This dissertation examines the impact of independence on society in Buenos Aires, Argentina, by looking at family relations and the state in the late colonial and early-national periods. The state and the family frequently interacted in courts where parents, children, and spouses converged to settle civil disputes. This project focuses on marriage conflict cases (disensos), child custody cases, divorce cases, as well as newspapers and literature of the times to study societal attitudes regarding patriarchal power, free will, romantic love, socio-racial differences, and the role of women. Strong legal and societal traditions perpetuated continuities in porteno family life and society from the late colonial into the national period. Underneath those continuities, however, important changes emerged. Revolutionary wars, liberal ideology, and the necessities of building a new nation created ruptures that weakened (though by no means destroyed) patriarchal authority. Children had more freedom to marry the mate of their choice, despite social and racial differences. Attitudes towards women also changed and they had more space to maneuver in society after independence. Porteno families, and society in general, were moving closer to what is considered "modern." The revolutionary era was not just a symbolic and rhetorical movement. Rather, it ushered in important processes of change that shaped the future of the Argentine nation.

The Cohesion, Expressiveness and Conflict subscales from the Family Environment Scale were compared to the Language and Social Development subscales from the Denver II utilizing a sample of families in treatment for having a substance abusing parent. An analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between these variables and to explore their relationship to various risk factors the families were experiencing. In support of previous research the relationships between the variables was relatively low. A ceiling effect may have influenced the results as most of the children achieved high scores on their developmental assessments. The results also showed that the predictability and discriminant ability of the variables is limited. An initial and exploratory analysis was conducted with two new instruments created for the project, the Parent Questionnaire and the Child Rating Scale.

School records of 421 third grade students from regular classrooms in six Tucson Unified School District elementary schools were examined. Two schools were selected to represent each of three populations: middle class, working class, and desegragated populations. Nine measures were obtained: (1) gender, (2) ethnicity, (3) number of parents living with the student, (4) parents, employment status, (5) number of siblings, (6) number school transfers, (7) distance between home and school, (8) students, grade awarded by teacher, and (9) number of school absences. School absences fell into three categories, based on reasons for the absences: health, personal, and unexcused. Structural equations analysis was used to model the causal relationships between the family and school variables and school absences. Two latent variables (factors) were proposed to explain the relationships between the family variables and the school characteristics. The family factor characterized the dichotomy between socially-advantaged and disadvantaged families. Socially-advantaged families were primarily white with two employed parents. Socially-disadvantaged families were overwhelmingly minorities headed by a single parent. The school factor also characterized social circumstances: advantaged schools were middle class, white, high-achieving, high parental involvement, and no social programs. As social class decreased, the schools became increasingly minority, low-achieving, low parental involvement, and had social programs. Socially-advantaged circumstances promoted better attendance. Students from socially-advantaged homes and school had fewer health and unexcused absences as compared to disadvantaged students. Advantaged family circumstances promoted advantaged school circumstances. However, middle class homes with single incomes promoted better school involvement by the parents. Students from segregated schools and single income families had more personal absences (family trips). These families appear to take more vacations during the school year. Finally, students with numerous health absences were likely to have more personal and unexcused absences. The results of this study suggested that different avenues need to be taken to promote the attendance of students from disadvantaged families and schools.

The purpose of this study was to empirically assess the validity of legal assumptions regarding the use of physical punishment by Mexican parents with their children. Three legal assumptions were identified and tested in the studied Mexican legal framework: (1) parents always act in the best interest of their children; (2) non-severe physical punishment is an adequate and nonharmful strategy for rising children; and (3) parents discriminate between moderate/corrective punishment and severe child abuse. One hundred-fifty mothers living in the Northwestern Mexican State of Sonora were interviewed regarding their use of physical punishment with their children, their knowledge of the law regarding their and their children's' rights and duties, their perceptions of their legal obligations in regard to their disciplinary practices with their children, their disciplinary beliefs, their monitoring of their children, the frequency of maltreatment they received from their parents, their levels of depression/anxiety, their antisocial behaviors, and their alcohol consumption levels. In order to validate the legal assumptions, three structural models were specified and tested. The first model tested the assumption that physical punishment is used in the best interest of children. In this model, the perception of a legal prerogative to use physical punishment was found to increase violence against children. In contrast, parental knowledge of child and parental rights and obligations was inversely related to punitive disciplinary beliefs, while such beliefs were positively associated with child punishment and negatively associated with child monitoring. The second model estimated the effect of a history of mothers' vicitimization during childhood on their adult behavior. It was found that being maltreated as a child was associated positively with antisocial behavior and depression/anxiety, which in turn affected positively alcohol consumption and harsh parenting. The third model estimated the covariance between moderate punishment and severe punishment. Results showed that the correlation between them was higher than the factor loadings between each latent construct and their corresponding observed variables. This finding indicates that parents do not discriminate between moderate and severe punishment, invalidating the assumption that parents are aware of limits between what can be considered abuse and disciplinary punishment. The implications of these findings are discussed.

This dissertation is a teacher research study that focuses on reflection and literature response as a way to explore the identity development of children in my own fourth and fifth grade multiage classroom. I looked at drama, literature discussion, written responses, and visual images to explore how students construct their own identities within a school context. Data sources included audio and video tapes and transcripts, journals, field notes, photographs and student artifacts. The data was analyzed in three ways. The first part of the analysis is a discussion of the categories of students' issues. The second analysis section explores the spaces in the curriculum that allowed these issues to emerge or to be thought about more deeply. The third section of analysis is three case studies presented as photo documentaries. Each case study is an example of one of the three categories of identity construction: integrated, conceptual, and situational. The study speaks for learning experiences that are open-ended and which allow for collaboration, reflection, dialogue and personal response. The power of literature to support such learning experiences as relate to identity construction is evident. Creating space to consider issues of identity construction is to truly value diversity in the classroom.

As of 1998 an estimated 4.0 million children under the age of 18 years old are being raised in their grandparents' homes because of various conditions and circumstances in the children's families. The findings of previous research have been mixed as to the academic achievement and school behavior of students being raised by grandparents. Fifty-seven volunteer caregiver-child pairings participated in this study, including 31 grandparent families, 14 single-parent and 12 two-parent families. Using a self-report questionnaire, the caregivers provided information on family structure, grandparent ethnicity, the conditions and circumstances surrounding grandparent involvement, and family relationship. The children were tested individually using standardized measures both for academic achievement (Wide Range Achievement Test 3), and for school behavior (Devereux Behavior Rating Scale--School Form). The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test was used to control for the intellectual level of the children. The children's teachers rated their classroom behavior. The findings were compared across three family structures: children raised by grandparents, by single parents, and by two parents; and also across three ethnic groups: Black, Hispanic, and White. No significant differences in school performance were observed related to either family structure or to grandparent ethnicity. Several significant differences were found in family relationship across the three family structure groups. Only a few significant correlations were observed between school performance and the conditions and circumstances surrounding grandparent involvement. A number of significant correlations were found between school performance and family relationship. Present findings suggest that the family relationship between the caregiver and the child (more than family structure, ethnicity, conditions and circumstances, or household income) may be related to children's school performance.

This study described the meaning of the wedding day as experienced by brides who were planning their upcoming weddings. Topics that were addressed included: an investigation into the meaning of the wedding day as created by young women who were planning their wedding days; with a focus on the role of traditions and rituals in the creation of the meaning day; and an examination of how significant others were involved in the creation of the meaning behind the wedding day. Brides were recruited from a variety of sources, including students and attendants at a local bridal fair. Criteria for inclusion required that brides were young, heterosexual women between the ages of 21 and 30, were formally engaged to be married, had a specific wedding date set within 12 months, and had never been married. Fourteen brides participated in interviews. Giorgi's (1985, 1997) phenomenological procedure was used for data analysis. Findings revealed six essences that influenced the brides' created meaning of the wedding day. The six essential findings were labeled using concepts from symbolic interaction theory: symbols, role-taking, role-making, definition of self definition of the situation, and definition of other. Within each of the six essences, several themes emerged. Symbols were a predominant influence on the creation of the wedding day. Symbols were described when brides discussed the various traditions and rituals they were adopting, adapting, and avoiding as they planned their weddings. Brides went about role-taking and role-making in an effort to create their wedding days. Brides were guided in their role-taking and role-making through their use of wedding documents, such as bridal magazines. Brides' desired wedding days were also shaped around the definitions they carried of themselves and their definitions of the situation that they hoped to create on their wedding day. Several significant others were involved in the creation of the meaning of the wedding. Significant others were found to be both helpful and unhelpful to the brides. Overall, the meaning of the wedding day represented the influence of these six essences as the bride went about planning the wedding day she hoped to create.

This study argues that the development of individual choice in marriage markets has led to an increase in interracial marriage and an accompanying decline in racial boundaries. I first establish the importance of individual choice in interracial marriage. I do this by examining the persistent tendency for interracial marriage to be engaged in substantially more often by men in some racial-ethnic groups, and by women in others. I propose that a within-group mismatch of gender attitudes and an across-group matching of gender attitudes leads individuals to seek partners across racial lines. A national U.S. probability sample reveals that there are both significant differences in gender attitudes between each of the racial groups, as well as sex gaps in attitudes within each of the groups. Further, the cross-racial pairings for which the gender attitude gaps are smallest are also those for which interracial marriage is highest. Next, I examine the importance of women's employment for the weakening of racial boundaries. Previous research has established that increases in an ethnic group's occupational heterogeneity weaken ethnic solidarity for members of the group. Since occupations are highly sex segregated, increases in women's employment tend to increase an ethnic group's occupational heterogeneity, and hence weaken ethnic group solidarity. I confirm this hypothesis by finding that employed women are significantly more tolerant of interracial marriage than are married women. Last, I find that modernization is also associated with tolerance toward interracial marriage.

A moment occurs in life when a critical mass of pros and cons is reached, and the awakening happens. Ambivalent or not, the women were very clear that the direction to remain single after thirty was no accident. The journey is constantly changing and complex. Historically labeled as unhealthy and different than the norm, the battle ensues to overcome societal expectations, personal and familial hopes and dreams in order to establish themselves as complete and whole individuals. The intent may not be to remain single, but for the moment, have others respect them for who they are. Fourteen theme categories were identified after the data was analyzed. Understanding the complex interactions between structural, cultural and biographical aspect provides a fertile ground for nursing to assist single women to construct an independent life and find a place of peace until the next transition occurs.

Despite misgivings about the effect of relocation on the family, companies are relocating a record number of employees. Particularly effected by these transfers is the significant other in the relationship--the trailing spouse. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect relocation has on the career of the trailing spouse. Participants of this study were women over the age of 18 who were currently married and had relocated because of their husband's career. To assess the effect, the Career Development Questionnaire was developed and administered. Results of this study showed there was a significant difference in attitude toward relocation between the homemaker and those who chose careers outside the home. The homemakers stated that relocating had no effect on their careers. Due to relocation, the career group agreed they had to: change occupations, change career goals, and take lower positions or salaries in order to find work.