Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

Bound By Silence: Psychological Effects Of The Traditional Oath Ceremony Used In The Sex Trafficking Of Nigerian Women And Girls, Jennifer Millett-Barrett

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Nigerian women and children have been trafficked to Italy over the last 30 years for commercial sexual exploitation with an alarming increase in the past three years. The Central Mediterranean Route that runs from West African countries to Italy is rife with organized crime gangs that have created a highly successful trafficking operation. As part of the recruitment process, the Nigerian mafia and its operatives exploit victims by subjecting them to a traditional religious juju oath ceremony, which is an extremely effective control mechanism to silence victims and trap them in debt bondage. This study explores the psychological effects of …

Marital Satisfaction Amongst Nigerian Immigrants In North America (Nina): Pilot Study, Jochebed B. Ade-Oshifogun, Joan Aina, Augusta Y. Olaore

Faculty Publications

Background: It has been observed that some Nigerian Families that immigrated to North America (NINA) seem to have very stressful marital relationships that lead to separation or divorce. The goal of this study was to determine the level of marital satisfaction among NINA

Method: A simple, standardized survey tool was utilized to measure the index of marital satisfaction (IMS). The score varied from 0-100 with a lower score (<30 >points) indicating marital satisfaction. A demographic questionnaire was also administered to the subjects. Descriptive data analysis and level of marital satisfaction were computed in SPSS (version 25).

Results: Forty-five of the …

Review Of Outsourced Children: Orphanage Care And Adoption In Globalizing China, Michelle Samura, Cala Gin, Dorcas Hoi, Florencia Park

Education Faculty Articles and Research

A review of Outsourced Children: Orphanage Care and Adoption in Globalizing China by Leslie K. Wang.

Youth-Sized Lab Coats: When Children Become Doctors Through Adolescent Healthcare Brokering, Lindsey Russell

Social Sciences

Child language brokering refers to the practice of children acting as linguistic and cultural mediators in general settings like school, stores, banks and other personal uses. The primary focus of this paper is “adolescent healthcare brokering,” a term coined in 2016 by researchers Jennifer R. Banas, James W. Ball, Lisa C. Wallis and Sarah Gershon, to refer to the use of children as interpreters for family and community members, specifically in the healthcare setting; these cross-lingual communications may occur during regular physician appointments, trips to the emergency department or at specialized visits in fields such as obstetrics or oncology.

This …

Cognitive Control And Context Maintenance In Individuals With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (Ocd), Lindsay Morgan Fruehauf

Theses and Dissertations

Context maintenance, an aspect of cognitive control, is the internal representation and utilization of task-relevant information that helps achieve task goals. Alterations in context maintenance may be responsible for the cognitive difficulties seen in people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We used two tasks designed to measure context maintenance: a) the cued-Stroop, a single-trial version of Golden’s Stroop test that varies the cue for each trial (color-naming or word-reading), and b) the AX-CPT task, a continuous performance task that has participants respond to an “A” only when followed by an “X,” with all other non-target trials labeled as AY, BX, and …

Cross-Group Relationship Satisfaction: A Meta-Analysis, Elena Kelsey Henderson

Theses and Dissertations

Cross-group relationships are defined by romantic relationships involving two individuals from distinct racial or ethnic groups. For this paper, the terms “interethnic” and “interracial” are used as specifiers for the umbrella terms, “intergroup” and “cross-group.” Studies examining whether cross-group romantic relationships are more or less satisfying than intergroup romantic relationships have yielded discrepant findings. Through a systematic review and meta-analysis of 27 studies, we found that there are no significant difference between cross-group and intergroup relationship satisfaction (aggregate d = .024, 95% CI [-0.076; 0.123]). Tests of moderation found that the amount of Asian participants included in individual studies on …

Cultivating The Skill Of Savoring: An Internet-Delivered Intervention To Promote Well-Being, So Yeon Park

Theses and Dissertations

The skill of savoring is one practice from the positive psychology literature that appears to facilitate well-being and happiness (e.g., Cazanescu, Tecuta, Candea, & Szentagotal-Tartar, 2018). Given such findings and the emerging evidence in favor of delivering positive psychology interventions via the Internet (Layous, Nelson, & Lyubomirsky, 2013), the potential feasibility of providing researched-based savoring instruction using self-directed online resources warrants empirical examination. This pilot study examined the feasibility of a self-directed online module of instruction and exercises intended to aid in cultivating individuals’ savoring abilities. The two primary aims of the present study were: 1) to examine the feasibility …

The Roles Of Parents In Shaping Fathering Across Generations In Cebu, Philippines, Lee T. Gettler, Patty X. Kuo, Abet Bas, Judith B. Borja

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

Objective: This study examined how parental caregiving and parent–child closeness are associated with future fathering among 335 Filipino men who are participants in a long-running birth cohort study.

Background Few studies have multidecade longitudinal data to test the pathways through which parenting is transmitted across generations, with most relevant research conducted in the United States, Europe, and other similar settings. The roles of mothers and fathers in shaping their sons’ future parenting is particularly understudied despite fathers having the potential to positively influence child health and development.

Method: Participants’ mothers (Generation 1 [G1]) reported on caregiving during Generation 2 (G2) …

Religion And Spirituality In Clinical Practice: An Exploration Of Reluctance Among Practitioners., David Drew, Jessica Banks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Across the United States, an overwhelming majority of the population claim that religion and spirituality beliefs shape their worldview and assist in coping with life stressors. Yet, the literature has shown that mental health practitioners reported discomfort integrating religion and spiritually in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to explore whether license-holding mental health professionals in Southern California develop reluctance toward addressing religion/spirituality with their clients. Through snowball sampling, 52 clinicians composed of social workers, counselors, marriage and family therapists, nurses, psychologists, and psychiatrists were recruited across Southern California (N =52). The participants were measured descriptively based on …

What Is The Relationship Between Religiosity, Self-Perceived Problematic Pornography Use, And Depression Over Time?, Meghan Elizabeth Maddock

Theses and Dissertations

Previous studies suggest that religious individuals are more likely than non-religious individuals to perceive their pornography use as problematic. For our six-month longitudinal study, we recruited a sample of adults from Turkprime.com. We hypothesized that more religious individuals who use pornography at baseline would report higher self-perceived problematic pornography use at three months, which would be associated with higher depression at six months. We constructed and validated our own measure of self-perceived problematic pornography use, which included two factors: excessive pornography use and compulsive pornography use. We ran two separate structural equation models, one with excessive use at three months …

Deterioration In Individual Psychotherapy: The Effectiveness Of The Clinical Support Tools, Melissa Mallory White

Theses and Dissertations

Researchers have found evidence that when clinicians use an evidence-based feedback system that uses Clinical Support Tools (CST) for not-on-track clients, deterioration rates fall and success rates improve (Shimokawa et al., 2010). Despite multiple studies finding evidence in support of using the CST, there has been a discrepancy between effect sizes (i.e., d = 0.5; Simon et al., 2012). As such, further replicate of these past studies is needed to discover if small effect sizes still persist and if so, what possible variables may contribute to inconsistent findings. For the current study, it was predicted that the use of the …

We Shall Overcome: The Association Between Family Of Origin Adversity, Coming To Terms, And Relationship Quality For African Americans, Kylee Marshall

Theses and Dissertations

Because adverse childhood and family of origin experiences may have implications for adult relationships, it is important to understand what can help buffer potential negative effects. The current study was designed to understand the relationship between childhood family of origin adversities, coming to terms with family of origin issues and events, and adult romantic relationship quality for African Americans (N = 1613). A path analysis was conducted using data from the RELATE assessment (see www.relate-institute.org). Results indicated that, taken together, coming to terms, self-esteem, and depression likely partially mediated the relationship between family of origin adversity and adult relationship quality. …

Illness And The American Workplace: Issues And Implications For Employers And Employees, Victoria R. Dolan

Student Theses and Dissertations

This project aims to identify American employee experiences and existing workplace policies and cultures surrounding illness, disability, and sick leave. This approach was taken in order to closely examine what looks to be working well for companies and workers, and what could benefit from a more human centric approach in regards to workplace policy and employee support programs. The study of employee experiences in particular represents a gap in the current scholarly literature regarding illness and illness policy in the American workplace, and more accurately represents the experiences for both employees and employers. Furthermore, it assists with distinguishing the types …

The Role Of Temperamental Fear And Parenting Quality On Emerging Internalizing And Externalizing Problems During Early Childhood, Tejal Patel

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Temperamental characteristics may distinguish which children are at greater risk for later psychopathology. In addition, parenting quality may interact with the association between temperament and behavior problems to increase or decrease externalizing or internalizing behaviors in children. This study examined whether mothers’ parenting quality moderated the associations between children’s temperamental fear and children’s behavior problems. The sample consisted of 143 low-income mother-child dyads who participated in various interactional tasks designed to measure mothers’ parenting and children’s temperamental fear. While children’s fearless and fearful temperament were not significantly associated with externalizing and internalizing behaviors, respectively, some significant associations emerged. Positive and …

Economic Hardship During Childhood Increases The Risk Of Premature Death Later In Life, Blakelee R. Kemp

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Experiencing economic hardship during childhood can have long lasting consequences for health. This is especially true for individuals who face multiple forms of hardship early in life. Adults over the age of 50 who reported experiencing several types of childhood economic hardship, such as moving due to financial difficulties or having poor family finances, were more likely to die over the next 10 years than adults who reported no economic hardship during childhood. In fact, experiencing two or more economic hardships during childhood was associated with a 23% increase in the risk of death from any cause. The trend indicates …

Exploring Gender Roles And Gender Equality Within The Evangelical Church, Christopher Bishop

Education (PhD) Dissertations

This research aims to facilitate better understanding of perceptions of gender roles and gender equality among members of the Evangelical Church and to determine whether these perceptions differ by gender. The evangelical community’s ideologies and values have come to shape social and political dialogues within the United States. A key component of the faith is understanding the role each member plays within his or her family unit and community at large. The evangelical faith’s organizational structure and ideologies are informed by a patriarchal model that’s placed women at internal and structural odds, based on research exploring evangelically informed organizations. However, …

The Peculiarity Of Chinese Marital Relationships: Parental Hierarchy And Societal Expectation, Xinyun Wang

Senior Theses

The marital relationship in China takes on its own definitions and expectations as a result of significant research of the tradition, parental hierarchy, and the moral expectations of society. Different time periods in China obtain varied and distinctive practices on marriage and the choice of spouse. From the absolute parents arranged marriage to the gaining of the individuality through nationalism within marriage, the modern Chinese marital relationship correspondingly conveys a combination of free love relating to how society impacts the relationship. This thesis explores the history and formation of the current trend of Chinese marriage practices and provides a comprehensive …

The Pursuit Of Salvation, Krystal Joy Ragasa

Service-Learning | Student Scholarship

“Never waste your food,” my parents recited again at the dinner table. They continued, “If we had this much food growing up in the Philippines, we’d be so blessed. Please don’t take it for granted.” Throughout my childhood, nearly every family meal consisted of this conversation. My parents seized every opportunity to remind me of their early impoverished life in the Philippines. Their stories increasingly strengthened my gratitude for the life my brother and I were born into. Having back aches from stiff bamboo beds, depending on conveniently-priced junk food as nutrition, and rationing small portions among large families—these circumstances …

Implementation Of An Advance Care Planning Protocol To Increase Advance Directive Completion Rates, Christine Engle

Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports

Advanced directives (AD) allow an individual to retain autonomy in end-of-life decisions and can prevent unnecessary costs and treatments associated with aggressive life-prolonging measures. As of 2017, only an estimated 36.7% of the United States adult population had a form of advance directive documented (Yadav et al., 2017). The purpose of this evidence-based project was to determine if implementation of an advanced care planning (ACP) protocol would increase ACP discussions, AD completion, and result in a modification in stage of change or behavior. The Transtheoretical Model (TTM) and Stetler Model of evidence-based practice were used as the framework to guide …

An Introduction To Transformative Inquiry: Understanding Compelling And Significant Relationships For Personal And Societal Transformation, Mark L. Mccaslin, Kelly A. Kilrea

The Qualitative Report

Transformative inquiry is a theoretical model designed to facilitate the inquiry of important and meaningful relationships that transform and potentiate us. Creswell (2007) described the essential elements of a research agenda: the axiological, ontological, epistemological, methodological, and rhetorical. Each carries with it assumptions that hold implications for practice and research. Transformative inquiry addresses all of these elements through considerations given to deep ecology, transdisciplinarity, integral meta-theory, heuristic research, and eudaimonistic philosophy, respectively. Transformative inquiry is an approach to understanding and fostering the full range of deep and meaningful relationships from the personal to the political, and beyond. It is a …

A Sign Of The Times, Zoe Roswell

CURCE Annual Undergraduate Conference

I drafted this short story for an assignment in my Creative Writing 102z course based on techniques we learned in class including estrangement but also it was inspired, in part, by Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie”. Williams’ play touches on certain familial mental health struggles in each character that were deep rooted and I wanted to communicate the same effect. My story revolves around the present life and childhood of Charles, an underground boxer, who was orphaned at a young age due to both of his parents’ struggles with mental illness. Charles experienced his mother’s mental deterioration before and following …

“Navigating The Impact Of Trauma In The Classroom: An Analysis Of The Trauma-Informed Care In Three Alternative Public Schools”, Hanna Mcwilliams

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Trauma-informed care is a growing strengths-based model in the world of social and human services that focuses on understanding past trauma to create sustainability and build a strong relationship between the client and service provider. Though it is used in various types of agencies, this thesis focuses on the implementation of the trauma-informed care model within three alternative public schools in three cities. The trauma-informed care model is used specifically in public school systems’ alternative schools to influence success for children who have experienced behavioral issues within traditional school settings in light of the consideration that these issues may have …

Kumain Na Tayo! Exploring The Role Of Food In Communicating Tradition And Instilling Familial Values, Aaron Negrillo

Student Research

As a core part of Asian values, family plays a huge role in developing the individual’s identity. Family strongly contributes to the passing down of traditions and values. The expression of cultural values can be observed through many surface-level interactions such as food and meal rituals. This auto-ethnography explores the link between food and culture, specifically how it serves as a vehicle of communication that passes down traditions and values. The underlying core values of hospitality, respect, and sacrifice stand emerged from the thematic analysis conducted. Overall, food can be understood as a tangible expression of love: creating something for …

Therapeutic Massage To Enhance Family Caregivers’ Well-Being In A Rehabilitation Hospital, Natalie A. Williams, Judith M. Burnfield, Paul Springer, Kayla Wolf, Thad Buster

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

Background and purpose: A massage therapy program was implemented to address the psychological well-being of family caregivers to patients in a rehabilitation hospital. The impact of massage “dosage” on caregiver stress and psychological well-being was examined in this study. Participants’ perspectives on the program were also explored. Materials and methods: Thirty-eight family caregivers were randomized to receive either one massage per week or three massages per week for two weeks. Caregivers reported psychological symptoms and stress pre- and postprogram. Program acceptability was assessed via responses on an exit survey. Results: Overall, 79% of massages were received (89% among program completers). …

“Flowing Along The Wall”: Anarcha-Feminist Bioethics And Resistance In Octavia E. Butler’S Dawn 2019., Theresa Mendez

Master's Theses

Science fiction (sf) texts conversant with the temporal play between past, present, and future push readers to imagine the extremes of human and environmental existence, interaction, and potential. Simultaneously, despite the sf genre’s tendency to traffic in extremes, these texts provoke readers to consider the ways in which these imagined worlds are grounded in history as well as in the contemporary social moment. As Donna Haraway has argued, “the boundary between science fiction and social reality is an optical illusion” (306). This illusory boundary must continue to be traversed in order to consider how sf literatures, particularly those which imagine …

“Greening” Worcester: Municipal Best Practices For Sustainability, Erin Mckeon, Charline Kirongozi, Jared Duval, Antannia Greene, Qianshu Sun, Zewei Yao

School of Professional Studies

In response to the urgent threat posed by climate change, more and more cities, including Worcester, are attempting to become more environmentally responsible and sustainable. Worcester is attempting to develop ways to become more sustainable; both to strengthen their communities and to protect the planet. The Green Worcester Working Group (GWWG) tasked the Clark Capstone Team with researching best practices for municipal sustainability. The GWWG has set the following priorities: climate change mitigation, resilience, open spaces, sustainable resource management, education and awareness. Taking these into account, the Clark Capstone Team researched the sustainability practices of cities in New England, across …

Game Time:" Not Too Much, Nor Too Little", Xuemeng Yao

Sociology Honors Projects

The amount of time young adults spend on online gaming has drawn attention from governments and academics. While these concerns posit a spatial separation between the game world and reality, they fail to understand the gaming activity in relation to individuals’ overall life. An alternative framing of gaming as leisure activities can yield greater insight. This research examines the temporal experience and the meaning of playing online games within a community of Chinese full-time college students. Observing their gaming routine, I try to answer: how do college students interpret the time they devote to gaming? In addition, how does the …

Ethnic-Racial Socialization In Early Childhood: The Implications Of Color-Consciousness And Colorblindness For Prejudice Development, Flora Farago, Kimberly Leah Davidson, Christy M. Byrd

Faculty Publications

This chapter outlines how early childhood teachers can bring children into conversations surrounding race and racism by drawing on literature on how parents of color discuss these topics. Although educators’ practices surrounding race and racism remain largely unexplored, decades of developmental psychological research indicate that parents of color engage in ethnic-racial socialization practices that are beneficial for children (Hughes et al., 2006). The established dimensions of parental ethnic-racial socialization include (1) cultural socialization, or teaching children about their ethnic heritage and instilling ethnic pride; (2) preparation for bias, or teaching children about racism and preparing them to face discrimination; (3) …

Worcester Chamber Of Commerce: Recruiting Minority Business Owners, Ryan Dimaria, Alexander Hull, Xikun Lu, Haopeng Wang, Jiacheng Hou, Danning Zhao

School of Professional Studies

Our capstone project was to help the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce identify how to re-frame their marketing so it would be appealing to immigrant and minority owned businesses. Based on interviews and external research, our group was able to create a tangible and resourceful data set that provided justified recommendations and ideas on how the Chamber could make adjustments to their marketing plan to attract more businesses of this particular demographic in the city of Worcester. By implementing these recommendations, we believe the Chamber has the opportunity to create a more diverse group of Chamber members, add value to …

Service Now: Cmdb Research, Monika Patel, Smita Patil, Katerina Tzanavara, Manish Chauhan, Yuhao Wang, Houmin Xie, Lei Shi

School of Professional Studies

The MAPFRE Capstone team has been tasked with reviewing and recommending roadmap on the existing CMDB configuration. Paper discusses the team’s overall research on ServiceNow CMDB, Client’s deliverables and introduction to the latest technological innovations. Based on given objectives and team’s analysis we have recommended key solutions for the client to better understand the IT environment areas of business service impact, asset management, compliance, and configuration management. In addition, our research has covered all the majority of the technical and functional areas to provide greater visibility and insight into existing CMDB and IT environment.