Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2002. / Text in English and Korean. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 234-235).

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Marriage, Family, and Human Development, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 34-39).

Thesis--Wisconsin. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2002. / Text in English and Korean. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 234-235).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006. / Prepared for: Dept. of Psychology. Bibliography: leaves 87-97. Also available online.

Research indicates that determinants such as commitment, communication and attachment facilitate long-term marriages. The present study seeks to understand these and other possible determinants that facilitate enduring relationships. Furthermore, the research focuses exclusively on the determinants that males believe facilitate long-term relationships. Bader and Pearson's transposition of Mahler's Model of Separation Individuation onto adult relationships was used as a theoretical point of departure. Bader and Pearson posit that couples evolve through stages which resemble Mahler's Model of Childhood Development. A qualitative approach using semistructured interviews aided in creating a non-threatening environment whilst collecting data. Purposive non-random sampling was used to identify participants and thereafter participants were obtained via snowball sampling. Tesch's thematic analysis was used to analyse results. The research findings highlight the understanding of what determinants males deem essential to facilitate long-term relationships.

Technological advances and industrialization that moved production from cottage activities to large factories and business enterprises, the advent of reliable birth control that afforded women greater freedom from chi Idrearing , the contemporary women's movement that supported women's efforts to extend their strengths and interests beyond childrearing and the home, and more recently, economic necessity, have all contributed to the increasing number of families where both husband and wife work full-time outside the home. These changes have not been without stress for the women and men involved in a transition from roles and responsibilities traditionally circumscribed on the basis of sex, to possibilities of more nontraditional arrangements of family and work responsibilities.

In response to recent calls in the literature for a more contextual analysis of the influence of social support processes (e.g., Rook, 1997; Sarason, Sarason, & Pierce, 1992), the current study explores the relationships of spousal support, spousal strain, and well-being among husbands and wives, both within the same day and across days. In addition, the moderating roles of interpersonal and situational contexts within which support and strain are provided are examined. One hundred and sixty-six husbands and wives in stepfamilies were interviewed and then asked to complete a structured diary twice daily for a week. Participants reported their stress, supportive and problematic spousal interactions, mood, and dyadic adjustment. A multi-level hierarchical model was used to estimate average within-person relations among the daily variables, while at the same time controlling for the influence of between-person differences in these variables. Lack of daily spousal support and the presence of spousal strain were both significantly associated with increased negative affect across the same day, although the magnitude of the effect of spousal strain was greater. However, these associations were mitigated for participants who perceived their marriages to be well-adjusted. In addition, daily stressors were directly associated with increased same day negative affect, however daily stressors did not interact with support or strain to predict distress. In contrast, the pattern of the findings for the prediction of negative affect across days was quite different. Of the daily variables, only spousal support, but not spousal strain or daily hassles, was a significant direct predictor of negative affect the next morning. Furthermore, spousal support and spousal strain were found to have a multiplicative association with negative affect the next day. Specifically, the presence of spousal strain attenuated the beneficial impact of spousal support on mood. Further, dyadic adjustment was a direct predictor of decreased negative affect the next day. The findings from this study suggest an interplay among social support, social strain, and well-being. In particular, the importance of considering differential influences over time for support and strain, as well as the moderating roles of proximal and distal relationship factors, was highlighted.