Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

Trends And Disparities In Cardiometabolic Disease Prevalence By Physical Activity Among Us Adults: Nhanes 2007–2018, Zhijing Xu, Jinyu Hu Hu, Jackie Finik, Xiang Qi, Ruotong Liu, Yaguang Zheng, Bei Wu

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

Background: Cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) significantly contribute to U.S. morbidity. Physical activity (PA) is associated with lower CMD prevalence, yet trends in CMD prevalence by PA level and associated disparities remain underexplored.

Methods: We analyzed 2007–2018 NHANES data from 26,380 adults aged ≥20 years. CMDs included diabetes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and chronic kidney disease (CKD; eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m² or ACR ≥30 mg/g). PA was categorized as no activity, some/irregular activity, or regular activity. Age-standardized prevalence and survey-weighted logistic regression estimated trends (reference: 2007–2008) and adjusted odds ratios (aORs).

Results: Diabetes prevalence increased, with higher odds in 2013–2014 (OR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.01–1.60), 2015–2016 (OR = 1.41; 1.08–1.84), and 2017–2018 (OR = 1.45; 1.16–1.80) and an absolute increase of 2.49% (0.85 to 4.13). No significant trends were observed for CKD (absolute change: 0.11%; …

A Bioecological Policy Analysis Of Trauma-Informed Practice: Implications For Families, Schools, And Communities, Anglin P. Thevaraja, Miriam R. Linver, Pearl Stewart, Kira Chontow

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

Objective: This study examined trauma-informed practice (TIP) legislation introduced across the United States in 2022, identifying policy trends and evaluating the influence of political affiliation on TIP implementation, particularly in education settings.

Background: Childhood trauma affects emotional regulation, learning, and long-term health. Although TIP has gained national attention, there is no standardized federal framework, resulting in inconsistent support for students across states.

Methods: Using secondary data from the Institute on Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care, 313 TIP-related legislative proposals were analyzed. Thematic analysis identified key focus areas, and chi-square tests examined relationships between legislative control, policy adoption, and school-focused legislation.

Results: …

Navigating Reentry: A Life Course Inquiry Into The Structural And Personal Dimensions Among Returning Citizens, Julie Chowdhury

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative study explores how returning citizens experience incarceration and reentry across the life course, focusing on the interplay of structural conditions, relational contexts, and human agency. Guided by Life Course Theory (LCT), reentry is conceptualized not as a discrete post-release transition but as a developmental process shaped by cumulative disadvantage, institutional stratification, and linked lives. Data were drawn from in-depth semi-structured interviews with formerly incarcerated adults in the northeastern United States and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings show that incarceration and reentry are experienced as relational and multigenerational processes embedded within family systems and constrained opportunity structures, rather …

Through The Eyes Of Alumni: Transformative Power Of Eof For First-Generation College Students From Racially/Ethnically And Economically Marginalized Backgrounds, Sabrina Magliulo

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative study used the Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) framework to describe the impact participation in New Jersey’s Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) program had on the life trajectories of thirteen first-generation Black and Latina/e/o alumni. Findings suggest that authentic relationships between participants and EOF institutional agents created non-judgmental healing spaces where students could honor their cultural wealth and use it to enhance their college experiences. As higher education practitioners seek to increase positive outcomes for students from marginalized backgrounds, this study’s findings provide evidence for adopting EOF practices and investing in intentional screening and hiring practices to identify professionals equipped …

The Lasting Impact Of Childhood Maltreatment On Parenting: A Qualitative Study, Leslie K. Moorman

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative study explored how Child Protection Service (CPS)-involved parents made meaning of their parenting and what informed their meaning making. Bronfenbrenner’s Person Process Context Time (PPCT) framework was utilized to examine the context of parenting within the CPS system. The PPCT theoretical assumptions were used to discuss the results of the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 participants, from diverse ethnic backgrounds. All but one returned for a second interview. The CPS-involved parents disclosed childhood experiences that were consistent with childhood maltreatment. The participants were preoccupied with stories of their own childhood and not wanting to parent like …

Economic Stress And Child Outcomes: The Family Stress Model Among Asian American Families During Covid-19, Annie Fanta, Sei Eun Kim, Cindy J. Huang, William Tsai, Cindy Y. Huang

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

Limited research has examined the impact of financial stress on families since the onset of COVID-19, specifically among Asian American (AA) parents. Informed by the Family Stress Model, this study examined the short-term longitudinal links between economic stress, parental psychological distress (i.e., anxiety and depression symptoms), positive parenting behaviors, and child outcomes three months later (i.e., child internalizing and externalizing problems). Results indicated that Time 1 (T1) parental economic stress was directly and positively associated with positive parenting behaviors at T1 and child internalizing problems at Time 2 (T2). Parental psychological distress at T1 was directly and negatively associated with …

Everything And Nothing: Exploring The Connection Between Gender Microaggressions In The Family Of Origin And Intimate Adult Relationships, Stephanie Dizenzo-Priestley

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Experiences with gender microaggressions have been shown to negatively impact mental health and self-esteem in women. Cisgender women are faced with pervasive gender microaggressions throughout life, including within their homes and families. This study sought to explore cisgender women’s experiences with gender microaggressions within two critical family systems, the family of origin and intimate adult relationships. Utilizing Postmodern Feminist Theory and Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis, three overarching themes were identified related to how cisgender women experience and make meaning of gender microaggressions: 1) Rigid Roles and Expectations for Women; 2) Impact of Power Dynamics; and 3) Identifying Pathways to Lasting Change. …

Disavowed: The Downfall Of England's Men, Marriages, And Sense Of Self In The Stories Of D. H. Lawrence, Emily Guido

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This paper aims to discuss the theme of displacement, specifically of men in early twentieth-century England experiencing the decline of the traditional masculinity model, in the short fiction of D. H. Lawrence. Displacement, fundamentally, it is removing that which belongs in a specific place or home to an unknown, unadapted environment. In the context of literature, displacement can take more abstract shapes, such as cultural, spiritual, and mental displacements that—as most great literature does—arouses our sympathies to the larger groups and concepts for which they stand. In these types of stories, physical displacement becomes the metaphor for these more abstract …

Links Between Couples’ Cynical Hostility And Mental Health: A Dyadic Investigation Of Older Couples, Dikla Segel-Karpas, Roi Estlein, Ashley E. Ermer

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

Whereas sharing a life with someone with high cynical hostility can be straining, little is known about how partner’s cynical hostility is associated with one’s mental health. In this paper, we report the findings from a longitudinal dyadic study using two waves of a large and representative American sample of older adults and their spouses to examine how one’s own and their spouse’s cynical hostility longitudinally affect anxiety and depressive symptoms. Results from APIM analyses suggest that both husbands’ and wives’ anxiety and depressive symptoms were negatively associated with their own cynical hostility, both within each time point and longitudinally. …

Exploring The Needs Of College Students Experiencing Housing Instability, Sandy D. Dawoud

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative study explored the needs and experiences of college students who have aged out of the foster care system and facing housing instability at a large public institution. The study explores the participants' pre-college experiences and college journey to identify challenges they faced, sources of support, and unmet needs impacting their education. Analysis of 14 individual interviews highlighted key themes related to motivations, obstacles, and desired assistance across areas like finances, mental health, academics, and support systems. This work has implications for implementing tailored institutional support, community partnerships, transition programs, and advocacy efforts to promote resilience and success for …

Daughters Of Depression : A Critical-Hermeneutic Phenomenological Examination Of Adult Black Women’S Experiences With Strong Black Woman’S Role When Mothered By Women With Perceived Depression, Christin D. Haynes

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Black American women are experiencing chronic depression at alarming rates. Major racial/sex disparities in disease prevalence indicates Black American women are at increased risk for depression onset due to exposure to poverty and traumatic life events. With the rise of single, female-headed households, children are at increased risk for exposure to maternal mental illness which is defined as an adverse childhood experience impacting their development through adulthood. Black American mothers have the additional burden of racially socializing all children to learn how to manage systematic racist structures embedded in American society, yet daughters require the additional socialization for gender biases. …

The Influence Of Community Trauma And The Behaviors Of Gang Members, Leshelle Franklin

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Although there is an abundance of research done on gang members, gang activity, and gang activity in low-income neighborhoods, there is not much research that focuses on the community trauma in low-income neighborhoods; and any relations it may have on or to gang members. Research pertaining to gang members usually focuses on how gang activity affects the lives of non-gang members living in the community. This research study aims to explore community trauma and the behaviors of gang members, from a gang member’s perspective. This research study gives insight into the minds of 10 male African American gang members, as …

Undocumented Young Adults Navigating Liminal Space To Carve Their Futures In The U.S., Ismat Abbas

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative interview study focuses on the challenges and barriers of 1.5 generations of undocumented young adults with their liminal status in carving their present and curating their future lives in the United States. The study focuses on how these 1.5 young emerging adults navigate their lives to pursue their life goals with the limitations attached to their impermanence status. The study used a qualitative in-depth, and constant comparative methodology to approach empirical findings. In addition, the life-course theory was utilized as a theoretical framework to study different milestones in the lives of these 1.5 undocumented young adults (Elder,1998). The …

“It Was Like Double Damage” : An Exploration Of Clergy-Perpetrated Sexual Abuse, Institutional Response, And Posttraumatic Growth, Krystal Lynne Woolston

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study examines the relationship between institutional responses to reports of clergy- perpetrated sexual abuse of adult women and the survivor’s level of posttraumatic growth, current spirituality, current religious commitment, well-being, and flourishing. The experience of adult women abused by clergy is not well-researched; this study seeks to highlight those experiences to the extent possible. This study utilized a mixed methods approach wherein surveys were collected from 108 participants, and follow up interviews were conducted with ten participants to further illustrate their experiences. All participants experienced some level of institutional betrayal which left lasting impacts on their ability to achieve …

Exploring Lgbtq Latino/A/X Stories Of Chosen Families, Carlos A. Flores

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Latino/a/x Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) people may face rejection from their families upon coming out (Hailey et al. 2020; McConnell et al. 2018). In response to this rejection, some Latino/a/x LGBTQ people become part of chosen families that provide them with the support that would otherwise be provided by their family of origin (Carpineto et al., 2008; Horne et al., 2015; Hwahng et al., 2018; Kubicek, Beyer, et al., 2013; Kubicek, McNeeley, et al., 2013; Levitt et al., 2015; Muraco, 2006). Research exploring the experiences of LGBTQ Latino/a/x individuals experiencing rejection from their family of origin and …

Parental Influences On Korean Youth Academic-And Career-Related Motivation During The Transition To Tertiary Educational Settings : A Situated Expectancy-Value Theory Approach, Jeanie Park

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Adolescence is a universal developmental stage where many changes occur (i.e., biological, social, and psychological) during the second decade of life. Emerging adulthood a subsequent development period between adolescence and young adulthood; during emerging adulthood individuals go through various transitions such as academic and career planning, navigating one’s identity, and fostering relationships. It is important to understand individual and familial factors with parents and adolescents that are related to academic outcomes during these developmental stages, since the final years in secondary school are critical for future academic and career development. Also, studies using a culturally situated approach investigating parent- youth …

Lift Every Voice : Black High School Students’ Lived Experiences With Racism And Discrimination Through A Critical Race Theory Lens, Lucinda Harris

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative study examined the experiences of racism and discrimination of Black high school students from two diverse high schools in the northeastern United States. Data was collected from 8 individual semi-structured interviews that focused on their lived experiences and how they navigated racialized encounters.

Utilizing (CRT) as a framework, this study revealed the lived reality of the 8 Black high school students. Participants recounted stories of racial stereotyping, discrimination from educators and peers, and the exclusionary aspects of the school’s curriculum and access to resources. Their stories also revealed the use of counterspaces to help them cope. Counterspaces acted …

Community-Based Programs As Spaces For Critical Consciousness, Not Containment : Exploring The Perspectives Of Black Youth, Carrie Bergeson

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Historically Black youth have been labeled as needing to be “saved” and “fixed” because they are “at-risk,” “broken,” and more likely to subscribe to deviant behavior. This deficit rhetoric frames community-based education programs (CBEPs) that serve Black youth as vital spaces that must prevent and save Black youth from subscribing to undesirable behaviors. Therefore, this study builds on the paucity of literature regarding CBEPs as spaces that view Black youth as valuable and worthy and encourage youth to critically examine the world around them, often withholding opportunities and resources. With critical consciousness (Freire, 1968) as the framework, this qualitative study …

Impact Of Family Expectations On The Marital Practices Of Haitian-American Couples, Kencia Mele

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This paper analyzes how family expectations from the Haitian culture manifest in the marriages of middle-aged Haitian-American couples. This study emphasizes that the evolution to biculturalism is a major factor in the adjustments of cultural expectations. Four middle-aged Haitian-American couples were interviewed via Zoom individually. They were asked to describe how they believed Haitian culture and family expectations influenced their family and marriage life. The results indicate that the middle-aged Haitian-American couples adhere to explicit and implicit family expectations set out by their families of origin; these expectations were influenced by Haitian culture. The major themes from the study were: …

How Exposure To Poverty Related Issues In The Classroom Affects Students’ Attitudes And Interactions With Their Social Environment, Rocco Placenti

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Impoverishment and its presence are the saddest forms of brutality and have long been recognized in the United States (U.S.). The common attitude of Americans is to view impoverishment from individualistic characteristics in which it is believed that individuals will not want to work if aid is offered to them. People’s attitudes towards those in poverty play a part in policy and practice in the American government. Therefore, this study explored how and the magnitude with which students’ connections within their ecological systems and their attitudes shifted after the introduction to an undergraduate course on families in poverty. A qualitative …

For The Culture : Using Ethnographic Interviews To Describe The Attempts And Strategies Used By Black, First-Generation, Female, College Students To Combine Family, Community, And College Life, Fatimah Turner

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Using qualitative methodology, 10 Black, first-generation female college students were studied at Predominately White Institution in Northern New Jersey. The study examined how Black, female, first-generation college students combined the diverging aspects of their home and school lives and the strategies they used to do so. The theoretical perspectives used in this study were Black Feminist and Life Course Theory. Combining these theoretical perspectives revealed how Black women used agency and linked lives to navigate college and renegotiate family and societal expectations. Analysis of 10 individual ethnographic interviews highlighted two major themes and several sub-themes. The major themes were: 1) …

Black First-Generation Professionals : Leaders That You Never Heard Of Before, An Exploratory Study Of Lived Experiences, Duane A. Williams

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Black First-Generation Professionals (BFPs) represent groups of individuals who were the first in their families to attend and complete a college degree; they are also first in their families to attain White-collar professional careers. This qualitative study sought to understand the lived experiences of BFPs in the workplace; complexities of upward mobility, identity development and family relationships were also explored. The success stories for all participants came at a cost, a burden, a toll, or some sacrifice for a greater good. Upward mobility in the Black community can be viewed from two opposing ends of a gains-loss spectrum. On one …

A Critical Exploration Of Ideology And Agency In Intensive Motherhood Literature, Maya Autret

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This dissertation explores how scholars have extended Sharon Hays’ (1997) influential work on Intensive Motherhood Ideology (IM). In conceptualizing IM, Dr. Hays proposed that IM ideology leads women in cisgender heterosexual unions to spend more time caregiving despite increased participation in paid work, compared to prior decades. Dr. Hays further asserted IM is a form of resistance to neoliberalism (i.e., capitalism based on a free-market system). However, it is unclear to what degree women are driven by an oppressive ideology and/or are making important social contributions based on conscious choice, which carries important implications for women’s agency. Through content analyses, …

Adolescent Cognition As A Dynamic System : Examining Complex Cognition, Concepts And Context, Rachael R. Doubledee

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The transition to adolescence is characterized by the rapid development of many interacting social, emotional, and cognitive processes. Adolescent development is organized around developing successful peer relationships and peer interactions which can improve social standing, define group memberships, and develop a social identity. In the first manuscript, I identified cognitive complexity as an important underlying developmental concept to adolescent development and established a theoretical foundation. Cognitive complexity was explored through a dynamic systems approach which examined the interacting processes of development in addition to outcomes. In the second manuscript, secondary interviews (N = 24) were analyzed in a multi-stage process. …

Pain That Only She Must Bear: On The Invisibility Of Women In Judicial Abortion Rhetoric, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The graphic and bodily facts of a legal question of rights are relevant to the courts, particularly in questions that directly implicate physical bodies and pain, such as right to die cases, or what level of search may be allowable and when. However, in the case of abortion, or more specifically the bodily ramifications of pregnancy and childbirth, this detail is conspicuously absent. This article, relying on a content analysis of over 220 legal opinions on abortion rights, documents this absence of rhetoric. Particularly in the context of other discussions of pain and physical health risks in these very same …

Exploring Trauma, Loss, And Posttraumatic Growth In Poles Who Survived The Second World War And Their Descendants, Alexandra Rush

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Life Course Theory’s (Elder, 1998) paradigmatic themes of historical time and place, linked lives, timing of events, and human agency were applied to explore the experiences of Poles who survived the Second World War in Poland and the impact of intergenerational transmission of traumatic effects and/or features of posttraumatic growth, and meanings constructed. A phenomenological analysis was based on 13 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with one 1st generation survivor, seven 2nd generation and five 3rd generation descendants; four females and nine males, ranging in age from 23 to 90. The conceptual framework of Posttraumatic Growth (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2006); positive changes …

Sibling Relationship Quality And Its Link To Flourishing Among Emerging Adults, Shannon P. Lummer-Aikey

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Sibling relationships are one of the longest lasting, close relationships individuals have over the life span. Common in emerging adulthood (ages 18-25 years), life transitions (such as college, marriage, and parenthood) can greatly impact the dynamics within the sibling relationship, and may cause a shift in the relationship trajectory. Individuals who have a sibling living with a chronic illness or developmental disability may experience greater difficulty in adjusting to new life transitions because they often worry about their sibling’s needs and future accomplishments. The current study explored the relationship between flourishing and sibling relationship quality among emerging adults who have …

Leaders Of The New School: Exploring The Origins Of Leadership Qualities In First Generation Black Male College Students, Rahjaun J. Gordon

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This qualitative study explored the origin of leadership qualities in Black male first generation college student leaders at a Predominately White Institution. The participants were identified as student leaders in various leadership roles on their college campus. The study explores the participants pre-college experience to identify any influences, primarily in their family, peer relationships, and communities to identify how their leadership qualities formed and originated. Analysis of 12 individual interviews highlighted 5 themes: 1) leadership qualities defined and utilized, 2) self-awareness, 3) family influences, 4) mentorship, 5) the importance of exposure. This work has implications for the exploration of the …

Latino/A Adults With Down Syndrome Make Sense Of Family While Growing Up In A Bilingual Home, Linda M. Baron Cortes

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Previous research focuses on the linguistic capacities of individuals with DS and how dual language exposure can hinder or support their cognitive development (Chapman & Hesketh, 2001; Kay-Raining Bird, et al., 2005), yet research regarding how an adult with Down syndrome (ADS) makes meaning of family within Latino bilingual homes, where the ADS is the primary perspective taken into account, is missing in the research. This study aims to provide the perspective of adults with Down syndrome since conversations and research about their development should include their opinion and thoughts, especially when there continues to be a push for English-only, …

Assessing The Association Of Acculturation, Racial Discrimination, Social Support, And Breastfeeding Intention With Postpartum Depression: Findings From The 2012-2014 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System Among Latinas, Diana L. Cabezas

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Postpartum depression (PPD) nearly doubles among immigrants. When we consider that Latinas are densely represented in the United States, the need to explore the risk and protective factors that may be associated with PPD onset among Latinas is critical. A consideration of racial discrimination, social support, and breastfeeding practices may aid in incorporating contributors that may be prevalent among Latinas. In particular, breastfeeding practices have differed by acculturation, yet there are inconclusive relations with depressive symptoms, therefore, examining the relationship with predictors may shed light on the intersection among individual, cultural, and societal factors by acculturation among Latinas. This dissertation …