Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Art Of Couple Satisfaction, Kristy Koser

Dissertations, 2014-2019

ABSTRACT

It is estimated 10-15% of women aged 20-45 or 1 in 4 to 6 couples are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying to conceive. This failure to conceive within 12 months without contraception meets the requirements for a diagnosis of infertility (Association for Reproductive Medicine [ASRM], 2014). With such a large percent of the United States population navigating the world of fertility treatment, the field of mental health must also evolve, offering new areas of specialty to address this specific client population. Couples face significant concerns while undergoing fertility treatment as they cope with complex decision-making, …

Attachment Theory As A Framework For Supervision Of Supervisors-In-Training, Alyssa Fredricks

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This focus of the study is on the training of new clinical supervisors in health service psychology, specifically the relational processes involved in learning and acquiring competence in clinical supervision. An effective learning environment is critical to supervisor training and development (Borders et al., 2014;Watkins, Budge, & Callahan, 2015) and attachment theory provides a framework for understanding the complex relationship domains and group dynamics inherent to group supervision. Given the recognition that the supervisory alliance is central to the process of competent supervision (APA, 2015), the purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between adult attachment style, the …

Constant Connection: College Students’ Smartphones Attachment And Close Relationship Attachments Across Domains, Angela M. Pezzella

Educational Specialist, 2009-2019

This study aims to conceptualize the way individuals, more notably college students and emerging adults, use their smartphones, applying an attachment framework. Recently, research has shifted from using vocabulary akin to addiction, and researchers are beginning to see similarities and consistencies in how individuals relate to their phones and how attachment was originally conceptualized in the infant-mother relationship. Moreover, research is moving away from considering attachment as categorical, and is instead considering it continuous, and as varying in domains from individual to individual. This research used a new assessment tool (the YAPS) to assess college students’ attachment to phones, their …

Secure Attachment Without Bars: Alternatives To Incarceration And Clinical Interventions To Treat The Mother-Infant Relationship, Krista Murphy

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

Between 1980 and 2011, the number of incarcerated women increased by more than 700% (The Sentencing Project, 2017; 2015). Since The Second Chance Act was passed in 2008, the women’s prison population has grown outpacing men’s, grown while men’s declined, or declined proportionally less than men’s in seventy-percent of states, according to the Prison Policy Initiative (Sawyer, 2018). This paper explores the reasons for this disproportionate growth by outlining public policy developments and pathways women take to incarceration that are intertwined with trauma, mental health, and substance use in ways that men’s pathways are not. Furthermore, since the majority of …

Emotionally Focused Therapy For Couples: A Treatment For Depression And Anxiety, Courtney Reinitz

Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers

This systematic review aimed to examine emotionally focused therapy (EFT) and its effectiveness as a treatment for couples suffering from symptoms of depression and anxiety. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were created and databases were searched for relevant literature. Five articles were used as data for this study. Based on the findings, five areas of focus were uncovered that support the claim that EFT may be an effective treatment for couples suffering from symptoms of depression and anxiety. More research must be done in order to assert this claim of effectiveness. Practitioners, clients, and researchers would benefit from further research in …

Mentorship As A Protective Factor For Children With A History Of Paternal Incarceration, Lorietta Hardin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

With a univocal number of parents in correctional confinement, children of incarcerated fathers are at risk for negative outcomes ranging from increased family strain to increased behavior problems and unfavorable school outcomes. Prior research suggested these obstacles occurred due to parental incarceration that creates a vulnerable group of children. However, few researchers have analyzed the impact of mentorship for children of incarcerated fathers. Elucidating the effects of mentorship for these children is crucial to changing the life trajectory for children with a history of paternal incarceration.

The current study examined behavioral and school outcomes of children who have and have …

All In The Family: The Role Of Sibling Relationships As Surrogate Attachment Figures, Tiffany Lagerstrom

Scripps Senior Theses

While several studies have analyzed the impact of mother-child attachment security on the child’s emotion regulation abilities, few studies have proposed interventions to help children improve emotion regulation abilities in the presence of an insecure mother-child attachment. This current study extends previous findings about the influence of mother-child attachment on the child’s emotion regulation abilities and contributes new research in determining whether an older sibling can moderate this effect. This study predicts that across points of assessments: 18 months, 5 years, 10 years, and 15 years, the quality of mother-child attachment security will influence the child’s performance on an emotion …

The Hold Me Tight Program For Couples Becoming Parents: A Mixed Methods Study, Debbie Wang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

ABSTRACT

Attachment theory has made substantial contributions to the understanding of close relationships. The purpose of this study was to inquire whether an attachment-informed psychoeducational program is a feasible and effective intervention for couples expecting their first child. The overarching question was: Is an attachment-informed relationship enhancement program, such as Hold Me Tight^® (HMT), helpful to couples in strengthening their relationship and increasing their confidence in becoming first-time parents? The research question was addressed using a mixed-methods approach.

In the first phase, the Hold Me Tight^® program developed by Dr. Sue Johnson was modified for use with couples …