Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

“I Tell Them Generics, But Not The Specifics”: Exploring Tensions Underlying Familial Support For First-Generation Latinx Undergraduate Students, Stephany Cuevas

Education Faculty Articles and Research

Families continue to play an essential role in the experiences of first-generation Latinx undergraduate students and can serve as powerful partners to support student retention and socioemotional wellbeing. This qualitative phenomenological study uses the notion of emerging adulthood to explore how first-generation Latinx undergraduate students (n = 16) conceptualize their families’ role in their college education. Specifically, this study shows that while students describe feeling supported by their families, they also experience distinct and unique tensions tied to this support, which students associate with their first-generation student status. These tensions include (1) the family’s unfamiliarity with college culture; (2) bidirectional …

Tsunami Exposure And Mental Health Consequences: Protective Role Of Cultural Coping Strategies, Thulitha Wickrama, Michael J. Merten, K. A.S. Wickrama, Amanda Terrell

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

There is a knowledge gap regarding the link between disaster exposure and adolescent mental health problems in developing countries. This study examines the case of Sri Lanka to investigate (a) the immediate and long-term mental health impact of the 2004 tsunami disaster on adolescents and (b) the potential moderating effects of unique cultural and family practices that prevail in Sri Lanka. This study used a random sample of 160 adolescents (ages 12–19) and their mothers who were exposed to the tsunami disaster while living in a southern Sri Lankan village and provided prospective data immediately after the disaster (2005) and …

Episodic Memory Influences On Decision-Making: An Fmri Investigation Of Young And Older Adult Populations, Julie Van

Theses and Dissertations

Episodic memory involves the ability to remember specific events and personal experiences. It shares computational and neural resources with episodic future thinking, or the ability to simulate future episodes in anticipation of situations that have not yet occurred. Activity in the frontal lobe has been associated with episodic memory formation, as functional connectivity between the medial temporal lobe (MTL) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been associated with the organization and manipulation of information when forming memories. At its core, episodic memory extends to several other functional domains by recombining past information to construct future scenarios, facilitating an aspect of "mental …

Sustaining Digital Assets Through Mobile Estate Planning, Norliza Katuk, Asvinitha Muniandy, Norazlina Abd. Wahab, Ijaz Ahmad

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Many people own online accounts, with some having financial values like Internet banking, e-wallet and cryptocurrency. In the case of sudden death, their heirs are unaware of the digital assets possessed by the deceased person, which causes the assets to be lost forever, and the heirs might not receive the assets. If an estate plan did not account for digital assets properly, the beneficiaries would not be able to access them. Therefore, this paper addresses this issue by implementing a software development approach in designing a suitable model for sustaining digital assets through smartphones to allow the inheritance of digital …

Making Room, Rachel Strompf

Masters Theses

Massachusetts is the only state in the United States with a right-to-shelter law which guarantees shelter for families with children and pregnant women.¹ As of February 2024, 3,500 homeless families with children are being sheltered in a motel or hotel with an average length of stay of 14 months, because traditional family shelters have reached capacity.^2,3 While these families are provided temporary shelter, these shelters do not allow for the development of a true sense of “home.” While a motel meets the needs of rudimentary shelter, motels were never designed as long-term accommodations and certainly not with a …

Community Awareness Of Domestic Violence In Arumeru District, Arusha, Tanzania, Rehema John Magesa

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Domestic violence continues to be prominent among many communities worldwide despite different efforts and strategies geared towards eradicating it. Women and girls are among the main victims of this violence. Lack of or limited awareness of the problem perpetuates the problem. However, much of the levels of awareness of the problem are lacking. This study aimed to establish community awareness of domestic violence and the levels of awareness and determine the association between respondents' characteristics and the level of awareness of gender-based violence. The study employed both probability and non-probability sampling techniques to acquire the respondents. One hundred women and …

Opportunity Or Exploitation? A Longitudinal Dyadic Analysis Of Flexible Working Arrangements And Gender Household Labor Inequality, Senhu Wang, Cheng Cheng

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

It has been extensively debated over whether the rise of flexible working arrangements (FWAs) may be an “opportunity” for a more egalitarian gender division of household labor or reinforce the “exploitation” of women in the traditional gender division. Drawing on a linked-lives perspective, this study contributes to the literature by using longitudinal couple-level dyadic data in the UK (2010–2020) to examine how couple-level arrangements of flexible working affect within-couple inequality in time and different types of household labor. The results show that among heterosexual couples, women’s use of FWAs significantly intensifies their disproportionate share of housework and maintains their heavy …

Family Court Rulings Linked To Parent-Child Relationships, Ruth Ann Nichols

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Parenting arrangements arising from family court decisions can have lasting effects on Parent-Child relationships, which can affect children’s emotional and physical development. In this study, parenting arrangements, also known as custody arrangements, are examined in terms of time allocated to each parent for the legal (decision-making) and physical (parenting time) aspects of parenting arrangements. The study aimed to identify patterns between temporary and final court decisions on parenting arrangements. Primary data were collected over 3 weeks in 2022 from 652 parents ages 19-64, with a child ages 3-17, and a U.S. family court decision. An 85-item, online survey, created for …

Call And Response : Experiments In Storytelling, Deanne Fernandes

Masters Theses

Being part of RISD's inaugural Masters of Illustration cohort has been an immense honor. This journey has been nothing short of transformative and healing, as it has allowed me to unearth layers of self-discovery through my creative practice.

In my thesis, I introduce a fresh research methodology rooted in the principles of call and response, with adaptability, creativity, and storytelling as its foundational pillars. Through the lenses of visual storytelling, experimental animation, graphic journalism, and fictional world-building, I demonstrate how these techniques can effectively bridge the gap between theory and practice. This dynamic approach fosters meaningful connections among diverse perspectives …

Determining Factors For Improved Uptake Of Harm Reduction Services In The United States: A Study Of Inclusive, Culturally Sensitive Messaging, Lauretta Ekanem Omale

Dissertations

Harm reduction refers to public health policies and programs aimed at decreasing the adverse consequences associated with drug use. While harm reduction services (e.g., syringe exchange programs) can mitigate health risks, marginalized groups face barriers to service access and utilization, partially due to ineffective messaging approaches that fail to align with cultural values and experiences. A one-size-fits-all approach to messaging can negatively impact service utilization, health outcomes, and health disparities. Ineffective communication can lead to poor adherence to treatment, poorer health outcomes, and increased adverse events.

Culturally insensitive communication contributes to stigma, mistrust, and lack of perceived relevance, discouraging service …

Supports Desired By Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Males In Fatherhood: Focussing On The Social And Cultural Determinates Of Health And Well-Being, Jacob Prehn, Michael Andre Guerzoni, Huw Peacock, Mick Adams, Bhiamie Williamson, Len Collard, Kootsy Canuto

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

In Australia, there is insufficient exploration and understanding of how we can strengthen the critical role played by Indigenous fathers. This paper argues that for Indigenous fathers to feel supported in childrearing, greater attention must be given to their social and cultural determinants of health and well-being. To gain insights into the challenges experienced by Indigenous fathers and the support they require in fatherhood, we primarily apply thematic analysis to data from the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC). The findings reveal that most fathers identify a social or cultural health and well-being determinant challenging their fatherhood journey. We examine …

Financial Incentives For Adoption And Kin Guardianship Improve Achievement For Foster Children, David Simon, Aaron Sojourner, Jon Pedersen, Heidi Ombisa Skallet

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Difference-in-differences analysis of linked administrative data estimates effects of a Minnesota policy change that increased the payments to adoptive parents and kin guardians for children ages 6 and older, making them equal to what foster care payments were, but didn’t for younger children. Equalizing payments raised average academic achievement by 31 percent of a standard deviation three years after foster children’s cases started, raised the value of payments by about $2,000 per child during this period, raised the monthly chance of moving from foster care to adoption or kin guardianship by 29 percent, improved school stability, and reduced school suspensions.

Parent Strategies For Antiracist Parenting In Families Of Multiracial And Asian Descent, Matlida Tavares

Doctoral Dissertations

The Pew Research Center’s analysis of United States census data depicts and increasing number of individuals identifying as more than one race. From 2010 to 2020, the population had nearly doubled to 13.5 million. This is particularly evident in states with large populations of Asian American communities such as California, where nearly two million people identify as multiracial and people identifying as both White and Asian making up the largest portion of the 61% increase the state saw since 2010 (Henderson, 2022). Despite claims that an increase in multiracial individuals signifies an end of racism, multiracial children, navigating complex ethnic …

Indigenous Peoples In The Guianas: Contemporary Ethnographies, Luísa G. Girardi, Leonor Valentino, Virgínia Amaral

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

In the introduction to this special issue of Tipití, dedicated to recent ethnographies conducted among indigenous peoples in Guianese Amazonia, we offer an overview of the main anthropological traditions that have placed the region at the center of debates in Amazonianist ethnology. Alternatively defined as a "linguistic area," "cultural area," or "ethnographic area," the Guianas region is shared by indigenous collectives of the Cariban family and, to a lesser extent, Arawak, Tupi, Yanomami, Sáliva, and Warao-speaking groups, and is associated with some of the monographs that inaugurated the modern period of ethnological reflection on kinship in Amazonia, as well as …

Women’S Routes: Gender, Mobility, And Knowledge Among The Makushi Of Southern Guyana, Lisa Katharina Grund

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

Exploring the journeys of some Makushi women, this article highlights the relevance of gender in the question of (im)mobility and female engagements with the world as central to contemporary Makushi life. Departing from the understanding that the category of space has proven crucial in the theoretical groundwork of the Guiana ethnographic area and drawing on the region’s classical ethnographies, it explores everyday practices of movement of the Makushi people who live along the triple frontier of southern Guyana. Rather than disruptive, these in and out journeys—collective or individual—prove to be crucial to the weaving of community. They are also central …

Replication And Growth In Cassava Cultivation And Uxorilocal Women’S Relations Among The Waiwai: A Mother's Reckoning With Death And Social Change, Laura H. Mentore

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

Through an ethnographic examination of the shared capacities of cassava and womanhood for what I term growth and replication, I argue that Waiwai sociality seeks to curtail the trajectory of life towards finite death through the intervening act of cutting and replanting or replicating life in a vegetatively inspired form of the “episodic present” (Strathern 2021). An extended vignette demonstrates how these features of Waiwai sociality take shape in mother-daughter and sister relations at the core of uxorilocal residential living, and in a senior woman’s reckonings with illness, death, and social change.

Propagating Conviviality: Waiwai Cultural Transformation Of Moral Depravity, George F. Mentore

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

This essay considers the problematics of anthropological translations when its responsibility to the codes of its modernist subjectivity persuades us to defer judgment on interpretations made of indigenous semiotics of life. It begins with this full disclosure before attempting to describe, from a translation of a Waiwai myth, how one can produce a guilty reading about their privileging of concern for conviviality. The Waiwai bodily feeling of well-being must be in place before relations of trust can be enacted. Transforming the vial aggressive feelings of strangers becomes a priority for hosting them. Maintaining feelings of conviviality within the community is …

Kita Vai À Kwamalasamutu, Fabio Ribeiro

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

No contexto de uma série de encontros entre pessoas zo'é e tiriyó na região da fronteira Brasil-Suriname, o presente artigo aborda a experiência de Kita, jovem zo’é que em 2010 viajou com alguns chefes e pastores tiriyó e permaneceu na aldeia Kwamalasamutu, no sul do Suriname, por alguns meses. A partir de dois relatos de Kita, procuro seguir as múltiplas conexões por ele mobilizadas e articulá-las a problemas relevantes da etnologia das Guianas. Seguindo a proposta metodológica de S. Oakdale (2007) no sentido de ancorar a “economia simbólica da alteridade” em autobiografias ameríndias, o objetivo é imbricar a crônica de …

Povos Indígenas Nas Guianas: Etnografias Contemporâneas, Luísa G. Girardi, Leonor Valentino, Virgínia Amaral

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

Na introdução a este número especial da Tipití, dedicado a etnografias recentes realizadas junto a povos indígenas na Amazônia guianense, sobrevoamos as principais tradições antropológicas que posicionaram a região no centro dos debates da etnologia amazonista. Alternativamente definida como “área linguística”, “área cultural” ou “área etnográfica”, a região das Guianas é compartilhada por coletivos indígenas falantes de idiomas da família Caribe e, em menor medida, de línguas Aruaque, Tupi, Yanomami, Sáliva e Warao, e está associada a algumas das monografias que inauguraram o período moderno da reflexão etnológica sobre o parentesco na Amazônia, além de influentes sínteses comparativas a …

Don’T Come Crying To My Funeral, Charlotte Hoskins

Tipití: Journal of the Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America

In this article, I describe a Makushi wake in Guyana, where an opposition was drawn between people in mourning and their perception of others who appeared to them to be much more like partygoers. This opposition in affective states was made evident through the enactment of associated oppositions in bodily practices: feeding and eating, speaking and singing, and forms of social availability. Rather than consider the divergence in affective states as a form of moral disorder, I argue that an affective divide allows grief to be expressed by the mourners and safely circumscribed by their still-living community, who continue to …

A Qualitative Exploration Of Well-Being In Cancer Survivorship: Implications For Counselors, Hallie M. Sylvestro, Lindsey K. Umstead, Heather Delgado, Christopher Lawrence, Keith Mobley, Kelly L. Wester, Andrew Wood

Adultspan Journal

Adult cancer survivors represent an important–and growing–population that could benefit from counseling services. This study employed consensual qualitative research to examine the well-being experiences of eight cancer survivors. Findings suggest a broad range of changes to individual well-being following cancer diagnosis and treatment, and indicate counseling can provide an ideal setting for processing such changes. Recommendations for counseling practice and future research are provided.

The Hidden Struggle: Challenges Older Women Face In Nevada, Annie Vong

Student Research

In 2020, almost one in five Nevadans was over the age of 65.[1] However, within this age group, women outnumber men due to longer life expectancies[2] and migration patterns. Women over 65 years of age make up an estimated 18.1% of the female population in Nevada.[3] Of the male population in Nevada, 15.1% are over 65 years of age.[4] Older women are less likely to be married, are less likely to have completed a bachelor’s degree, are more likely to drop out of the labor force, and are more likely to be living in poverty in …

The Little Black Book: When Recipes Tell Stories, Cordula C. Peters

Dublin Gastronomy Symposium

In post-war Germany in the 1950s my grandmother used to collect recipes from magazines, newspapers, and the backs of food packaging that she neatly cut out and saved. Other recipes were carefully copied with pen and ink. At some point, when my mother was still a child and my grandmother still alive, she and her sister compiled all these recipes and tidily pasted them into a black notebook for safekeeping. Growing up many of the recipes from this book became much-loved dishes prepared by my mother and expected by my siblings and I almost religiously for important holidays such as …

Living With An Altered Body: A Qualitative Account Of Body Image With Cancer Diagnosis And Its Treatment Among Women In Kolkata, West Bengal, India, Mehboobun Nahar Milky

The Qualitative Report

Cancer diagnosis and its treatments influence the body image of patients in addition to bodily functioning. This qualitative study explores cancer patients' experiences with their bodies following cancer diagnosis and its treatment. For this study, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with five female cancer patients were conducted in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The interviews were transcribed verbatim to include the insider’s perspective and then analysed using thematic analysis. The findings are divided into three major themes and eight sub-themes: the altered body (changed appearance, failing functional capabilities), emotional conflicts (feelings and emotions, loss of identity), and coping strategies (avoidance, clothing adjustments, social …

Impact Of The Department Of Defense Maternity Leave Policy Change On Retention And Postpartum Depression And The Air Force Postpartum Physical Fitness Policy Change On Physical Readiness Outcomes, Minette S. R. Herrick

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Understanding the implications of health policy is paramount to support continued execution and further wide-spread distribution. The Department of Defense has made many recent family friendly policy changes in effort to improve the health and morale of the force. Two such policies were analyzed in this study. The first was the change in maternity leave, in 2016, from allotting women six weeks time off to twelve weeks time off in the postpartum period. The second was executed by the Air Force to permit postpartum women a longer duration for their required physical fitness assessment (an increase from six months to …

Pregnant Black Bodies In Peril: A Multi-Method Analysis Of Obstetric Outcomes And Gestational Experiences, Courtney E. Williams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

My multi-method three-paper dissertation provides a better understanding of the relationship between maternal racial identity, obstetric outcomes, and gestational experiences. Using birth certificate data from the 2016 U.S. National Vital Statistics System and binary logistic regression models, in the first paper I explore heterogeneity in severe maternal morbidity (SMM) by maternal race, maternal education, and maternal age. To complement the first paper, in the second paper I allow 35 Black and White women/birthing people to describe pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood in their own words. I situate the Covid-19 pandemic as a unique cultural backdrop in this qualitative paper to …

The Archeology Of Adoption: Tracing The Journey From Birth Through Adoption Using Pre-Adoptive Artifacts, Ellen Reeve

Educational Studies Dissertations

Adults adopted in childhood often face a heightened susceptibility to psychological and behavioral challenges compared with their non-adopted peers. Scholars examining this phenomenon associate various factors, including an adoptee’s sense of self as an individual within a complex adoption background. This qualitative study utilized a material engagement theory to explore birth through adoptive narratives among adults adopted in closed settings during childhood. Through participatory research, participants examined a range of artifacts related to maternal relinquishment, encompassing foster and adoption records, original birth certificates, letters, photographs, birthmarks, clothing, hair, scars, and DNA test results. The study focused on understanding these artifacts’ …

A Trauma-Informed Socially Just Approach To Working With Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth Utilizing Expressive Arts Therapy, Ciara Carr

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Youth involved with the juvenile justice system often have a history of trauma and oppression resulting from their positionality and circumstances. Most juvenile justice-involved youth are boys, youth of color, low-income, LGBTQIA2S+, disabled, and traumatized. This literature review explores the history of the juvenile justice system, issues with the present-day model, and trauma-informed and transformative justice approaches to practice. The implementation of socially just, trauma-informed expressive arts therapy programs is proposed as a more equitable practice to replace commonly used punitive practices across the United States. More research is needed to understand the impact of such programs on this population …

The Effect Of Defendant Gender In Violent Crime Sentencing: An Analysis Of Federal Crime Sentences, Emily Blue

Honors Projects

Using data from the United States Sentencing Commission (2014–2022), this study analyzes the effect of defendant gender on sentencing outcomes across various crime types, with a focus on violent crime. While prior research consistently finds that female defendants receive lenient sentences, few studies examine how this effect varies across crime types. Aggression and violence are often perceived as inherently male traits, and individuals who defy gender expectations may face social sanctions. Women who commit violent crimes defy gender expectations and may receive harsher punishment as a result.

This study hypothesizes that female defendants experience less leniency in sentencing for violent …

Does Higher Socioeconomic Status Associate With Better Mental Health Outcomes Among Primary Caregivers In Rural China?, Wenwen Zhang

Master's Theses

This study explores the intricate relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and the mental health outcomes of primary caregivers in rural China, focusing on the Early Childhood Development (ECD) context in Ya'an. Anchored in a major intervention project launched in 2023, the study critically examines the hypothesis that higher socioeconomic status correlates with lower levels of negative emotions among caregivers.

Utilizing cross-sectional data, the research investigates how educational attainment and household income influence caregivers' mental health, measured through the DASS-21 score in three dimensions: stress, anxiety, and depression. The findings reveal that higher household income and educational levels are significantly associated …