The purpose of this thesis is to explore the experiences of single fathers and their roles as primary caregiver to their children as men in society adopting traditionally feminine roles. There was one primary research question explored: How do single father's experience parenthood? This is explored through four sub questions and discussions about daily life and childrearing alone; childcare and work and family conflicts; use of services and support networks; and of particular interest, gender and the influence of masculinity. Through an analysis of interviews with 14 fathers of varying class status, age, education, and time spent as a single father, I captured broadly the ways in which these men maneuver their childrearing with their lives, and how they are challenging, yet still upholding aspects of hegemonic masculinity. By exploring how these fathers maneuver childrearing as a male in society I assist in gaining insight and understanding to this population that has been previously overlooked in academic research.

About 45% of China’s roughly 145 million floating migrant population works in the manufacturing industry, and the majority of them were born after 1980. This was a landmark year for the country as it transform from a socialist, centralized and planned economy to a more or less market-oriented economy with so-called “Chinese characteristics.” The intersection of this new generation of migrant workers and the global market through the medium of manufacturing has become a subject of great interest to people around the world and in China, who seek to understand their unique personal and work arenas. This paper provides a comprehensive picture of the young migrant workers’ work and lives in a factory setting based on survey and in-depth interview data collected in a medium-size Shenzhen-based electronics factory in May 2010. It explores their social expectations and suffering; their satisfactions and dissatisfactions as production-line workers; and their future goals. The findings show that the new generation migrant workers migrate more out of individual preferences than family needs. They are primarily leaving home to seek independence more than economic returns, and they perceive factory work as the first stop on a long journey of establishing themselves in society. If Leaving, Remitting and Returning are the three key words that categorize the old generation of migrant workers who were born before 1980, then Leaving, Searching and Becoming are the main themes for the new generation who were born after 1980. Like their parents’ generation, they are transient in nature, but more in the sense of juggling between career choices rather than round-tripping between rural home and urban work.

Almost half of those who start therapy drop out early (Thalmayer, 2018). When therapists work to improve the therapeutic alliance, clients are more likely to stay in treatment and chances of recovery improve (D'Aniello et al., 2018; Escudero & Friedlander, 2017). However, the existing research comes almost entirely from client self-reports of the alliance. Little research has examined what occurs during the session. There has been no research to determine what specific therapeutic alliance behaviors are related to early termination. The current naturalistic study sought to discover if behaviors that strengthen or diminish the therapeutic alliance are related to early termination in therapy. Master's Students coded videos from thirty couples (fifteen matched pairs) who received therapy at the Brigham Young University Comprehensive Clinic (BYUCC) using the System for Observing Family Therapy Alliances (SOFTA-o). Four dimensions of the therapeutic alliance were examined: engagement in the therapeutic process, emotional connection to the therapist, safety within the therapeutic system, and shared sense of purpose within the family. Results from a one-sided t-test showed that the emotional connection was significant for both male and female partners and the therapist, as was the male partner's sense of safety and the shared sense of purpose. Several individual behaviors were also significant. Understanding which behavioral indicators of the alliance are associated with dropout may help therapists identify couples at risk of dropout and intervene to prevent early termination. Implications and limitations will be discussed.

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Insomnia is a risk factor for suicidal behavior including attempts and suicide. We investigated whether insomnia symptom severity predicted suicidality and suicide in an at-risk sample. The sample included deceased psychiatric patients seen at Weber Human Services since 2008 (N=180) who completed the Outpatient Questionnaire-45.2 (OQ) prior to death. Insomnia symptom severity was assessed using item 41 from the OQ. Manner of death was determined by death records and autopsy reports. History of suicidal ideation and prior suicide attempts were determined through review of electronic medical records. Cases were grouped into 4 categories: no history of suicidality (n = 30), history of suicidal ideation (n = 36), suicide attempt history (n = 95), and death by suicide (n = 19). Insomnia symptom severity was compared across groups using linear regression. Logistic regression was used to determine whether OQ reported insomnia symptom severity predicted suicide, adjusting for psychiatric disorders. Compared to the non-suicidal group, the suicide attempt and the suicide groups reported significantly higher insomnia symptom severity, OR=3.52, p=0.001 and OR=6.53, p<0.001, respectively. Greater insomnia symptom severity reported on the OQ was a significant predictor of suicide attempt and suicide, OR=2.67, p=0.011 and OR=5.53, p=0.002, respectively, even after adjusting psychiatric diagnoses. Results suggest that insomnia symptoms are more strongly associated with suicidal behavior than suicidal ideation. The presence of insomnia symptoms in psychiatric patients may indicate risk for suicidal behavior and is a target for suicide prevention.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relevance of both intrapsychic and family systems variables for the early marital adjustment of 71 couples in their twenties at the time of marriage, who were married in two central Virginia localities. The intrapsychic variables included subjects' marital locus of control and both subjects' and subjects' spouses' levels of narcissism. The family systems variables included six factors which have been found to be correlated with early marital adjustment. Three of these six factors were: (1) whether the couple married within a year of a significant loss; (2) whether either spouse reported less than a good relationship with his/her parents at the present time; and (3) whether either spouse reported that his/her childhood was less than happy. These nine variables were used in relation to four marital outcome instruments measuring overall marital satisfaction and quality.;Three out of six hypotheses received some degree of support. First, no pattern was found between spouses' levels of narcissism in terms of couple combinations for that variable. Second, there was a moderate relationship between external locus of control and marital difficulties as measured by the four outcome measures. and last, the final hypothesis called for a multiple regression analysis, including subjects' marital locus of control, both subjects' and subjects' spouses' narcissism scores, and the six family systems variables as the predictor variables, and the four marital outcome measures as the dependent variables. It was found that marital locus of control was the strongest predictor variable, and when combined with significant loss, childhood unhappiness, current relationship with parents, and subjects/subjects' spouses' narcissism, yielded moderately strong correlations with the outcome measures.;As such, these findings gave support to the object relations family systems perspective of James Framo, which theoretically framed this study. Further study was recommended to evaluate the causal relationship between marital locus of control and marital outcome, and to explore the possible impact of higher levels of narcissism upon marital adjustment over time, as the expected relationship between high levels of narcissism and impaired marital quality was not found in this study.

Twenty-four facial pain patients and their spouses were videotaped answering questions concerning their relationships. This study was designed to more objectively support the clinical impressions of the MCV/VCU TMJ and Facial Pain Research Center's treatment team's view of the interactional characteristics of these couples. Prior to the team offering brief couples psychotherapy for assistance in the resolution of the pain problem, the team needed to assess the pain couples' relationship variables. Adherence to health care providers' recommendations is typically minimal unless all participants agree that specific treatment is warranted. There appears to be a lack of understanding among patients, their families, and health care providers as to the contributing factors in the maintenance and continuation of pain. This study describes the spousal unit in an effort to individualize care and treatment for temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients and their families.;The pain couples' were rated by two trained family therapists on the dimensions of Cohesion, Adaptability, Communication, and Marital Satisfaction (measured by the Clinical Rating Scale and a clinical rating (CR) of Marital Satisfaction) and compared to the self-report (SR) ratings of the pain patients and their spouses (measured by the FACES-III). The couples were placed by group (Balanced, Mid-Range, or Extreme) on the Circumplex Model, and the pain patients were examined as to their reported difference in perceived pain (sensory and affective pain measured by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)).;The results of the study indicate that pain patients and their spouses were highly correlated with each other on the FACES-III and were Congruent. They scored within the normative range on Cohesion and were 1.5 S.D.'s above the normative mean for adults on Adaptability. Five couples were Balanced, twelve Mid-Range, and seven Extreme as for family group on the Circumplex Model; and significant relationships were found (a) between CRS/CR and SR and (b) between groups in perceived pain.

The current study investigates the correlates of partner-directed relational aggression in married couples. In particular, this study looks at the connection between romantic relational aggression and the personal outcome of depression. Both the experience of victimization and perpetration of romantic relational aggression are considered. Victimization may be linked to depression through the concept of the “looking glass self” and reflected appraisals. Aggression, in contrast, may be linked to depression through dissatisfaction with one’s own aggressive tendencies in the relationship and a lack of “relational self-esteem”. Couples who completed the RELATE assessment were asked to report on their partner’s engagement in relationally aggressive strategies (both the love withdrawal and social sabotage subtypes) toward them. These scores were then used to predict self-reports of depression of both spouses. Bivariate correlations showed, with only one exception, that all aggression strategies were modestly yet significantly correlated with depression for aggressors and victims. In the SEM structural model, controlling for covariates, female love withdrawal was found to significantly predict male depression and male love withdrawal marginally predicted male depression. In this respect, victimization showed a stronger link to depression than aggression. There was no difference between social sabotage and love withdrawal in their predictive value. Women were found to report more aggression (of both subtypes) and depression. Clinical implications are discussed.