Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

"I Stayed There The Whole Night": Exploring Caregivers' Experiences With The Healthcare System When Caring For A Parent At The End Of Life, Lillian Mehran

Dissertations and Theses

Background: In the United States, there are nearly 53 million individuals serving as caregivers to a loved one. Half of all caregivers are caring for a parent or parent-in-law, and 79% of caregivers are caring for a person aged 50 or older. In New York State, there are an estimated 4.1 million caregivers who collectively provide over 2.6 billion hours of unpaid care, with those caring for a person at the end of life providing twice as many hours of caregiving per week compared to other caregivers. The number of individuals requiring caregiving is expected to increase as a significant …

In Their Own Words: Examining The Educational Experiences, Expectations, And Values Of Oregon Low-Income, Single Black Mothers, Reiko Mia Williams

Dissertations and Theses

The long-standing achievement gap between African-American students in grades k-12 and their White counterparts has inspired many educational leaders and policy makers to seek a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of the various factors affecting the well-being of Black students. The conversation has historically focused on deficits and dysfunction while ignoring strengths and resiliencies. The research in this study investigates inaccuracies regarding Black families in order to change the conversation from one of deficits to a strength-based lens. In spite of the inequities that exist for Black families with regards to housing, employment, and health, Black parents remain committed to ensuring …

Ethnic Conflict In Côte D’Ivoire, Ayouba Doumbia

Dissertations and Theses

Since the early days of independence, the African continent has been the theatre of many ethnic conflicts. While people, in general, assume these conflicts to be political and blame the conflicts on authoritarian regimes, they dismissed the fact that conflict between ethnicities is a phenomenon that has occurred for hundreds of years and in all corners of the Earth. Entire countries have been devastated by years of ethnic strife. Once ethnic conflict breaks out, it is difficult to stop. Conflicts in the Balkans, Rwanda, Chechnya, Iraq, and Darfur are among the deadliest examples from the late 20^th and early …

Examining Generational And Gender Differences In Parent-Young Adult Child Relationships During Co-Residence, Lauren Elizabeth Ferguson

Dissertations and Theses

Young adults of the twenty-first century face a long path to adulthood marked by uncertainty and lack of stability. In response, young adults are heading back to or failing to leave their family homes in higher numbers than generations before (Jacobsen and Mather 2011; Qian 2012). These macro-level trends bring about questions about their impact on family relationships as well as how these relationships have evolved over time. My thesis investigates parent-child relationships during co-residence with a specific focus on generation and gender differences. Through secondary data analysis of the National Survey of Families and Households, I explore how parent-child …

Gender Difference In Working Parents' Perceptions Of Work/Family Conflict And The Role Of Occupational Prestige, Heather Kirsten Mccabe

Dissertations and Theses

As many Americans move away from the traditional homemaker-breadwinner family model, research on gender and work/family conflict has become increasingly important and the question of gender difference in experiences of work/family conflict continues to be relevant. While there is research that shows women tend to experience significantly greater work/family conflict than men, there are also studies that have shown little or no gender difference, and some that offer evidence that men are reporting more work/family conflict. This study contributes to the debate by examining gender and occupational prestige in regard to working parents' perceptions of work-to-family and family-to-work spillover, with …

Building Resources At Home And At Work: Day-Level Relationships Between Job Crafting, Recovery Experiences, And Work Engagement, Allison Marie Ellis

Dissertations and Theses

Work engagement is an increasingly popular construct in organizational and occupational health psychology. However, despite substantial advances in our understanding of work engagement at the between-person level, scholars have argued for increased investigation into what drives engagement on a daily level for individual employees. In the current study, a within-person, day-level design was employed to examine the relationships between nonwork mastery experiences, job crafting behaviors, and daily work engagement. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (Hobfoll, 1989) theory, nonwork mastery experiences and job crafting were operationalized as employee-driven, resource-building strategies that assist employees in generating important psychological and job resources that …

Illuminating The Experiences Of Single Fathers, Heidi Rosa Esbensen

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the experiences of single fathers and their roles as primary caregiver to their children as men in society adopting traditionally feminine roles. There was one primary research question explored: How do single father's experience parenthood? This is explored through four sub questions and discussions about daily life and childrearing alone; childcare and work and family conflicts; use of services and support networks; and of particular interest, gender and the influence of masculinity. Through an analysis of interviews with 14 fathers of varying class status, age, education, and time spent as a single …

Exploring The Effects Of Multi-Level Protective And Risk Factors On Child And Parenting Outcomes In Families Participating In Healthy Start/Healthy Families Oregon (Hs/Hfo), Peggy Nygren

Dissertations and Theses

While many studies focus on the links between multiple risk factors and negative outcomes such as child maltreatment, less is known about the influence of protective factors in the face of risks. The theoretical base of this study was a social ecological model of interactive influences including individual parent, family, and neighborhood level factors to predict outcomes. Protective Factor Index (PFI) and Risk Factor Index (RFI) predictors were developed to explore potential multi-level protective factor buffering effects on key child development and parenting outcomes. Participants were first time mothers enrolled in a randomized controlled study of the Healthy Start/ Healthy …

A New Low In Getting High: Illegal Drug Use And Crime, Erica Jean Ferrelli

Dissertations and Theses

The current research analyzed the relationship between methamphetamine use, cocaine use and marijuana use within the last 12 months and crime committed within the last 12 months. Crime is defined as drug sales, property and violent crime. The research design is a quantitative approach which uses secondary data analysis of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to provide evidence toward the research question; does illegal drug use increase the risk of committing a crime?The public access, 2008 Wave III data results of this nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7 through 12 in the US in …

The Effects Of Race, Socioeconomic Status, And Religion On Formal End-Of-Life Planning, Tina Dawn Lillian Burdsall

Dissertations and Theses

Individuals who are facing death today are doing so in an environment that is significantly different than it was in the past. Medical technology is increasingly able to keep people alive even with multiple complex chronic conditions. While these advances in medicine are beneficial to many, it can also unnecessarily prolong inevitable deaths. Concerns over the ability to have a death that is in alignment with personal values has increased the interest in the use of formal end-of-life planning including writing an advance instructional directive and assigning a durable power of attorney for health care. Although research has indicated that …

Cultural Behavior In Post-Urbanized Brazil: The Cordial Man And Intrafamilial Conflict, Thais La Rosa

Dissertations and Theses

Cultures, subcultures, and individuals occupy different positions in the low-context/individualistic and the high-context/collectivistic spectrum, and they shift due to factors such as urbanization, economic development and cultural globalization. In this study, I examine Sérgio Buarque de Holanda's theory of the cordial man and how it illustrates qualities of the high-context Brazilian culture. Within the framework of grounded theory, these qualities are evaluated from the perspective of intergenerational dyads--fathers and sons--that have been exposed to an urbanized and globalized environment in order to determine whether and how a shift from high-context to low-context is occurring. The participants were interviewed to explore …

Short Stories, Alisa Eve Welch

Dissertations and Theses

In these six intertwining fictional short stories, one fateful decision ripples through the lives of multiple generations. Annie is an unmarried young mother during World War II when she leaves her young daughter in the care of a childless couple. When Annie fails to return for the child after days and then years, a new and fragile family is formed only to be tested by Annie's eventual return. The other stories in this collection follow the daughters and granddaughters who have to navigate their own lives in the shadow of this abandonment. Spanning multiple decades, Annie's decision remains a pivotal …

Nine Months, Esther Lim

Dissertations and Theses

This is a collection of short stories that traces a chronological movement through one family's experience of the mother's illness. Each piece in the collection is meant to be an independent, free-standing short story. Each story is different, told from distinctive points-of-view, angles, and voices. However, every story covers a span of time within the nine months of the family's experience, in the presented order, as part of a collective movement toward the core. All together, the pieces hope to reflect a mosaic of sorts--one that tells a story that cannot otherwise be told.

The Crossover Effects Of Supervisor Work-Family Positive Spillover On Employee Sleep Deficiency: Moderating Effects Of Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (Fssb), Tori Laurelle Crain

Dissertations and Theses

The majority of literature on the work-family interface has focused on, and provided evidence of, the conflict associated with engagement in both work and family roles (Eby, Casper, Lockwood, Bordeaux, & Brinley, 2005). Research examining the positive aspects of work and family participation remains limited. The current study investigated how work-family positive spillover is transferred between members of the supervisor-employee dyad and subsequently how this affects employee sleep outcomes. It was hypothesized that work-to-family affective positive spillover experienced by supervisors would crossover to employees and increase their experiences of work-to-family affective positive spillover. In turn, this would allow for better …

Understanding The Experience Of Air Force Single Parents: A Phenomenological Study, Samantha Everhart Blanchard

Dissertations and Theses

Today, raising children under the best of circumstances represents a daunting endeavor as any parent and a growing body of research confirm. When a single parent is on active duty in one of the U.S. armed forces, there are additional challenges involved that may not exist among civilian counterparts. The phenomenon of single parents on active duty with its unique difficulties associated both with single parenting and with military service was the basis of this study. The purpose of the research was twofold: to describe the experiences of Air Force single parents as related to social support and work-life theory …

Exploring Support Network Structure, Content, And Stability As Youth Transition From Foster Care, Jennifer E. Blakeslee

Dissertations and Theses

Many older youth in foster care lack adequate resources and ongoing support in their social networks as they transition into young adulthood, while other youth in these circumstances experience stable social networks providing comprehensive support. Systematically measuring the supportive personal and service-oriented relationships in youth networks expands the scope of inquiry in this area by identifying patterns of social network structure, member composition, and relational qualities that are associated with more or less support provision through formal and informal relationships. These can also be measured over time to observe changes in network form and content and assess network stability. This …

Child Welfare And Delinquency: Examining Differences In First-Time Referrals Of Crossover Youth Within The Juvenile Justice System, Courtney Nicole Shrifter

Dissertations and Theses

The link between child welfare and juvenile justice is well established, with over forty years of research that focuses on the increased risk of delinquency associated with child maltreatment. However, with over 700,000 children in the United States being victims of abuse and/or neglect in 2010 (DHHS, 2011), it is important to continue investigating this connection. Few studies are able to identify the same youth in both systems, therefore this study provides the unique opportunity using child welfare and juvenile justice administrative data from Oregon, to compare juvenile offenders that have been in the child welfare system, otherwise known as …

Actor And Partner Effects Among Marital Dyads In Retirement Adjustment And Well-Being, Julie Guenette Howard

Dissertations and Theses

Our understanding of and interest in how retirement impacts the lives of individuals have grown over the past 20 years. Studies to date have ranged from small, convenience samples composed primarily of men to large, national longitudinal samples of men and women from different professional and socioeconomic backgrounds. There is consensus in the literature that older adults generally function better with a partner; however, gaps remain. We know little about the impact of retirement beyond the individual, although research in other areas on couples has produced evidence of crossover and contagion effects relative to depression and other outcomes, including absenteeism, …

The Effects Of Subsidized Childcare On Student Parents' Access To Higher Education At Portland State University, Elizabeth Dawn Creach

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify critical childcare resources that student parents utilize that allow them to access higher education at varying levels, but also to make assumptions about parents unable to enroll due to barriers and/or lack of resources. This study sought to answer the following questions: 1) To what extent does subsidized childcare facilitate student parents' access to higher education? Is subsidized childcare a more important resource for some groups of students than for others?, and 2) Are student parents making childcare-enrollment trade-offs in order to pursue higher education? Are certain groups of students more vulnerable …

Tribal Constructs And Kinship Realities : Individual And Family Organization On The Grand Ronde Reservation From 1856, Aeron Teverbaugh

Dissertations and Theses

This project examines marriage and residence patterns on the Grand Ronde Reservation between 1856 and the early 1900s. It demonstrates that indigenous cultural patterns continued despite a colonial imagination that refused to see them. Members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde continued to live in family groups much as they had in the pre-reservation era. They continued to exhibit patterns of marriage and kinship that were described in the ethnographies and by the earliest explorers in the Oregon area.

Grandmothers Laughing: Intergenerational Transmission Of Cultural Beliefs About Pregnancy And Childbirth Among Native American Women, Claudia Robin Long

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation reports findings from a qualitative study of intergenerational transmission of pregnancy and childbirth information among Native American women. Proposed is a theory of intergenerational transmission that explains four pathways used by Indian women to gain information about pregnancy and childbirth. Antecedent, consequent, and core elements are associated with the transmission process.

Discriminant sampling was used to identify the middle generation of Indian mothers and grandmothers, between 36 and 65 years of age, residing on or near the reservation, with experience of assimilation policies that had moved off-reservation temporarily. The researcher used the grounded theory method to analyze responses …

Social Support In An Urban Moroccan Neighborhood: The Effects Of Social Networks, Mediation And Patronage On The Physical Health And Psychological Adjustment Of Women, Carla Ann Green

Dissertations and Theses

Although there has been a great deal of research in the areas of social networks, social support and well-being over the past two decades, little of that research has been cross-cultural, and virtually none has been carried out in countries outside the West. The present study attempted to describe the structure and functioning of the social networks of a group of relatively modern urban Moroccan women, and the associations among their social networks, social support, physical health and psychological well-being. Extensive interviews were conducted with 108 married or previously-married women who were living in a middle-class neighborhood in Rabat, Morocco. …

The Effect Of Urbanization And Modernization On Family Structure In Oman, Sultan M. Al-Hashmi

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis was designed to describe family change in Oman as it undergoes urbanization and modernization. A survey questionnaire to measure these changes was developed. Some questions were developed in two forms for a comparison of family change across two generations. Respondents were asked to answer the questions as they applied to their current family situation. They were then asked to consider, according to their best recollections, what the situation was in their parents' generation.

Social Support For The Frail Elderly At Two Kinds Of Retirement Communities, Qiaoming Liu

Dissertations and Theses

As few studies focus explicitly on social support for residents by residents in retirement communities which have staff, this thesis is designed to explore the nature of informal social support among residents at planned, non-subsidized retirement care facilities: the types, the amount, the impact, the limitation and the appropriateness of such support. Our focus is to explore whether different organization of a retirement community affects social support among residents, so we compare two retirement care facilities. One provides single-level care for its residents and the other provides multiple-level care. We chose our two sites from retirement care facilities in the …

Eating Disorders: The Correlation Of Family Relationships With An Eating Disorder Continuum, Jana Schweitzer

Dissertations and Theses

For the purposes of this study, eating disturbances were placed on a continuum ranging from disordered to normal, and family factors were examined via this framework. Research on anorectics and bulimics indicates that a variety of family variables contribute to the etiology of eating disorders. Research suggests the presence of a subgroup of persons who experience some disturbance in their relationships with food but not to the severity observed among eating disordered individuals. This study examined the relationship between family factors and eating disturbances.

Adolescent And Parental Perceptions Of Adolescent Self-Disclosure Communication And Relational Satisfaction, Diane S. Lund

Dissertations and Theses

As children approach adolescence, their communication relation&hip with their mothers and fathers undergoes significant transformation. Research has hitherto been conducted on family communication as an isolated variable. This study analyzed adolescent and parental perceptions of adolescent self-disclosure and relational satisfaction by adolescents and parents.

The Effect Of Women's Labor Force Participation On Marital Instability, Isik Akin Aytac

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the effect of women's labor force participation on marital instability. It is hypothesized that women's income-earning affects marriage in two ways: 1) the "independence effect" facilitates divorce by enabling women to be self-supporting; 2) the "parallel marriage effect" improves marital satisfaction and the quality of the marital relationship because women with higher incomes generally have more power in marriage. The "independence effect" is measured by whether or not women's income is sufficient, defined as income above the poverty line for the appropriate family size as established by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Parallel marriage" is measured …

The Career Decision, Donna Marie Klover

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to define what is meant by the "career decision", examine what life factors influence that decision, how it is affected by one's self-concept and value system, and its connection with one's needs, goals and life style.

Life Satisfaction Of Elderly Parents And Parent-Child Relationships In Old Age, Tehchou Yeh

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is designed to explore the nature of the relationship between elderly parents and their children and to investigate the association of that relationship with life satisfaction of the elderly parents. The examination of parents' life satisfaction is based on the activity theory of gerontology. The life satisfaction is measured by Adams's eighteen-item Life Satisfaction Index. The parent-child relationship is viewed from the standpoint of both the parents' expectations of their children and how the children fulfill these expectations. Filial discrepancies between parents' expectations and children's behavior are analyzed to fill a gap in the literature on behavioral and …

Desertion Of Elderly By Adult Children, Jill C. Harvey

Dissertations and Theses

This study examines the widely prevalent belief that adult children desert their elders.

Data which suggested considerable family support of elderly family members were collected over a period of one year through counseling families with dependent parents. These families exhibited confusion and lack of knowledge but not desertion.