Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 255-276). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-66). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Akron, School of Family and Consumer Sciences-Child and Family Development, 2009. / "August, 2009." Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed 10/7/2009) Advisor, Pamela A. Schulze; Faculty Readers, Susan D. Witt, David Witt; Department Chair, Sue Rasor-Greenhalgh; Dean of the College, James M. Lynn; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010. / Prepared for: Dept. of Psychology. Title from title-page of electronic thesis. Bibliography: leaves 36-44.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-66). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Carroll E. Izard, Dept. of Psychology. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1996. / Title from title page screen, viewed May 22, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Robert Arnold (chair), Patricia Klass, Larry McNeal, Joe Parks, Seymour Bryson. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-84) and abstract. Also available in print.

<p>To date, only two studies, both using the same sample at two different time points, have quantitatively examined outcomes in Black caregivers of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study examined family adaptational outcomes in Black and White caregivers of individuals with ASD using the double ABCX model of family adaptation to examine the impacts of stressors, the A in the model (e.g., autism symptom severity, general life demands), resources/supports, the B in the model (e.g., social support), and individual coping/stress appraisal styles, the C in the model (e.g., cognitive appraisal, religious coping) on caregiver positive and negative adaptation outcomes, the X in the model, (e.g., caregiver strain, benefit finding, family quality of life). Black and White caregivers were compared on adaptation outcomes at the family, dyadic, and individual level, including both positively valenced (e.g., benefit finding) and negatively valenced outcomes (e.g., depression, caregiver strain). Participants were Black (N = 24) and White (N = 32) primary caregivers of individuals with ASD. Racial differences were found for both the general and racial-specific factors in the ABCX model. White and Black caregivers reported moderate and equal levels of caregiver strain. However, Black caregivers reported greater levels of anxiety and depression and lower levels of life satisfaction. When adjusting for potential ABC covariates, racial differences in outcomes were no longer significant. That is, racial differences in outcomes could be explained by differences in the proximal elements represented by the ABC variables of the model (e.g., passive-avoidance coping, religious coping). Black caregivers reported higher levels of pile-up of demands, formal social support, threat appraisal, passive-avoidance coping, and positive and negative religious coping than White caregivers. Different factors were related to caregiver strain in the two racial groups. Conscientiousness was a protective factor against caregiver strain for Black caregivers, whereas greater use of passive-avoidance coping and threat appraisal, higher levels of neuroticism and barriers to care, and lower levels of satisfaction with services, parenting self-efficacy, and formal social support were explanatory factors for increased caregiver strain among White caregivers. These results are helpful in informing interventions and support the cultural adaptation of care as provided to Black caregivers of individuals with ASD.</p>

My dissertation examines the distrust and trust that New York City African-American parents place in schools at a moment when market-based education policies and gentrification are transforming the landscape of public schools in many historically Black urban communities. In my study, I tease apart how the nature of parent trust in local public schools might be different from the nature of trust in the institution of public schooling or faith in public education, as Black parents may expect different things from the local school and the school system. I also explore how trust or distrust in parent-school relationships develops, by treating trusting as a dynamic process, shaped by past socialization and experiences, as well as current experiences with schools. I examine parents’ accounts of critical moments in their relationship with their child’s schools; such as finding and enrolling their children in a new school, impressions of teaching and classroom management and to what extent schools respected their parent involvement. I find that the parent-school relationship develops different for Black parents who send their children to traditional public schools and charter schools, but that in general, the parent perceptions of schools’ lack of care for Black children and lack of respect for Black parents are what drives distrust. By examining how trust in public schools might develop uniquely for Black Americans, my study develops treatments of trust in education research and theory by challenging the functionalist and power-neutral assumption that trust in schools is inherently constructive. By centering the perspectives of Black parents to better understand how legacies of institutional racism impede the development of trust in schools, I highlight how these normative assumptions about parent trust in schools often elide the role of socio-cultural exclusion, power asymmetries, discrimination, and a legacy of institutional racism and neglect—across many institutional contexts—that foreground orientations of parents of color toward educators and schools. Indeed, it is often prudent for Black parents to distrust schools and educators in order to protect their children because they have not been trustworthy. In addition, my study also illuminates whether changing urban school systems are deemed legitimate in the eyes of the public, and what kinds of parent-school relationships can foster greater trust.