Using coded data from parent-child interaction tasks and questionnaires, this longitudinal study examined the relationship between observed mother and father optimism and self-reported and observed optimism of their adolescent child one year later with mother and father involvement as mediators. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that while there was not a direct association between maternal optimism and child optimism, that father involvement mediated that relationship, and that father involvement further mediated the relationship between father involvement and child optimism.

For this research, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with primary caregivers that have adult children with disabilities. These interviews explored the lived experience of caregiving of primary caregivers. Three main themes surrounding care were found, all falling within the larger context of tensions in care. The first theme captures tensions in policy that promote empowerment but also produce disablement. Second, tensions exist between service agencies and lived experience of care. Lastly, tensions exist between were between the burdens and rewards of caregiving. It is these three themes and tensions that impact caregiving experiences at a personal level with the participants. These tensions are explored at a qualitative level and are illuminated by the lived experiences of the participants. Through this research the complex and understudied world of disability and care are explored. This research has implications for future policy development of support services for families that have an adult child with developmental disabilities. Further, these tensions illuminate the complex world of caregiving for those with disabilities in a way that examines life course impacts on caregivers themselves. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The majority of grandparents in the United States are married and do not reside with their grandchild(ren) (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014; Wu, 2018). The life stage of encore adulthood between 55 and 75 years old (Moen, 2016) often overlaps with grandparenthood. Time with grandchildren, and more broadly shared leisure time within couples during encore adulthood is minimally studied, this study provides insight to the process of family leisure among grandparent couples. Guided by life course and critical feminist perspectives, this qualitative inquiry examined the process of family leisure among grandparent couples during the life stage of encore adulthood (Daly, and Beaton, 2005; Moen, 2016). The results of this study, utilizing the method of constructivist grounded theory, present a theory grounded in lived experiences of 10 grandparent couples (Charmaz, 2014; Daly, 2007). The family leisure experiences with grandchildren model is presented with three components: life course dimensions, engaging in family leisure, and relationships within the couple and with grandchildren. / Doctor of Philosophy / The purpose of this study was to understand how grandparent couples between the ages of 55 and 75 years navigate family leisure experiences. Family leisure is defined as time spent together by grandparents and grandchildren in free time or recreational activities. Through in-person interviews, I interviewed each partner in 10 couples. Criteria to participate in the study included: (a) both members of the couple were able and willing to participate in interviews, (b) both members of the couple were in encore adulthood (between 55 and 75 years), (c) couples were in relationships with each other for at least five years, and (d) couples had grandchild(ren). Participants were asked to complete a demographic questionnaire, an in-person interview, and a reflective journal. All participants completed the demographic questionnaire and five individuals submitted a reflective journal. On average, interviews lasted 64 minutes. After interviews were transcribed, they were analyzed at the couple level. Grounded in the experiences of the 10 couples, the findings resulted in a model that illustrates how they performed family leisure with their grandchildren. Grandparent couples indicated that leisure with their grandchildren contributed to the way they thought about and talked about their family relationships. The grandparent couples described how instrumental their children were in allowing access to grandchildren for family leisure. Grandparent couples’ experiences illustrated that family leisure with grandchildren was more meaningful to their couple relationship than other shared recreational activities, yet family leisure required navigating family relationships such as with in-laws and children. Implications of research and future research are provided.

Minimal research has focused on how lynching was not purely an individual-level event but, at times, was a family-level process. Prior research has focused on the economic forces, social factors, and individual level attributes that changed the probability of being lynched. Research studying these topics has identified that marginalization, status, distinctiveness, and the racial threat hypothesis contribute to lynching. However, this research has not studied child victims and how parental level attributes may intersect differently with these theoretical perspectives. Using machine-learning tools, I created census linked data which identifies the families of child lynch victims and other non-victim families in the surrounding neighborhood. With this data, I find that marginalization, status, distinctiveness, and the racial threat hypothesis may play a different role for child victims than previous studies that studied different populations. My findings demonstrate that child victims are a unique population that have different liabilities and protections that are tied to family-level attributes.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a multifaceted social issue that affects the Christian faith community as it does the secular community. Though the literature reflects some understanding of general correlates and possible antecedents to IPV within the Christian community, the impact of religious and spiritual factors tends to be homogenized and is often misjudged. Allport's theory of intrinsic and extrinsic religious orientation provided a platform for investigating Christian male-perpetrated IPV. This quantitative study utilized survey design and measured the impact of 10 select religious and spiritual factors on the probability of physical or sexual IPV perpetration. Archival data from Wave III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were used and included male participants ages 18 to 26 who nominally classified themselves as Catholic, Protestant, or Christian. Data were analyzed using binary logistic regression and results indicated that IPV perpetration could not be predicted from the 10 religious or spiritual factors. Given the geographic breadth and the size of the sample utilized, not finding a predictive model suggests there may be a lack of consistency in religious and spiritual orientation in these young males and elucidated analysis problems resulting from multicollinearity and the use of ordinal data. Though a predictive model for Christian male-perpetrated IPV was not found, the results of this study can contribute to social change by challenging existing ecclesiastical paradigms regarding which religious or spiritual factors, if any, impact Christian male-perpetrated IPV and which religious and spiritual factors should be addressed in faith-based batterers' programs targeting young adult males.

Effective recognition and proper treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in Hispanic woman is a public health problem that needs further investigation. Guided by the stress and coping social support theory, the purpose of this cross-sectional survey study was to examine the relationship between attitudes, emotional support, and the perception of success in managing cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in 335 Hispanic women living in Atlanta, Georgia. Correlations, independent-sample t tests, simple linear regression, and multiple linear regressions showed ethnicity as a moderating variable between the perception of success in handling CVD and emotional support, while emotional support was shown to be a significant predictor of perceived success for all participants. The relationship between the 2 variables was positive for Hispanic women and negative for non-Hispanics women. Diet and exercise also emerged as a significant direct predictor of perceived success in handling CVD when the variable of emotional support was controlled. Key findings also showed that, while Hispanic women had higher scores for perceived success in handling CVD, non-Hispanic women had higher emotional support scores. This study supports positive social change by highlighting the unique needs of Hispanic women to healthcare providers, relative to effective recognition and positive treatment regimens, if cardiovascular disease is suspected. Positive social change will be demonstrated with the recognition of better health outcomes for Hispanic women.

Family caregivers of cancer patients may enter a predeath grief cycle when their loved one is diagnosed with cancer. The emotional upheaval and accompanying stress that define predeath grief may lead to health problems for the caregiver, and also interfere with their ability to provide care for their loved one. The purpose of the present research was to examine the relationship between coping styles of family caregivers and the tendency of those caregivers to seek social support during active caregiving. This study employed a quantitative approach based on the revised coping theory and the process of bereavement, which is grounded in the transactional theory of stress and coping, to examine coping styles of family members who care for cancer patients. Family caregivers of current cancer patients (n=103) were recruited through e-mails, flyers, the Walden Participant Pool, public social networking sites, and websites to complete the Ways of Coping Questionnaire. A preliminary analysis indicated a normal data distribution and confirmed homoscedasticity and linearity. Through the use of multiple regression, correlations, and t tests, relationships between 7 coping styles and the tendency to seek support were explored. Results indicated that coping styles of confrontive coping, problem solving, and positive reappraisal were positive and significant predictors of the tendency to seek social support during active caregiving. However, coping styles of distancing, self-control, escape/avoidance, and taking responsibility were not significant predictors of seeking social support. Findings from this study can influence social change by promoting appropriate support interventions that appeal to family caregivers, regardless of their coping styles, in order to effectively support the physical and mental health of the caregiver population.