Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling Commons^™

Trauma Of The Sudden Death Of A Child: The Impact On Couple Relationship, Blessing Okoro Rellias

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

A traumatic life event such as the death of a child can be very devastating and confusing for many couples and people tend to respond in different ways to such trauma due to different factors such as gender differences. Research studies have traditionally focused on the personal effects of trauma on individual family members, whereas less attention centered on the systemic outcomes and consequences that trauma has on family functioning especially from the couples' perspective. Previous research has indicated that parents who lost their children to sudden death are likely to have serious mental distress and some disruption in functioning. …

Building An Mft Outpatient Practice Through Contract Procurement: A Case Study, Anthony T. Alonzo

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

[Abstract Not Included]

A Brief Content Analysis Of Attachment And Sexual Relationships In Sex Therapy And Research Journals, Kathryn Zambrano Devis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

A surge of scholarly publications on attachment within couple relationships prompted this content analysis of attachment articles published in six sex therapy and sex research journals. This study investigates the extent to which these journals attend to attachment in the context of adult sexual relationships. The researcher found 2257 articles published within these journals; 64 of which attend to attachment and 9 of which attend to attachment and sex. Implications for couples therapy in the field of sex therapy and future directions are discussed.

Retrospective Investigation Of Course Content Evaluation By Students: A Survey Of Domestic Violence Education And Experience Among Current Unlv-Sdm Dental Students, Rhonda J. Everett

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The overall purpose of this research project is to survey experience and education of current dental students regarding domestic violence. Domestic violence has been recognized as one of our nation's most serious public health issues. Domestic violence can result in physical injury, psychological trauma, and sometimes death. Dentists can act as one of the first lines of intervention in recognizing common dental and facial trauma which may be associated with domestic violence victims including: broken teeth, facial bruising, and jaw fractures.

Current data suggest that education about domestic violence can help the dental professional in overcoming some of the barriers …

Psychosocial Correlates Of Alexithymia In A Rural Adolescent Residential Population, Stephanie Powell, Kenneth M. Coll, Ann Trotter, Patti Thobro, Robin Haas

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study used a multimethod approach to evaluate the relationship of alexithymia (as measured by the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale and the 30-item Emotion Awareness Questionnaire), psychosocial development (assessed with the Measure of Psychosocial Development), and risk behavior (as measured by the Youth Comprehensive Risk Assessment) in 67 adolescents (85% from rural communities) in a rural residential treatment facility. Results revealed that both measures of alexithymia demonstrated good internal consistency and convergent validity. The EAQ-30 demonstrated stronger convergent validity over the TAS-20 with psychosocial measures of shame, inferiority, and role confusion and was more robust in differentiating risk behavior among …

The Grief Experience Of Caregivers When The Child Has A Life Threatening Illness, Avigail Ward

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Using a mixed method approach, this study explored the impact of attachment styles on the grief experience of parents and guardians of a child who has a hematological or oncological illness. The grief experience was evaluated through the lenses of Chronic Sorrow, Ambiguous Loss and Anticipatory Grief. This study was conducted at the Loma Linda University Medical Center Hematology Oncology Pediatric Clinic and was completed by 106 participants who responded to a quantitative survey with open-ended questions. An open-ended questionnaire regarding the impact of the child’s illness on the couple relationship was completed by six couples. The results indicated that …

Reducing High-Risk Drinking In Mandated College Students: Evaluation Of Two Personalized Normative Feedback Interventions, Diana M. Doumas, Camille Workman, Diana Smith, Anabel Navarro

Counselor Education Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study evaluated the efficacy of two brief personalized normative feedback interventions aimed at reducing heavy drinking among mandated college students (N = 135). Students were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: web-based assessment with self-guided personalized normative feedback (SWF) or web-based assessment with counselor-guided personalized normative feedback (CWF). Results indicated students in the CWF condition reported significantly greater reductions in weekly drinking quantity and binge drinking frequency than those in the SWF group at follow-up (M = 8 months). Students in the CWF group also reported significantly greater reductions in estimates of peer drinking from baseline to the …

African Americans With Diabetes: Couples’ Support Program Development Project, Zanetta Fern Carlene Van Putten

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States with a record 25.8 million diagnosed in 2010 compared to 20.8 million in 2005. African Americans have the highest prevalence of diabetes in the United States. Social support related to medical conditions has been found effective in increasing treatment adherence. The purpose of this study is to gain a clearer understanding of diabetes support within African American couples’ relationships. This study explores the definition of support from the perspective of African American couples when at least one member has been diagnosed with diabetes. Couples were recruited from Riverside and San Bernardino …

Marital Experience And Spirituality Among Physician Couples, Elisabeth Vonegen Esmiol

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

This study will examine how marital experience and spirituality interact in the lives of physician couples. Physicians’ increasing openness to spiritual issues inherent in treating the ill and suffering (King, 2000; Thorsen, Harris & Oman, 2001), the growing number of women entering the medical profession and becoming physician and dual physician couples (Levinson & Lurie, 2004; Brotherton & Etzel, 2008), and physicians’ work-related stress (Transue, 2004; Wicks, 2006) and the resulting pressures and time constraints on medical marriages (Sotile & Sotile, 2000) make studying this population particularly relevant. Interviews with twenty two married, professional couples, in which at least one …

Yearnings: Stories Of Insecure Attachment And The Journey To Connect To God, John Bracy

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Utilizing grounded theory and the semi-structured interviews of25 participants, this study sought to understand how an insecure attachment affects one's relationship with God. Participants' stories suggested that: I) one's struggle to connect with God was a part of their struggle to connect with others; 2) that experiencing others as safe and responsive contributed to building a more secure attachment with God; and 3) that attachment is less a fixed style and more of an ongoing process: defined as gradual changes made by the participants towards the set-goal of feeling safe and secure. Four major processes were identified: I) finding what …

How Transnational Couples Deal With Teen Substance Use: A Socio-Contextual View, Alicia Marquez

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Using the lenses of social constructionism and critical feminist theory, this dissertation examines how transnational Mexican couples in the agricultural town of Mecca, Southern California, respond to the crisis created by their adolescent children using illegal substances.

As part of the Contemporary Couples’ Study of Loma Linda University, sixteen

families were interviewed about how this problem affected their lives. The rich stories

collected were analyzed using the Strauss and Corbin (1998) guidelines for qualitative

research, in order to identify grounded theory that would inform services to this population.

Results suggest that these couples’ relationships are organized around the world of …

Attachment And Couple Sexual Functioning, Kathryn Z. Devis, Melissa A. Louder, Kara L. Thompson, Katherine M. Hertlein

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

Within the last several years, there has been a surge in the publications that focus on attachment within the couple relationships, including how it pertains to infidelity treatment. Despite the interest in couple relationships and attachment, however, a limited amount of literature focuses on how varying styles of attachment manifest in a couple's level of sexual functioning. This study is a response to the need to explore the literature and related gaps in literature.

El Uso Escondido De Anticonceptivos Modernos: Una Reflección Del Machismo De Los Hombres Y El Empoderamiento De Las Mujeres En El Alto Y La Paz, Kathleen Elizabeth Trocin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Contraception use has proven to be an extremely important public health issue in Bolivia since the later 20^th century given its relationship with the country’s high maternal and infant mortality rate in comparison to other nations in South America. In this research paper, I explore the hidden use of contraception in Bolivia. More specifically, I study women in the areas of El Alto and La Paz who hide their contraception use from their partners. This paper discusses machismo as the cause of the hidden use of contraception, the effects of hidden contraception use on the women, and the broader …

What Are The Characteristics Of Families With Three Or More Referrals To Children And Family Services Within A Twelve Month Period?, Elizabeth Irene Valenzuela

Theses Digitization Project

In order to better serve those famailies that are chronically involved with Children and Family Services and prevent their future involvement with the system, social service workers should be able to identify and understand what characteristics are causing referral. The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of families with three or more referrals within a twelve month period that significantly impact the number of referrals a family receives.

Financial Disagreements And Marital Conflict Tactics, Jeffery Dew, J Dakin

Human Development and Family Studies Faculty Publications

Recent studies have suggested that relative to other types of marital disagreement, financial disagreements are more problematic for couples. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 3,861 couples), we tested whether different types of marital disagreements predicted self-reported marital conflict tactics. Considering the findings overall, financial disagreements were among the consistent top predictors of conflict tactics, including using heated arguments more frequently than calm discussion. Contrary to previous studies, however, disagreements over housework also predicted conflict tactics about as strongly as financial disagreements. Husbands’ reports of financial disagreements were more closely associated with conflict tactics …

A Typology Of Coping In Couples Undergoing Fertility Treatment, Brennan Peterson, Matthew Pirritano, Lone Schmidt

Marriage and Family Therapy Faculty Presentations

Poster presentation about the use of cluster analysis to identify clinically meaningful groups of infertile couples, and how such profiles can be used by medical and mental health professionals.