Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-37).

The purpose of this research was to study several dimensions of family strengths in family systems and to determine to what degree these strengths are passed from one generation to the next . The sample consisted of 23 couples, constituting the married child generation, and each husband's father and each wife's mother, constituting the parent generation, for a total of 23 family systems and a total~ of 92 . Each person involved in the study had to be in their first marriage and have at least one child. A significant (alpha . 05) difference was found between the father and son generations on the relative and friend support and the professional support . The alpha levels for differences between mothers and daughters on these two dimensions were .146 (relative and friend support) and . 190 (professional support) . A factorial analysis of variance suggests these differences are between generations rather than between genders of family groups. Significant correlations were found between the fathers' family togetherness score and the sons' family flexibility score and between the fathers' quality of life and the sons' family confidence and family coping and coherence scores, at (r=.4876, p=.018), and (r=.4582, p=.028), respectively, and between the fathers' family discord and the sons' family discord scores at (r=.4381, p=037). Corresponding correlation values for the mothers and daughters were (r=.0367, p=.868); (r=-.2049, p=.348); (r=-.0234, p=916); and (r=.0011, p =.996). A significant correlation was found between mothers and daughters on the mothers' relative and friend support score and the daughters' family confidence score at (r=.4215, p=.045), while the corresponding coefficient for fathers and sons was (r=-.3911, p=.065). Significant correlations were found more often than were significant differences . The results also indicate that the males are more volatile than the females in terms of significant findings on the family strength measures.

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Young adults benefit from forming meaningful relationships with older adults through participation in intergenerational programs. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of an intergenerational volunteer program with people living with dementia on various university student characteristics. During an eight to twelve-month period, university students connected virtually or in person with a person living with dementia residing in the community or within a long-term care facility. Six scales were administered to assess changes in empathy, mood, psychological well-being, sensitivity to justice, and attitudes towards older adults and community service. Results demonstrated that young adults experienced adverse challenges during their volunteering experiences which could be attributed to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges, students were able to reduce their negative attitudes towards older adults. Findings generated from this study enhance our understanding of university students’ experiences volunteering virtually in meaningful one-on-one continued interaction with a person living with dementia although more research is still needed under less stressful global crises.

The current study examined the influence that perceived parenting, psychopathology, and the environment have on the development of projected parenting styles (defined for the study as the way participants predict they will parent when the opportunity arises) in college students. Overall, participants (N = 412) report that they will adopt a style of projected parenting that is similar to how they perceive their parents’ parenting. One exception is that participants of overprotective parents tended to project utilizing less overprotection, perhaps a sign of rejection for the control that was placed on them by their parents. Perceived paternal parenting was mediated by parental psychopathology, and surprisingly, perceived maternal psychopathology was found to be positively associated with positive projected parenting. Participants’ own psychopathology had no impact on projected parenting when examined simultaneously with the other variables.

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Epigenetics is a rapidly growing field that has provided insight into the etiology of many physiological mechanisms. Research around post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has evolved immensely since expanding to include an epigenetic lens. Researchers have studied which gene loci are associated with PTSD to understand how genes can become either over or under expressed when exposed to trauma. The three main epigenetic factors that assist with regulating the genome are: DNA methylation, histone modification (including methylation and acetylation), and noncoding RNA. Each factor utilizes a different mechanism to help with either the upregulation or downregulation of a specific gene. Within PTSD research, the impacts of these genome modifications have been studied to understand how they regulate the common physiological symptoms associated with PTSD diagnoses. These symptomologies include decreased basal cortisol levels, decreased cardiovascular health, decreased immune function, and increased mortality. Many epigenetic studies have explored how changes in specific gene loci contribute to these physiological dysregulations. Some genes of interest include nuclear receptor subfamily 3 group C member 1 (NR3C1), FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5), and spindle and kinetochore-associated protein 2 (SKA2). Many studies have been conducted examining the DNA methylation activity of each gene in those with PTSD diagnoses and those without. However, research continues to produce mixed results. While some studies show an increase of DNA methylation for a specific gene in subjects with PTSD, other studies evidence a decrease of DNA methylation for the same gene. Examining the reasons for conflicting evidence is valuable to further understand the epigenetic mechanisms that occur. After conducting a literature review, four confounding factors have been identified as contributors to such mixed results. The first factor is the difference in each study’s definition of trauma, as well as the diagnostic tools they use to identify subjects with PTSD. The second factor is the samples used to detect epigenetic changes. Most samples collected in epigenetic studies of PTSD include whole blood samples, salivary samples, and only rarely, brain tissue samples. These different sample types, when cross-compared, can contribute to discrepancies in DNA methylation data. Furthermore, whole blood samples are not only vulnerable to intrinsic factor variabilities, but external factor variabilities. The third factor is a difference in subject population across the literature. Many studies are focused on either combat-veterans (with all male subjects) or child cohorts. These differences in demographics make it difficult to compare groups, as research indicates several epigenetic factors such as DNA methylation activity are sex, ethnicity, and age dependent. Finally, the fourth confounding factor is age at onset of trauma. Many studies show that trauma exposure in childhood leads to more severe symptoms compared to trauma exposure in adulthood. It is important to consider these factors and account for confounding variables when conducting future research. In doing so, more robust and accurate research can be produced. A more refined understanding of the epigenetic etiology of PTSD, as well as its epigenetic biomarkers, will likely yield greater insight into PTSD diagnoses, as well as best treatment practices.