Underbanking, or use of alternative financial services such as payday lenders rather than traditional banks, is a practice that has substantial financial and social harm. Given that literature and prior research shows that immigrants face unique cultural barriers to financial assimilation, the current study examines how immigrant status influences one’s odds of being underbanked. Using the June 2015 Underbanking Supplement to the Current Population Survey, immigrants are delineated by first- and second-generation status, as well by the development status of their country of origin, and their relationship to underbanking is examined through a series of logistic regression analyses. Results indicate that first-generation immigrants from developing countries continue to face substantial barriers to full financial assimilation, while those from developed countries share similar outcomes as citizens. Second-generation immigrants whose parents are from developing countries, however, have lower odds to be underbanked, showing that generational progress is occurring. Implications of this analyses are that future research should not assume immigrants all share one monolithic experience in the context of economic integration.

After a mastectomy due to breast cancer, a woman faces a choice about whether to undergo cosmetic reconstruction of her breast(s). In choosing reconstruction, women restore not only their bodies but their socially acceptable selves. In spite of this, most choose not to have reconstructive surgery. Though they are in the majority, not much is known about these women, and about what they do to navigate through life with a body that does not meet expectations of femininity. In this project, I use the case of women who choose not to have reconstruction and not to simulate their missing breast(s) to explore the boundaries of the socially acceptable body. Drawing on interviews with women who did not have reconstruction, examination of depictions of bodies on breast cancer organization web sites, and content analysis of their discussion board postings, I analyze women’s choices not to reconstruct their breasts and place those choices in the context of modern breast cancer culture, which promotes an ideal ‘survivor’ body. I find that these women emphasize concerns about stigma and authenticity and that these concerns are expressed through appearance changes that vary across public and private settings. This research extends our understanding of deviant bodies to understanding the stigma of socially incomprehensible bodies. Further, it makes explicit the assumptions about selfhood that are implied by both current popular perception and sociological work on stigmatization.

Black on Black victimization amongst inner-city African American youth is a well-documented phenomenon. Less understood are the shared lived experiences of inner-city, middle-aged African Americans who have been victims of crimes perpetrated by African American youth. The purpose of this study was to understand the lived, shared experience of this population. Social ecological theory, psychological sense of community, and crisis theory served as the theoretical frameworks for the study. A qualitative method of phenomenological inquiry was used to gain insight into the meaning ascribed to the victimization experiences, as well as the resulting thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and life-impacting implications. In-person, audio-taped, semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 victimized, middle-aged African Americans. Data were analyzed using Moustakas' method of data analysis. The study produced seven major themes: (a) physical, psychological, and emotional responses; (b) coping, (c) hopelessness, (d) betrayal, (e) traditional values, (f) societal issues, and (g) disengaged acceptance. The data analysis indicated that African Americans residing in this metropolitan location struggle with myriad intraracial and intergenerational challenges; approaches to addressing the challenges were reflected in the seven major themes. The results of this study may contribute to an enhanced understanding of the effects of intraracial, intergenerational victimization, leading to the ability of the mental health community to effectively address the physical, psychological, and emotional outcomes of this victimization experience. This study may also lead to a decrease in mental health related issues and costs, as well as serve as a catalyst for conversation amongst stakeholders.

n the following thesis, I will begin by giving a more detailed background on the prevalence of internet and social media use. Then I will provide information on depression and declining mental health rates in the United States. Following this, I will discuss previous studies that have come to a variety of conclusions about the interaction of these two factors, including some theoretical frameworks that are useful when thinking about this subject matter. I will then describe the methods used for my analysis, which will be followed by a presentation of the variables, results, and analysis. I find that Instagram is a significant determinant of lower perceived social status, and that Snapchat is a significant determinant of poorer mental health.

The power of peer-to-peer teaching and learning was explored in an interviewing assignment between upper and lower classes in Human Development and Family Life Education. The freshmen and sophomores participated in a Professional Perspectives in Family Science class, whereas the juniors and seniors were completing their practicum experiences. In both classes there is a focus on professionalism and career competence. The two groups of students were pair-matched and the upperclass Practicum students interviewed the underclass Professional Perspectives students as if it were a formal graduate school admission or an employment interview. Both participants had to prepare for the mock interview by partnering with the university career development center. After the interview the upperclass participant of the pair provided feedback to the underclass student. The metacognitive learning in this task was that upperclass students had to reflect on their own performance. By being in the interviewee role, they became aware of the parameters that could be explored in more formal real-life situations, and had an opportunity to enhance their competence for future interviews.

Homelessness is a comprehensive social problem affecting approximately 744,000 people in the U.S. Despite consistent efforts from politicians, state and local leaders, and service providers, the number of homeless people continues to rise. Although there are some explanations in the literature to account for the increase of homelessness, the literature tends to not include the voices of the homeless themselves. The purpose of this phenomenological study, which used Maslow's hierarchy of needs as its conceptual framework, was to understand the life experiences of members of the homeless population, as perceived by four male residents of a mission in an eastern U.S. state. In depth interviews investigated the core research question of the participants' perceptions of what prevents them from living productive lives without the shelter. Follow up interviews were scheduled with each participant to verify the accuracy, context, and credibility of documented information. The process of horizonalization was used to analyze transcripts for meaning units that were then clustered into themes, sorted, and documented by alignment to the research question. After all transcribed interview protocols and the researcher's notes were analyzed, validity of the findings was improved through member checks and researcher bracketing to control bias. Data revealed that common themes of childhood abuse and mental health issues influenced shelter dependence, and that the desire for recovery kept the men from leaving. Results from this study can foster positive social change by informing therapeutic interventions that screen for and target specific underlying causes of chronic homelessness within the larger population of homeless adults. Such interventions can contribute to sustainable independence for those served as well as more efficient use of scarce program resources.

Research often frames the relationship between sports and the city in terms of economics as researchers debate the costs and benefits of using public subsidies to build stadiums, retain professional teams and host mega-events. However, people assign symbolic or intangible values to their home sports teams that cannot be measured through economic frameworks. My research examined the ways in which urban residents create value around their home professional sports team that other researchers dismissed as hard to measure. Using the New Orleans Saints as a case study, this research incorporated interviews, questionnaires, content analysis and participant observation to provide greater access to the meanings people associate with the experience of being a Saints fan. After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, Saints fans used their team to build a narrative of renewal and deliver messages about city recovery. These meaningful local narratives reinforced a feeling of connectedness to the city and created collective identities among diverse urban residents. The Who Dat Nation created a sense of fandom that existed outside the confines of the publicly funded stadium on game day as people encountered indicators of Saints fandom through everyday lived experiences. Through shared experiences surrounding Saints football, fans fostered public sociability and meaningful relationships across social differences. In addition, the findings outline ways in which locals embraced NFL hype and the commodification of professional football while also engineering local cultural adaptations to the economic dimensions of sport. Through the story of the Saints in New Orleans, we can see sport spaces as a combination of symbolism and practice where sporting and urban affiliations are interrelated in complex ways through the construction of identity, culture, and commercialism. This dissertation presents spaces of sports fandom as places of empowerment to challenge, renegotiate, and rethink difference where sport spaces embody constructions of race, urban place, gender and identity. This study shows how spaces of sport fandom can be spaces to negotiate a sense of community identity and foster repetitive civil interactions. This provokes discussion on the extent to which sport fan activities influence changes in social interaction across race and gender differences.

A multitude of research exists examining the relationship between religion and early marriage, yet little research has focused on the relationship between religion and early childbearing. Even less has examined the influence of adolescent religion on early parenthood. Using data from the National Study of Youth and Religion, I examined the relationship between religion in adolescence and parenthood outcomes in early adulthood. I focus on how religiosity in adolescence shapes whether an individual is more or less likely to be sexually active, become pregnant, and/or have and keep a child. Results suggest that those who are religious in adolescence are less likely to have children early because of the postponement of sexual debut.

Body modification is a global phenomenon. In the southeastern United States, two forms of modifications present themselves most often: piercings and tattoos. Much of the research conducted on body modifications looks at deviance as a primary concern, focusing less on what the individuals are like. This study examines the personal accounts of people with body modifications and add to the existing information about body-modified people. Interviews were conducted with fifteen participants across several months in different parts of two east Tennessee cities. Questions were open-ended and all responses were transcribed. Participants discussed a variety of topics, including pain, belongingness, and body image. This research offers suggestions for future research in focused areas of body modification.

For a while, video games have been the target of scrutiny with regards to their perceived potential to adversely affect younger individuals. In particular, it is often argued that these video games, particularly those of violent nature, may increase hostility to an extent that it manifests itself in violent behavior. This thesis aims to denote what effects these video games have on young adults, particularly in relation to the respondents’ indicated extent of adverse childhood experiences, trait anger, and competitiveness, all three of which were assumed to have a positive relationship with hostility. A survey was distributed to students attending Western Kentucky University in an attempt to measure what effects these three aforementioned variables have on young adults, in addition to what affects video game playing and violence in video games may have on hostility and aggression. From the data acquired, it was clear that while adverse childhood experiences had no statistical significance in this study and higher competitiveness indicated a very slight decline in hostility, trait anger did in fact appear to raise hostility in the respondents. Additionally, increases in exposure to both video game play and violence in video games were shown to lead to a decrease in hostility. From this, it would appear that trait anger was the only variable to truly increase hostility in young adults, and the often-discussed variables of video game play and violence in video games both appear to decrease hostility in respondents as exposure to either factor increases, thus going against the common assumptions.