Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1999. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

This study uses a cognitive group intervention approach in an attempt to alter anti-social behavior in elementary school children who experienced parental loss. The findings demonstrate improvement in some behaviors and worsening in others.

Economic changes have made the immigration of women to the United States part of major political and social issues. Women from Latin America frequently immigrate alone and without legal documentation, leaving their children in the care of relatives or friends, thus becoming transnational mothers in the process. Hispanic/Latino groups comprise the largest minority in the U.S., and Latina women account for 48.9% of the total Latino population. This demographic trend is expected to continue, and Hispanic/Latino groups are projected to experience the largest population increase in the coming decades (Marshall, Urrutia-Rojas, Soto-Mas & Coggin, 2005). The separation from their family has a strong impact on the health and well-being of these women, rendering them vulnerable to health care barriers and health disparities. This qualitative research study explored the experiences of Latinas living transnational motherhood. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight Latin as living transnational motherhood between the ages 21- 39. The findings in this study describe the lived experience of Latina transnational mothers within their social, economic and cultural context. The narrative was analyzed using van Manen's (1990) interpretative hermeneutic phenomenological approach to narrative analysis. Findings indicate that Latinas experiencing transnational motherhood find meaning in mothering from afar through sacrifice, suffering, and hopefulness for a better life for their children, and for family reunification. Findings from this study inform nurses of the health care barriers that these Latinas living transnational motherhood encounter as they experience hardship in order to support their families abroad as well as themselves. / Nurses caring for women who immigrate without their children are presented with professional and ethical challenges that require nurses to be knowledgeable about these women's pre- and post-immigration experiences findings of this study help narrowing the gap of information regarding lived experiences of Latinas transnational mothers. This knowledge offers guidance to the development of care that is compassionate, ethical and culturally appropriate. / by Rosa Maria Sternberg. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

M.A. (Social Work) / This dissertation centers on attachment. The focus is on four adolescent girls and how their attachment style is impacted by the experience of parental separation. A qualitative research process is applied by means of a two-part semi-structured interview. The first interview focuses more on the experience of the parental separation, and the second interview on the present social attachments of the adolescent girl. This study is informed by phenomenology as it analyses the adolescent experience of the parental separation by means of the change in the physical and emotional presence of her mother and father. It then explores her subjective experiences with and perception of her attachment to others. The study endeavours to reach a deeper understanding of how a break in the relationship with a parent as a consequence of a parental separation, even at the adolescent phase of development, can impact the adolescent's inner sense of security and in turn, other present social attachments. In light of the above, past literature together with attachment theory research on initial attachments with one's main care-givers is reviewed, looking at the development of a secure versus insecure attachment style. It is hoped that this dissertation serves to enrich the existing body of knowledge on attachment with regards to parental separation, and is of use to clinical professionals in the field.