vii, 54 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / We investigate the existence of a stable homotopy category (SHC) associated to the category of p -complete abelian groups [Special characters omitted]. First we examine [Special characters omitted] and prove [Special characters omitted] satisfies all but one of the axioms of an abelian category. The connections between an SHC and homology functors are then exploited to draw conclusions about possible SHC structures for [Special characters omitted]. In particular, let [Special characters omitted] denote the category whose objects are chain complexes of [Special characters omitted] and morphisms are chain homotopy classes of maps. We show that any homology functor from any subcategory of [Special characters omitted] containing the p-adic integers and satisfying the axioms of an SHC will not agree with standard homology on free, finitely generated (as modules over the p -adic integers) chain complexes. Explicit examples of common functors are included to highlight troubles that arrise when working with [Special characters omitted]. We make some first attempts at classifying small objects in [Special characters omitted]. / Committee in charge: Hal Sadofsky, Chairperson, Mathematics; Boris Botvinnik, Member, Mathematics; Daniel Dugger, Member, Mathematics; Sergey Yuzvinsky, Member, Mathematics; Elizabeth Reis, Outside Member, Womens and Gender Studies