Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

The Happiest Place On Earth: A Grounded Theory Of Fulfillment In Mixed-Orientation Marriages, Isadora Ferreira De Melo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mixed-orientation marriages (MOMs) are often misunderstood. There is a general cynicism in research literature and in the broader culture regarding the relational viability of same-sex attracted (SSA) individuals who marry someone of the opposite sex. However, there exist couples in MOMs that are resilient and attain satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to better understand how MOMs might become successful. By interviewing maritally satisfied mixed-orientation couples, the Model of Relational Self- Determination in Mixed-Orientation Marriages was developed. This model is separated into five stages that are organized around the experience of disclosure of the SSA spouse’s sexuality. Depending on …

How Exposure To Poverty Related Issues In The Classroom Affects Students’ Attitudes And Interactions With Their Social Environment, Rocco Placenti

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Impoverishment and its presence are the saddest forms of brutality and have long been recognized in the United States (U.S.). The common attitude of Americans is to view impoverishment from individualistic characteristics in which it is believed that individuals will not want to work if aid is offered to them. People’s attitudes towards those in poverty play a part in policy and practice in the American government. Therefore, this study explored how and the magnitude with which students’ connections within their ecological systems and their attitudes shifted after the introduction to an undergraduate course on families in poverty. A qualitative …

For The Culture : Using Ethnographic Interviews To Describe The Attempts And Strategies Used By Black, First-Generation, Female, College Students To Combine Family, Community, And College Life, Fatimah Turner

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Using qualitative methodology, 10 Black, first-generation female college students were studied at Predominately White Institution in Northern New Jersey. The study examined how Black, female, first-generation college students combined the diverging aspects of their home and school lives and the strategies they used to do so. The theoretical perspectives used in this study were Black Feminist and Life Course Theory. Combining these theoretical perspectives revealed how Black women used agency and linked lives to navigate college and renegotiate family and societal expectations. Analysis of 10 individual ethnographic interviews highlighted two major themes and several sub-themes. The major themes were: 1) …

The Role Of Homeownership In Taiwan's Low Fertility Story, William Anderson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

With one of the lowest fertility rates on record, Taiwan is at the forefront of the global lowest-low fertility phenomenon. Policymakers in Taiwan and researchers around the world have a considerable interest in the reasons driving Taiwan’s depressed fertility and possible ways to alleviate the associated economic concerns. Properties of the housing market represent one suggested factor that may be contributing to this trend. Using individual panel data from Taiwan’s Panel Study of Family Dynamics, I test the correlation between homeownership and fertility outcomes. I find that other variables, such as marriage, age, generation, and socioeconomic status, can explain much …

Impact Of Family Expectations On The Marital Practices Of Haitian-American Couples, Kencia Mele

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This paper analyzes how family expectations from the Haitian culture manifest in the marriages of middle-aged Haitian-American couples. This study emphasizes that the evolution to biculturalism is a major factor in the adjustments of cultural expectations. Four middle-aged Haitian-American couples were interviewed via Zoom individually. They were asked to describe how they believed Haitian culture and family expectations influenced their family and marriage life. The results indicate that the middle-aged Haitian-American couples adhere to explicit and implicit family expectations set out by their families of origin; these expectations were influenced by Haitian culture. The major themes from the study were: …

Por Una Vida Mejor: Educational Attainment For Latinos In The Nuevo South In The Pursuit Of A Better Life, Maria Ana Sandoval

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Por una Vida Mejor, a sentiment that is shared amongst the Latino community. How this sentiment fares in the pursuit of higher education has been largely understudied. I analyze how Latino college students navigate the sociopolitical environment in Arkansas in their pursuit of middle-class certification to help their family and fulfill the American dream. In this thesis I offer an analysis to understand Latinos in the Nuevo South. I use data from the 2021 Latino College Students Navigating the Sociopolitical Environment in Arkansas survey through the lens of Funds of Knowledge (Velez-Ibanez and Greenberg 1992). I conduct a quantitative analysis …

Sewing And Dressmaking In Martha Mcmillan's Day (1891), Elizabeth G. Allen

Martha McMillan Research Papers

This paper describes the process of sewing and dressmaking in America from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s and provides historical context for Martha McMillan's discussion of sewing and dressmaking in her 1891 journal.

Reading The Traumatic Moment: The Role Of Socioeconomic Systems In The Color Purple And The Bluest Eye, Andrea Doll

Undergraduate Theses

There are many points of sameness between Alice Walker's The Color Purple and Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye. Both novels occur in the mid-20th century and focus on protagonists within the same race, gender, and relative class. Of all the similarities between the texts, the most influential is the trauma, sexual and otherwise, shared between Pecola Breedlove and Celie. Most notably, both characters experience incestuous rape resulting in pregnancy shortly after their first menstruation. Despite their numerous shared events and attributes, what occurs after their sexual trauma differs drastically for each character. At the end of The Color Purple …

“Reverse Policies?” Reducing The Legal Minimum Age At Marriage Increases Child Marriage Among The Poorest In Mali, Ewa Batyra, Luca Maria Pesando

Population Center Working Papers (PSC/PARC)

Child marriage is associated with adverse outcomes related to women’s wellbeing. To curb child marriage, many countries introduced laws that ban child marriage, and a growing number of studies evaluated their impact. Scant research focused on instances where countries lowered the legal minimum age at marriage, even though such “reverse policies” could result in stalled progress in eradicating child marriage, thus threatening the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Using visualization techniques, regression analysis and a series of robustness checks, we document changes in the prevalence of child marriage in Mali where, with the introduction of the Family Code in …

Communities Of Water: An Examination Of Cooperation And Conflict In Water Management Practices In The Central Peruvian Andes, Sylvie D. Littledale

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores two examples of water management in the highland Peruvian villages, San Pedro de Llancha and San Antonio de Chinchina. One example is of cooperation and union between the two communities. The other is of conflict between the same two villages just 40 years prior. I examine ethnographic and ethnohistorical data from both the collaborative period and the conflictive period of these two communities’ relations over water. The data suggest that, while the outcomes of these two periods were drastically different, the processes through which these communities came into relation with one another were quite similar. Their communal …

Same-Gender Pathways To Parenthood, Sydney T. Inger

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

LGBTQ+ individuals and couples who want children negotiate systemic inequalities in the United States of America. This literature review surveys America’s confusing legal map and the gaps in its enduring scholarly theories. The paper then examines the challenges that LGBTQ+ individuals and couples confront in working through the common pathways—same-gender adoption and fostering, in vitro fertilization, and surrogacy—to become parents. Dispersing information on the pathways will be a positive step towards breaking down the inequities for those in the LGBTQ+ community who want to start a family.

Outdoor Air Pollution And Psychological Well-Being: A Meta-Analysis, Jeremy Stanley Bekker

Theses and Dissertations

Human life takes place as part of a global ecosystem, meaning that human mental health is at least partially tied to the health of the planet. Health experts who seek to promote psychological well-being should consider how changes to the broad ecological system may impact their efforts. Given the potential impact of the environment on human well-being, we conducted a meta-analysis to assess the impact of air pollution on subjective well-being. The goal of this project was to outline the current state of the research on these constructs and provide a clear framework for what research is still needed. Nonsignificant …

Witches, Victims, And Villains: #Metoo And The Political Polarization Of Sexual Violence, Hannah Shoaf

Theses and Dissertations

The MeToo movement, which sought to combat sexual violence, evolved into a partisan problem, where support for or against the movement fell across party lines. This polarization negatively impacted the progress of the MeToo movement, fitting the larger pattern of increasing polarization in the United States. My thesis seeks to understand the politicized nature of sexual violence and to explore what language and themes are drawn on to politicize conversations around sexual violence by using the MeToo movement as a case study. My thesis found that the political polarization of sexual violence increased during the MeToo movement (and especially during …

Psychometric Properties Of The Survey On Flourishing (Surf) In A Nationally Representative Adolescent Sample, Gus C. Salazar

Theses and Dissertations

Background: Adolescent subjective well-being is a topic that has gained significant focus over recent years. This focus is reflected in the formation of measurement tools and interventions used to better understand and improve adolescent mental health. While these are important steps, there still exist problems related to adolescent subjective well-being measurement. Notably, current measurement tools are limited in their content, applicability to various populations, and in their accessibility. Aims: The purpose of this paper is to examine the psychometric properties of the Survey on Flourishing (SURF) when used with a nationally representative adolescent sample. The SURF aims to address some …

Orienting Pacha: Value As Action In The Late Horizon Xauxa-Pachacamac Axis, Ridge C. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The Andean Late Horizon (ca. AD 1438–1532) was a period of exceptionally rapid and far-reaching cultural change. Over this short span of only a few generations, the Inka ethnic group established an empire that was greater in size than any other pre-colonial American polity. The Inka accomplished their expansion without the use of certain institutions (i.e., a standing army, formal writing system, monetary system, or price-setting markets) that the received anthropological wisdom has long held as being necessary preconditions to imperial expansion. Standard explanations of Late Horizon culture change tend to overemphasize the roles of environmental constraints, social evolution, and …

'I Would Like To, But My World Wouldn’T End If I Didn’T’: Marital Attitudes And Aspirations Among Unmarried Young Adults In The Lgbtq Community, Aaron Hoy

Sociology Department Publications

No abstract provided.

How Covid-19 Has Impacted Mothers: The Decisions They Make & Their Overall Wellbeing, Alaya Tyler

Symposium of Student Scholars

Women and mothers are a vital component of the modern-day workforce. However, the emergence of COVID-19 in early 2020 drastically affected the way women and more specifically mothers can participate in the workforce. The lack of adequate options regarding childcare, work flexibility, and support became apparent when trying to make decisions regarding home and work. For example, decisions involving money became do or die as mothers were forced to make decisions to pause or stop their careers so that they could take care of their children in dual households. In contrast, single mothers were met with almost no alternatives as …

Personal, Familial, And Institutional Challenges Working Mothers Faced During Covid-19, Ashley Celestin

Symposium of Student Scholars

HS 3600 Program Development and Evaluation in Nonprofit Organizations

Abstract

Parenting is not an easy task, but during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, parenting especially for women who work outside the home and were caregivers for the young and old had an exceptionally onerous time. According to Brookings (2020), “COVID-19 has also increased the pressure on working mothers, low-wage and otherwise. In a survey from May and June, one out of four women who became unemployed during the pandemic reported the job loss was due to a lack of childcare, twice the rate of men surveyed. A more …

From The Battlefield To The Classroom: An Exploration Of Post-9/11 Female Combat Veterans Who Completed Graduate School After Military Service, Arthur Littler Iii

Dissertations

Since 2011, approximately 200,000 service members transitioned from military service to the civilian sector each year (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016). , 2014). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2018 Employment Situation of Veterans Summary report, 8.9% of veterans were disadvantaged as they have little to no higher education. Without a financial support system to fall back on, transitioning veterans face the inevitable issue of homelessness. Research by Tsai, Hoff, and Harpaz- Rotem (2017) found the rate of homelessness among veterans has increased over the past decade with female veterans more likely than their male counterparts to …

The Impact Parenting Styles Have On Children's Communication: Exploring Stylistic Differences And Connections, Lauren Rose, Samuel Nottleson, Lillian Mclean

Research and Scholarship Symposium Posters

Parenting approaches have a huge influence on communities in this day and age. Everyone falls into a group of individual communication styles and parenting influences where they land. Parenting styles have been studied thoroughly in the past and in multiple contexts. This study aims to determine if there is a correlation between parenting styles and people’s individual communication style. Authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, and uninvolved parenting styles encapsulated the range of styles most parents use. These are the four consistently used throughout the study to measure what outcomes came from which styles. Passive, passive-aggressive, assertive, and aggressive were selected as suitable …