published_or_final_version / Chinese Language and Literature / Master / Master of Arts

abstract: Lifespan psychological perspectives have long suggested the context in which individuals live having the potential to shape the course of development across the adult lifespan. Thus, it is imperative to examine the role of both the objective and subjective neighborhood context in mitigating the consequences of lifetime adversity on mental and physical health. To address the research questions, data was used from a sample of 362 individuals in midlife who were assessed on lifetime adversity, multiple outcomes of mental and physical health and aspects of the objective and subjective neighborhood. Results showed that reporting more lifetime adversity was associated with poorer mental and physical health. Aspects of the objective and subjective neighborhood, such as green spaces moderated these relationships. The discussion focuses on potential mechanisms underlying why objective and subjective indicators of the neighborhood are protective against lifetime adversity. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2019

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 65-69).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Calvin Theological Seminary, 1994. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [60-61]).

M.A. / The mid-life transition is the focus of this research. It is an in-depth qualitative study based on a small sample of women between forty to sixty years of age. The research also examines the significance of the story medium as a means of generating psychological data concerning the experience of the mid-life transition. This data was analysed using grounded theory methodology. The results suggest that there is a merging of the cognitive and affective functions during the mid-life transition causing disequilibrium and the shifting of elements within the psychic structure. The data further suggest that mid-life is a meaning generating process at two levels. There is a clarification of goals, values and life direction. At a deeper level there is a search for an inner purposiveness or soul centredness. Themes centred around questions of identity and relationship. Identity issues surfaced with regard to appearance, roles, future and the death/rebirth motif Relationship issues concerned relationship to marriage, motherhood, work and money. Ultimately, at mid-life, there is an inner search for soul purposiveness.

This research examines women's ways of understanding health and illness as well as their means of maintaining wellness. It attempts a women-centred approach to explaining health behaviours. The research consisted of in-depth interviews with seven women from Southern Ontario between the ages of 50 and 70. A grounded theory approach guided the analysis. The study shows that perceptions of power and control may be at the root of many attitudes toward health care and various health behaviours. By researching health issues from women's perspectives, this research provides a glimpse of the way these seven women experience midlife, and suggests the existance of perspectives that differ from mainstream views on health and illness. It further demonstrates how theories of agency can be used to shift the focus of sociological research from over-socialized accounts of health-related behaviours to more empowering, woman-centred explanations. It shows that women strive to maintain control of their health and that they pursue wellness in a manner that enables them to keep that control. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Background: Every year the number of young and middle-aged persons who receive stroke are increasing. Stroke is often considered as a disease of old people. A stroke often leads to changes in life. The consequences can be cognitive impairments and movement disabilities. These consequences can have a high impact of the person's life. Aim: The aim was to describe experiences of daily life after a stroke from the perspective of adults younger than 65 years old. Method: To analyze data, Friberg's (2012) method aimed to contribute to evidence-based care based on analyzing qualitative research, was used. Ten scientific articles were chosen and analyzed. Results: The result showed that adults younger than 65 who suffered from a stroke experiences a lot of difficulties in life afterwards. The analyze process generated four categories and nine subcategories. The four categories are "an altered work situation", "lack in rehabilitation", "to loose myself", "difficulties in social meetings". Conclusion: The study showed that rehabilitation is very important for adults younger than 65 who suffered from a stroke. Their experiences showed a lack in rehabilitation when it comes to their age category. To go back to work, live family life and participate in other social events is important. It's different to suffer from a stroke at younger age when it comes to their needs. Health staff should be aware of these needs.

The aim of this thesis is to explore rural women’s midlife experiences and interrogate the roles of health, social and community factors in these. In the cultural imagination, midlife signifies the onset of ageing and is thus framed in a discourse of decline. For women, it is often considered in terms of menopause and the end of fecundity and fertility. I propose that women’s experience of midlife is much broader than this; instead, it is characterised by transformation in multiple domains and health status is important. I suggest that the continuity theory of ageing is useful when conceptualising the life course. The concept of habitus enables exploration of how identity is re/constructed during the ageing process in response to changing bodily circumstances, such as health problems. (For complete abstract open document)

With people living longer and coming into old age with more diverse relational experiences than previous cohorts (e.g., divorce, cohabitation), researchers anticipate that the so-called baby boomers will be more interested in pursuing romantic relationships in later life than their predecessors. On the other hand, we know that the experience of aging varies among people on the basis of their social locations (e.g., racial, gender, class). As central Appalachia is a place characterized by persistent poverty, I interviewed single, midlife White women from a community in West Virginia (N=11) to investigate (a) their experiences with family life and (b) their expectations for romantic relationships in later life. I used grounded theory methodology to develop a theory of intimacy and family life in central Appalachia. I found that the women who were more integrated into their families of origin had little or no interest in romantic relationships, regardless of their past relationship history. Women who perceived their childhoods as traumatic were less integrated into their families of origin and had a weaker sense of place, but had more interest in finding a romantic partner in later life. I concluded for those with a strong sense of place the importance of the family of origin persisted through midlife and into old age. / Ph. D.

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