This thesis explores how coach-athlete relationships are influenced within the organisational culture of a rowing club. Relational Cultural Theory and the work of Weber are used to examine how the concept of organisational culture informs understanding of coach and athlete relating. The study, covering a complete competitive season, involved an eleven month long ethnography of an elite rowing club in Great Britain. The findings demonstrate the visceral, enculturated and complex nature of coach-athlete relationships in elite sport. Relational disconnection occurred in the disenchanted organisational life, where intrinsic values were subordinated to a rational quest for efficiency, control and ultimately success, as well as traditional social ordering based on status and gender. Relationships were characterised by power over relating, distance and impersonal relations, caretaking rather than caring about, fragile trust by the athlete and trust through surveillance by the coach, where emotion was concealed and conflict avoided. However, enacting shared identities, the emotion involved in competing and the fact this was a voluntary organisation with competing values, provided an escape from simulacra of elite sport to allow for multi-value paradigm of interests. The opportunity for coaches and athletes to connect with each other based on their values and with emotion exposed their humanity and revealed the potential for relational mutuality and authenticity. The study challenges the valorised coaching and elite sport relationships and lifestyle. Implications for coaching include providing individuals with confidence to raise the issue of relationship, providing coaches and athletes with knowledge of connection and disconnection in relationship and the outcome on well-being. The need to develop a systemised approach to embedding growth-fostering relationships in the culture of high performance sport is highlighted.

Thesis advisor: Heather T. Rowan-Kenyon / Studies of college students’ development indicate the collegiate experience can have a negative impact on undergraduate women’s self-esteem (Zuckerman et al., 2016). Research also suggests mentorship programs that provide marginalized groups, such as undergraduate women, with faculty or administrative adult mentors have the potential to improve outcomes for the marginalized group (Crisp et al., 2017). However, it is important to consider the mentors may struggle against the same systemic marginalization they are working to help their undergraduate mentees successfully navigate. The Brazilian philosopher, Paulo Freire, built the concept of “critical consciousness” to explain how those who are oppressed come to understand the systemic nature of their oppression and subsequently seek to change the factors that lead to it (Freire, 1970). This grounded theory study sought to understand if mentors develop a critical consciousness of their own oppression through their involvement in a mentorship program designed to combat the institutionalized oppression that undergraduate women face. Nineteen interviews and two focus groups of mentors who served in the program were conducted. The following research questions guided this study: (a) How do mentors perceive that their involvement in the Summit program has impacted their awareness and understanding of institutionalized sexism and its effects? (b) How do mentors perceive that their involvement in the Summit program has impacted their motivation or ability to effect change related to institutionalized sexism? (c) In what ways have mentors enacted change on behalf of themselves or other women at the institution that they perceive to be connected to their involvement in Summit? The theory constructed from the data suggests a varying effect of the impact of serving as a mentor in the mentorship program on participants’ development of Critical Consciousness. Participants’ progression through the components of Critical Consciousness was complex when they considered their own experiences as women at the institution. Data indicates the community of the mentorship program played a fundamental role in participants’ development of Critical Consciousness of institutional sexism at the institution. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Karen Arnold / Despite an increasing number of Asian American women earning the advanced degrees necessary to qualify them for senior administrative positions such as dean, vice president, provost and president, this group remains severely underrepresented in the upper administrative ranks in American higher education. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine if mentoring relationships, which research has shown to be vital to the success of other women administrators of color, would prove important to Asian American women administrators at critical career junctures. Eleven Asian American senior women administrators from four different ethnic backgrounds were interviewed. Two theoretical frameworks were used to interpret the data: relational cultural theory to analyze each interview from the participant's point of view, and; critical race theory to review the data from the institutional perspective. Many of the women experienced factors reported by other women administrators of color: a culture dominated by White men; sexism and racism; feelings of isolation, and; gender-typed family concerns. Most of the women also faced the model minority stereotype of being perceived as passive, yet analysis of their interviews revealed that they did not behave passively. Also contrary to what research has shown to be the experience of other women administrators of color, several reported more instances of sexism than racism. The majority of the women had White male mentors, which is consistent with the literature. For the women who had both male and female mentors, several experienced more career than psychosocial mentoring from their male mentors, a pattern opposite what is typical for other women administrators of color. No clear patterns emerged with regard to how the women utilized their mentors at critical career junctures. The interviews revealed that the women in this study were distinctly different from each other, which disputes the assumption that all Asian American women are similar. This study challenges how these women are currently perceived, and institutions must re-examine their current policies and practices to better support this population. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Higher Education Administration.

Thesis advisor: Paul Poteat / Sexual minorities (e.g., lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals) are at higher risk for mental and physical health disparities than heterosexuals, and research has related some of these disparities to minority stressors such as institutional heterosexism, sexual prejudice, and discrimination. Yet, there is a dearth of research elucidating factors that predict the development of these health risks, and factors that protect and promote resiliency against them. Building on the minority stress model, the present study utilized relational cultural theory to situate sexual minority health disparities within a relational framework. Specifically, the study examined the mediating and moderating factors between the deleterious effects of distal stressors (i.e., heterosexist relational disconnections such as discrimination and victimization) and proximal stressors (i.e., self-disparaging relational images such as internalized homophobia, sexual orientation concealment) on mental and physical health for sexual minorities. Among 719 sexual minority adults, structural equation modeling analyses were used to test three models of: the relations between minority stressors and health; mediating effects of diminished agency, loneliness, and shame on the relations between minority stressors and health; and the moderated-mediation effects of growth-fostering relationships with peers, mentors, and community on the mediating pathways between minority stressors and health. Results indicated that heterosexist distal and proximal minority stressors predicted poor mental health (i.e., depression, anxiety, and suicidality) and physical health (i.e., cardiovascular disease risk, distressing physical symptoms). The relations between proximal minority stressors and health were mediated by diminished sense of agency, loneliness, and shame, and there were mixed results for the relations between distal stressors and health. Although the direct effects of growth-fostering relationships were significant in predicting lower levels of diminished agency, loneliness, and shame, these factors had mixed moderating effects. Findings have research, practice, and policy implications that underscore the possible mechanisms by which sexual minority stressors lead to poor health. Researchers and practitioners need to addresses and advocate against societal forces contributing to heterosexist relational disconnections and for sexual minority health policies and research. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology.

The recent inclusion of complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) within the International Classification of Diseases, eleventh edition (ICD-11) prompted scholars to re-evaluate treatment guidelines for traumatic disorders. The present study aimed to conceptualize dyadic, community, and systemic connections within the context of ICD-11 traumatic disorders and investigate unique associations between factors capturing relational quality. The current study additionally utilized a novel network modeling approach to explore the CPTSD symptom network structure using a college sample of trauma survivors. Consistent with generations of theory and research, relational quality factors associated with the disturbances in self-organization (DSO) symptom cluster, and anticipated discrimination associated with both relational disturbance and sense of threat. Affect dysregulation, re-experiencing, and relational engagement emerged as most central within the CPTSD symptom network, providing evidence towards the role of affect regulation in relational functioning, while intersectional discrimination associated with both the PTSD and DSO symptom clusters. Findings from the present study provide context to the potential application of a relational and systems focused intervention.

Emerging adulthood, the period between 18 and 30 years of age, is particularly relevant for identity development. During this time, relational disconnections such as intimate partner violence (IPV) can inhibit the growth that occurs within interpersonal relationships. There has been little in-depth exploration of how emerging adult women describe the impacts of IPV on their sense of self. Using qualitative case study methodology, six young women shared their stories of IPV during open-ended narrative interviews and completed an exploration of their Possible Selves. Thematic analysis identified impacts of IPV relating to participants’ sense of self, future possible selves, and subsequent intimate relationships. The findings highlight participants’ self-descriptions of strength and resilience, as well as accounts of challenges and growth since the relationships ended. The findings have meaningful implications for theory and research on IPV for young women, and for counselling practice. / Graduate / kateborsato@gmail.com

Baal teshuvas are traditionally observant Orthodox Jewish individuals who were previously not religiously observant and chose to become observant at a later juncture in their lives. This population is at risk of psychosocial dysfunction, particularly in the area of marriage, but little or no research has been conducted with this population. The purpose of this study was to study how 1 factor, the laws of family purity, an ancient set of Jewish laws governing sexual behavior between husbands and wives, may have an effect on marital satisfaction among baal teshuvas. Areas of marital satisfaction were measured by the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale, Triangular Love Scale, and New Sexual Satisfaction Survey. Relational-cultural theory and relational spirituality were used to describe how spirituality affects individual well-being and the quality of one's relationships with others. A sample of 44 male and 59 female baal teshuvas completed the surveys. MANOVAs and 2-factor ANOVAs were conducted to compare the effects of gender and level of observance of family purity laws on marital satisfaction survey results. Results indicated a significant difference only by gender on the sexual satisfaction measure, although it is not known how much of a difference there was between the genders. This study reinforces indications from past research that studying sexual satisfaction in marriages is an increasingly important area of study and clinical practice. This study may lead to positive social change by identifying methods to improve marital satisfaction in the newly religious population. In addition, the results may provide further evidence supporting the already known positive psychological benefits of the laws of family purity.

Researchers have indicated that mindful teaching approaches support students and educators throughout the learning process. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of counselor educators with a daily mindfulness practice in the classroom with culturally diverse students. Relational-cultural theory (RCT) was the conceptual framework. Relational cultural theory concepts of relational connections and disconnections were used to explore the participants' lived experiences implementing a mindful teaching approach. Purposeful sampling yielded 10 participants who participated in semi-structured interviews. Using an inductive approach, the data were analyzed to identify essential themes. Thematic analysis was conducted by hand using literature-based codes and lean coding. Findings extracted from the literature review were used to pinpoint level one themes. Lean codes, or emergent themes, were then placed under each literature-based theme. The literature-based themes included: mindfulness practices, contemplative practices and the experience of educators, mindfulness competencies, interconnectivity, treatment outcomes, therapeutic presence, relational empathy, awareness and acceptance, self-care, and critiques. The emergent subthemes included: a mindful attitude, evaluation, modeling for students, creativity in the classroom, mindful orthodoxy versus personal experiences, authenticity, and cultural awareness. Findings may be useful for counselor educators who seek a greater capacity for awareness, acceptance, empathy, self-care, creativity, and presence when working with diverse students in the classroom. Implementing a mindful teaching approach can contribute to counselor educators meeting the needs of their diverse students.

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