Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

Balancing Multiple Roles: A Pilot Study Exploring The Complexity Of Role Balance In Working Mothers With Primary School Aged Children, Katherine Prince

Theses : Honours

For working mothers, maintaining a balance between work and parenting roles is a challenge. Each role presents its own set of physical, mental and temporal demands which frequently compete for the limited personal and environmental resources available to the mother. These competing demands can create conflict and stress, which prompts a coping response. The coping response initiated is a physiological reaction to the mother's appraisal of her situational conflict, and follows a process of appraisal. Firstly the working mother appraises the conflict itself. This is followed by the appraisal of the personal and environmental resources, constraints and demands. Finally, a …

An Assessment Of Sexual And Gender Based Violence In Wajir District, North Eastern Kenya, Gladys K. Mwangi, Guyo W. Jaldesa

Reproductive Health

A 2006 baseline survey conducted by CARE Kenya indicated that sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is widespread throughout Kenya’s North Eastern Province. Other findings revealed that high levels of stigma and gender imbalances are associated with sexual violence and female genital mutilation (FGM) and that a coordinated approach to responding to the service needs of survivors is missing. As noted in this report, there is limited awareness of the legal mechanisms available to survivors. The Population Council’s study in Wajir District ascertained the need for and possible components of an integrated and comprehensive services model that could meet the needs …

Depressed Affect And Historical Loss Among North American Indigenous Adolescents, Les B. Whitbeck, Melissa L. Walls, Kurt D. Johnson, Allan D. Morrisseau, Cindy M. Mcdougall

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study reports on the prevalence and correlates of perceived historical loss among 459 North American Indigenous adolescents aged 11–13 years from the northern Midwest of the United States and central Canada. The adolescents reported daily or more thoughts of historical loss at rates similar to their female caretakers. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that our measure of perceived historical loss and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale were separate but related constructs. Regression analysis indicated that, even when controlling for family factors, perceived discrimination, and proximal negative life events, perceived historical loss had independent effects on adolescent’s depressive symptoms. …

Annie Marion Maclean, Feminist Pragmatist And Methodologist, Mary Jo Deegan, Michael R. Hill, Susan L. Wortmann

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Annie Marion Maclean was a major Chicago sociologist and methodologist. She was profoundly influenced by the gendered division of labor in sociology during her era. Maclean combined her work with the men and women of the early Chicago school of sociology and the women of Hull-House, an early social settlement. As a feminist pragmatist, Maclean was both a theorist and practitioner who used qualitative and quantitative methods. She set precedents in the Chicago school of ethnography, participant observation, and critical methodology. Maclean, however, was not the “mother” of ethnography. Harriet Martineau holds a far stronger claim to be a founding …

Clinician’S Use Of The Statin Choice Decision Aid In Patients With Diabetes: A Videographic Study Nested In A Randomized Trial, Roberto Abadie, Audrey J. Weymiller, Jon Tilburt, Nilay D. Shah, Cathy Charles, Amiram Gafni, Victor M. Montori

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Objective To describe how clinicians use decision aids.

Background A 98-patient factorial-design randomized trial of the Statin Choice decision vs. standard educational pamphlet; each participant had a 1:4 chance of receiving the decision aid during the encounter with the clinician resulting in 22 eligible encounters.

Design Two researchers working independently and in duplicate reviewed and coded the 22 encounter videos.

Setting and participants Twenty-two patients with diabetes (57% of them on statins) and six endocrinologists working in a referral diabetes clinic randomly assigned to use the decision aid during the consultation.

Main outcome measures Proportion and nature of unintended use …

Better To Have It All?: Employment, Motherhood And Women’S Psychological Well-Being, Hyeyoung Woo

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

While there have been dramatic increases in the labor force participation among women with minor children, our understanding about their psychological consequences is limited. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, this study addresses a question of how employment and motherhood are associated with women’s psychological well-being. It also assesses variations in the associations by occupational characteristics and age of children. Results show that the positive effects of employment on women’s psychological well-being are contingent upon family status by providing partial support for the work and family conflict perspective. While the overall association between motherhood and psychological …

Building The Evidence Base For Family Drug Treatment Courts: Results From Recent Outcome Studies, Beth L. Green, Carrie Jeanne Furrer, Sonia D. Worsel, Scott W. M. Burrus, Michael W. Finigan

Complex Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Results from at least four studies of FDTCs found evidence for their effectiveness in assisting and supporting parents in entering, remaining in, and completing substance abuse treatment so they could be reunited with their children; however, different program models achieved different outcome patterns. The Pima County (Arizona) study found positive effects for treatment completion, family reunification, and reduced times to permanent placement. Two other programs showed consistent positive treatment and child welfare outcomes. Neither of these two sites produced reduced time to permanent placements. The two most successful sites were longstanding FDTCs whose models aligned closely with the core program …

The Elder Economic Security Initiative™ Program: The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index For New Jersey, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Wider Opportunities For Women

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report addresses income adequacy for New Jersey’s older adults using the national WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) methodology. The Elder Index benchmarks basic costs of living for elder households and illustrates how costs of living vary geographically and are based on the characteristics of elder households, including household size, home ownership or renter status, and health status. The costs are based on market costs for basic needs of elder households and do not assume any public or private supports.

Enhancing Employment Opportunities For Mature Workers Through Training: Case Studies Of Employment Services In Massachusetts, Francis G. Caro, Andrea T. Tull

Gerontology Institute Publications

Extension of working years among those approaching “normal” retirement ages is receiving increased attention. Much of the impetus is financial. The weakening of private pension systems is leaving increasing numbers of those approaching retirement with inadequate savings. Rising health care costs and the erosion of retiree health benefits also encourages older workers to remain in the workforce. The current recession has greatly escalated the financial concerns of those who are late in their working lives. With the deterioration of financial markets, the values of 401K portfolios have declined enormously. Further, the decline in home prices has left many with substantial …

The Elder Economic Security Initiative™ Program: The Elder Economic Security Standard™ Index For Connecticut, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Wider Opportunities For Women

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report addresses income adequacy for Connecticut’s older adults using the national WOW-GI National Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) methodology. The Index benchmarks basic costs of living for elder households and illustrates how costs of living vary geographically and are based on the characteristics of elder households, including household size, home ownership or renter status, and health status. The costs are based on market costs for basic needs of elder households and do not assume any public or private supports.

The Massachusetts Elder Economic Security Initiative, Gerontology Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston, Wider Opportunities For Women

Gerontology Institute Publications

The Massachusetts Elder Econamic Security Initiative offers concrete tools to shape public policies and programs to promote the economic well-being of elders. The Initiative uses the Elder Economic Security Standard Index (Elder Index) to reveal the economic vulnerability of older adults on a county-by-county basis. The Elder Index will change the way we address the economic needs of Massachusetts' older adults.

Lifelines For Elders Living On The Edge: How Elder Support Programs Compare To Living Costs. The Elder Economic Standard Index™ For Massachusetts, Laura Henze Russell

Gerontology Institute Publications

This report examines the array of federal and state support programs for elders in Massachusetts. It asks how well the lifelines - the support programs that have been set up to help low- and modest-income elders meet basic needs when costs exceed incomes – work in today’s economy. Which programs are serving elders well? Have they kept pace with inflation? Which lifelines are frayed, or about to rupture? Do seniors know about the programs, and use them when needed?

School, Home, And Community: A Symbiosis For A Literacy Partnership, Karen C. Waters

Education Faculty Publications

With the belief that fertile ground for a literate environment is created through lots of oral language, ancestral anecdotes, and reading a variety of genre in fiction and nonfiction, it is possible to link home and school literacy communities. This chapter describes the connection between district literacy events and functional home activities as the basis for a partnership in developing higher level thinking that transcends the classroom. At monthly get-togethers, families were encouraged to participate in the very activities that were used in the classroom as part of the district's literacy block. In helping families acquire a few basic strategies …

Promoting Parent Partnership In Head Start: A Qualitative Case Study Of Teacher Documents From A School Readiness Intervention Project., Carolyn P. Edwards, Tara Hart, Kelly Rasmussen, Y. M. Haw, Susan M. Sheridan

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

To advance the field of children’s services, implementation and generalization studies are needed to help us reveal the inner workings of intervention projects and how they do (or do not) achieve their outcomes. This paper provides a case study of Head Start teachers’ uptake of the Getting Ready school readiness intervention, intended to strengthen professionals’ capacity to support parental engagement in young children’s development and learning. The qualitative method of document review was used in scrutinizing home visit reports and classroom newsletters as a source of authentic evidence about teachers’ implementation and generalization of an early intervention model. Home visits …

Relation Of Caregiver Alcohol Use To Unintentional Childhood Injury, Amy Damashek, Natalie A. Williams, Kenneth Sher, Lizette Petterson

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective The present study used a case-crossover design to investigate the association of caregiver alcohol consumption and supervision to children's injury occurrence and severity.

Method A community sample of 170 mothers of toddlers was interviewed biweekly about their children's daily injuries for a period of 6 months.

Results Proximal caregiver-reported alcohol use predicted higher likelihood of injury occurrence and higher injury severity, whereas caregiver-reported supervision predicted lower likelihood of injury occurrence and lower injury severity.

Conclusion Even at low levels, proximal caregiver alcohol use may contribute to higher risk for childhood injuries and more severe injuries. The combined effect of …

Factors Influencing Familial Decision-Making Regarding Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, Heather L. Gamble, James L. Klosky, Gilbert R. Parra, Mary E. Randolph

Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications

Objective The purpose of this review is to summarize the research regarding Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination uptake among families with adolescent/preadolescent daughters.

Methods Literature searches (utilizing PubMed and PsychInfo databases) were conducted and research examining psychological and environmental factors which relate to HPV vaccine uptake and intentions was reviewed.

Results Factors such as physician recommendations, perceptions of the beliefs of peers and significant others, history of childhood immunizations, and communication with adolescents regarding sexual topics appear to influence HPV vaccination outcomes.

Conclusions Although primary prevention of cervical and other cancers is available for preadolescent and adolescent girls, rates of HPV …

Gestational Risks And Psychiatric Disorders Among Indigenous Adolescents, Les B. Whitbeck, Devan M. Crawford

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

This study reports on the effects maternal prenatal binge drinking, cigarette smoking, drug use, and pregnancy and birth complications on meeting criteria for psychiatric disorders at ages 10–12 and 13–15 years among 546 Indigenous adolescents from a single culture in the northern Midwest and Canada. Adolescent DSM-IV psychiatric disorders were assessed with the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-Revised (DISC-R). Results indicate that maternal behaviors when pregnant have significant effects on adolescent psychiatric disorders even when controlling for age and gender of adolescent, family per capita income, living in a single mother household, and adolescent reports of mother’s positive parenting.

Harriet Martineau And Ireland, Brian Conway, Michael R. Hill

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The Victorian sociologist-novelist Harriet Martineau visited Ireland on two different occasions, first in 1832 and again, twenty years later, in 1852, just six years after the Great Famine of 1846, when the country was still very much visibly affected by that event. Her latter journey covered some 1,200 miles and encompassed all four provinces that make up the island of Ireland, north and south. Martineau was not the first foreign visitor to nineteenth century Ireland, of course, but she provided one of the few genuinely sociological interpretations during this time period. This chapter, then, examines Martineau's Irish writings and her …

The Bride Is Keeping Her Name: A 35-Year Retrospective Analysis Of Trends And Correlates, Richard J. Kopelman, Rita J. Shea Van-Fossen, Eletherios Paraskevas, Leanna Lawter, David J. Prottas

WCBT Faculty Publications

We used data obtained from wedding announcements in the New York Times newspaper from 1971 through 2005 (N=2,400) to test 9 hypotheses related to brides' decisions to change or retain their maiden names upon marriage. As predicted, a trend was found in brides keeping their surname, and correlates included the bride’s occupation, education, age, and the type of ceremony (religious versus nonsectarian). Partial support was found for the following correlates: officiants representing different religions, brides with one or both parents deceased, and brides whose parents had divorced or separated. There was mixed support for the hypothesis that a …

Managing Performance [In Child Welfare Supervision], Megan E. Paul, Michelle Graef, Erika J. Robinson, Kristin Saathoff

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

One of the primary roles of a supervisor is to manage worker performance. Performance management is the "continuous process of identifying, measuring, and developing the performance of individuals and teams and aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organization" (Aguinis, 2007, p. 2). Supervisors must regularly assess current performance levels and take steps to improve performance in a way that is congruent with agency goals. The ultimate goal is to achieve agency objectives through individual and team performance.

To effectively manage performance, supervisors must know what the performance expectations are for workers and clearly communicate these expectations to workers. …

Survey Study Of The Relationship Between Parents' And Teachers' Perceptions Of What Constitutes Effective School -To -Home Communications, Jill L. Murphy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Even though guidelines at a suburban elementary school in Georgia were in place for teachers regarding frequency and methods of parent communication, it was unclear if these methods were being used consistently and effectively. Research has shown that effective communication increases student achievement, but there is a lack of research examining communication preferences of teachers and parents. Therefore, this study evaluated current practices by comparing parents' and teachers' perceptions of what constitutes effective school-to-home communications. The researcher administered questionnaires to a random sample of teachers and parents of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students to compare their perceptions of the …

Mental Health Professionals’ Perceptions Of Voluntarily Childless Couples, Felizon C. Vidad

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Studies conducted in previous decades have examined attitudes toward and perceptions of voluntarily childless men and women. Participants in these studies were usually comprised of high school, college, and university students. The results showed that, compared to those who were parents, voluntarily childless men and women were mostly perceived in a less favorable light. This study sought to investigate how voluntarily childless heterosexual couples are currently viewed and whether attitudes toward the voluntarily childless have changed since the earlier research was conducted. Participants in this study consisted of individuals who were practicing in the field of mental health and who …

Patterns And Challenges Of Parenting School-Age Children Among Selected Sub-Saharan African Immigrant Parents In Southwest Michigan: A Multiple-Case Study, Israel M. Kafeero

Dissertations

Problem. Parenting among immigrants presents unique challenges to parents whose cultural orientation is different from the host culture. Because of the meager research literature on immigrant families in the USA, little is known about the phenomenon of parenting among sub-Saharan African immigrant parents. This study investigated the patterns related to the parenting practices of selected sub-Saharan African immigrant parents, how they conduct corrective discipline to their children, and the challenges they face rearing children in Southwest Michigan.

Method. Qualitative research methods including interviews, observations, focus group discussions, and artifact collection were used in this dissertation to generate data. A snowball …

Tahira Khan On Wives, Widows, Concubines: The Conjugal Family Ideal In Colonial India By Mytheli Sreenivas. Bloomington, In: Indiana University Press, 2008. 169pp., Tahira Khan

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Wives, Widows, Concubines: The Conjugal Family Ideal in Colonial India by Mytheli Sreenivas. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2008. 169pp.

An Examination Of Environmental Collective Identity Development Across Three Life-Stages: The Contribution Of Social Public Experiences At Zoos, John Robert Fraser

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This research breaks ground toward a revised theory of how collective environmental identity is associated with pro-environmental behaviors. My research comprises three activities that examined the experiences of three groups of people who claim zoo visiting as an important part of their life-story. The three studied groups were; conservation biologists who describe zoo experiences as having significant formative role in their childhood development of environmental values; parents who prioritize zoo visits as an important cultural experiences for their children; and a active zoo volunteers. This research also investigated whether the group experiences these participants had at zoos contributed to the …

A Search For Meaning: The Family’S Response To Serious Mental Illness, Katherine Marie Burrelsman

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

It is a commonly held belief that it is inherent in human nature to strive for coherence and meaning in the midst of adversity. Whether this is short or long term, for immediate or prolonged functioning, we all strive to put experiences within events into a framework that enables us to develop a sense of order leading to acceptance and resolution. Therefore, each individual within a family system may develop a hypothesis in order to make a modicum of sense of what can appear to be an impossible situation. The participants involved in this study were individuals with relatives suffering …

Identity Development Of Latino Gay Men, Manuel Montoya Tajon

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Much has been written on gay identity development and ethnic identity, but research conducted that examines the cross-section of both identities is very limited. Several theories have been proposed which detail gay and lesbian identity development, which involve a conversion of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behavior from a dominant heterosexual culture to those of the minority gay and lesbian culture. Likewise, ethnic identity models propose similar stage sequential processes and conversion from a dominant Anglo culture to those of a minority ethnic culture. Both the ethnic and gay identity development models function and are based on two dichotomous variables (e.g., …

Mothers' And Fathers' Experiences Of Parenting In The Fly-In Fly-Out Mode Of Employment, Patricia Joan Rhodes

Theses : Honours

A qualitative study of mothers' and fathers' experiences of parenting in a fly-in fly-out employment arrangement was undertaken. Eight mothers were interviewed individually to investigate their experiences of parenting. Five fathers also participated in individual interviews to examine their experiences of parenting and to substantiate those of mothers. The findings indicated that mothers were subjected to a range of conditions that would not, in the normal course of events, be experienced by mothers with partners in home-based occupations. These circumstances imposed additional stresses on families, but more particularly on mothers. In family systems theory parental stress inevitably resonates throughout the …

Patriarchy, Michael R. Hill

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

The term patiarchy refers to an organization, institution, or society in which power, social control, material wealth, and high social status accrue predominantly to males rather than females. Patriarchy is one of the most enduring and pervasive of all social patterns. It appears in all eras, among all races, social institutions, and economic classes, and in virtually every known culture. Rising initially in early family and kinship structures, hierarchical patriarchal patterns are found today around the globe not only in family and kinship groups but also throughout the major social institutions, including language, family, economy, polity, religion, law, education, science, …

Diversity Issues In Recruitment And Retention Of Clients For Parenting Classes, Rachel Elizabeth Davis

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Parenting skills classes are an effective means of preventing and remediating juvenile delinquency, youth violence, and child maltreatment. In particular, juvenile delinquency and child maltreatment disproportionately affect low-income African American families. Unfortunately, data from most parenting classes suggest dismal attendance and participation rates for racial- and ethnic-minorities from low-income backgrounds. The lack of effective recruitment may be due, in part, to the level of cultural competency inherent in the design, content, and implementation of existing parenting classes. Using semi-structured interviews and the qualitative methodology of grounded theory, this study explored the self-reported parenting beliefs, values, and struggles of a sample …