Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Examining The Effects Of Family Stress And Family Strengths On The Quality Of Mother-Child Relationships In Married And Unmarried Black Families, Deonte Hughes

Masters Theses

Mother-child relationships are complex, diverse, and change in response to internal and external factors that affect families and family life. For instance, Black children are more likely to live in households with unmarried parents. Even more, Black families are disproportionately more likely to be in poverty than the general population. Research on Black families tends to center association between family structure and poverty as mechanisms affecting mother-child relationships. There is little research on the role of economic hardship on familial relationships in Black families. Additionally, there is little research on the role of family strengths on familial relationships in Black …

A Collective Metamorphosis Of Breastfeeding Mothers: A Phenomenological Exploration Of A Face-To-Face Healthcare Provider Facilitated Peer Support Group, Emily Alexandria Tucker

Doctoral Dissertations

This research study used phenomenology to examine a face-to-face healthcare facilitated breastfeeding support group. Participant observations and phenomenology were used to address the following research questions: 1) what are the lived experiences of the women participating a breastfeeding support group, 2) how does the group influence their lived experiences, and 3) what were the common experiences of these women? The support group participants were observed while the researcher acted as a participant observer over the course of an eleven-month period. There were a total of seven women interviewed about their lived experiences breastfeeding and attending the support group. Data from …

Interparental Conflict Exposure And Self-Reported Depressive Symptoms And Religious Service Attendance In College Students, Geoffrey R. Mabe

Doctoral Dissertations

Conflict between parents is a common domestic experience, often witnessed by children in the home. Young adult children who were exposed to this conflict while in the home may be impacted negatively by these experiences to the point of experiencing depressive symptoms or reduced religious service attendance. Religious service attendance may be a helpful resource for those suffering from depressive symptoms related to parental conflict exposure. In two studies, the present research investigates relationships between three dimensions of interparental conflict – frequency, intensity, and resolution – depressive symptoms, and religious service attendance among college students. Study 1 (N = …

The Role Of Family Endorsement In Venture Creation And Sustainability, Thomas Daniel White

Doctoral Dissertations

Entrepreneurship research has shown that family social support is an important factor in an entrepreneur’s venture creation and sustainability efforts, yet little is known about the nature and impact of family processes that occur prior to venture start, or how early endorsement of a venture impacts the entrepreneur. These processes are important to consider, because they may facilitate or inhibit ongoing family social support and influence the entrepreneur’s venture creation and sustainability decisions. Utilizing a family systems theoretical framework, I draw on theories of self-perception, social support and conservation of resources to address three issues. First, I introduce the construct …

Developing And Implementing A Lgbt Family Studies Course: A Pre-Post Evaluation, Kathryn Alexandra Conrad

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explores the pre- and post-course knowledge and attitudes regarding lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals and families. An upper-level, Child and Family Studies undergraduate course, Modern Families, was constructed and piloted during the Spring 2016 semester to provide students with empirically-based information on contemporary families with a heavy emphasis on LGBT individuals and families. Participants (N = 19), who were enrolled in the course, participated in a series of open- and close-ended surveys at the beginning (Time 1 [T1]) and end (Time 2 [T2]) of the semester that assessed their knowledge and attitudes towards diverse …

Interdependent Determinants Of Parental Involvement Among Families Of Children Receiving Early Intervention Services, Rhett Maurice Billen

Doctoral Dissertations

Early intervention programs across the United States use a service delivery model that is strengths-based and family-centered. The purpose of this study was to examine how certain strengths among mothers and fathers of children receiving early-intervention services are related to parental involvement. I used the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) with structural equation modeling to examine the actor (intrapersonal) and partner (interpersonal) effects of parenting self-efficacy, parental role salience, and couple relationship quality on parental involvement. The data used in these analyses were taken from a state-wide project which obtained reports from 131 mother-father dyads whose children were enrolled in a …

Overweight And Obese Children's Social Interactions And Peer Responses, Meagan Johannah Green

Masters Theses

This study examined the nature of obese, overweight, and healthy weight children’s social interactions and experiences in a Head Start preschool classroom. Obese, overweight, and healthy weight children were observed during free interaction periods of the day (times when peers would serve as primary play partners). The children’s social interactions (including number of social bids, invitations, and their outcomes, social construction strategies, social roles) were observed and comparisons were made between twelve obese and overweight children and twenty six healthy weight peers. There were significant differences in the levels of overall assertiveness between the groups, with healthy weight children being …

"When Are We Going To Be Settled Down And Know This Is Our Place?”: A Phenomenological Examination Of Iraqi Refugee Families’ Lived Experiences With Resettlement, Lisa Shari Silverman

Doctoral Dissertations

Of the 69,930 refugees that resettled to the United States during the fiscal year of 2013, the largest group consisted of over 19,000 Iraqi refugees. Additionally, the recent outbreak of a new wave of violence in Iraq has led to an increase in the number of Iraqi citizens who have fled Iraq’s borders and migrated to the United States. Earlier studies that had been conducted on the resettlement of Iraqi refugees were quantitative in nature, focused on individuals, and did not provided a nuanced and thick description of the lived experiences of refugee families who had resettled in the United …

Five Dimensions Of Emerging Adulthood: A Comparison Between Students, Nonstudents, And College Graduates, Jennifer Renée Zorotovich

Doctoral Dissertations

U.S. census data suggests that young people today are entering marriage (U. S. Census Bureau, 2011) and parenthood (U. S. Census Bureau, 2012) later than young people in previous decades. Delayed trajectories have led researchers to reconsider the nature of development from adolescence to adulthood and has given way to the construct of emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000a). Although this construct has been largely embraced by contemporary scholars, questions remain about the universality of emerging adulthood and whether or not it accurately captures the experiences of young people who do not pursue postsecondary education as well as those who have transitioned …

The Role Of Family In Wellbeing And Quality Of Life Among Palestinian Adults, Carolyn Reagh Spellings

Doctoral Dissertations

The family domain has been inadequately included in general discussions of wellbeing and quality of life. The omission of family influences from these discussions is particularly unfortunate given that families are the primary institution in which individuals come to know themselves in relation to others and their environment. Adequate attention to family is all the more important when studying political conflict given the span of forces associated with political conflict that might tax families. This dissertation used data from a recent project designed to understand the nature of wellbeing/ quality of life among Palestinians, focusing particularly on the role of …

Gay Emerging Adult Dating In College: A Feminist Grounded Theory Exploration, Kathryn Alexandra Conrad

Masters Theses

Research on intimate relationships has mushroomed as the definitions, practices, and contexts for dating change across generations. As an often overlooked population, sexual minorities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered individuals) have received increased scholarly attention within the social and family science research. Whereas this increased attention is warranted, still a lack of research exists regarding dating and romantic relationships among sexual minorities, particularly during emerging adulthood (ages 18-25). The purpose of this study was to explore the definitions, processes, and contexts for dating among a small, same-sex oriented sample of emerging adults (aged 18-25) currently enrolled in a large southeastern university …

The Intersection Between Home And School: Developing A Scale To Measure Parental Perceptions Of Childhood School Stress, Teresa Marie Henke

Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Parents in the home and educators in the schools are key adults in the most important contexts in the daily lives of school-age children. In the demanding, achievement, and accountability oriented culture of today, it is expected that children experience normal everyday stressors as they move between these two environments. The impact of stress related to daily hassles has been reported to have both cognitive and physical effects on the present and future well-being of children. This study represented an attempt to advance the understanding of childhood stress in the intersection between school and home by investigating the perceptions …

Perform + Function: A Proposal For A Healthy Public Housing Community, Brandon M. Harvey

Masters Theses

PERFORM+FUNCTION: Proposal for A Healthy Public Housing Community

Architecture exists in Place, the integrated context of both the built and natural environments, including socio-economic, cultural, and political climates that influence our growth, development, and survival. As architecture necessitates around human purposes, it is important that architecture is built for and sited in an environment compatible for human well-being. My thesis focuses on human habitation and its immediate relationship with human health, assessing the performance and functionality of Place that have an impact on human health. Using public housing as the vehicle of my investigation, I will seek the appropriate application …

“Holla If You Hear Me”: A Conversation With Black, Inner-City Youth On Career Preparedness Programs, Theressa N. Cooper

Doctoral Dissertations

This research study specifically addressed; how vocational preparedness programs effect the career aspirations of Black youth, within the context of the Middle Tennessee Council Boy Scouts of America’s Exploring program. The goal of this research is to represent Black youth participating in a vocational preparedness program. Interviews, journals, and rich, thick descriptions are utilized in this work.

Using the lens of narrative inquiry and cultural studies, I hoped to further the field of career development through the experiences of some of its key players, African American youth. Within the context of their stories five major themes surfaced around the ideas: …

Exploring And Explaining Consumer Competition: A Mixed-Methods Approach To Understanding The Phenomenon, Bridget M Satinover Nichols

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the phenomenon of “consumer competition.” The overarching objective is to help researchers and marketing practitioners understand how the phenomenon is created, how consumers experience competition, and to begin to inspect its effects. Consumer competition is defined as the active processes of striving against others for the acquisition of a consumption object. To date, this phenomenon has been under-researched, despite its prevalence in many marketing and consumer-related domains.

An extensive literature synthesis provides the foundation for understanding competition and competitiveness in general from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Based on the synthesis of literature and …

An Investigation Of Time Management And Organization In Head Start Families, Heather Sedges Wallace

Doctoral Dissertations

Parents are often advised to increase the amount of time spent with their preschool-age children because of the beneficial outcomes associated with positive parent-child interactions, and numerous programs exist to encourage and support this type of parent involvement. However, there is a paucity of information about whether and how parents manage and organize their time in a manner that facilitates parents’ interactions with children. Increasing home-based parent involvement is a federal mandate and central tenet of the Head Start program for low-income parents. One of the ways in which a local Head Start program encourages parent involvement is to offer …

Why Females Fight: Predicting Political Activism Among Palestinian Female Youth, Carolyn Reagh Spellings

Masters Theses

A distinct focus on female youth experiences in political contests has been lacking in the literature on youth and political violence despite many female youth’s involvement with armed groups. The first Palestinian Intifada (1987-1993) saw the participation of many female youth alongside both teenage boys and men. This is notable especially given the patriarchal culture of Palestinian society in that women and young girls are traditionally confined to the private sphere. Additionally, public interactions with men and young boys could be viewed as improper and threats to one’s honor and purity may ensue. In light of these facts, the purpose …

A Closer Look At Maternal Directiveness During Toddlerhood In A Lower Socioeconomic Sample, Ann Elizabeth Koelz

Masters Theses

The current study describes the directive behaviors of seven mothers with their toddlers ranging in age from 12 to 35 months throughout the day. This study explores the behaviors of a sample with lower socioeconomic status without the use of unnatural measures or artificial environments that may enhance the likelihood of observing atypical behaviors and perhaps perpetuate a deficit-based interpretation of the poverty context. Nine hours of observation for each dyad were collected as part of a larger study concerning the daily experiences of toddlers with the exception of one participant who dropped out of the study after three hours …

The Social Ecology Of Parenting: Systematically Modeling The Antecedents Of Supportive And Intrusive Parenting, Julie A. Schluterman

Doctoral Dissertations

One of the significant contributions of this study is its inclusion of the role of social contextual factors in determining parenting. I built on the ecological model proposed by Belsky (1984). As such, the parenting model tested in this dissertation included individual level determinants of parenting: 1) parent characteristics (e.g., developmental history), and 2) child characteristics (e.g., behavior problems). Yet, rather than include a social context domain as described by Belsky, I distinguished between within family context (e.g., interparental hostility) and external to family context (e.g., work-family conflict, neighborhood disorganization) as social contextual sources of stress and support to the …

Academic Achievement And Depression Among Chinese Youth: The Role Of Gender, Qionghui Zhang

Masters Theses

A seemingly discrepant relationship between Chinese adolescents’ academic achievement, depression and gender was revealed from the literature. Chinese adolescent girls have higher academic achievement than Chinese boys (Duckworth & Seligman, 2006; Hunley et al., 2005; Liang & Sun, 2000; Nie, Zhang, & Zhang, 2001; Wan et al., 2003). Higher academic achievement was found to be inversely associated with depression among Chinese adolescents (Hesketh et al., 2002; Ji et al., 2001; Pritchard, 1996). It is then expected that Chinese girls have lower depression than Chinese boys. However, literature shows that Chinese girls have higher depression than Chinese boys (Hesketh et al., …

Infant Learning And Physiological Self-Regulation During The Visual Expectation Paradigm, Heather Sedges

Masters Theses

Learning during infancy is dependent on many factors. One such factor is physiological self-regulation. This study investigated the relationship between physiological self-regulation abilities and evidence of learning based on Visual Expectation Paradigm (VExP) performance. Alterations in High Frequency Heart Period Variability (HFHPV) assessed physiological self-regulation and were hypothesized to correspond with VExP performance. Findings revealed patterns of HFHPV change during the VExP and that HFHPV change negatively corresponded with a resting measure of HFHPV and VExP performance. Results suggested that resting HFHPV was a better predictor of learning during the VExP than patterns of HFHPV change evidenced throughout the task.

Child Characteristics, Parent-Child Interaction Style, And Self-Regulation As Predictors Of Externalizing Behaviors In Toddlers, Bridget Ellen Hatfield

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Depressive Symptomology On Women’S Childbearing Considerations, Andrea Darlene Marable

Masters Theses

Empirical literature dedicated to pursuing knowledge of the relationship between women who suffer from depression and their considerations of childbearing is lacking. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to determine the types of relationships that exist between depressive symptomology in women and their childbearing considerations.

Secondary data analysis was the chosen form of research analysis, and the National Survey of Families and Households (Wave 1) was the data set employed. There were a total of four independent variables (depressive symptomology, global life satisfaction, global optimism, and self-esteem) and two dependent variables (10 constraint items and 4 motivational factor …

The Haunted Hero: Mythology And Meaning In The Fathering Accounts Of Long-Haul Truckers, Jeremy P. Sayers

Masters Theses

Long-haul truckers face challenges of time and distance in their attempts to be what they consider good fathers. In their quest to define themselves as fathers and as men, they are also shadowed by the challenge of a pervasive macho mythology of the trucker as an American cultural hero – a high-flying, hard-driving, highway cowboy. As were the cowboys of the Old West, the mythological trucker is a loner, complete in his freedom from the worries and demand of more pedestrian lives. Through intensive interviews with 12 men who make their living as over-the-road (OTR) truckers, I explore the interwoven …

Community, Violence, And The Nature Of Change: Whitecapping In Sevier County, Tennessee, During The 1890'S, William Joseph Cummings

Masters Theses

During the 1890s, a series of extra-legal and illegal activities known as "whitecapping" occurred in Sevier County, Tennessee. While the early episodes were based on traditional responses to deviant behavior in rural communities, whitecapping reflected the loss of community within the county. This study examines the relationship of whitecapping and community in Sevier County and how it changed during the 1890s. The several, often contradictory, social conditions which affected the life of every Sevier Countian are also examined to show the decline of community consensus during this period. Finally, the events galavanizing public opinion against the whitecaps are analyzed to …