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The purpose of this study was to examine adolescent obesity as it interacted with and was perceived by the family system. The study was an ethnographic analysis whose goals were to understand the meaning obesity had for the family and how the dynamics of the family interacted with the obesity. The respondents in the study were five female adolescents and their nuclear families. They participated in an interview process which included ethnographic and circular questioning, nutritional and diet histories, and Faces II. The results were analyzed in accordance with ethnographic methodology. A number of findings emerged from the study. Among these were the presence of a family obesity system, three distinct stages of obesity development within the family and the existence of a dysfunctional obesogenic family system which negatively influenced the obese adolescent. Suggestions for further study included empirical research into the findings of this study and the development of an instrument that would empirically measure the dynamics of child and adolescent obesity. / Ph. D. / incomplete_metadata

Yes / ‘Living apart together’ – that is being in an intimate relationship with a partner who lives somewhere else – is increasingly recognised and accepted as a specific way of being in a couple. On the face of it, this is a far cry from the ‘traditional’ version of couple relationships, where co-residence in marriage was placed at the centre and where living apart from one's partner would be regarded as abnormal, and understandable only as a reaction to severe external constraints. Some commentators regard living apart together as a historically new family form where LATs can pursue a ‘both/and’ solution to partnership – they can experience both the intimacy of being in a couple, and at the same time continue with pre-existing commitments. LATs may even de-prioritize couple relationships and place more importance on friendship. Alternatively, others see LAT as just a ‘stage’ on the way to cohabitation and marriage, where LATs are not radical pioneers moving beyond the family, but are cautious and conservative, and simply show a lack of commitment. Behind these rival interpretations lies the increasingly tarnished spectre of individualisation theory. Is LAT some sort of index for a developing individualisation in practice? In this paper we take this debate further by using information from the 2006 British Social Attitudes Survey. We find that LATs have quite diverse origins and motivations, and while as a category LATs are often among the more liberal in family matters, as a whole they do not show any marked ‘pioneer’ attitudinal position in the sense of leading a radical new way, especially if age is taken into account. / ESRC

Current political rhetoric and some media commentaries suggest there is a yawning gap of understanding between policymakers and the reality of families living in poverty in 21st century Britain. A key reason identified for the disconnect between policymakers and families is the absence of the voices of the families in public discourse. In this paper accounts of the lived experiences of parents in poverty are examined in four UK qualitative studies published in the period 1998-2016. Their accounts highlight how problems of disadvantage can be cumulative, compounding and enduring. The struggle to provide the basics of family life and the role of supportive communities and relationships are explored. The impact on parents of financial stress, the sense of shame and stigma often experienced and the consequences for their physical and mental health are highlighted. Under the government’s austerity policy, there is an increase in poverty even in working families, an increase in homelessness and considerable evidence emerging on the damaging consequences of food and fuel poverty on the health of children and parents. Listening to the lived realities of individual families provides a much greater understanding of family poverty and its causes and consequences, provides a corrective to the critical pejorative rhetoric and lays the foundation for the provision of appropriate government support.

Much of the prior research on the psychosocial aspects of end stage renal disease (ESRD) has focused solely on the individual, without considering the family's role in patient adjustment. Little research has been conducted on the contextual elements of the patient's adjustment to renal failure and dialysis. It was the purpose of this study to assess the effect of family relationships on a patient's health locus of control as a measure of adjustment to ESRD. Health locus of control was hypothesized to be dependent on the family relationship variables of cohesiveness, adaptability and independence; as well as a communications variable measuring incongruent communications. From the general context of the double bind a path model was constructed to estimate the associations among the variables. Data was collected and analyzed on 91 ESRD patients from four dialysis treatment centers and a sample of Continuous Ambulatory Perotineal Dialysis patients. The results of this research suggest that the double bind theory may be an excellent explanatory paradigm for patient adjustment to chronic illness. It was found that the greater the perceived paradox in family communications the more likely the patient was to subscribe to an externally oriented health locus of control. The family relationship variables were found to be indirect predictors of health locus of control, acting through the family communications process. / Ph. D.

One hundred and twenty participants (sixty couples) provided reports of their perceptions of the functioning of their families of origin (intimacy, individuation, intimidation, and triangulation), current nuclear family relationships (intimacy, individuation, personal authority, and triangulation), and level of codependence. Sixty of the participants (30 recovering alcoholics and their spouses) formed a clinical group; the remaining sixty (30 matched comparisons and their spouses) formed a comparison group. The participants also provided relevant background information. Chi-square analyses were used to explore the nature of the sample and supported the general comparability of clinical and comparison groups. Analyses of variance were used to investigate potential differences between and within groups with respect to intergenerational functioning and level of codependence. These analyses revealed highly significant differences between clinical and comparison groups, and very few differences between spouses in either group, in terms of intergenerational family functioning and level of codependence. Both correlational analysis and multiple regression were used to explore the relationship of continuous background variables, intergenerational functioning and level of codependence. Codependence within the clinical population is predicted by family of origin factors, whereas within the comparison population it is more likely to be predicted by spousal factors. Nine of the original 60 sixty couples were subsequently involved in a qualitative phase of the study. These couples, reporting varying levels of codependence, participated in semi-structured interviews. The stories told by the high, low and difference in codependence groups were generally congruent with the results of the analysis of the quantitative data. The results of the study generally support the prospects of using Bowen's Family Systems Theory in explaining the various manifestations of family of origin dysfunction, including codependence. The study also clarifies the theoretical connection between evolving notions regarding codependence and the intergenerational family system emotional context. / Ph. D.

Investigation into the experiences of young adults who are the second sibling to self-identify and come out as a sexual minority in their families of origin is non-existent. In the context of evolving conceptualizations of the coming out process, the present study sought to explore the perceptions of the second sibling to come out as LGBT in the family of origin and the role of the already-out LGBT sibling on the coming out process. Guided by an integration of life course theory and symbolic interactionism, 15 young adults participated in intensive interviews involving their personal coming out experiences, self-identification processes, and family relationships. A constructivist grounded theory approach to data analysis was utilized, as deeper understandings of meaning and context was a goal of this inquiry. An iterative process of open, axial, and selective coding yielded 3 themes and 10 sub-categories that revealed the nuances of LGBT siblings and their family structures and dynamics, the coming out process of both the first and second siblings, and the construction of meaning post-coming out. The findings of this study have significant implications for the advancement of understanding when two or more siblings navigate the coming out process in their families of origin. Family scholars, practitioners, and community professionals will be able to utilize these findings in their work with LGBT individuals and their families. / Ph. D.