Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis of women, with an estimated 232,670 new cases in 2014. With 89.2% of breast cancer patients surviving five years or longer, studies are needed to investigate the long-term impact of breast cancer on women and families (National Cancer Institute, 2014). The purpose of this study was to examine, using a mixed methods approach, the impact of chemotherapy on mothering occupations for patients diagnosed with breast cancer. Thirty-one women (mean age=39.6, SD=5.79), with breast cancer of any stage, who were currently undergoing chemotherapy and had at least one child under the age of 18 living in the home, were recruited from a comprehensive breast cancer care center. These participants completed the Fatigue Symptom Inventory Then Test, the Parent Disability Inventory, the FACT-G quality of life inventory, and a demographic questionnaire. Of these 30 participants, ten participants were selected using purposeful sampling to participate in semi-structured interviews focusing on the impact of chemotherapy on mothering occupations. Qualitative data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) and quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 to determine descriptive statistics and correlations among variables. After analysis, the central category that emerged from the data was “Keeping life the same while weathering cancer treatments,” which was developed from categories of learning, adapting, accepting support, growing and normalcy. Quantitative analyses found a correlation between fatigue and parent disability (Spearman rho correlation = -0.476, p < 0.05), quality of life and fatigue interference (-0.481, p < 0.001) and parent disability and quality of life (0.745, p<0.001). Implications for future occupational therapy practice are discussed.

It is suggested in both academic literature and popular media that many children’s opportunities for play, particularly in North America and during middle childhood are decreasing and that the consequences include negative impacts on social, emotional and physical well being. One of the explanations for the decline in play, particularly amongst middle and high socio-economic-status families is an increased participation in structured extracurricular programming. This qualitative study explores parental accounts in order to understand some of the underlying ideas that shape their decision-making. Semi-structured individual interviews conducted using questions generated from a background literature review are implemented with five mothers, four of whom are spoken with twice. A thematic analysis approach is used to analyze the data. Integrating further literature, the ensuing discussion focuses on how a culture of fear may be contributing to an uncontrollable busyness of both parents’ and children’s lives. Protection, prevention and preparation are identified as specific motivations for structured program involvement that stem from a culture of fear. Particular focus is given to ideas behind the preparation mentality. The importance of early exposure, the intensity of extracurricular involvement, lost investment, wasted time, and the relationship these ideas have with discourses of intensive mothering are all explored. This study contributes new information to the existing dialogue about changes in children’s time-use, and provides insight into avenues for further qualitative research in the field. / Graduate

Introduction: The study is a qualitative exploration of breastfeeding and maternal touch with new mothers who are survivors of childhood sexual assault (CSA) by a family member. / Objectives: The objective of this study is to explore the experience of breastfeeding in mothers with a past history of CSA perpetrated by a family member. / Methods: Using an interpretive framework, eleven women were interviewed with an in-depth semi-structured method and the transcripts coded and analysed by themes. All participants were new mothers who volunteered in response to a community based advertisement. Each woman self-identified as being sexually abused as a child by a family member. / Results: Significant themes that emerged about breastfeeding were the importance of breastfeeding to the maternal-infant relationship and infant development. Other more challenging themes included detachment and dissociation, exposure and control, lack of pleasure, and splitting of the roles of the breasts into maternal or sexual objects.During the course of the study maternal-infant touch was raised as an important theme associated with body boundaries between the mother and her child and related to the mother’s past CSA experience. Baths and nappy changes were two areas in which some mothers encountered difficulties associated directly with their CSA. Some participants encountered difficulties associated with their healthcare. These were largely associated with the participants’ lack of control in the professional encounter and intimate examinations. Baby examination was also problematic with women reporting being concerned about their ability to protect their children within the professional encounter. / Conclusion: Many participants described breastfeeding as a positive experience which enhanced their bonding to their babies. They faced challenges as CSA survivors due to the duality of the breasts as sexual and maternal objects. Touch and maternal-infant boundaries emerged as important themes after CSA

xvi, 243 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Human birth represents a complex interplay between our evolved biology and the cultural norms and expectations surrounding birth. This project considers both the evolutionary and cultural factors that impact the birth outcomes of teen mothers that received support from a trained labor support person, or doula. Doula support has repeatedly been found to decrease the length of labor, the use of pain medication, the rates of caesarian section, and instrumental births and to increase rates of breastfeeding and bonding. However, virtually no studies evaluate why these positive outcomes occur. Current life history models suggest that traits such as short inter-birth intervals, early weaning, extended dependency, and simultaneously raising multiple dependent offspring co-evolved with child-rearing support from multiple caregivers. These models suggest that mothers should be particularly sensitive to perceived cues of social and material support for childrearing; doulas might provide such cues. The goal of this project was to explore how doula support impacted teen mothers' perceptions of their birth experience and outcomes. Data for the project were drawn from three sources: a 15-month participant observation at a non-profit organization providing doula support to teen mothers, 20 semi-structured interviews with mothers who received doula support for the birth of their babies, and by my attendance as a doula at over 50 births. Results suggest that teen mothers experience upheavals in social relationships with their friends, families, and partners following the discovery of their pregnancy. Participants indicated that doula support increased their knowledge of the birth process, provided unbiased and non judgmental support and information, gave them confidence in their ability to give birth, and encouraged mothers to be proactive in communicating with their care providers. Teens used friendship and kinship terms when describing their doula, suggesting that doula support provides cues of kinship that women have used throughout evolutionary history to assess the availability of alloparental care. While doulas themselves provide salient cues of social support, participants also indicated that doulas increased support from fathers and families, thus mobilizing support from existing social networks. Cues of adequate support may lead to increased maternal investment, thereby improving both maternal and fetal outcomes. / Committee in charge: Lawrence Sugiyama, Chairperson, Anthropology Frances White, Member, Anthropology; James Snodgrass, Member, Anthropology; Melissa Cheyney, Member, Not from U of O; John Orbell, Outside Member, Political Science

abstract: Traumatic events have deleterious effects biologically, emotionally, socially, and cognitively. Events may include violence, neglect, and abuse and are best understood through a lifecourse perspective. Preventable and treatable, traumatic exposure promotes the development of trauma symptoms including avoidance, hyperarousal, increased fear, intrusive experiences, and aggression/violence. Trauma symptomology is thought to be an underlying cause of child maltreatment and intergenerational cycles of abuse/neglect. Traumatic symptoms may interfere with the ability to work, function, and care for young children and may accompany a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. Although these experiences are known to be harmful, little research has focused on experiences of mothers involved in the child welfare system with young children (< 5 years). Subsequently, this study explored maternal experiences of trauma whilst calculating one of the first PTSD estimates. Types of trauma exposure, age of exposure, and event details were explored alongside history of substance use, domestic violence, and mental illness. Trauma symptom type, severity, and frequency were assessed. Utilizing adult attachment as a partial mediator, relationships between trauma exposure, trauma symptoms, and parenting were examined. Supported by a university-community collaboration within the Safe Babies Court Teams Program in Maricopa County, Arizona, this study is exploratory and cross-sectional. A convenience sample of child welfare involved mothers (N = 141) with young children were recruited who were new clinical intakes with open court dependencies. Data on child/adult traumatic events, trauma symptoms, adult attachment, and parenting were collected. Results indicated high rates of complex/chronic trauma, specifically domestic violence and physical/sexual abuse. Mothers experienced higher than average childhood adversity/emotional abuse with significant overlap between trauma exposure and reduced mental health. PTSD rates ranged from 35-39%. Adult attachment did not to mediate trauma on parenting behaviors however strong and significant direct effects were found. Insecure-disorganized and insecure-resistant were the most dominant attachment styles. Overall, these findings indicate the complex lifecourse nature of trauma exposure and the need to pay special attention to mental health and domestic violence histories in child welfare involved mothers of young children. Implications for social work practice, policy, and research are presented and provide impetus for continued future work. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Social Work 2015

O enfoque desta investigação psicanalítica foi o de estudar a importância da mãe como ambiente primário facilitador ou perturbador da continuidade de ser do bebê e teve como fundamentação teórica os conceitos do pediatra e psicanalista britânico D.W.Winnicott. O método utilizado foi o Método de Observação da Relação Mãe-Bebê na Família criado pela psicanalista britânica Esther Bick. Dentro da abordagem winnicottiana são de grande importância todos aqueles (profissionais da saúde e familiares) que compõem o ambiente de apoio, necessário para que a mãe, a partir dos últimos meses de gestação até o final do primeiro mês de vida do seu bebê, mergulhe num estado designado pelo autor como preocupação materna primária. Isso contribui para que se estabeleça entre ela e seu filho uma comunicação empática, envolvendo identificação de necessidades seguida de cuidados com habilidade e afetuosidade. Um bom começo compõe a base para o processo de amadurecimento saudável. O caso deste estudo, realizado em catorze meses através de observações semanais em ambiente domiciliar da família, permitiu o acompanhamento da maternagem da mãe em luto por ter perdido sua mãe, de forma inesperada, vítima de pneumonia, seis dias antes do parto. A morte da avó materna encerrou a possibilidade concreta de convivência dela entre os familiares, bem como significou a perda de holding (apoio) da gestante desde o momento do parto ao exercício da maternagem durante os primeiros meses. O ambiente primário foi afetado e os efeitos do luto materno serão demonstrados ao longo desta dissertação / The focus of this psychoanalytic investigation was to examine the importance of the mother as the primary facilitating or disturbing environment for the continuity of the babys being as based on the theoretical concepts of the British pediatrician and psychoanalyst D.W.Winnicott. The \"Method of Observation of the Mother-Baby Relationship in the Family\", created by the British psychoanalyst Esther Bick was used. According to Winnicott, all those health professionals and family members that make up the supportive environment needed by the mother from the last months of pregnancy to the end of the first month of the baby\'s life are of great importance when plunged into a state designated as \"primary maternal preoccupation\". This helps to establish an empathic communication between the mother and her child involving identification of needs followed by skill and care with warmth. A good beginning for the baby provides the basis for a healthy maturation process. This investigation was conducted over fourteen months by weekly observations in the family home which permitted monitoring the mothering by the mother while grieving due to the unexpected death of her mother as a victim of pneumonia six days before delivery. The loss of the maternal grandmother ended the concrete possibility of her participation in the family and entailed the loss of holding for the mother prior to birth and in the practice of mothering during the first months. The primary environment was affected and the effects of this maternal grief will be described throughout this dissertation

This multi-modal dissertation examines the historical hegemonic making of U.S. education, and how compulsory schooling has framed acceptable notions of culture, language/literacy, and knowledge production. Through this criticism of colonization and education, theoretical and practical alternatives are explored for the opportunities outside mainstream schooling in the US. In examining the literary work on decolonizing education, these efforts can engage in unlearning of coloniality by finding examples from a time before colonization. In contemporary society, the practice of de/unschooling can hold the possibilities for decolonizing education. To demonstrate how families of color in the U.S. engage with unschooling, interview questions serve as the sharing of knowledge and experience so as to ground the research in lived reality. A brief survey of critical education and critical pedagogy broadens those already critical of schools and/or receptive to the criticism of schools and the un/deschooling alternative then places student and family/community as the center of learning and teaching.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Advancement in education has ensured that there is parity in terms of enrolment for both females and males at tertiary institutions. However, women students continue to face challenges to advancing in education. Given that South African society remains highly gendered and that universities are historically male-dominated sites that do not necessarily cater for the particular needs of women (or children), one area of challenge may relate to having to balance parenting roles with the demands of being a student. For example, at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), students with children are prohibited from access to the residences, leaving them with no option but to seek alternative accommodation, where they can remain with their babies or look for childcare support from their relatives. While there is a growing body of work on the experiences of school-going pregnant and parenting learners, there is little work in the South African context of the experiences of women who are both parents and students at tertiary institutions. Since the national education system clearly supports and encourages life-long learning, an investigation into the conditions and experiences of learning for parenting students is important. The focus on women students was motivated by existing findings that show how normative gender roles persist and that women continue to be viewed as the primary nurturers with respect to the care of children. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of motherhood among young female students at UWC. The study was situated within a feminist social constructionist framework and a feminist qualitative methodology was employed. Two or more interviews were conducted with a group of eight participants, selected by convenient sampling, and aged between 18 and 30 years, each with a child or children under the age of five years. Interviews were conducted at the participants choice of location and at a time that was convenient to them. All interviews were audio-recorded and the tapes were kept safely in the researchers home. All standard ethical procedures for research with human subjects were followed. Data was transcribed verbatim and a qualitative thematic analysis was conducted. Key themes were elucidated and data presented thematically. The key challenges cited included time management, self motivation and the social demands of being a mother. These tend to have adverse repercussions on academic excellence. The analysis revealed that though the young women are allowed to return to universities after becoming mothers, they face many challenges in trying to balance motherhood and the demands of schooling. Furthermore, the findings highlight the tension and ambivalence experienced by participants as they negotiate the social and cultural expectations of motherhood and their personal reality, in meeting the demands of motherhood as student mothers. In their struggle to meet the social and cultural expectations of motherhood, they placed tremendous emotional and physical stress upon themselves which manifested as guilt, physical exhaustion, psychological stress, physical illness and the desire to leave studies notwithstanding the value they attached to it. Although the participants challenged these expectations in various ways, the underlying nuances when they recounted their experiences, remain embedded in these societal and cultural expectations. However, in voicing their experiences, it was clear that they were not always simply accepting the status quo but at times challenging it, and thereby deconstructing the myths of motherhood that are so salient in current social and cultural contexts. The study also found that student mothers at UWC, at least on the basis of this small sample - do not appear to receive sufficient support on campus (physically, materially and emotionally). The study concludes that this group of student mothers face serious challenges as mothers and students and, further, that these challenges are exacerbated by the continued social expectations of women to be perfect mothers which, together with the material gender inequalities in sharing parenting care, could impede effective academic studies. The study recommends that universities play a stronger role in alleviating the challenges for such students. In addition, it recommends that more research be conducted in the area, possibly longitudinal studies, as well as studies that may be more generalisable. / South Africa

D.H. Lawrence’s novel Sons and Lovers, written in 1913 is an autobiographical novel that captures the Morel’s disharmonious family situation. Critics have many times looked at Mr. Morel and his behavior to offer an explanation for the disharmony. However, by applying a historical and socioeconomic, gender and psychoanalytical perspective to an analysis of Mrs. Morel this analysis will focus on her many actions and behavior in an attempt to offer another explanation for the disharmony in the narrative. The analysis will mainly focus on her relationship with her sons, especially Paul. The conclusion of the analysis shows that Mrs. Morel through her over attached relationship with Paul led to three main consequences: his mental downfall, his incapability to have normal relationships, and the collapse of his individuality.

One emotion experienced by working parents is guilt, yet this emotion is not often studied within the work-family domain. This presentation will serve to define work-family guilt drawing from empirical and qualitative research on the construct. This presentation will also delineate findings related to work-family guilt for mothers and fathers. Lastly, this presentation will highlight the scarce research into the relationship between work-family guilt and parenting outcomes. It has been suggested by scholars that work-family guilt may influence parenting behaviors which could cause negative consequences for children. This presentation will review two studies examining work-family guilt and parenting practices.