Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Marital Satisfaction And Depression In A Study Of Brazilian Women: A Cross-Cultural Test Of The Marital Discord Model Of Depression, Cody S. Hollist

Theses and Dissertations

Depression is a major societal health problem with individual, familial, social, and economic costs. Cross sectional research has linked depression and marital discord, with women frequently having a higher association between variables. Several longitudinal research studies have linked marital satisfaction to subsequent depression. The Marital Discord Model of Depression states that marital discord is an important antecedent in the development of depression. While some empirical evidence exists supporting this premise, no research has been done with Latinos. The purpose of this study was to test the longitudinal relationship between marital satisfaction and depression among Latina women.

The data was conducted …

Conjoint Marital Therapy: Proxy Voice Intervention And Softening In The Context Of Couple Enactments, Ryan B. Seedall

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the effectiveness of proxy voice intervention, embedded within couple enactments, on client-perceived softening. During enactments, direct couple interaction is the focus while the therapist coaches from the periphery. In the context of an enactment, the therapist may use proxy voice when partners appear to be distressed and expressing themselves in terms of secondary emotions by modeling appropriate attachment and self-concept expression. The primary research question was whether therapist use of proxy voice in an enactment would be more likely to bring about softening effects, or whether use of proxy voice was counter-intuitive to enactment conceptualization and would …

Marriage Moments: An Evaluation Of An Approach To Strengthen Couples' Relationships During The Transition To Parenthood, In The Context Of A Home Visitation Program, Kimberly Ann Rose Lovejoy

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluates the efficacy of a self-guided, low-intensity curriculum, Marriage Moments, based on Fowers' (2000) virtues model of marital quality that emphasizes friendship, generosity, justice and loyalty. The Marriage Moments program consists of a guidebook and a video that were designed to strengthen marriages during the transition to parenthood and is used in the context of a home visitation program for first-time parents. Participants in the study included 119 married couples who had recently given birth to their first child. They were assigned to either a treatment, comparison or control group. The treatment group received the Marriage Moments curriculum …

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 …

Religion And Gender In Christian, Jewish, And Muslim Married Couples, Anna Mae Ridley

Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the influence of religion on gender roles in marriage. Past research indicates that previous theories of marital power have ignored couples' own conceptualizations and have relied on taken for granted assumptions. Thirty-two religious couples (from Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths) were interviewed regarding their gender roles. Grounded-theory qualitative analyses were conducted for couples' perceptions of religious influence on gender roles, the development of their gender practice, and their operationalization of marital power. Results are reported according to couples' discussion of role organization, role design, and outcomes. Valuing gender differences moderated religious impact on couples' role development and …

Middle School Student Responses To Family Health Questions: The Effects Of Family Caregiving On The Education Of Middle School Students With Family Health Issues, Constance T. Siskowski

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

More than currently recognized, family health situations, often compounded with family caregiving responsibilities, affect students' learning and academic performance. Three out of five middle school children (n=3,848) from a large, socio-economically and culturally diverse population sample, responded to the 88-question What Works Survey conducted in 2002, and indicated that someone needing special medical care lived either with them or close by them. Nearly two of five of these students (38.6%) documented that their learning is hindered as a result of their family health/caregiving situation. Among students with family health situations who reported hindered learning, only students who are Asian-Pacific Islanders …

Idiomatic Expressions And Marital Relationships Over Three Stages Of The Family Lifespan, Meredith T. Raynor

Institute for the Humanities Theses

In interpersonal communication language shared between two people becomes important in the everyday life of relational participants. Even more so, the language shared between married couples is vital because of their "unique relationship". Part of that language involves the symbols, gestures and words called idioms that have specialized meaning for the marital dyad.

This thesis sought to discover what idioms are identified among married couples at three stages of the family lifespan, newlyweds, couples with children and empty nest couples as they seek to maintain a system of "personalized communication" as it relates to their marital satisfaction (Breuss & Pearson, …

The Effects Of Premarital Sexual Promiscuity On Subsequent Marital Sexual Satisfaction, Sherie Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

A satisfying sexual relationship is an important aspect of general marital satisfaction. Considering that most people will marry, understanding the factors influencing marital sexual satisfaction becomes important in understanding what makes happy, satisfied relationships and individuals in our society. This study builds on previous research, which has indicated that there are a number of "risky factors" associated with having numerous premarital sexual partners, by demonstrating that there are risks associated with the future marital relationship. Using exchange theory concepts, this study empirically examines the relationship between premarital sexual promiscuity and marital sexual satisfaction. The sample included 313 married males and …

Couples Sharing Recovery From A Husband's Addiction To Pornography: A Qualitative Study, Spencer T. Zitzman

Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the therapy process for married couples recovering from addictive use of pornography. The author's proposal was that in conjoint couple therapy, clinicians are able to help organize the relationship to sponsor recovery while helping both members of the relationship heal individually. The prevalence and effects of pornography are discussed through a review of the current literature. Six couples were interviewed following the termination of their treatment in marital therapy to gain a holistic view of the process of recovery and gain groundwork for future development of a concise model of treatment. Results demonstrated that an increase in …

El-Shabab El-Masry, Shannon Arvizu

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Taiwanese Female Counselors’ Experiences Of Managing Work And Family Roles And Responsibilities, Joy Yuyin Huang

Dissertations

Mental health professionals work in emotionally demanding environments when they work with clients who have emotional problems and interpersonal conflicts. Self-care and managing family and work responsibilities are concerns of great importance for mental health professionals to maintain quality in their services. This is of special concern for Asian female counselors who play important supportive roles for their families. As a result, Asian female counselorsnot only work with clients but also assume heavy family responsibilities, yet there is a dearth of literature on this specific group (Leong, 2002; Saso, 1999; Lee, 1998).

This qualitative study using grounded theory methods explored …

Controversial Maternal Roles Of Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse Cases, Rhonda Elliott Mcgee

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine Child Sexual Abuse case files, to determine which "maternal role": (a) protector, (b) co-victim, (c) co-perpetrator/conspirator, or (d) perpetrator was the most common in court cases studied in this research. The researcher also sought to find: (1) The most dominant maternal role in reference to percentage; (2) The effect, if any, of certain "role types"; (3) And the consequences and/or effects of selected variables (e.g. age, race, and gender) had in family court decisions and adjudications.

The target population consisted of forty-one cases of Child Sexual Abuse cases, adjudicated by the Family …

Borrower- And Mortgage-Related Factors Associated With Foreclosure, Amber C. Gallagher

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to develop a conceptual model that could be used to aid in identifying which household factors contribute to an increased likelihood of foreclosure. More specifically, what borrower-related and mortgage-related factors are correlated with home foreclosure? This was achieved by studying a sample from an inventory of active and foreclosed Federal Housing Administration (FHA) homes in the state of Utah. The sample consisted of 179 cases. Characteristics of interest were extracted from data and divided into two categories: borrower-related factors and mortgage-related factors.

Bivariate, and multivariate analyses were conducted with the borrower- and mortgage-related factors. …

Parents' Knowledge And Attitudes About Immunization In India, Anne George

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Childhood immunization is acknowledged as being a crucial health intervention for children. Immunization rates of children may vary depending on their parents' knowledge and attitudes about the issue. The focus of this study is on parents' knowledge and attitudes about immunization, and employs Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. A questionnaire was administered to 233 parents in India to explore the issues of parental immunization knowledge and attitudes. Correlates of parental knowledge and attitudes that were explored included gender, education, respondents' immunization status, and children's immunization status. Sources of parental knowledge about immunization were also examined. Overall, parents in this sample …

The Role Of Deception In Mediating Relationship Involvement Of Couples Interacting On The Internet: Stages Of Intimate Formation, Dustin W. Edgerton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A vast majority of individuals involve themselves in an intimate relationship at one time or another. This study looks at a new, but increasing, forum of relationship development, that of the Internet. More specifically, this study addresses various stages of Internet relationship development, and deception individual 's use during the process of forming and maintaining these relationships.

This research gathered quantitative and qualitative information from 134 individuals involved in online relationships. The quantitative analyses provided only a few significant findings and it is suggested that the current methods of measuring deception are inadequate and do not appear to represent the …

The Ability To Taste 6-N-Propylthiouracil (Prop) And Its Relation To A Parent's Emotional Investment In The Infant, Deann Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Research on parenting is increasingly being studied from a biological perspective. An understanding of the biological mechanisms leading to individual differences in maternal behaviors can help direct research toward more focused intervention resulting in closer mother-infant attachment relationships, and therefore, positive child outcomes. This research was a preliminary study that tested mothers' ability to taste a harmless chemical, 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), in relation to their responses to a questionnaire about the emotional investment they experience towards their infant. Although research attempting to relate these two variables together has not been carried out before, individual studies show potential links between these two. …

Predictors Of 1997 Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Completion And Dismissal Rates In Utah, David A. Evans

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was two-fold. The first intention was to identify a group of debtor characteristics that predicted discharge among Chapter 13 bankruptcy filers in the district of Utah from 1997. The second objective was to use that same set of characteristics to predict the likelihood of dismissal at three critical stages of the bankruptcy process. Those stages were identified, first, as the period before the 341 hearing or meeting of creditors (n = 115 or 12.7%), second, before confirmation of the debtor's repayment plan (n = 267 or 29.4%), third, the period after confirmation of …

Intermediate Trainee Perspectives Of Family Therapy Skills, Margo Benson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Marriage and family therapy training involves the development of therapy skills that lead to effective treatment, and the family therapy literature recognizes the importance of skill development in training. The training literature dealing with specific skills most often refers to beginning-level skills and obtains data largely from supervisors and trainers. Intermediate-level skills appear to be overlooked and no apparent attention is given from the perspective of trainees.

This research examined the perspectives of trainees concerning family therapy skills at the intermediate level. Intermediate trainee perspectives were compared with the perspectives of their supervisors. Comparisons were also made with perspectives of …

Helping With The Transition To Parenthood: An Evaluation Of The Marriage Moments Program, Elizabeth Brinton Fawcett

Theses and Dissertations

In an attempt to strengthen marriages during the transition to parenthood, the Marriage Moments program was developed from Blaine Fowers' virtues based model of marital quality. Marriage Moments is a non-intrusive, mostly self-guided approach to marriage education, which is easily incorporated into childbirth education classes. The Marriage Moments curriculum stresses building marriage on a strong foundation of friendship and partnership. In this model, marital friendship is strengthened through a shared vision of life and important life goals; partnership is nurtured by the virtues of generosity, fairness and loyalty.

This program was tested on 155 married couples that were expecting their …

Mom Or Manager?: How Social Factors And Personal Choice Affect The Work/Family Balance In The United States, Japan And Germany, Christine E. Mueller

Honors Theses

This report investigates the work/family balance based on two factors: social influence and personal choice. The first factor is significant because society dictates and enforces the prescribed roles for women. The degree of career progression a woman can achieve is partly bound by restrictions of society. The other factor, personal choice, is the factor that only each woman can determine for herself. A woman can only progress as far as her personal goals determine. In addition to the relationship between society and personal choice, this report examines the barriers to pursuit of a management career inherent in these factors.

Modernization And Divorce In Japan, Motonobu Mukai

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Divorce rates in Japan have increased since the mid-1960s, and even more rapidly since the 1990s. Divorce rates decreased throughout the period of industrialization, although modernization theory has argued that economic development brings pervasive cultural changes (including higher divorce rates). However, values regarding family are also influenced by the persistence of traditional values. Before WWII in Japan, a decreasing divorce rate was influenced by political ideology, which deliberately intended to change traditional ways of marriage and divorce. After WWII, however, this ideology diminished, and material affluence has led to an individualistic view that in turn has led to higher divorce …

The Relationship Between Juvenile Delinquency And Family Unit Structure, Angela D. Mullens

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between parental absence and juvenile delinquency and to determine if a link exists between the two variables. Data was collected from male juveniles who were alleged to have committed status or delinquent offenses between 1996 and 2004. Each offense was categorized according to the family unit (e.g., intact, father only, mother only, etc.), offense type (e.g., underage consumption, petit larceny, breaking and entering, etc.), offense level (e.g., status misdemeanor, and felony), the victim (e.g., crimes against the person, crimes against property, etc.) and the juvenile’s age at the time the …

Domestic Violence In Appalachia With A Focus On Cabell County, Wv, Deborah Ann Moore

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

This study of domestic violence in Appalachia with a focus on Cabell County, West Virginia involves many aspects. The costs of domestic violence, as well as, how abused women here conceptualize the major contributors to abusive behavior in men are examined. The demographics of Cabell Co., WV are discussed. The effects of battering and violence on woman’s work and employability are examined. What I did not anticipate to find through the qualitative interviews is the absence of a honeymoon stage in Walker’s (1989) cycle of violence. Goode’s (1971) resource theory provides an influential explanation of violence in Appalachia where a …

The Effects Of Childhood Autistic Spectrum Disorder On Mother's Reports Of Closeness To Their Sons, Deborah Gwyn O'Hara

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study compared the emotional closeness of 56 mothers of sons with autism to 57 mothers of typically-developing sons.

The Impact Of Parent-Adolescent Individuation On Sibling Relationships In Late Adolescent Females, Andrea Lynn Woods

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of parent-adolescent individuation on quality of siblings relationship among late adolescent females. Findings to date indicate that while changes are occurring in the parent-child subsystem. In accordance with the family systems theory, during the process of individuation the sibling relationship experiences some conflict or rivalry.

Parents' Division Of Childcare Responsibilities: Predictors Of Fathers' Childcare Involvement And Egalitarian Attitudes, Amy Elizabeth Latta

Theses Digitization Project

The current study was designed to examine whether adult childrens' reports of egalitarian parenting by their parents would influence the likelihood for egalitarian parenting behavior and gender role attitudes of the adult child. In general, results support the notion of intergenerational transmission of egalitarian parenting behavior. Individuals whose fathers were more involved in parenting reported greater father involvement in parenting their own children.

Kimberley Women : Their Experiences Of Making A Remote Locality Home, Elaine Rabbitt

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In previous histories of Western Australia, pre-dominantly written from a male Eurocentric viewpoint, scant attention has been drawn to the everyday lives of country women. The study described in this dissertation explores the responses of women to the challenges of relocation and settlement within a remote locality in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

A Qualitative Study Examining The Experiences Of Children Living In A Residential Treatment Program, Elisabeth Robson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The purpose of this research project was to gain an understanding of the child's experience living in residential treatment and to explore the child's understanding of treatment and the therapeutic process. Limited information on this topic has been found in the research literature, therefore this study was also an attempt to add qualitatively to the body of knowledge on residential treatment, incorporating the child's perspective. Six children living in a residential treatment centre in Southwestern Ontario were interviewed. Their interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed using the grounded theory techniques of Strauss and Corbin (1998). Demographic information and treatment goals …

Exploring The Experience Of Fatherhood For Men Over 40 Years Of Age, Jan Henderson

Theses : Honours

Fathering literature from the past 30 years was explored to firstly, gain an understanding of how fathering roles have changed over this time, and secondly, to explore predictors of fathering involvement. The major changes in fathering appear to originate in gender ideology, resulting from a growing rejection of male gender role constraints concerning how men relate to their children. Further issues explored include post-war societal change; personality; work roles; relationship quality, and gatekeeping, where the child's mother is believed influence her partners fathering involvement to suit her own needs. Comparisons with past research revealed that recent studies are more likely …

Self Appraisal In Later Life: Comparison Orientation And Well-Being, Angela Marie Pye

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study explores the relation between different comparison orientations, use of coping strategies and well-being in later life (N = 95; M = 76 years). Past research has identified individual differences in people's preference for comparison standards: some rely on social comparisons (to other individuals or groups), others use temporal comparisons (to the self at various points in time), a variety of both comparison types, or none at all. Mixed method analysis revealed that, although older participants generally preferred temporal comparisons to social comparisons, many people reported relying heavily on both standards and a considerable number relied on neither standard. …