Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Process Of Becoming A Strong Glbt Family: A Grounded Theory, Maureen E. Todd

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Using the qualitative method of grounded theory, data were collected from 21 couples who identified as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and/or Transgender (GLBT) from across the country. The purpose of this grounded theory was to generate a model that explains the process of developing family strengths in GLBT couples. In-depth interviews (both in person and phone interviews), observations with field notes, and member checking were used. A theoretical model was developed describing 1) the central phenomenon of strong GLBT families, 2) the contexts in which GLBT families thrive, 3) the various strategies GLBT couples use to build and maintain their strengths, …

Work And Mexican American Parent-Adolescent Relationships: The Mediating Role Of Parent Well-Being, Lorey A. Wheeler, Kimberly A. Updegraff

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This study of Mexican American two-parent families (N = 246) examined the role of parents’ well-being (i.e., depressive symptoms, role overload) as a potential mechanism through which parent occupational conditions (i.e., self-direction, hazardous conditions, physical activity, work pressure) are linked to parent-adolescent relationship qualities (i.e., warmth, conflict, disclosure). Depressive symptoms mediated the links between maternal and paternal work pressure and parentadolescent warmth, conflict, and disclosure. For mothers, depressive symptoms also mediated the links between self-direction and mother-adolescent warmth, conflict, and disclosure; for fathers, role overload mediated the links between work pressure and hazardous conditions with fatheradolescent warmth.

Conflict Resolution In Mexican-Origin Couples: Culture, Gender, And Marital Quality, Lorey A. Wheeler, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Shawna M. Thayer

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This study examined associations between Mexican-origin spouses’ conflict resolution strategies (i.e., nonconfrontation, solution orientation, and control) and (a) gender-typed qualities and attitudes, (b) cultural orientations, and (c) marital quality in a sample of 227 couples. Results of multilevel modeling revealed that Mexican cultural orientations were positively associated with solution orientation, and Anglo cultural orientations were negatively associated with nonconfrontation. Expressive personal qualities were negatively associated with control, whereas instrumental qualities were positively related to control. Links between conflict resolution and marital quality revealed that control and nonconfrontation were associated with spouses’ ratings of marital negativity. In some cases, different patterns …

Building Steprelationships: Emerging Adult Stepchildrens' Perceptions And Experiences Of Their Stepparents, Luke Thomas Russell

Honors Scholar Theses

A grounded theory study was conducted with ten (7 female, 3 male) emerging-adults in stepfamilies to examine their perceptions and experiences of their stepparents, and what factors influence the development and maintenance of these steprelationships. Three primary categories emerged from the data: (1) Stepchildrens' perceptions of their stepparents presence in their lives, including both physical closeness and physical and emotional involvement (2) The perceived level of authenticity within the steprelationship, and (3) The level of clout stepchildren afforded to their stepparents' position within their lives and families.

Additional factors found to influence the levels of presence, authenticity, and clout were …

Family Involvement For Children With Disruptive Behaviors: The Role Of Parenting Stress And Motivational Beliefs, Carrie A. Semke, S. Andrew Garbacz, Kyongboon Kwon, Susan M. Sheridan, Kathryn Woods

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Children with disruptive behaviors are at risk for adverse outcomes. Family involvement is a significant predictor of positive child behavior outcomes; however, little research has investigated parent psychological variables that influence family involvement for children with disruptive behaviors. This study investigated the role of parental motivational beliefs (i.e., role construction and efficacy) as a potential mechanism by which parenting stress impacts family involvement for families of children with disruptive behaviors. Results indicated that parent role construction mediated the relation between parenting stress and all aspects of family involvement examined (i.e., home-based involvement, school-based involvement, and home–school communication). Parent efficacy mediated …

Parenting Self-Efficacy And Parenting Practices Over Time In Mexican American Families, Larry E. Dumka, Nancy A. Gonzales, Lorey A. Wheeler, Roger E. Millsap

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Drawing on social cognitive theory, this study used a longitudinal cross-lagged panel design and a structural equation modeling approach to evaluate parenting self-efficacy's reciprocal and causal associations with parents' positive control practices over time to predict adolescents' conduct problems. Data were obtained from teachers, mothers, and adolescents in 189 Mexican American families living in the southwest U.S. After accounting for contemporaneous reciprocal relationships between parenting self-efficacy (PSE) and positive control, results indicated that parenting self-efficacy predicted future positive control practices rather than the reverse. PSE also showed direct effects on decreased adolescent conduct problems. PSE functioned in an antecedent causal …

Intervention Implementation Integrity Within Conjoint Behavioral Consultation: Strategies For Working With Families, Michelle S. Swanger-Gagne, Andrew Garbacz, Susan M. Sheridan

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Mental health services in school systems can take many forms. Behavioral consultation is one efficacious and commonly used form of indirect service delivery. Indirect service delivery models are unique in that an intermediate person, the consultee, provides treatment directly to a client. The effectiveness of the intervention depends in large part on the degree to which the consultee implements the intervention as designed. Families of children at-risk for school failure may experience challenges implementing an intervention developed through a consultation model. Some researchers have noted that the implementation of treatment plans is influenced by “events in the real world” including …

An Exploratory Evaluation Of Conjoint Behavioral Consultation To Promote Collaboration Among Family, School, And Pediatric Systems: A Role For Pediatric School Psychologists, Susan M. Sheridan Dr., Emily D. Warnes, Kathryn E. Woods, Carrie A. Blevins, Katie L. Magee, Cynthia Ellis

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Pediatric school psychology is a relatively new subspecialty in the field; however, few specific, prescribed roles have been articulated, and fewer have yielded preliminary efficacy data. In this exploratory study, the acceptability and potential efficacy of conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) as a model for linking families, schools, and pediatric settings to address concerns for children with medical issues were evaluated. Twenty-nine children, their parents, teachers, and consultants were involved in conjoint consultation, a model of cross-system collaboration to address shared concerns of medically referred children. In this structured indirect service delivery model, parents, teachers, and school psychology pediatric consultants worked …

Exploring Mothers’ And Fathers’ Relationships With Sons Versus Daughters: Links To Adolescent Adjustment In Mexican Immigrant Families, Kimberly A. Updegraff, Melissa Y. Delgado, Lorey A. Wheeler

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

Drawing on ecological and gender socialization perspectives, this study examined mothers’ and fathers’ relationships with young adolescents, exploring differences between mothers and fathers, for sons versus daughters, and as a function of parents’ division of paid labor. Mexican immigrant families (N = 162) participated in home interviews and seven nightly phone calls. Findings revealed that mothers reported higher levels of acceptance toward adolescents and greater knowledge of adolescents’ daily activities than did fathers, and mothers spent more time with daughters than with sons. Linkages between parent-adolescent relationship qualities and youth adjustment were moderated by adolescent gender and parents’ division …

Balancing Rosie And June: A Study Of Lynchburg College Postwar Alumnae And The Impact Of The Feminine Mystique, Dinah Watson

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

In 2003, the movie Mona Lisa Smile debuted describing the frustrations that many college women may have faced in the years after World War II. Wellesley College was the elite all-female institution that openly and proudly prepared its young women with the proper rules of etiquette and correctness. Despite Wellesley’s own excellent academic reputation, its close proximity to the prestigious single-sex male college, Harvard, made it even more appealing and convenient for the Wellesley girls to find a “suitable” husband. The novice young art instructor, Katherine Watson, was unique in that she wanted to offer her students not only a …

Sex Of Spouse Abuse Offender And Directionality Of Abuse As Predictors Of Personal Distress, Interpersonal Functioning, And Perceptions Of Family Climate, Lisa M. Taylor, Joe F. Pittman

Faculty Research & Creative Activity until 2018 (FCS)

This study examines perceptions of personal distress, interpersonal functioning and family climate reported by men and women involved in unidirectional versus bidirectional spouse abuse. Participants were 7253 offenders treated by the USAF Family Advocacy Program from 1988 to 1996. Over a quarter of the sample is female and included among them were both undirectional and bidirectional offenders. Grouping factors for the analysis are gender, directionality of aggression, history of abuse in childhood, history of recidivism, and severity of aggression. Females and offenders raised in abusive homes reported more negative perceptions across the measured spheres. Unidirectional abusers reported more personal distress, …

Kinship Care In Massachusetts, Jan Mutchler, Alison S. Gottlieb, Lona Choi, Ellen A. Bruce

Gerontology Institute Publications

The population of kinship care families in the Commonwealth is diverse in its characteristics, resources, and needs. The often-referenced stereotype of the elderly single grandmother caring for a number of grandchildren holds for only a portion of the kinship care families. Many children are cared for by married couples; many of the grandparents are not elderly; and many of the caregivers are not grandparents, but rather aunts, uncles, grown siblings, or other relatives. Although the duration of the caregiving relationship is unknown for non-grandparental care, most of the grandparent caregivers are involved in long-term caregiving. As such, their needs are …

Virtuous Giving: Philanthropy, Voluntary Service, And Caring, Mike W. Martin

Philosophy Faculty Books and Book Chapters

Writing for the general reader, Mike Martin explores the philosophic basis of philanthropy—"virtuous giving." This book will be welcome reading for anyone who has pondered what caring and giving mean for a good society.

Behavioral Parent-Teacher Consultation: Conceptual And Research Considerations, Susan M. Sheridan, Thomas R. Kratochwill

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

The importance of involving parents in their children’s education has been documented consistently. Likewise, school psychology as a profession traditionally has recognized the importance of working actively and collaboratively with parents. Little conceptual or empirical work has been reported, however, that links home and school individuals systematically in collaborative problem-solving consultation. Behavioral consultation provides a useful framework for working within and between family and school systems to involve parents and teachers together in cooperative problem-solving, with a focus on the interacting systems in a child’s life. The potential advantages of having both parents and teachers serve as consultees are that …