There is a well-established and positive association between religiosity and marital satisfaction. What is less clear is the effect of religiosity on marital sexual outcomes, with research findings that have run the gamut from negative to positive. Given that most religions teach that marriage is the divinely appointed context for a sexual relationship, religious persons who are married and in sexual relationships could have a different experience with sex than those who are not in a marital sexual relationship. Although the majority of the population in the United States is religious, sex in religious marriages has received scant research attention. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine in three manuscripts the association between religiosity, sexuality, and marital connection. In manuscript one, I look at how doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints dovetails with principles of social science in ways that could potentially improve the sexual connection in these religious marriages. Specifically, I examine how Latter-day Saints can better sanctify their sexuality through autonomy and relatedness. As member couples dovetail healthy religious principles with social science principles, such as focusing on avoiding selfishness and developing a self in a larger moral context, they can experience improved marital connection. In study two, I research the spontaneous mentions of sexuality in interviews with highly religious families in the American Families of Faith dataset. These 198 highly religious families come from a rich variety of socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, and religious backgrounds. Couples and families mention four major themes that matter to them at the intersection of religion and sexuality--boundaries and rules of sex, purposes of sex, navigating culture and media, and concerns around children and sex, such as imparting values. I also offer clinicians who work with religious couples and families ways to help their clients better navigate the intersection between religion and sex. In study three, I use a nationally representative (CREATE) survey dataset to examine the effect of religion on marital connection (emotional and sexual), and whether commitment and empathy mediate that relationship. Commitment and empathy are both elements of Martin Buber's dialogic philosophy that should help individuals enjoy better connection. The association between religion and marital connection is analyzed over time (Waves II, III, and IV, which are approximately one year apart) and with dyadic data (1,818 households completed all three waves). Commitment and empathy do concurrently mediate the relationship between religion and marital connection, but the effects do not last over time, suggesting that these connective attributes need to be renewed often to have a positive effect on marital outcomes. Religion appears to have a positive impact on marital sexuality and marital connection. Popular thought might indicate that marriage often settles into comfortable complacency, but it is not doomed to. Like dynamic individuals, religious married individuals might find their relationship gets better with time and effort. Married religious individuals might also benefit from future research that examines specific religious doctrines or teachings that help married couples enjoy sanctified sex and increase marital connection.

Research indicates that having high sexual satisfaction during pregnancy is difficult for couples. This negative trend is important considering that low sexual satisfaction can negatively affect both relationship satisfaction, psychological health, and child outcomes. However, there is evidence that this trend does not apply to all and different groups of couples exist in terms of their sexual satisfaction in pregnancy. Guided by family systems theory and the biopsychosocial model, the current study explored if different subsets of couples, composed of pregnant wives and husbands, exist in terms of their sexual satisfaction during pregnancy and what factors distinguish potential subsets. Using U.S. nationally representative data from 523 pregnant married couples and latent profile analysis adjusting for pregnancy-related biological factors, two subsets of pregnant couples were identified—a larger subset of couples where wives and husbands were satisfied with sex overall (79%) and a smaller subset where wives and husbands were neutral about satisfaction with sex (21%). Having lower depressive symptoms among wives was associated with a greater likelihood of being in the more satisfied subset over the less satisfied subset—the only significant predictor among a variety of biological, psychological, and relational factors, including sexual frequency. Implications include the notion that most U.S. couples do well in navigating the sexual challenges in their control during pregnancy and the importance for medical professionals, practitioners, and educators to help women maintain good mental health during pregnancy in order to better sexual, relational, and psychological outcomes for expectant couples and improve early childhood outcomes.

Engineers working internationally are increasingly concerned with the social impacts of their work. New frontiers in design show promise in helping practitioners address these concerns. One of these is codesign, a practice of making stakeholders co-decision-makers in the design process. Codesign has the potential to greatly improve the social sustainability of engineered products, but some concerns remain surrounding codesign’s practicability in engineering. I explore three such concerns: that conflicting institutional logics may undermine codesign’s collaborative aspirations, that codesign can perpetuate developmental idealism, and that codesign may insufficiently account for the needs and perspectives of marginalized populations. Through more than a year of ethnographic research, including dozens of interviews and hundreds of hours of observation, I examine the realities of codesign as it is carried out by a team of engineers in the Brazilian Amazon. I find that conflicting logics do undermine codesign at times, but that the engineers are still able to explore new tools and practices for socially sustainable engineering, even in times of codesign failure. I also find that the engineers are better equipped to respond to modernizing stakeholders than they are traditional ones. This may lead to the spread of developmental idealism and the further marginalization of disadvantaged groups.

This study explored reasons for relapse among a sample of 938 self-identified problematic pornography users. A combination of numeric content analysis and qualitative coding of responses to an open-ended question about pornography relapse revealed six main categories of reasons for relapse. The mental, emotional, and relational categories were then analyzed in detail, and this analysis revealed significant overlap of responses from the emotional and relational categories. Hence, a new category of relational-emotional reasons for relapse was created and analyzed. The findings from this study highlight the complex interactions of different types of factors driving relapse in self-perceived problematic pornography users and future research and clinical applications are discussed.

Research relevant to the unique needs and experiences of racial/ethnic/cultural (REC) minority groups in social science literature is essential to the work of policymakers and clinical practitioners. However, the social sciences have traditionally failed to publish a sufficient number of articles that address these needs and experiences or even adequately report the racial and ethnic makeup of their samples. The purpose of this study is to provide an updated look at Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) literature and how often sample participants’ ethnicity is reported, how frequently studies focus on ethnic issues or specific REC minority groups, which REC minority groups and topics receive the most attention in minority-focused studies, which REC minority groups and topics receive the most attention in funded studies, and how these trends have changed over time. Specifically, five journals (American Journal of Family Therapy, Family Process, Journal of Family Therapy, Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, and Contemporary Family Therapy) were selected for inclusion in the analysis and were examined inclusively from 2000-2017. Results and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Abstract Dementia is one of the degenerative conditions that present in old age with a decline in cognitive function resulting in changes in personality and the ability to carry out activities of daily living and social functions. Dementia is usually associated with behavioral disturbances that include anxiety and agitation that pose a challenge for family members or caregivers in an alternate home or care-related facility. The purpose of this project was to design and implement a quality improvement program to evaluate music therapy intervention for residents in a long-term care who have dementia. The aim was to evaluate if music therapy was effective in reducing anxiety and agitation in these residents. The Kolcaba theory of comfort was the framework that guided the approach, and the logic model was the tool used to guide the process of program implementation over the period of 1 month. The Rating of Anxiety in Dementia (RAID) and the Cohen Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI-short form) scales were the assessment tools utilized to analyze the collected data. The program was formatted using a cyclic twice-weekly group listening sessions that comprised of 6 participants. Each session lasted 30 minutes that included listening to vocal music of a past genre that should be familiar. A convenience sample of 4 caregivers who routinely cared for the residents used the instruments to document physical and behavioral assessments following the music sessions. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and the results suggest that music intervention produced changes in the RAID and CMAI scores for the 6 individuals. The results suggest that music interventions can positively affect the cognitive and functional status of mildly impaired elderly individual, thereby promoting social change.

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of grandfather in the lives of his adolescent grandchildren. A survey design was used to (1) obtain demographic data, (2) determine how the two generations perceive each other, (3) identify the types and frequencies of interaction between grandfathers and their adolescent grandchildren, and (4) compare the conceptions of an ideal grandfather by the two classes of subjects. Data were gathered from 47 adolescents and their 61 grandfathers. Most of the subjects were fr om the dominant religion in the Wasatch front area. The results confirm a viable adolescent grandchild/ grandfather relationship. Residential distance affects this relationship, but a majority of grandchildren enjoy both geographical and emotional closeness to a grandfather. The generations exhibit generally positive perceptions of each other and demonstrate mutual enjoyment of the relationship. Adolescent grandchildren find grandfather enjoyable to be with and grandfather is pleased with the moral development of his adolescent grandchildren. Some personal habits or behaviors of each generation are distasteful to the other. The generations exchange gifts at least once a year and visit either in person or by telephone on a regular basis . They seldom argue or get angry with one another, but neither do they join regularly in games, sports, or trips. Both generations express a need for increased contact and generally agree on the type of relationship desired. Insufficient evidence was found to conclude that the perception of the grandfather role by adolescent aged individuals varies by age or by sex. some trends were found, however, indicating a need for further research particularly in the area of differences by sex of the grandchild. A difference by age in grandfather's perception of adolescents or his perception of the grandfather role was also not supported.

The purpose of this research was to examine the differences between mothers in single- and two-parent families as they interact with their child with a disability. The sample consisted of 240 children with developmental disabilities and their mothers. Maternal interaction behaviors were measured using the Maternal Behavior Rating Scale. Demographic information, child characteristic measures, and family functioning variables were also considered. Analyses of covariance indicated that there were no differences between interaction behaviors of mothers in single- and two-parent families. However, relationships between income, education, and family cohesion, and the types of interactions displayed between mother and child were found. The results of this study have implications for intervention specialists who work with children with disabilities. The importance of examining the family context in order to determine how to best tailor a treatment program to fit the need of the family is discussed.

Changes in the American workforce have raised concern over the interface between family and work. The responsibilities and frustrations of the work domain frequently spill over to the family domain and vice versa. The purpose of this research has been to investigate the influence of workplace stressors, resources, and perceptions on subsequent negative work-to-family spillover. The theoretical direction for the study stems from a modified application of McCubbin and Patterson's double ABCX model, which fits well into the larger spillover perspective. The data for the study came from 1992 National Study of the Changing Workforce [NSCW). A subsample of respondents who worked full-time, lived with another family member, and were not self-employed was used for the analysis. The final sample consisted of 598 respondents. The findings suggest that work-co-family spillover is more common for women than men. However, the workplace stressor and resources in this study had less direct influence on work-co-family spillover for women than for men. In shore, an adequate explanation of work-to-family spillover is likely more complex for women than for men. The findings also generally supported the theoretical model. That is, workplace stressors, workplace resources, and family perceptions generally had an effect on work-co-family spillover. Interestingly, formal workplace resources, such as family-friendly programs, had only a small effect on work-to-family spillover. However, exploring spillover from a family-co-work direction would have possibly yielded different results. Informal resources had only modest direct effects on work-tofamily spillover, but indirect effects were practically important. General perception had the strongest direct effect on work-to-family spillover for both men and women.

Adapt -- “to make suitable to requirements; adjust or modify fittingly." Adaptability is a trait which has been attributed to Navajo2 Indians by anthropologists, educators, novelists, psychologists, artists) -- in fact, by almost everyone who has had dealings with them over a period of time. Yet, to identify specific examples of their adaptability and the attempt to measure the effect upon interpersonal relations of evidences of adaptation has proved to be no easy task.