Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

Familism And Psychological Well-Being Among College-Attending Young Adults : Examining Multiple Mediation And Moderated Mediation Effects, Yiting Cai

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between familism and psychological well-being using an ethnically diverse sample of 636 college-attending young adults. Specifically, this study examined whether familism was related to depressive symptoms and life satisfaction directly, as well as indirectly through family support and conformity to parental expectations. The moderating role of gender in the proposed associations was also explored. PROCESS was employed to test the proposed multiple mediation and moderated mediation models. The results showed that the relationship between familism and depressive symptoms was not direct, but indirect through family support and conformity to parental …

Attitudes And Perceptions Of Suicide And Suicide Prevention Messages For Asian Americans, Priyata Thapa, Yoonhee Sung, David A. Klingbeil, Chih-Yuan Lee, Bonnie Klimes-Dougan

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

Understanding the context of suicidal behaviors is critical for effective suicide prevention strategies. Although suicide is an important topic for Asian Americans, there is limited information about what Asian Americans' attitudes are towards suicide and their perceptions about the effectiveness of prevention efforts. These questions are critical to examine to provide foundational knowledge for determining how best to intervene. In this study, Asian American (n = 87) and White (n = 87) participants completed self-report indexes on their knowledge of depression and suicide (e.g., estimates of suicide rates), coping attitudes (e.g., help-seeking) and suicide prevention attitudes (e.g., usefulness of PSAs). …

Parental Regulation Of Online Behavior And Cyber Aggression: Adolescents’ Experiences And Perspectives, Sara Goldstein

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

The present study examines adolescents’ experiences with, and perspectives about, parental regulation of internet-based peer socialization including cyber aggression. Adolescents (N = 110) were surveyed about technology use, electronic device ownership, and the extent to which parents place restrictions on, and/or monitor, their cyber behavior. Adolescents were also asked about their experiences with parental regulation of cyber aggression, and these responses were compared to experiences with other forms of aggressive behavior (relational and overt). Perceptions of legitimacy of parental authority were also compared for online and offline aggression, and for acts typically considered to be within the personal domain. Adolescents …

Association Between Participation In Organized Sports And Positive Youth Development Among Grade School Students, Jennifer Wilenta

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This quantitative study aims to understand the role of organized sports in youth development from a parental perspective. Specifically, it addresses whether grammar school-aged children (Mean Age = 9) who participate in organized sports have higher levels of positive youth development (PYD) compared to those who do not participate or who minimally participate. This study also explores the barriers to participation for those who do not participate. The sample was drawn from the two public grammar schools in Secaucus, N.J. during the 2012-13 academic year.

The major findings of this study do not show a difference in PYD levels based …

Experiences Of Mothers Of Children With Autism And Aggression : The Process Of Becoming "Super-Copers", Christine Peters

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of 14 mothers who have children with Autism and aggression issues. The combination of marginalization, stigma and the impact of aggression were found to be an overarching theme with emotional effects of fear, despair, guilt and anxiety being experienced by the mothers. Using grounded theory and feminist disability theory, a process of coping emerged which included analyzing for aggression triggers, as well as searching and utilizing resources. The end result of this model was mothers becoming advocates or maintaining a level of coping. A significant finding of this study …

Risk Factors And Impacts Of Female Genital Mutilation Practice In Senegal, Mame Kani Diop

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

INTRODUCTION: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has significant negative physical complications on girls and women and its persistence is linked to lack of education, poverty and other socio-demographic characteristics such as region, type of place of residence, religion, and ethnicity. FGM is extremely dangerous. Even though FGM carries cultural marks, its primary objectives are social, sexual, and economic control of female sexuality. Despite the global effort to eradicate the practice and the evidence of its detrimental health consequences, FGM is still prevalent in Senegalese practicing communities.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the risk factors associated with the …

Siblings And Discrimination : A Qualitative Exploration, Jessica L. Szweada

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

Research has found that experiencing discrimination is linked to a plethora of mostly negative individual and relational consequences. While a few studies have focused on its impact on interpersonal relationships including marital and parent-child relationships, none have explored its impact on sibling relationships. Siblings play a major role in individual development (Dunn & Plomin, 1991; Sulloway, 1996; Whiteman, Bernard & Jensen, 2011) and positive sibling relationships have been found to act as a buffer to environmental stressors (Gass, Jenkins & Dunn, 2007; Jacobs & Sillars, 2012). The aim of this study was to examine how siblings manage, utilize and are …

A Qualitative Analysis Of 4-H Program Logic Models, Stephanie Phelan

Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects

This study explores program logic in 4-H’s positive youth development (PYD) programs. The sample was drawn from programs that have engaged in planning at both county and state levels. Using a systems perspective as a guide, this study considers the bidirectional interrelationships among multiple levels of a 4-H system. Bidirectional relationships make alignment between “local” (county) and “global” (state) levels of the 4-H system important. This study utilizes content analysis to explore activities and outcomes in 12 county-level, “local,” 4-H logic models and 1 statewide, “global” 4-H logic model. Logic models were compared within “local-local” models and between “local-global” models. …

Trajectories Of Substance Use Disorders In Youth: Identifying And Predicting Group Memberships, Chih-Yuan Lee, Ken C. Winters, Melanie M. Wall

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

This study used latent class regression to identify latent trajectory classes based on individuals' diagnostic course of substance use disorders (SUDs) from late adolescence to early adulthood as well as to examine whether several psychosocial risk factors predicted the trajectory class membership. The study sample consisted of 310 individuals originally recruited as children in a long-term prospective study. Diagnoses of alcohol or cannabis use disorders (abuse or dependence) were assessed when individuals were 18 (T1), 20 (T2), and 22 (T3) years old. The results showed that two trajectory classes were identified for both alcohol and cannabis use disorder cases and …

Likelihood Of Developing An Alcohol And Cannabis Use Disorder During Youth: Association With Recent Use And Age, Ken C. Winters, Chih-Yuan Lee

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

Aim: We extend the literature on the association of early onset of drug use and estimated risk for developing a substance use disorder (SUD) by investigating the risk that recent onset of alcohol and cannabis use confers for developing a substance use disorder at each chronological age of adolescence and young adulthood (12-21-years-old). Design: Using 2003 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health [Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), 2004. Overview of Findings from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-24, DHHS Publication No. SMA-04-3963, Rockville, MD], …

Individuation Revisited: Implications For Parent Education, Jodi Dworkin, Chih-Yuan Lee

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

Researchers have suggested that adolescents' increase in autonomy is accompanied by maintaining close relations with parents. In this article, we explore this process of individuation from the perspective of mothers. Nearly 900 (n=878) white mothers of children aged 2 to 14 were interviewed via the telephone about their child's independence and their perception of parent-child connectedness. Analyses revealed that from the perspective of mothers, while independence increased across childhood, parent-child connectedness decreased. These data suggest the need to support parents in remaining connected to their children as they enter adolescence. Implications of these findings for parent education are considered.