Thesis (D.Min.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2005. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 184-189).

The critical lack of research in the area of in - law relationships leaves interested persons wondering about the nature of such relationships. The purpose of this study was to ascertain how the independent variables of sex, number of children , education and age of the sons or daughters-in-law effected the relationship with the mothers and fathers-in-law. The four directional hypotheses tested were: (1) as the age of the son or daughter - in-law increases , the chances for a more positive relationship with mothers and fathers-in-law and their sons and daughters, increases significantly; (2) females feel significantly closer to their parents-in-law than males; (3) as the number of children in the homes of the sons and daughters-in-law increases, the quality of their relationship increases significantly with their parents-in-law; and (4) the higher the educational l eve l of the sons or daughter s-in- law the greater the quality of their relationship with their mother or fatherin law. A total of 238 persons living in the married student housing responded to the questionnaire. The questions were answered accordi. ng to their current or most recent marriage. The questionnaire asked r espondent s to answer how they f elt towards their parent s -inlaw-- fee lings of closeness towards them; titles used to address them; how troublesome they were perceived to be; the type of help received from them; and how their parents-in-l aw compared to other parents-inlaw. The fo llowing findings were derived from the data using the chi square test, mean scores and F ratios: 1. Respondents 30 year s of age and older felt significantly closer emotionally to their parents-in-law than did those 25-29 years of age . 2. Those 30 years of age and older felt their fathers-inlaw were less troublesome than those 25-29. 3. Those 30 years of age and older felt emotionally closer to their mothers-in-l aw than those 25-29. 4. Females did feel emot ionally c l oser to their mothersin- law than males. They also addressed their fathers-in-law in a more positive and personal manner, but when their mean scores and F ratios were analyzed for the problematic and closeness index there were no significant differences. 5. Those with one child fe lt significantly closer to their mothers-in-law than those with two or more or no children. 6. Those with a high schoo l or less education felt significantl y c loser to their mothers-in-law than those with some college. The sample was drawn from a university related population, and from a heavily weighted religious group. Both of which could bias the above finding.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 179-182).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references and index.

M.A. / The purpose of this research was to compile a psychological information program on stroke, and to provide this psychological information to the spouse of the stroke patient.The emotional status of the spouse of the stroke patient was evaluated during the intervention.The final goal of this research was to give a phenomenological description of the experiences of the spouse of the stroke patient. The method for collecting data was 1) to evaluate the emotional status of the spouse of the stroke patient with the POMS (Profile Of Mood State) inventory before he was exposed to the content of the psychological information program on stroke.2) The spouse of the stroke patient was then introduced to the psychological information program, and any questions which arose were answered. 3) A follow up appointment was arranged for ten days later. During this appointment the POMS inventory was administered again to assess the spouse's emotional status after exposure to the psychological informationprogram on stroke.Any further questions were answered.Within a framework of identified themes a phenomenological description of the experiences of the spouse of the stroke patient was given.The most important experiences were identified as confusion, anxiety, tension, rage, frustration, tiredness, and feelings of not being motivated and depression.The phenomenological themes were "Om-te-wees (Dasein)", "Die wereld", "In-die-wereld-wees", "Om-ingegooi-tewees- in-die-wereld", "Angs as basiese ingesteldheid tot die wereld" and "Liggaamlikheid". The current research was motivated after a thorough study of the literature on stroke.The literature survey revealed a deficiency in terms of availability of information on stroke to the spouse of the stroke patient after the stroke has occured.The literature survey disclosed that the focus of research has been on the stroke patient.Research identified the spouse of the stroke patient as the primary caretaker.Therefore it is important that the spouse of the stroke patient will have access to psychological information on stroke to assist them during their tasks of caretaking. Certain variables influenced theresults of the present research project.These variables were 1) the time when the psychological information was provided to the subjects, 2) the emotional status after the stroke had occurred, and 3) the extent of information the subjects received from other resources. During the current research project the subjects confirmed the value of the availability of psychological information on stroke.The psychological information on stroke is important in assisting the spouse of the stroke patient during their tasks of caret•king.The psychological information on stroke provides the spouse of the stroke patient with 1) a better understanding of the stroke patient, 2) knowledge of what to expect after a stroke had occured, and 3) realistic goals for the future.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of v assertive training on the marital adjustment of tho se participating. It was of particular interest to identify the effects of training wives only as compared to training couples jointly in assertiveness. There were a total of 56 subjects sampled for this study, constituting 28 marriages, all investigated for marital adjustment. All of the subjects were volunteers and were obtained through the Women's Center at Utah State University. The subjects were placed in one of two treatment conditions depending upon the condition for which they volunteered. The wives only treatment condition provided assertiveness training exclusively for the wives of the couples participating. Both husbands and wives received training in the couples treatment condition. All of the 56 subjects, both husbands and wives, completed the Marital-Adjustment Test during the first and last session of assertive training. The assertive training groups met for six weeks for two hours each week. An analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data for the first two hypotheses. The pretest scores for both treatment conditions for husbands and wives were held constant and the posttest scores on the Marital-Adjustment Test were compared for both husbands and wives of the other treatment condition. The f test for significant differences in correlations was used to test the following questions: (a) Is there a difference in the amount of correlation of the pretest scores and the posttest scores on the Marital-Adjustment Test for husbands and wives in the wives only treatment condition? and (b) Is there a difference in the amount of correlation of the pretest scores and the posttest scores on the Marital-Adjustment Test for husbands and wives in the couples treatment condition? It may be concluded that there is no advantage for marital adjustment when husbands and wives are both given assertiveness training as opposed to the wife only receiving training. There was a statistical difference (beyond the .01 level of significance) between the correlations of the pretest and posttest scores for husbands and wives in the wives only treatment condition. No difference in amount of correlation was found between pretest and posttest scores on the Marital-Adjustment Test for husbands and wives in the couples treatment condition. It was concluded that when spouses were trained together, no change in perceptions of marital adjustment occurred. When wives were trained alone, perceptions of marital adjustment between spouses was in greater agreement. No evidence was found that marital adjustment was affected by teaching assertion skills to the wife only as opposed to teaching the couple.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A. (Population and Reproductive Health Research))--Mahidol University, 1999.

Thesis (M.A.)--The Master's College, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [175]-180).

It is generally recognized that a serious illness with concurrent hospitalization in an ICU will have an impact on family members. Few researchers, however, have described the ways in which spouses are affected when their mates are hospitalized in an ICU. Therefore, this study aimed to describe and explain the spouses' experiences of having a mate in an ICU following coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Kleinman's conceptual framework guided the development of the research question and provided the focus for data collection and analysis. Kleinman proposes that an understanding of the client's perspective is necessary for the provision of effective health care. A qualitative research method based on the theoretical perspective of phenomenology was used to answer the research question. The spouses' viewpoints were elicited through unstructured interviews. The sample consisted of seven spouses, four women and three men. The spouses were interviewed on two occasions, once while their mate was still in the ICU and once shortly following their mate's discharge from the ICU. A total of 13 in-depth interviews were conducted over a 3 month period. Data were analyzed simultaneously with and following data collection. Responses that were similar were grouped together into categories. After the data were examined and sorted into categories, the researcher defined the theme that dominated each category. The themes that emerged from the data were clarified, validated, and/or rejected by the participants during subsequent interviews. As relationships between the categories were identified, the important aspects of the spouses' experiences became apparent. The findings revealed that the spouses located the ICU experience within the context of their experience with their mate's coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The spouses understood and made sense of the ICU experience by attaching meaning to specific events that related to the entire surgical experience. They perceived the surgical experience as consisting of three distinct but interrelated phases: pre-surgery; waiting during surgery; and post-surgery. During each phase, the spouses described and explained how they reacted to and coped with each new situation. These two themes, "reaction to the situation" and "coping with the situation," appeared as threads throughout the entire surgical experience. By organizing the data in relation to phases and themes, the researcher was able to meaningfully understand and communicate the spouses' entire surgical experience. In view of the study findings, implications for nursing practice, education and research are delineated. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate