal of this project is to empower parents to build stronger support systems with schools, neighborhoods, churches and communities. Its aim is to show parents, school systems and businesses that collaboration in the education arena can be strengthened to achieve a …

The Long-Term Impact Of War On Health And Wellbeing In Northern Vietnam: Some Glimpses From A Recent Survey, Bussarawan Teerawichitchainan, Kim Korinek

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

War is considered one of the most intransigent obstacles to development; yet, the long-run effects of war on individual health have rarely been examined in the context of developing countries. Based on unique data recently collected as a pilot follow-up to the Vietnam Longitudinal Survey, this study examines health status of northern Vietnamese war cohorts (those who entered adulthood during the Vietnam War and now represent Vietnam’s older-adult population). To ascertain whether and how war impacts old-age physical and mental health, we compare multi-dimensional measures of health among war survivors, including civilians, combatants, noncombatants, and nonveterans involved in militia activities. …

The Effects Of Parentification, Attachment, Family-Of-Origin Dysfunction And Health On Depression: A Comparative Study Between Gender And The Ethnic Groups Of South Koreans And Caucasian Americans, Sunnie Giles

Theses and Dissertations

Parentification is a process where children or adolescents assume adult roles before they are emotionally or developmentally ready, which, in turn, disrupts the development of healthy, secure attachment in childhood. Using 1,001 men and women from South Korea and the United States with equal division between males and females and multiple group comparison technique in structural equation modeling, this paper examined the relationship between parentification during childhood and depression during adulthood. It explores the cross-sectional long-term effects of parentification into adulthood, using a retrospective survey technique. This study also confirmed previous research findings that attachment, physical health and family-of-origin dysfunction, …

The Impact Of Depression And Health On Sexual Satisfaction For Older Couples, Victoria Celeste Scott

Theses and Dissertations

This study of 535 older married couples examined the relationship between depression and health and sexual satisfaction directly and when mediated by communication. The sample included 535 older couples who completed a survey questionnaire known as Project Couple Retire. Among the items in the questionnaire were measures of depression, health, perception of sexual intimacy, communication and other demographic information. Results from Structural Equation Modeling indicated that for women, health was a significant predictor of sexual satisfaction. For both genders, the results suggest that depression, when mediated by communication, is a predictor of sexual satisfaction among older couples.

Hostility In Marital Interaction, Depressive Symptoms And Physical Health Of Husbands And Wives, Stanley D. Hall

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how hostility from either partner in a marital interaction affected marital partners' perceived general physical health, while investigating for indirect effects of partners' depression. A total of 296 married couples who participated in Waves 1 and 2 of the Flourishing Families Project were videotaped while completing a marital discussion task. Their interaction was coded for hostile behaviors using the Iowa Family Interaction Rating Scales, IFIRS. Structural equation modeling was used to examine how hostility in marital interactions at Wave 1 was related to partners' self-reports of physical health as measured by the …

The Hurtful Relationship: A Longitudinal Study Of Relational Aggression And Physical Health In Marriage, Matthew P. Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Previous literature has examined the link between overt marital conflict and physical health and found that negative interactions in marriage may lead to poorer health. Moreover, recent studies have identified relational aggression as a type of covert marital conflict. However, none have tested for effects of relational aggression on physical health in marriage. The purpose of this research is to further study this type of conflict by examining longitudinal dyadic data to determine how subtle, indirect marital conflict like relational aggression affects the health of spouses. Data from 316 couples, from the first two waves of the BYU Flourishing Families …

Elder Activities: Patterns, Motives, And Interpretation. Massachusetts Lifestyles Study Iii, Francis G. Caro, Jeffrey A. Burr, Eilon Caspi, Jan E. Mutchler

Gerontology Institute Publications

We are engaged in a continuing effort to understand the scope of elder activity and the implications of activity for well-being. We are particularly interested in the forces that encourage or inhibit multiple forms of activity, the ways in which participation in some activities influences participation in other activities, and the cumulative implications of activities for well being. Our interest in multiple forms of activities sets us somewhat apart from Gerontologists who focus on single forms of activity such as volunteering, taking classes, caring for grandchildren, working, or exercising.