Thesis advisor: Kevin Mahoney / Eight African American Protestant Christian couples in a healthy relationship participated in a mixed methods study seeking to learn how married Protestant Christian couples use their faith dyadically to address stress and relational discord. Themes were generated from the qualitative data and reinforced or extended by a quantitative questionnaire. Findings revealed that sacred process is involved directly and indirectly in the interactional processes and relationship functions of couples with healthy relationships. The process contained pervasive active and receptive elements throughout their relationships during peaceful and stress-filled times. Findings also identify uses of silence and separation as frequent de-escalation strategies; faith-based strategies and faith-informed secular strategies for reconciliation; uses of the marital triad in a healthy marriage. Additionally undervalued community gendered politics were identified, as well as novel perspectives on cultural and community factors that may contribute to domestic violence. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Doris W. Carroll / According to SAMHSA statistics, about 22 million people in the US meet the criteria for a Substance Use Disorder (SUD), with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) being the most prevalent form of SUD. Of those with SUDs, only 10% or two million receive formal treatment. It is estimated that 64% of those completing treatment for SUDs relapse within the first year of sobriety. However, for individuals who manage to make it five years without relapsing, the risk of relapse reduces to 14%, suggesting that the needs of individuals in short-term recovery differ from those in long-term recovery. It has also been found that family involvement in the treatment and recovery process is beneficial to individuals in recovery. However, SUDs contribute to elevated levels of stress and dissatisfaction in couples and families, which puts them at high risk for divorce or dissolution prior to individuals seeking treatment. For families who remain intact until the individual completes treatment, the transition to a recovery lifestyle that supports the individual’s recovery presents a different set of challenges. Additionally, lingering frustrations and resentments from the period of active addiction may also serve to destabilize the couple or family, contributing to the high levels of divorce among those recovering from SUDs. In short, few couples are able to sustain their partnerships through active addiction, and the transition to recovery. While these couples are in the minority, their successful experiences can provide valuable insight into the recovery process. The present study examines the successful transition from active addiction to long-term recovery for one such couple. In particular, the study investigates the shifting narratives related to family roles, couple-hood, communication, alcohol, alcoholism, and recovery. The data is presented in the form of an ethnodramatic script. Ethnodrama is used to engage audiences both on emotional as well as informational levels. While ethnodrama may not provide specific answers, it is intended to provoke awareness, insight, and discussion by allowing audiences to vicariously experience the represented lives of the participants. Following the ethnodrama, an analysis of the script is presented, incorporating narrative theoretical frameworks so that the ways in which narratives function to facilitate (or frustrate) change within the individuals as well as the dynamics of the couple relationship can be expanded. The result of this analysis is the production of a Narrative Change Model, which can be useful in understanding the ways that narratives operate within the transition from active addiction to long-term sobriety and may have broader implications in explaining the narrative mechanisms behind other, more subtle change processes.

Scholarly literature supports that individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer face inequities as a result of living in a heteronormative society. However, scholarly literature lacks body of research available that provides insight as to the experiences that counselors have while providing mediation to same-sex couple regarding coparenting. Thus, a literature gap exists pertaining to the lived experiences of counselors who provide mediation for same-sex couple coparenting. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to develop an understanding of counselors who provide same-sex couple coparenting. The theoretical framework used in this study was the equity theory, which speaks to how inequities in inputs and gains from a relationship affect behaviors. Participant selections criteria included being 21 years of age, a licensed counselor, and having worked with same-sex couples for coparenting mediation for 1 year. Data were collected from 5 counselors through interviews and analyzed, which produced 5 main themes and 18 subthemes. Data analysis was conducted by considering the whole transcription, statements and phrases and a line by line approach. The 5 main themes were practices, skills, knowledge, beliefs, and challenges noted by the participants. The results of this study provide insight as to similarities and differences in education that are necessary for both counseling and mediation. A better-defined understanding of counselor mediation experiences may promote changes in counseling programs to include mediation skills, increased multicultural competence, and knowledge of basic family law in regard to child custody.

This study investigated the construct of power in adolescent romantic couples using multiple measures. The project examined gender differences in power, created models of powerlessness for each gender, and examined relations between power and aggression and relationship quality. Participants were 90 heterosexual couples, aged 14-18 years old, living in rural areas in Utah and Arizona. Couple members completed surveys assessing attitudes and behaviors in their relationships and a video-recall procedure in which partners rated their own and their partner's behaviors during problem solving discussion. Few gender differences emerged in reports of perpetration of aggression, but boyfriends reported higher levels of emotional vulnerability and lower levels of resource control for several power-related outcomes. Structural equation modeling yielded models that appeared to capture the construct of powerlessness, with different models emerging for boyfriends and girlfriends. Finally, stepwise regressions revealed strong associations between measures of power and relationship outcomes with interesting gender differences.

The first chapter comprises a survey of valuations on totally ordered structures, developing notation and properties. A contraction map is induced by the exponential map on the value group $G$ of an ordered exponential field $K$ with respect to the natural valuation $v_{G}$. By studying the algebraic properties of Abelian groups with contractions, the theory of these groups is shown to be model complete, complete, decidable and to admit elimination of quantifiers. Hardy fields provide an example of non-archimedean exponential fields and of differential fields and therefore, they play a very important role in our research.<p>In accordance with Rosenlicht we define asymptotic couples and then give a short exposition of some basic facts about asymptotic couples. The theory $T_{P}$ of closed asymptotic triples, as defined in Section 2.4, is shown to be complete, decidable and to have elimination of quantifiers. This theory, as well as the theory $T$ of closed $H$-asymptotic couples do not have the independence property. The main result of the second chapter is that there is a formal connection between asymptotic couples of $H$-type and contraction groups.<p>A given valuation of a differential field of characteristic zero is a differential valuation if an analogue of l'Hospital's rule holds. We present in the third chapter, a survey of the most important properties of a differential valuation. The theorem of M. Rosenlicht regarding the construction of a differential field with given value group is given with a detailed proof. There exists a Hardy field, whose value group is a given asymptotic couple of Hardy type, of finite rank. We also investigate the problem of asymptotic integration.

The first chapter comprises a survey of valuations on totally ordered structures, developing notation and properties. A contraction map is induced by the exponential map on the value group $G$ of an ordered exponential field $K$ with respect to the natural valuation $v_{G}$. By studying the algebraic properties of Abelian groups with contractions, the theory of these groups is shown to be model complete, complete, decidable and to admit elimination of quantifiers. Hardy fields provide an example of non-archimedean exponential fields and of differential fields and therefore, they play a very important role in our research.<p>In accordance with Rosenlicht we define asymptotic couples and then give a short exposition of some basic facts about asymptotic couples. The theory $T_{P}$ of closed asymptotic triples, as defined in Section 2.4, is shown to be complete, decidable and to have elimination of quantifiers. This theory, as well as the theory $T$ of closed $H$-asymptotic couples do not have the independence property. The main result of the second chapter is that there is a formal connection between asymptotic couples of $H$-type and contraction groups.<p>A given valuation of a differential field of characteristic zero is a differential valuation if an analogue of l'Hospital's rule holds. We present in the third chapter, a survey of the most important properties of a differential valuation. The theorem of M. Rosenlicht regarding the construction of a differential field with given value group is given with a detailed proof. There exists a Hardy field, whose value group is a given asymptotic couple of Hardy type, of finite rank. We also investigate the problem of asymptotic integration.

Diss.--Münster--Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, 2003. / Bibliogr. p. 209-224.

Texte remanié de: Th. doct.--Droit privé--Paris 2, 1999. / Bibliogr. p. 491-532. Index.

Thèse de doctorat : Mathématiques : Mathématiques fondamentales : Metz : 2007. / Thèse soutenue sur ensemble de travaux. Bibliogr. p. 107-110.

Thesis supervisor: Sam V. Cochran. Thesis supervisor: William M. Liu. Includes bibliographic references (p. 135-147).