There are a number of childhood factors reported to be associated with gay male sexual orientation including childhood gender non-conformity and socialization factors such as paternal and peer rejection. Attachment theory suggests that poor quality childhood relationships may be related to anxiety and avoidance attachment dimensions in adulthood. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between these childhood factors and anxiety and avoidance in gay men's close relationships. A community sample of 192 self-identified gay men completed questionnaires and a 2 hour attachment interview. No major findings related to the avoidance dimension were significant. In terms of attachment anxiety, results were partially consistent with attachment theory: paternal and peer, but not maternal, rejection independently predicted anxiety. Quality of peer relationships largely mediated the association between parental rejection and anxiety. In addition, quality of peer relationships mediated the association between gender nonconformity and anxiety. Good quality relationships in one domain did not compensate for poor quality relationships in another domain. The importance of fathers and peers to gay men's current relationship functioning is discussed.

The father's role in families where there has been domestic violence is now known to have significance impact on future intergenerational abuse (Dutton, 1998). Fathers who shame and physically abuse their sons are putting these young boys at risk for becoming potential abusers. However, even though this risk factor is known, the literature review conducted through this study shows the absence of information on the father/child relationship. Also absent was a knowledge on parenting groups available for these men. In attempting to address this gap in the research and to gain a better understanding of how these fathers experienced the parenting group, I realized I first needed to understand how these men experienced their lives. Using interpretive inquiry, three men were interviewed about their understanding of their life experiences. The men chosen for the research had a history of domestic abuse within the family. Data collection included observations made during the parenting group, profiles gathered from intake files, and transcripts from the interviews. The data were analyzed for themes, patterns, confirmations, and contradictions, and then interpreted to reconstruct the men's stories. The findings of the study indicate several topics common to all three men: custody, visitation, the role of the father, emotional functioning, and past and present relationships. Interwoven among the topics were the themes of inefficacy, personal care, emotional nurturance and attachment, and awareness of the way they use language. Their stories echo the same message: they love their children and want to be with them. / ix, 151 leaves ; 29 cm.

This study examines the relationship between father and son in the novel Indische duinen (1994, 2002) by Adriaan van Dis within the context of post-war and postcolonial Dutch society. It relates the process by which an adult son, 36 years after the death of his father, comes to terms with the memory of a man whom he has always seen as unreasonably strict, violent and even cruel. During this process the son discovers the effects of colonialism, war, the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies (subsequently Indonesia) and the process of rapid decolonisation and repatriation to the Netherlands upon his father. For the father the latter experiences amount to what Kaja Silverman (1992: 55) refers to as "historical trauma". The experiences that shaped his father and influenced his behaviour towards his son are linked to what Paul Ricoeur (1992: 121) would refer to as the father's "narrative identity" and his sense of masculinity (Cormell, 1995: 77 - 81) which have both been marginalised within the "dominant fiction" (Silverman, 1992: 54) of the postcolonial society in which he has been forced to live. As the son discovers the father through a process of retelling both his father's story and the story of their relationship he is able to gain sense of understanding and closure. Regarding issues of race and gender in Dutch colonialism and the trauma of postcolonial alienation this study draws upon the insights of E.M. Beekman (1988 and 1998), Frances Gouda (1998), Elsbeth Locher-SchoIten (1995), Rob Nieuwenhuys (1982), Edy Seriese (1995), Ann Laura Stoler (1992, 1995 and 1997) and Peter van Zonneveld (1995, 2002 and 2003). / Thesis (M.A.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Full text release at OhioLINK's ETD Center delayed at author's request

Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1992. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 236-252).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio University, August, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-169).

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2010. / Title from screen (viewed on July 19, 2010). Department of English, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Robert Rebein, David Beck, Terry Kirts. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 16-17) and annotated bibliography (leaves 100-108).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2002. / Title from title page screen, viewed January 5, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Marla J. Reese-Weber (chair), Mark E. Swerdlik, Jeffrey H. Kahn, Robert Lusk, Gregory S. Braswell. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-79) and abstract. Also available in print.

A combination of an original work of fiction, Alone Among Friends, and a critical discussion of masculinity in the work of Per Petterson, this dissertation joins a growing conversation in the field of Masculine Studies about the depiction of men in literature. Written in a spare and realistic style, Alone Among Friends is a novella that hopes to explore ideas of masculinity, friendship, success, and failure present in the mindset of the American Millennial generation. Takings its cues from The Sun Also Rises, Light Years, and The Salt Point, Alone Among Friends examines the destructive nature of hyper-masculinity and highlights the danger of attaching too much meaning to external validation as the measuring stick for one's self worth. Moreover, Alone Among Friends is also influenced by the themes of memory and knowing found within the work of Per Petterson. "How Memories of the Father Inform a Son's Understanding of Masculinity in the Novels of Per Petterson" discusses the ways in which Per Petterson, a Norwegian writer, has been both influenced by American notions of masculinity and also managed to incorporate European aspects of family into his work to create a unique hybrid perspective that merges the American idea of the emancipated male protagonist with the European family centered narrative. By tracing Petterson's influences, this dissertation will attempt to show how Petterson is a logical heir to such American writers as Ernest Hemingway and Richard Ford, and it will argue that, by firmly grounding his novels in the point of view of sons that study every aspect of their fathers, Petterson inhabits a space that has long been absent from both American and Norwegian literature alike. Through the examination of Out Stealing Horses and In the Wake, this dissertation focuses on the varying ways in which these direct comparisons between father and son influence the son's perception of his own success and failure as a man.

There are a number of childhood factors reported to be associated with gay male sexual orientation including childhood gender non-conformity and socialization factors such as paternal and peer rejection. Attachment theory suggests that poor quality childhood relationships may be related to anxiety and avoidance attachment dimensions in adulthood. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between these childhood factors and anxiety and avoidance in gay men's close relationships. A community sample of 192 self-identified gay men completed questionnaires and a 2 hour attachment interview. No major findings related to the avoidance dimension were significant. In terms of attachment anxiety, results were partially consistent with attachment theory: paternal and peer, but not maternal, rejection independently predicted anxiety. Quality of peer relationships largely mediated the association between parental rejection and anxiety. In addition, quality of peer relationships mediated the association between gender nonconformity and anxiety. Good quality relationships in one domain did not compensate for poor quality relationships in another domain. The importance of fathers and peers to gay men's current relationship functioning is discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate