Sociology Commons^™

Contextualizing Couples: Three Essays On Inequality, Stress, And Dyadic Functioning As A Longitudinal And Reciprocal Process, Deadric T. Williams

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In this dissertation, I use an integrated theoretical and conceptual model that consists of several theoretical frameworks to examine the following questions: (1) is there a longitudinal and reciprocal association between parental stress/distress and dyadic functioning? (2) does the association change over time? (3) does the association vary across social contexts (e.g., marital status, race/ethnicity, and poverty)? In order to explore these questions, I use longitudinal and dyadic data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study, which follows a cohort of children and their parents from birth to five years of age. Through three separate analytic studies, the results …

What You Don’T Know Can Hurt You: Early Life Course Racial Health Disparities In Undiagnosed Diabetes, Anna C. Bellatorre

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This dissertation addresses several issues related to racial health disparities in undiagnosed diabetes in American young adults in a three-article format. The first chapter examines rates of diabetes severity across age-matched samples of young adults from two large nationally representative studies. Although the purpose of this study was to explore the impact of nonresponse on prevalence estimates, I find that the prevalence discrepancies have less to do with which respondents are missing blood samples and more to do with the samples coming from initial samples that are not equivalent.

The second chapter uses an adaptation of the Stress Process Model …

A Stress Process Model Of Arrest Among Homeless Women: Exploring Risk And Protective Factors, Kari C. Gentzler

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Objective: Women constitute one of the fastest-growing segments of both the homeless and incarcerated populations. In addition, homeless women tend to have higher rates of victimization, mental illness, substance use, and criminal justice system involvement compared to non-homeless women, although this body of research is becoming dated. The current study situates homeless women’s involvement in the criminal justice system within the stress process model and proposes that these factors—childhood abuse, psychiatric disorders, and homelessness—act as stressors that increase their risk of arrest. In addition, social support and self-efficacy are examined as potential protective factors that may act as buffers against …

Is Gaining, Losing Or Keeping A Self-Identified Fertility Problem Associated With Changes In Self-Esteem?, Elizabeth A. Richardson

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Because motherhood is an expected and valued identity in the United States, becoming a mother should lead to an increase in self-esteem and perceiving a problem becoming a mother should lead to a decrease in self-esteem. Little research has examined the combined experience of both identifying with a fertility problem and becoming a mother or not over time. Guided by identity theory framework, this study uses two waves of data from the National Survey of Fertility Barriers (NSFB) to examine how change and stability in motherhood status and perceived fertility barrier status is associated with changes in self-esteem among women …