The prevalence of nonmarital sexual behavior among adolescents continues to rise, as does the number of sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS, and unwanted pregnancies. College-age adolescents appear to be even more susceptible to these problems. Sound theoretical knowledge would seem useful in designing more effective prevention programs. The purpose of this study was to identity theoretical factors that contribute to or decrease such behaviors. Two hundred fifty-two single college students completed measures designed to examine relations among identity development, attachment patterns, gender, and sexual behavior in older adolescents. Attachment and identity measures were used to explore variations in sexual behavior relating to identity development and the quality of intimate relationships formed in late adolescence. Three measures were used to assess these theoretical constructs and to measure sexual behavior: The Personal Opinion Survey contains Grotevant and Adams' 64-item Extended Version of the Objective Measure ofEgo Identity Status; a modified version of Simpson, Rholes, and Nelligan's 13-item Attachment Style measure; and 19 items that assess sexual behaviors. Results confirmed statistically significant relations among identity development, attachment patterns, gender, and sexual behavior. Specifically, correlational analyses confirmed relations among identity, attachment, and premarital intercourse, age of first intercourse, and items pertaining to risky sexual behavior. Identity was also statistically significantly related to premarital intercourse. Attachment and identity sub scale scores were predictive of sexual behavior when multiple regression equations were generated. Previous studies of identity, gender, and intimacy among older adolescents support the findings ofthis study. Other researchers have found relationships between attachment and intimacy among this population. The results of this study and future research areas are discussed.

The overall thrust of this dissertation is to gain a fundamental understanding of the synergistic effects between surface topography and chemical functionality of poorly adhesive materials on enhancing the adhesion of mouse embryonic fibroblasts. Cellular response to surface topography and chemical functionality have been extensively studied on their own providing valuable information that helps in the design of new and improved biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. However, there is a lack of understanding of the synergistic effect of microscale and nanoscale topography with chemical functionality and the relative impact and contribution of each in modulating cellular behavior. By understanding the relationship between these cues, in particular using materials that are poorly adhesive, this study will provide new clues as to how cells adapt to their environment and also suggest new dimensions of biomaterial design for fine-tuning cellular control. A microstructure that combined non adhesive materials with defined surface topography and surface chemistry is presented, to assess and correlate the enhancement of mouse embryonic fibroblasts cell adhesion and spreading. Poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) or PNIPAAm electrospun fibers were overlaid on PNIPAAm thin films (100 nm) at various time points to investigate the role of topography on such coatings by keeping the chemical functionality the same. After doing this, several topographical patterns were developed, spanning from sparse to dense fiber mats, and cell adhesion strongly depended on the relative available areas for attachment on either the fibers or the supporting surface. To gain a better understanding of this finding, two surface chemistries, non-adhesive (self-assembled monolayer of polyethylene glycol (PEGSAM) alkanethiol on gold) or an adhesive coating (3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) on glass) with well characterized adhesive properties were included in this study to assess the effect of topographical cues provided by the PNIPAAm electrospun fibers on cellular responses. With the deposition of the PNIPAAm fibers onto a PEGSAM surface, cell adhesion increased to almost 100%, and unlike the PNIPAAm surface, cell spreading was significantly enhanced. With the deposition of PNIPAAm fibers onto APTES, both cell adhesion and spreading were unaffected up to 60% fiber coverage. For both surfaces, PNIPAAm fiber densities above 60% coverage lead to adhesion and spreading independent of the underlying surface. These findings indicate the presence of a sparse topographical feature can stimulate cell adhesion on a typically non-adhesive material, and that a chemical dissimilarity between the topographic features and the background enhances this effect through greater cell-surface interaction. In addition to the aforementioned studies, cell response was also assessed on PNIPAAm thin films coatings with thicknesses ranging from 100 nm to 7 nm. Cell adhesion and spreading was enhanced as the thickness of the thin film decreased. This change was more noticeable below 30 nm, wherein 7 nm shows the highest cell adhesion and spreading enhancement. The results reported are preliminary results and further experiments will be conducted, to support the data. It is believed that cellular response was enhanced due to a change in surface topography at the nanoscale level.

Emerging adulthood (ages 18-25 years) is a developmental period marked by changes in attachment, the onset of serious dating relationships, and rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) up to 40% and 90% for physical and psychological IPV, respectively. This dissertation aims to investigate moderators of the link between insecure attachment, a known risk factor for IPV, and psychological IPV, coercive controlling behaviours, and relational aggression in emerging adulthood. One hundred and seventeen undergraduate students in dating relationships were recruited to partake in a baseline assessment followed by a 14-day daily diary study. During the baseline assessment, participants self-reported on putative trait level risk factors such as demographics and insecure attachment. During the daily diary portion, participants reported on their use of partner aggression (physical and psychological IPV, coercive controlling behaviours, and relational aggression; however, due to low base rates, physical IPV could not be analyzed as an outcome), as well as their experiences of felt partner acceptance and rejection, support and conflict in their relationships, alcohol use, and stress for each day. I hypothesized that attachment anxiety, problems in the dyadic relationship (inadequate support, conflict, and felt rejection and anxiety about acceptance), and putative disinhibitors (stress and alcohol consumption) would be directly linked to risk for perpetration of all forms of aggression and interact to predict risk for partner aggression. Hypotheses regarding partner support, conflict, and felt regard were also tested. Specifically, I hypothesized that ratings of partner support fit, hurt as a result of conflict, and daily felt regard would differ for more insecurely attached versus more securely attached individuals. Following application of exclusion criteria, data from 98 participants were analyzed using multilevel modeling in Hierarchical Linear Modeling (Raudenbush et al., 1995). The results from this dissertation underscore the importance of attachment anxiety as an individual risk factor for IPV and identified more proximal risk factors that fluctuate on a daily basis. Attachment anxiety, felt rejection, and conflict were related to risk for all three forms of IPV. Unexpectedly, attachment avoidance was linked to decreased risk for coercive control. Anxiety about acceptance was uniquely associated with risk for psychological IPV, and inadequate support fit was uniquely associated with risk for coercive control. Greater attachment anxiety interacted with high conflict to predict greater risk for coercive control. No other significant two-way interactions between attachment anxiety and problems in the dyadic relationship emerged. Contrary to hypotheses, stress and alcohol consumption were linked to decreased risk for coercive control. Stress also appeared to suppress the link between dyadic problems and risk for psychological IPV on a given day, and dyadic problems paired with alcohol consumption was related to a decreased risk of coercive control. High stress and greater dyadic problems interacted to predict greater risk for coercive control as expected. No conclusions could be drawn about 2-way interactions between stress and dyadic problems and alcohol consumption and dyadic problems when predicting relational aggression, as the model did not converge. This study did not find support for the “perfect storm theory” of aggression (in which a 3-way interaction between risk factors is associated with greatest risk of IPV) when predicting psychological IPV. The “perfect storm theory” could not be tested in relation to coercive control and relational aggression as these models did not converge. The findings from this study contribute to our knowledge of why some people perpetrate IPV and not others, and why people perpetrate IPV on some days and not others. These results inform the multiple possible points of entry for prevention and interventions aiming to promote healthy relationships in emerging adults. / Graduate

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is the direct, purposeful self-infliction of injury, which results in tissue damage, is performed without conscious suicidal intent and through methods that are not socially sanctioned (Nixon & Heath, 2009). The phenomenon of self-injurious behaviours is alarming, especially among adolescents and young adults (Muehlenkamp, 2005). In fact, it is estimated that lifetime prevalence of NSSI in young adults within the general population is around 12% to 38% (for reviews, see Heath, Schaub, Holly, & Nixon, 2009; Jacobson & Gould, 2007; Rodham & Hawton, 2009). While this proportion declines when assessing recent NSSI (i.e., usually performed in the past six months or in the past year), the numbers are still disturbing with 2.5% to 12.5% of young adults reporting current NSSI (for reviews, see Heath et al., 2009; Jacobson & Gould, 2007; Rodham & Hawton, 2009). The goal of this thesis is to investigate the associations between romantic relationships and NSSI in young adults and to address two major limitations that emerge from the literature, namely: a) several theoretical hypotheses have yet to be validated despite considerable advances in the scientific study of NSSI; and b) with the exception of one study, the few studies available relating romantic relationships and NSSI solely focused on the individual level of analysis instead of including both partners in the model. This goal will be addressed through three articles, each targeting specific objectives. For the sake of methodological rigor and for adequate evaluation of the constructs under study, the purpose of the first study was to validate the factorial structure of the English version of the Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI; Bodenmann, 2008). A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) corroborated the measurement theory of the DCI by revealing the presence of five coping factors (i.e., stress communication, supportive dyadic coping, delegated dyadic coping, negative dyadic coping, common dyadic coping) and two target factors (i.e., one’s own dyadic coping and partner’s dyadic coping). The English DCI also demonstrated good internal reliability and yielded preliminary evidence of concurrent validity. All together, these findings lead to the conclusion that the English DCI is an accurate and reliable measure of dyadic coping, and that researchers can use the English DCI confidently in their research to evaluate dyadic coping processes. The established factorial structure of the English DCI was then used in subsequent studies of this thesis. The purpose of the second study was to investigate direct and indirect associations between insecure romantic attachment, difficulties in emotion regulation and common dyadic coping strategies, and endorsement of NSSI behaviours. From an empirical standpoint, this study is the first to explore these specific relationships in one comprehensive model, targeting both interpersonal and intrapersonal strategies to deal with stressful experiences and the role it might have on one’s NSSI behaviours. Overall, the results revealed that difficulties in emotion regulation mediated the relationships between romantic attachment insecurity (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and NSSI, whereas no such effects were found for common dyadic coping strategies. Findings from this study suggest that intrapersonal strategies (i.e., emotion regulation) might be more influential on one’s NSSI behaviours than behavioural strategies (i.e., common dyadic coping). This study also offers a first step towards the understanding of the romantic relational context of individuals struggling with NSSI behaviours. The next step remains to explore the couple as the unit of analysis rather than focusing on only one member of the relationship, giving way to the third study of this thesis. The primary aim of the third study was to generate a general portrait of young women’s romantic relationship functioning, distinguishing women who recently self-injured from those who have never self-injured. This study was designed to permit the exploration of not only the individual-level effects, but also potential effects from the romantic partner. Through a series of nonparametric Mann-Whitney U tests, results revealed that women who engage in NSSI behaviours are more likely to report subjective distress in the form of attachment anxiety and distrust compared to women who do not engage in NSSI behaviours. They also reported good, but slightly lower levels of, relationship satisfaction and adaptive dyadic coping strategies compared to women who have never engaged in NSSI. Findings also showed that partners of women who engage in NSSI behaviour reported more attachment anxiety than partners of women who do not engage in NSSI behaviours. The women and their partner’s reports about their romantic relationship experiences provide unique insight into the similarities and differences of individuals who self-injure and those who do not. Furthermore, a cursory exploration of the partners’ NSSI behaviours revealed that nearly one-third of the partners in a relationship with women who self-injured also reported having recently engaged in NSSI behaviours. These findings add some depth to the understanding of the relational context of those who are struggling with NSSI and provide future directions in research.

In this thesis I argue that negative attributions mediate between attachment insecurity and relationship outcomes. Using a sample of 59 couples the well-documented association between attachment insecurity and relationship satisfaction was replicated. I then tested whether this association was mediated by attributions for hypothetical behaviour for a real partner and a hypothetical potential partner. Attributions for real partner behaviour did mediate between insecure attachment and relationship satisfaction, but not attributions for a potential partner. It was further hypothesised that an association would exist between couple communication and attachment insecurity, which would be mediated by negative attributions. Couples completed two ten-minute problem-solving discussions and participated in a video-mediated recall process, providing a measure of attributions for real events with their current partner. Results supported the hypotheses for self-reported, but not observed, communication. It was concluded that the association between attachment and attributions does not represent a consistent cognitive processing bias, but rather a relationship-specific phenomena. Future research directions were proposed to investigate mediation from a long-term perspective and the therapeutic implications of these findings were discussed.

Recently, researchers have begun to examine the impact of attachment on coping with a medical illness. It is hypothesised that a patient's responses to unusual or distressing physical symptoms and participation in the patient-clinician relationship can be understood by examining the nature of their attachments. Theoretical links between attachment style and affect regulation suggest that ‘internal working models’ developed in childhood may have implications, not only for the quality of close relationships, such as romantic love, but also for other significant interactions. In the domain of physical illness, patient-clinician interactions represent such a significant relationship. It is proposed that the attachment behaviour of the patient to the clinician in the context of chronic medical illness may impact on medical illness behaviour and illness outcome. This clinical portfolio reviews the literature on attachment theory, health behaviour and the implications of the patient-clinician relationship in the context of a chronic medical illness. Four case studies of different types of chronic medical illness were examined in relation to attachment theory. The cases included: Jenny, a 10 year-old girl with polycystic kidney disease; Angela, a 13 year-old girl with recurrent urinary tract infections; Aarron, a 36 year-old man with Human Immunodeficiency Virus; and Andrew, a 49 year-old man with multiple medical illnesses. It was concluded that attachment theory is a useful conceptual framework for informing clinical formulation and explaining the patient-clinician interaction among individuals with a chronic medical illness.

This research developed two best-fitting structural equation models of risk factors for adolescent depression and suicidality: a core model, which included parenting factors, gender, depression, and suicidality, and an extended model, which also encompassed personality traits (Introversion and Impulsivity) and mood factors (Anxiety and Anger). Further, this research investigated the consistency of model fit across time (Le., 1 month & 12 months) and samples, and explored the effectiveness of the ReachOut! Internet site as a psychoeducational prevention strategy for adolescent depression and suicidality. Gender, age, and location differences were also explored. Participants were 185 Year-9 students and 93 Year-10 students aged 14 - 16 years, from seven secondary schools in regional and rural Victoria. Students were given a survey which included the Parental Bonding Instrument (Parker, Tupling, & Brown, 1979), the Millon Adolescent Personality Inventory (Millon, Green, & Meagher, 1982), the Profile of Mood States Inventory (McNair & Lorr, 1964), items on suicidal behaviour including some questions from the Revised Adolescent Suicide Questionnaire (Pearce & Martin, 1994), and questions on loss and general demographics. Results supported an indirect model of risk factors, with family factors directly influencing personality factors, which in turn influenced mood factors, including depression, which then influenced suicidality. At the theoretical level, results supported Attachment Theory (Bowlby, 1969), demonstrating that perceived parenting styles that are warm and not overly controlling are more conducive to an adolescent's emotional well-being than are parenting styles that are cold and controlling. Further, results supported Millon's theory of personality (1981), demonstrating that parenting style influences a child's personality. Short-term intervention effects from the internet site were a decrease in Introversion for the full sample, and decreased Inhibition and Suicidality for a high-risk subgroup. Long-term age effects were decreased Inhibition and increased Anxiety for the fall sample. There was also a probable intervention effect for Depression for the high-risk subgroup. No location differences for the risk factors were found between regional and rural areas.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Typescript (photocopy)

<p><p>Lehtikunnas, Katri Johanna (2009). <em>Pelotas</em><em> as seen through the eyes of its street children. An empirical investigation of the child-friendliness of a midsize Brazilian city.</em> Human Geography, advanced level, master thesis for master exam in Human Geography, 30 ECTS credits.</p><p>Supervisor: Maria Nordström</p><p>Language: English</p><p> </p><p>The aim of this study was to understand the lives of the street children in Pelotas in Southern Brazil. Utilizing multi-method approach I have outlined normal days of these children. Observation, semi-structure interviews individually and in focus groups and walking tours with twelve street children provided vast knowledge about the geographies of their activities and locational choices. This study illustrates the picture the street children have of their city. The conceptual framework of this study is based on the concepts of child-friendly cities and attachment to place. The results analyzed by using these concepts reveal the extremely challenging situation of street children in the margin of society. Settings for a good and balanced life may be there, but actualization of those settings is trivial. Abuse, violence, drugs, discrimination and misunderstanding frame their everyday life. Possibilities to live a normal life are minimal. In this light child-friendliness of Pelotas is evaluated. Based on the results, I claim that these concepts cannot be directly applied to street children. To be able to improve the livelihoods of these children a key tool is cooperation with them. The projects need to be designed and planned <em>with</em> them, not <em>for</em> them. Collaboration between the children and the mainstream society is needed to get sustainable results.</p></p>