Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

The Influence Of Client General Anxiety And Attachment Anxiety Onalliance Development In Couple Therapy, Erica Leigh Delgado

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the intake levels of client general anxiety and attachment anxiety andthe relationship of these levels to changes in therapy alliance across the first four couple therapysessions. Participants were 165 couples in a treatment-as-usual setting. Dyadic growth curvemodeling was used to determine whether couple ratings of therapeutic alliance changed overtime and explored the influence of general anxiety and attachment anxiety on therapeutic alliancedevelopment. Results showed that the alliance increased over the first four therapy sessions.Additionally, female alliance ratings across time were positively associated with female generalanxiety and negatively associated with male attachment anxiety. Results also showed that maleattachment …

“No Good Deed Goes Unpunished”: The Costs Of Helping Others, Michael Nolen Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Although prosocial behavior has been moving in directions that highlight complexity over the past few years, little research has assessed the cost of this behavior. This study created a scale assessing the tendency to perceive costs of prosocial behavior. This was validated via focus groups, content and discriminant validity. In six focus groups, 29 13- to 25-year olds described specific prosocial acts and the costs that they experienced from the act. A questionnaire was then given to 391 emerging adults. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. Results suggest a four-factor solution with adequate model fit, suggesting cognitive, behavioral, emotional, …

Pornography Use And Loneliness: Assessing Correlations Using Three Associative Models, Samuel Alejandro Pereyra

Theses and Dissertations

Given the current debate on the discrepancies of pornography research and the inconclusiveness of addiction to pornography, this study examines the associative nature between pornography use and loneliness using a measurement model and two structural equation models where pornography use and loneliness are regressed on each other, respectively. Survey data was collected from a sample of 1,247 participants, who completed an online questionnaire containing questions on pornography use, the University of Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLALS), and other demographic variables. Results from our analyses revealed significant and positive associations between pornography use and loneliness for all three models. Findings provide …

Longitudinal Examination Of Observed Family Hostility And Adolescent Anxiety And Depression As Mediated By Adolescent Perspective Taking And Empathic Concern, Trevor Dennis Dahle

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine hostility in family interaction and its impact on adolescent depression and anxiety with adolescent perspective taking and empathic concern as mediators. Gender differences were also examined. Adolescents were from 353 two-parent families in a large north-western city in the United States and on average were 13.25 years old (SD=1.01) for girls and 13.30 years (SD=.99) for boys at the beginning of the study. This study utilized data from waves 3-5. Earlier waves of data were not used because some of the measures were not available for earlier waves. Results indicated that …

Associations Among Respite Care, Uplifts, Stress, And Marital Quality Of Parents Of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder And Down Syndrome, Jamie Kaye Easler

Theses and Dissertations

This study compared the relationships among respite care, uplifts, stress, and marital quality across two different groups of caregivers' 102 heterosexual married couples with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 111 heterosexual married couples with children with Down syndrome (DS). This study also investigated if the effect of respite care on stress and marital quality varied as a function of the amount of uplifts these caregivers experienced. Participants completed self-report surveys. Three two-group Actor Partner Interdependence Models were estimated to calculate the direct, indirect, and partner-effects among these variables. Respite care was not related to stress for either groups …

Cost-Effectiveness Of Psychotherapy And Dementia: A Comparison By Treatment Modality And Healthcare Provider, Megan Ruth Story

Theses and Dissertations

Dementia is a chronic disorder that affects approximately 40 million individuals throughout the globe. This study provides a preliminary description of psychotherapeutic treatment for the management of dementia. This study compares treatment outcomes by both modality (individual, family, and mixed) and provider type. Results found that therapy is a low-cost treatment, however, it is not being often used for people with dementia, or their family members. Participants (n=327) include individuals with ages ranging from 46-95(M=70.52, SD=12.16). Females made up 57.5% (n=188), while males made up 42.5% (n=139) of the sample. Descriptive statistics found that the number of sessions ranged from …

Household Shocks And Transition Into Marriage: Evidence From Rural Ethiopia, Boyd K. Tembo

Theses and Dissertations

The study tests the primary hypothesis that household shocks do not have a positive and significant correlation with a child's transition into early marriage. It finds that there is no statistically significant correlation between parental death and transition into marriage for both genders of subjects in the study.

Looking At The Marital Horizons Of Emerging Adults Through The Lens Of Identity Formation, Dallin Alexander Belt

Theses and Dissertations

Seventy years ago Erikson proposed successful identity formation in adolescence was the foundation for successful intimacy formation in young adulthood. With the extended period of identity exploration in emerging adulthood, it is unclear if intimacy formation continues to be connected to identity. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between identity in three domains of love, work, and worldview with long term views of intimacy using Marital Horizons Theory. Results from a sample of 777 college students in the Project READY dataset indicated that identity formation in love is positively associated with views of marriage, identity formation …

The Workings Of Admiration And Adoration In Contrast To Self-Interest Within Religious Families, Toshi Shichida

Theses and Dissertations

The workings of admiration and adoration within individuals and the family as attitudes against self-interest were investigated. Interviews with American families in two New England states from ten Christian denominations (n = 20) were analyzed qualitatively. As a result, admiration was observed among almost all the families. Three means-end structures emerged in regard to spouses' configuration of the components of adoration, and these three groups of families indicated different features of family. The spouses of the Holistic Devotion (HD) group devoted all resources to God, rejecting the quest for self-interest, defining marriage/family as a coherent unit to serve God. The …

The Effects And Comparisons Of Receptive Live Music Listening And Expressive Music Making On Mood With Elderly Adults In A Congregate Residential Setting, Rory Kendall Bolton

Theses and Dissertations

It is important to consider mood and its effect on elderly persons as many older adults will experience symptoms of depression. In prior studies, research indicated that preferred music listening and expressive music making can positively change mood in older adults. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the differences between receptive music listening and expressive music making (presented as a facilitated group music therapy session) and their effect on participants’ mood. The researcher hypothesized that 1) there would be a significant difference for pre and posttest standardized mood assessment (PANAS) scores between the receptive music listening and …

Relational Aggression/Victimization And Depression In Married Couples, Christine Marie Cramer

Theses and Dissertations

The current study investigates the correlates of partner-directed relational aggression in married couples. In particular, this study looks at the connection between romantic relational aggression and the personal outcome of depression. Both the experience of victimization and perpetration of romantic relational aggression are considered. Victimization may be linked to depression through the concept of the “looking glass self” and reflected appraisals. Aggression, in contrast, may be linked to depression through dissatisfaction with one’s own aggressive tendencies in the relationship and a lack of “relational self-esteem”. Couples who completed the RELATE assessment were asked to report on their partner’s engagement in …

A Longitudinal Examination Of The Effects Of Acculturation And Mental Health Problems On Immigrant Father Involvement: A Cross-Cultural Study, Keitaro Yoshida

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined how acculturation, mental health problems, and parenting stress are associated with two dimensions of father involvement longitudinally for Latino and Chinese immigrant fathers using a nationally representative sample of young children and their resident fathers from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). After controlling for a variety of individual and demographic characteristics and previous levels of father involvement, results from multiple group structural equation modeling revealed that immigrant fathers' English proficiency is negatively associated with care-taking involvement at 2 years, but positively associated with care-taking involvement at 4 years. Interestingly, mothers' English proficiency is also …

A Path To Empathy: Child And Family Communication, Sarah Ann Stone

Theses and Dissertations

This longitudinal study examined the association between communication in the family on the development of empathy in young children. Co-regulation and family expressiveness measured communication in parent-child dyads at age 12 months (N = 186), 24 months (N = 100), and 36 months (N = 78). A follow-up was conducted at 60 months (N = 47) to measure empathy-related responding in children. Co-regulation styles change over time, generally increasing in the most engaged, two-way style of communication (symmetrical) and decreasing in one-sided and less engaged types. Greater family expressiveness predicted higher levels of empathy as observed in an empathy-eliciting experiment, …

Effects Of Positive And Negative Events On Daily Relationship Effect For Clinical Couples: A Daily Diary Study, Kayla Dawn Mennenga

Theses and Dissertations

Relationship satisfaction is a popular variable to consider when looking at long-term success for couples. Research indicates positive and negative events have an impact on relationship satisfaction. Considering the influence of the Vulnerability-Stress-Adaptation framework, the present study focuses on the daily impact of positive and negative events that happen outside of therapy on couple relationship satisfaction for couples seeking therapy. Daily diary methods were used to collect data, a first for using this method with clinical couples. Random effects and multilevel models of analysis controlled for days and couples. Results suggest that on any given day, positive events impact both …

How Do Boys And Girls Help? Validation Of A Multidimensional Measure Of Prosocial Behavior, Matthew Glade Nielson

Theses and Dissertations

The study of prosocial behavior is growing increasingly multidimensional in the way that it considers whom is helped and how. One area of concern is the effect of gender on prosocial behavior. Is masculine behavior more physically oriented, and if so, are measures neglecting these behaviors and biasing results toward more feminine prosocial behaviors? The current study sought to answer these questions by creating and validating a new multidimensional measure of prosocial behavior that includes behaviors more common to males. An EFA was performed on a sample of 463 adolescents and emerging adults from Amazon Turk (US citizens, 16-25, 60% …

Grave Matters: A Presentation And Comparative Analysis Of The Late Classic Burials From Guajilar, Chiapas, Mexico, Shelley Lorraine Wells

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to identify the possible origins of the peoples who immigrated into the archaeological sites of Guajilar and Lagartero, located in the upper Grijalva River Basin region in southern Chiapas, Mexico, during the Late Classic period (AD 650-900). First, I present the Late Classic burial data from both sites according to four basic descriptive criteria: burial location, grave type, burial type, and grave goods. Then, I conduct a comparative analysis of the burial practices found at these two sites based on these criteria so that patterns in burial practices can be identified. Following the comparative analysis between Guajilar …

Social Withdrawal And Internalizing Problems In Emerging Adulthood: Does Parenting Matter?, Stephanie Shea Luster

Theses and Dissertations

The first purpose of this study was to investigate the direct effects of three subtypes of social withdrawal (shyness, social avoidance, and unsociability, respectively) on internalizing outcomes (depression, emotional dysregulation, and self-worth, respectively) in emerging adulthood and to examine these effects by gender. A second purpose was to examine if parenting moderates (i.e., exacerbates or buffers) the main effects of social withdrawal on internalizing outcomes. Participants included 790 undergraduate students from four universities in the United States (Mage = 19.61, SD = 1.85, range = 18–29; 243 males, 547 females) and their mothers. Regression analyses established that shyness was associated …

Depression Symptoms And Marital Quality In Vietnam-Era Veterans: Does The Presence Of Higher Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms (Ptss) Matter?, Kevin L. Stott

Theses and Dissertations

Using data from 617 Vietnam-era veterans, this study aimed to better understand the relationships between depression symptoms, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and overall marital quality. Results indicated that depression symptoms and PTSS each had a negative relationship with marital quality when considered individually. The association between depression symptoms and marital quality persisted when PTSS was accounted for. However, the significant association between PTSS and marital quality dropped out. Further, PTSS did not moderate the association between depression symptoms and marital quality. The current study suggests tha tdepression symptoms and PTSS overlap in relation to marital quality among Vietnam-era veterans, with depression …

Does Video Game Content Matter? An Examination Of Two Competing Ideas, Nathan J. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

The current paper addresses the associations between video game content (i.e., physically aggressive, relationally aggressive, and prosocial) and physical aggression, relational aggression, and prosocial behavior in two distinct developmental periods. The purpose of the paper is to test whether playing video games with a particular type of content influences behaviors over time, or whether individuals who have higher levels of physical aggression, relational aggression, or prosocial behavior prefer to play games with similar content. Two theories will be simultaneously examined and tested in order to determine the relative merit in using each in research examining the relationships between video game …

Hooking Up, Sexual Attitudes, And Parental Repartnering Choices: Variations At The Intersection Of Race And Gender, Nathaniel Aaron Stoddard

Theses and Dissertations

Using a subsample of emerging adults from the Stepfamily Experiences Project (n = 989), we examine how parents' repartnering choices (nonmarital and premarital cohabitation) influence their emerging adult children's commitment-related relationship attitudes (attitudes about sex in committed relationships) and behaviors (hooking up). We further examine these processes at the intersection of race and gender. In this way, we expand the current emerging adult literature by exploring two understudied populations: emerging adults who grew up in stepfamilies, and emerging adults from diverse racial backgrounds. We divided our sample by race (black, Latino, American Indian, white, and multiracial) and gender, resulting in …

Got Hope? Measuring The Construct Of Relationship Hope With A Nationally Representative Sample Of Married Individuals, Sage Elizabeth Erickson

Theses and Dissertations

This paper explores an emerging construct: relationship hope. I define relationship hope as when individuals feel that regardless of the current quality of the relationship, there is significant hope for the relationship in the future if they keep working on it. The Relationship Hope Scale (RHS) is a new five-item scale that measures this construct. I evaluated the psychometric properties of RHS with Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT). I used a nationally representative sample of married individuals, ages 25-50 years old, in the United States. I found that RHS performs well in both CTT and IRT …

Does Parental Mediation Of Media Influence Child Outcomes? A Meta-Analysis On Media Time, Content, Aggression, Substance Use, Sexual Behavior, And Health Outcomes, Kevin Matthew Collier

Theses and Dissertations

As the world evolves into a media saturated environment, the focus of many studies have been the negative effects of media on children and adolescents. For at least the past two decades, researchers have explored how parental involvement in their child's media consumption can influence child outcomes. Parental mediation of media includes restrictive mediation, active mediation, and co-viewing. Three meta-analyses, one for each type of mediation, reviewed a total of 69 studies. Each analysis assessed the effectiveness of parental mediation of media on five pertinent child outcomes: media use, aggression, substance use, sexual behavior, and negative health outcomes. The overall …

Childhood Sexual Abuse And Identity Development: The Role Of Attachment And Self-Esteeem, Joel David Dukett

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to examine how childhood sexual abuse (CSA) influences identity development along with attachment and self-esteem. The participants included 208 first-year female undergraduate students from Illinois State University. Students were afforded the opportunity to receive extra credit for their participation and could enter into a random prize drawing. Participants completed a demographics questionnaire, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, The Experiences in Close Relationships Questionnaire, Dimensions of Identity Development Scale, and the Hot Topics Questionnaire which assesses history of CSA. Of the participants, 145 (69.7%) were in the non-abuse group and 63 (30.3%) were in the abuse group. …

The Influence Of Family Relationship Satisfaction And Perceived Work-Family Harmony On Mental Health Among Asian Working Mothers In Singapore, Jerevie Malig Canlas

Theses and Dissertations

Women's participation in the labor force has increased in Singapore in the recent years. Research has suggested that women's attempt to relate their traditional roles as wife and mother with the expectations of their modern role as a paid employee may have an impact on their mental health. Data from a cross-sectional national probability sample of 284 employed mothers in Singapore were used to investigate the relationships between work hours, marital satisfaction, child relationship satisfaction, work-family harmony, and mental health. Based on the results of the Structural Equation Model, mothers who worked long hours experienced more positive mental health. This …

Attachment, Vagal Tone, And Co-Regulation During Infancy, Jessica Chloe Hansen

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the development of attachment as it relates to co-regulation and vagal tone over the second half of the first year of life. Links to infants' attachment and developmental status were also examined. Symmetrical and unilateral co-regulated patterns of interactions at 6 months demonstrated significant linkages with attachment. Developmental status did not show direct linkages with attachment. Direct links between vagal tone and attachment were also not identified. Correlations between co-regulation and vagal tone at the 6 month time point were identified. Findings suggest an important role of co-regulation as it relates to attachment development. Future studies may …

The Effects Of Community Support On Posttraumatic Growth Outcomes For Parents Of Children With Chronic Illness, Colleen Gannon

Theses and Dissertations

Parents of children with chronic illnesses face many stressors on multiple fronts as a result of their child's care needs. Posttraumatic growth is positive psychological outcomes of stress for those who have experienced a traumatic event, such as the diagnosis of a child with a chronic illness. While much is known about the challenges of caring for a child with a chronic condition, there is little research on these parent's growth outcomes. Of the research that does exist, much focuses on internal predictors of posttraumatic growth, such as personality characteristics. The purpose of this study is to begin to investigate …

Constructive Vs. Destructive Anger: A Model And Three Pathways For The Expression Of Anger, Kierea Chanelle Meloy

Theses and Dissertations

Anger is a significant human emotion, the management of which has far reaching implications for individual and relationship well-being. Yet there is a deficit in the clinical literature regarding the best ways to conceptualize and respond to anger (Saini, 2009). We offer a model of anger which therapists can use to help discriminate healing from harmful manifestations of anger, and which therapists can use in developing interventions for reshaping destructive anger toward constructive anger. We are specifically addressing anger in response to offense, or transactional anger which arises at points of friction in the interface between two people in a …

Seeking A Better Understanding Of Cyber Infidelity: Applying Sternberg's Triangular Theory Of Love To An Atheoretical Field, Lauren Elizabeth Hardy

Theses and Dissertations

The recent phenomenon of cyber infidelity is greatly increasing due to the availability and technology. But, current research is atheoretical, lacking a common language as to how cyber infidelity affects the face-to-face couple. Applying Sternberg's Triangular Theory of Love (1986) is a step in defining aspects of the effects of cyber infidelity. Language among existing research is strikingly comparable to Sternberg's theory. Applying this theory and making the applications using Sternberg's components shows that this theory has the strong potential to create a common language concerning the effects cyber infidelity has on the face-to-face couple.

Exploratory Study Of The Perspectives Of Midlife Adults With Intellectual Disability, Their Parents, And Case Managers Regarding Quality Of Life And Needed Supports And Services, Jane L. Lurquin

Theses and Dissertations

Given that all people are living longer, increased opportunities are needed for services and supports to enhance one's quality of life both at midlife and in later years. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the quality of life perspectives of individuals with intellectual disability in midlife, their parents or guardians, and their day program case managers. Using an interview process, the study participants provided quality of life descriptors for participating individuals with intellectual disability, as well as perspectives regarding needed current and future supports and services.

The study included three triads, each consisting of an individual with …

A Meta-Analysis Of School-Based Depression Prevention Programs For Children And Adolescents, Sherry Lynn Cowen

Theses and Dissertations

School-based depression prevention programs are being implemented in schools across the world in efforts to inoculate children and adolescents from depressive symptoms. This meta-analysis examined 56 manuscripts with a total of 82 studies which focused on school-based programs to determine how they affect depression, anxiety, cognitive skills, self-esteem, coping, and internalizing behaviors. For these specific outcomes, effect sizes ranged from .08 to .25. All combined outcomes yielded a significant effect size of .15. Moderator analyses revealed key differences that identified characteristics of the most effective programs. Targeted programs servicing at-risk students yielded an effect size of .31, while universal programs …