The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how LGB college students created meaning out of their coming out process to their parents. I recruited LGB college students who perceived support from their parents during their coming out process and asked the following research question: What are the lived experiences of LGB college students who have experienced support from their parents during the coming out process? Seven White (n = 4), African American (n = 2), and Hispanic (n = 1) college students, three men and four women aged 18-24 years, shared narratives that included time periods before, during, and after their coming out disclosures to their parents. Using an adapted phenomenological analysis, I identified nine major themes: awareness of feeling different, positive relationship with parents prior to coming out, college impacting the coming out process, feeling unsure of how parents would respond to disclosure, parents assuring continued loved and acceptance, parents affirming LGB identity, increased relational depth with parents, increased sense of authenticity, and an appreciation for family's response and support. The findings provide insight into how counselors might work most beneficially with LGB college students and their parents around the coming out process. Opportunities for future research and limitations of the study are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of parental divorce, level of family conflict, and family history of alcoholism on the alcohol use patterns of college students. Gender differences were also explored. Multivariate Analysis of Variance revealed mixed results. Parental marital status was found to have no significant effect on college students' alcohol behavior. High family conflict had a significant impact on both level of current alcohol use and level of alcohol related problems. A positive family history of alcoholism was found to have effects on the level of alcohol related problems encountered by students. Gender played a significant role, with males reporting higher levels of alcohol-related problems. No significant interactions were found. Results, contributions and limitations of the study are discussed.

Two hundred thirty-eight undergraduates from a midwestern university completed the Hazan and Shaver Attachment Instrument to categorize themselves into three attachment styles: secure, insecure anxious/ambivalent, and insecure avoidant. They also completed the Parental Attachment Questionnaire (PAQ), The Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales II (The FACES II), the Family Satisfaction Scale, and a Demographic Questionnaire.This study examined the attachment styles of undergraduates and measures of their parental attachments and family dynamics. It was hypothesized that the securely attached subjects would report significantly greater levels on three variables of parental attachment than would insecurely attached subjects. It was also hypothesized that securely attached subjects would report significantly higher levels on three variables of family dynamics than would insecurely attached subjects.Using multivariate analyses of variance designs, both hypotheses were supported. Subjects who were securely attached, when compared to those who were insecurely attached, reported significantly higher levels of parental attachment, in terms of: providing emotional support,fostering autonomy, and in the affective quality of their attachment to parents. Subjects who were securely attached, when compared to subjects who were insecurely attached, also reported significantly higher levels of adaptability, cohesion, and satisfaction in their families of origin.Results were discussed in relation to previous research on attachment styles and the studies of parental relationships and family dynamics in young adults. Methodological limitations were highlighted. Implications of this study and recommendations for future research were provided as well. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Although Latinos are the largest minority group in the country, research examining how different psychological and cultural variables affect Latino individuals' wellbeing is disproportionately developed and cross-cultural comparison studies are particularly scarce. To address these issues, this dissertation research examined cross-cultural adult attachment-social self-efficacy-psychosocial wellbeing conceptual mediational model while investigating the moderator effects of country membership and familismo on the proposed mediational model using a cross-cultural sample of Mexican and Mexican-American university students. A total of 595 participants, including 360 Mexican students from Mexico and 235 Mexican-American students from the United States completed the research questionnaires. Results indicated that social self-efficacy was a significant mediator for the effects of insecure attachment on life satisfaction and conflict resolution in both cultural groups and for the links between attachment insecurity and depressive symptoms in the Mexican-American group. Additionally, moderated mediation analyses showed that country membership was a significant moderator for the links between attachment avoidance and social self-efficacy when life satisfaction, conflict resolution style, and depressive symptoms were the dependent variables, as well as for the direct link between attachment anxiety and physical health symptoms. Familismo was also found to be a significant moderator for the direct effects of attachment anxiety on physical health symptoms and life satisfaction in both groups. Findings are discussed from the attachment and cross-cultural perspectives. Counseling implications, limitations, and future research directions are offered.

The purpose of the study is to examine adult attachment relationships among a group of college students and their parents. Two attachment hypotheses were tested: The mental model hypothesis for attachments with parents and romantic partners and the compensation hypothesis for attachment with God. Hypothesis 1 attempted to determine if there was agreement between parents and children about a self-reported attachment style. Support was found as students and parents had a significantly higher level of agreement when reporting a secure style of attachment between them, with sons being significantly highest. Hypothesis 2 examined agreement on attachment style between generations: Children's report of attachments to parents and parents' report of attachment to their parents. Results indicated that parents' reporting a secure style of attachment to their parents was significantly higher with their same gender parents. Hypothesis 3 produced two 15 x 15 correlation matrices including measures of romantic attachment and religiousness for children and parents. In general, further validity for measures used is provided in numerous expected correlations. Anxious and avoidant romantic attachment styles and desperate love were significantly positively related and were often negatively related to a secure style of attachment. Results indicate significant relationships between fathers' and children's (particularly daughters') romantic styles. The only significant correlation for mothers and sons was on religiousness; however, mothers and daughters, fathers and daughters, as well as mothers and fathers were all significantly positively correlated on religiousness. Hypothesis 4 results indicated that when there was disagreement with fathers on attachment style, children scored higher on a measure of religiousness, supporting the compensation hypothesis. Hypothesis 5 found that children with secure attachments to both parents and mothers with high importance of religion also scored significantly higher on importance of religion, supporting the mental model hypothesis. Overall, this study suggests that the mental model and compensation hypotheses do not compete, but rather, coexist in different contexts, perhaps with mediating events that discriminate between the two processes.

Stress plays a key role in our daily lives, influencing our emotional state, productivity, and health. One particular role in life, being a parent, has attracted significant attention in the research world in terms of the amount of stress parents experience in relation to different aspects of being parents. A life change that many parents, particularly mothers, are experiencing in increasing numbers is their return to college. This study compared reports of parenting stress and perceptions of the family environment between two groups of mothers. The first is a group of 32 mothers who were working 30 or more hours a week outside the home and were not enrolled in college while the second group consists of 31 mothers who were in college full-time and working less than 10 hours a week outside the home. All of the mothers were between the ages of 25 and 45 and had at least one child between the ages 5 and 12 years old. In both groups the mothers verified that their child(ren) was (were) without any diagnosis of an emotional, behavioral, or learning problem. A series of one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVAs) were performed. Results indicated there were no significant group effects related to the overall parenting stress expressed by the mothers. A significant group effect was noted (F = 5.31;\ p < .05) in that the working mothers reported a greater level of perceived poor health than the mothers who were attending college full-time. In relation to the mothers' perception of their family environment, a significant group effect (F = 6.23;\ p < .05) was found indicating that the working mothers reported a greater emphasis on ethical and religious issues and values.

This study explored whether depression was related to the way college students interact with their parents. A second purpose was to explore whether the emotional states of depression, anxiety, and hostility were associated with different types of adolescent dependence (Functional, Attitudinal, Conflictual, and Emotional) on each parent. A total of 108 undergraduate students from intact families completed self-report measures of depression, anxiety, hostility and psychological separation. A non-significant relationship was found between the way students relate to their parents and level of depression. However, subjects reporting angry or guilty feelings toward parents had significantly greater depression and hostility scores. Subjects reporting attitudes, values and beliefs that are not distinct from their parents also displayed significantly greater hostility scores. Furthermore, anxiety in the sample was significantly related to subjects' reports of dependence on approval, closeness and emotional support from parents.

The transition to college is usually the first time many late adolescents live apart from their parents for an extended period, making it an important developmental task (Kenny, 1987) that requires a variety of adaptational resources. Bowlby's (1969/1982, 1973, 1980) attachment theory has been refined by Kenny and Rice (1995) to explain how internal working models of late adolescents are the bases of the adaptational resources that determine the quality of adjustment to college. The Kenny and Rice model may be interpreted to suggest that external resources should include relationships with parents and friends, while internal resources can include self-concept. According to the authors, "these resources are assumed to moderate or buffer the effects of developmental challenges and stressful events on adjustment" (p.437). The purpose of the present study was to extend and further clarify the ways that quality attachment relationships and positive self-concept conjointly may promote healthy adaptation in the college milieu. In particular, the present study examined the influence of self-concept as a mediating variable with respect to attachment and healthy adjustment to college. Students from Freshman Psychology classes completed measures to assess their attachment relationships with each parent, their attachment relationships with peers, their level of self-concept, and their perceived adaptation to college. These measures were completed by students of traditional age (ages 18-20) within the first year of starting college. The results of the study indicate that: 1) a relationship exists between attachment and self-concept; 2) attachment is associated with college adjustment; 3) self-concept is related to college adjustment, and functions as a mediator variable between attachment and college adjustment; 4) there were no gender effects in the levels of mother or father attachment, and females reported higher levels of peer attachment; and 5) there were no gender effects in overall levels self-concept, but females reported higher levels of Moral Self-Concept.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-90). / 114 leaves, bound 29 cm

The current study examined the paternal influences on the career development of African American emerging adults. While statistics have shown that many African Americans remain in the lower socioeconomic status bracket and have worse academic and career outcomes, still many African Americans are successful. The literature seems to attribute lack of success to low socioeconomic status, but attributes success to close family relationships. However, most of these studies have focused on maternal relationships and have neglected to include the influence of paternal relationships. Studies that have examined African American fathers have emphasized their negative attributes. Previous studies have also failed to consider the influence of other factors on the career development process such as ethnic identity and psychological adjustment. This study explored the influence of contextual, family, and developmental factors on the career process of African American emerging adults. One hundred sixty-seven African American undergraduate students ages 18 to 25 were recruited for participation in this study. Regression analyses indicated that the quality of the father-child relationship influenced career development, though not in the manner expected. High levels of father support enhanced well-being for individuals with high ethnic identity, but did not produce the same results for individuals with low ethnic identity. Well-being was a significant predictor of career maturity. Explanations, implications, and future directions are discussed.