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Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Briana S. Goff / The purpose of the current study is to understand the lived experiences of military couples regarding the effects of war-related trauma and deployment on couple functioning. An interpretive phenomenological perspective was utilized during data analysis. This type of phenomenological perspective suggests that human phenomena can only be understood in a situated context (Packer & Addison, 1989). This is to suggest that a person’s emotions, behaviors, and experiences cannot be separated from the context in which they occur. For the purpose of this study, the “context” under consideration was the Army culture and customs in which each of the participant couples was embedded. The Couple Adaptation to Traumatic Stress Model (CATS; Nelson Goff & Smith, 2005) offers a constructive step forward in systemically understanding and treating the impediments created by war-related trauma and deployment. The current study utilized the core terms included in the CATS Model (Nelson Goff & Smith, 2005) as sensitizing concepts to guide the qualitative analysis process. This includes the CATS Model couple functioning variables of attachment, satisfaction, stability, adaptability, support/nurturance, power, intimacy, communication, conflict, and roles. Using qualitative interviews from 90 participants (n = 45 couples), five themes were identified as salient, including communication, conflict management, roles, support/nurturance, and post-traumatic growth. Participants were divided into subgroups (n = 15 couples, 30 total participants) according to their scores on the Purdue Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale – Revised (PPTSD-R; Lauterbach & Vrana, 1996) and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS; Spanier, 1976). This subsample was selected to examine differences in themes among couples with high and low levels of marital satisfaction, as well as those with high and low levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Many similarities were found among the couples with high marital satisfaction and those with low levels of post-traumatic symptoms. Likewise, similarities were also discovered among the couples with lowest levels of marital satisfaction and those with highest levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms. From the current study, there is clear evidence in support of the CATS Model elements of communication, conflict, roles, support/nurturance, and satisfaction. A new contribution to the CATS Model can be made from the current study, which is the inclusion of post-traumatic growth.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Sandra M. Stith / Sexual violence, and sexual coercion in particular, is an understudied field, but research is beginning to show that males and females alike are perpetrators of sexual violence. Research has looked at predictors of sexual violence in males, but little research has looked at predictors of sexual violence in females. Similarly, little research has examined predictors of sexual violence in the context of dating relationships; therefore, this study examined predictors of sexual coercion in males and females within dating relationships. Using a sample of 305 male and 363 female undergraduate students’ self-report surveys, hierarchical regression analyses were utilized to test the nature of the sexual coercion predictors. Seven variables (problems with alcohol, past child abuse, anger management skills, relationship satisfaction, acceptability of violence towards wives, acceptability of violence towards husbands, and sexual coercion victimization) served as the independent variables with sexual coercion perpetration as the dependent variables in all of the regression analyses. Using the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2; Straus, Hamby, Boney-McCoy, & Sugarman, 1996) to assess sexual coercion perpetration, male and female students were found to exhibit a different set of significant predictor variables in the regression analyses; however, sexual coercion victimization was a significant predictor in both data. Sexual coercion victimization predicting sexual coercion perpetration in males and females suggests that sexual coercion is bilateral and part of a systemic cycle of violence. Clinical implications and recommendations for future research are provided.

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Briana S. Goff / Homophobic hate crimes against lesbians and gay men represent a significant social problem that has important psychological consequences for survivors. Because the nature of these crimes is, by definition, against someone for his or her intrapersonal traits, it has even more potential to be damaging to a victim and in turn potentially detrimental to the development and/or maintenance of close personal relationships. The impact of trauma has long been studied from the view of the trauma survivor or any secondary traumatization of those around the primary survivor. The impact of hate crime victimization has also been examined, and it, too, has also been examined from the primary survivors perspective. Only in recent years has the impact of trauma on interpersonal relationships been examined. Additionally, there is currently little to no literature on the impact of trauma or traumatic events on gay or lesbian relationships. The types of hate crime victimization experiences range from verbal abuse to severe physical assault to death. While hate crime victimization is not specifically identified in the DSM – IV – TR as a potentially traumatic event, physical assault, which is found commonly in hate crimes, is identified. Therefore, hate crime victimization could be a potentially traumatic event. However, this has not been addressed in the traumatic stress field. This report is intended to address the gaps in the current body of literature in both the traumatic stress field and the gay and lesbian literature. This overwhelming lack of literature has the potential to be very detrimental to professionals working with this population and in turn detrimental to the population and society. Evidence suggests that there may be a difference in how or if the potentially traumatic hate crime victimization experience manifests itself internally or in other forms because of the nature and severity of the victimization in one or both partners. Evidence also suggests, similarly to heterosexual couples, the impact of trauma has repercussions throughout the couple relationship. This report provides a preliminary start to continue and expand the work with the gay and lesbian community.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Anthony Jurich / This qualitative research study explored how mothers reacted to sibling sexual abuse disclosures while investigating the treatment and supportive services they engaged in to help them cope with this family trauma. Previous research focused on the role mothers played in intrafamilial sexual abuse cases, indicating that mothers were collusive and aware that the sexual abuse was occurring and did not intervene or protect their daughters. This research study’s purpose was to begin the foundational process of filling the gap in the literature concerning mothers and sibling sexual abuse disclosures. Qualitative data from the interviews conducted with mothers of sibling sexual abuse cases were utilized for this study. Participants were asked to reflect upon their early childhood experiences, characteristics of relationships in their families, how they handled the sibling sexual abuse disclosure, their level of functioning after the abuse disclosures, and any treatment strategies utilized, as well as their perceived effectiveness. The study shared the lived experiences of mothers who had sibling sexual abuse disclosures occur within their immediate families. The results revealed that the participants’ immediate reactions were not indicative of the action they took, following the disclosure, to protect their daughters from further abuse. Also indicated was a connection between mothers’ ability to cope with the abuse disclosure over time and their daughters’, the victims’, ability to make progressive steps towards improved functioning, following the abuse disclosure. This research can assist clinicians in understanding the importance of the therapeutic relationship and being sensitive to the delicate role mothers of perpetrators and victims have to play in these cases. In addition, clinicians must assist these mothers in transitioning through their numerous emotions, in order to return to a functional level of interaction in their lives.

Family caregivers filled the gap between deinstitutionalization. and the shortage of community resources for persons with schizophrenia (PWS). A holistic approach for caring for the family caregivers is necessary. Discovering the quality of life and its contributing factors in family caregivers of PWS helps community mental nurses to better work with the family caregivers. This study used a descriptive design with 68 family caregivers of PWS recruited from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) chapters in L.A. A set of questionnaires includes demographic characteristics, social resources, social stress, caregiving experiences, and quality of life were self-administered. The results showed that family caregivers reported fairly good quality of life. The quality of life was directly impacted by the positive caregiving experience, negative caregiving experience, and chronic stress. Economic resources and social resources bad indirect impact on the quality of life. There were three major findings. First, it is important to note that positive caregiving experience co-existed with negative caregiving experience, as opposed to exist on two ends of a continuum. Identifying and discussing the positive caregiving experience can help to improve the family caregiver's quality of life. Third, a parsimonious model was developed to depict factors contributing to quality of life. The family caregiver's quality of life was impacted more by the day-to-day stress than by the negative caregiving experience. Mental health nurses have to include the non-caregiving-related stress when evaluating the family caregiver's needs.

The purpose of this study was to revise and expand the Hope Maintenance Scale. An exploratory design was used to content analyze qualitative data collected from 226 heart transplant patients in the primary study, "Predictors of Quality of Life in Heart Transplantation". Results supported five of the six original dimensions of hope contained in the Hope Maintenance Scale. The five dimensions substantiated were: Downward Comparison, Fostering Optimism, Belief in a Powerful Other, Avoiding Painful Situations or Material, and Viewing the Situation as Temporary. Subcategories for the dimension of Optimism were generated and termed: Forced Optimism, Guarded Optimism, Euphoria, and Gratefulness. The subcategory of Exceptional Experience was developed for the category of Downward Comparison. Normalizing was proposed as an antecedent of hope. Of subjects who expressed normalizing activities, 60% also used other hope maintenance strategies. Of subjects who reported Threats to Normalizing, 42% used no other hope maintenance strategies.