Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1983. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 261-269).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 1980. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-218). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University.

The objective of this study is to explore the beliefs of middle class urban Hindus (MCUHs) about the meaning and purpose of the institution of marriage, their expectations from marriage, requirements for staying married, any change that they think has come about in the construction of this meaning over the last decade, and the possible reasons for this change. A total of 32 individual semi-structured interviews were conducted (15 couples and two married individuals who were not married to each other) in the participants' homes. All had been married for at least seven years, resided in two middle class neighborhoods of New Delhi, India, and had a collective income ranging between INR 10,000 and 40,000 per month. Qualitative methodology along with the constant comparison method was used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that MCUHs view marriage to be a practical relationship bound by duty, obligation, and responsibility. Pragmatic love characterizes the marriage much more than romantic love. The relationship with the extended in-laws is a very important part of the marital relationship. The purpose of marriage is to continue the family name, and for the wives to go to their "true" home wherein they experience freedom to go "roaming" with their husbands and the pleasures of family life. The participants also described an institution in flux through the influences of formal education, Western thinking, and technological development. In response to these influences marriage is no longer universally believed to be a permanent bond appropriately arranged by the elders of the family. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2008. / December 5, 2007. / Cross-Cultural Research, Qualitative Methodology, Marital Beliefs / Includes bibliographical references. / Robert E. Lee, Professor Directing Dissertation; Felipe Korzenny, Outside Committee Member; Thomas A. Cornille, Committee Member; Lenore McWey, Committee Member.

The focus of this study was to examine the influence of parental infidelity on college students' level of commitment in romantic relationships. Parental infidelity was assessed on three levels, young adults who were: (a) not aware of parental infidelity, (b) suspect parental infidelity, and (c) who are confident of parental infidelity. Maternal infidelity was compared with paternal infidelity. The influence of maternal/paternal infidelity on the level of trust in romantic relationships, dysfunctional relationship beliefs, and commitment in romantic relationships was also assessed. The sample consisted of 404 undergraduate college students who were surveyed at a large southeastern university. The respondents were asked to complete a survey consisting of demographic questions pertaining to the measurement of each variable. The instruments used were the Dyadic Trust Scale to assess level of interpersonal trust, Relationship Belief Inventory to assess level of dysfunctional romantic relationship beliefs, and the Commitment Inventory to assess the level of constraint and dedication commitment in a romantic relationship. Hypotheses were tested stating there would be no differences observed for levels of trust, dysfunctional beliefs, and commitment among the three levels of infidelity awareness. Four research questions regarding the relationship among the variables in this study for each of the three levels of infidelity awareness were also utilized. Hypotheses were addressed using a series of one-way analysis of variances. Research questions were addressed using multivariate analysis of variance, chi-square tests of independence, and hierarchical multiple regression. Results indicated there were no significant associations between parental infidelity and level of commitment in college students' relationships. However, this study revealed several gender differences such as a significant relationship among length of current relationship, length of longest relationship, and level of commitment for the women in this study. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester, 2006. / October 27, 2006. / Trust in Relationships, Infidelity, Commitment, Parent Affair, College Relationships / Includes bibliographical references. / Carol A. Darling, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gary Peterson, Outside Committee Member; Robert E. Lee, Committee Member; Lenore McWey, Committee Member.

This study examined the practice of family mediation reported by 305 mediators in the United States, as well as trends in practice according to professional affiliation, mainly, law, mental health, social work and other. Data for this study were from a national survey of practicing family mediators of the then Academy of Family Mediators (Pasley & Hinkle, 2000), originally collected with the intention of replicating the Kruk (1998) study of Canadian mediators. Mediators' demographic characteristics, practice characteristics, issues, beliefs, and models guiding their work were examined, with a specific focus on differences between mediators' professional affiliation. Results showed that overall there were differences by professional affiliation in respondents regarding practice characteristics, but there were more similarities than differences regarding issues, beliefs and models used. Significantly more lawyer mediators had completed a doctoral degree, practiced in a private practice setting, and had a greater proportion of their clients who were voluntary (not mandated), compared to the other three groups (mental heath, social work, and "other"). Also, mediators in the law group were more likely than all other groups to charge fees, as well as charge a significantly higher amount in fees. Mediators affiliated with the law group reported mediating property issues significantly more frequently than did mediators affiliated with mental health, social work, or "other". Similar results were also found their frequency of mediating child support issues and spousal support issues. Parenting (custody) was the only divorce-related issue where the groups did not differ. Further, mediators affiliated with law less frequently included meeting with children in mediation practice than did all other groups. Mediators in the social work group spent less overall time addressing financial issues than did those in the law and mental health groups. Other differences between the law group and the "other" group were found for professional identity, percent of clients that are Caucasian, and type of mediation practiced. Out of the 30 items mediators addressed on beliefs and issues in the field, group differences were found for only three items. The law group reported less agreement than did those in the "other" group regarding the belief that mediators should be neutral and that children should be included in mediation. Also, in beliefs about the importance of factors influencing positive child outcomes, the law group assigned less importance to shared parent agreements than did those in the "other" group. Although those affiliated with law appear to be different from all other groups on the majority of questions regarding practice characteristics, such differences were not found for items assessing practice beliefs and issues. This may suggest that, in terms of beliefs and issues, mediators regardless of their professional affiliation have similar beliefs and issues regarding mediation practice. Moreover, most mediators reported using structured negotiation predominantly. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Fall Semester, 2007. / August 15, 2007. / Mediators' Practices, Family Mediation / Includes bibliographical references. / Kay Pasley, Professor Directing Thesis; Elizabeth Goldsmith, Outside Committee Member; Robert E. Lee, Committee Member.

The purposes of the study were to a) examine the relationship between level of voice (LOV) and support for voice (SFV) and ideological identity exploration, and b) to expand the theoretical and empirical discussion regarding identity development and socialization forces in African American emerging adults. The study built on the empirical work of Grotevant and Cooper (1985), that established a relationship between ideological exploration, the expression of one's thoughts and opinions to parents, and the corresponding levels of support received from each parent. In keeping with Grotevant and Cooper's study, ideological identity exploration was conceptualized in the current study using Marcia's (1966) identity status model. The ability to be true to oneself, conceptualized and measured as Level of Voice (LOV) or the ability to express one's thoughts and opinions, was based on Harter's empirical work on authentic self-behavior. Support, conceptualized and measured as the perception of respect and interest in what one has to say or support for voice (SFV), was also drawn from this body of literature. Examining ideological identity and various socialization forces in African Americans was an expansion on the wider body of identity literature that predominantly focuses on racial/ethnic identity in this population. The conceptualization of familial socialization forces was expanded to include mother (figures), father (figures), adult relatives, as well as fictive kin. Furthermore, the inclusion of extrafamilial socialization forces expanded the broader body of identity literature. The relationships of peers and instructors/advisors included in this investigation were selected based on the theoretical writings of Erikson (1968). The final sample included 373 participants (67.3% female and 32.7% male) of whom 92.4% were between the ages of 18 and 23. Gender differences emerged relative to the collective influence of LOV and SFV on exploration, as well as to the influence of the various relational contexts under investigation. Males with higher levels of exploration had higher LOV with father (figures) and lower LOV with instructors/advisors. Females with higher exploration levels indicated increased LOV with fictive kin but lower LOV with adult relatives when controlling for the effects of familial SFV. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2006. / March 24, 2006. / Family Relations, Social Relations, Identity, True Self-Behavior, Support / Includes bibliographical references. / Ann K. Mullis, Professor Directing Dissertation; Stephen A. Rollin, Outside Committee Member; Mary W. Hicks, Committee Member; Ronald L. Mullis, Committee Member.

The presence of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) causes numerous physiological and psychological changes in the lives of those infected. In general, people with STIs tend to have higher rates of depression, higher rates of stress, and lower levels of self-esteem as a result of the disease. The notion of stress management for individuals with Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is even more critical in that research suggests stress and depression are associated with lower levels of immune functioning. Review of medical and social science literature revealed a substantial gap in research that examined the impact of health stress and depressive symptomatology among young adults with HPV infection. The purpose of this study was to examine differences among young adults with HPV, young adults with other STIs, and young adults with no sexually transmitted infections with regard to general health stress, gynecologic/urologic health stress, and depressive symptomatology. This study also examined the mediating effects of partner connectedness and self-esteem on the relationship between general health stress and depressive symptomatology when controlling for gender among the groups. Additionally, the mediating effects of partner connectedness and self-esteem on the relationship between gynecologic and urologic health stress and depressive symptomatology were also examined among the three groups. Family Stress Theory, the ABCX model, and Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development were utilized as the theoretical frameworks for this research. Data for this study were taken from the third wave of The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), a nationally representative survey of adolescent health behaviors and outcomes in young adulthood. The sample consisted of 322 young adults who participated in Wave III interviews when they were between 18 and 26 years of age. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to validate the index of questions chosen a priori (based on theoretical considerations) for each variable by demonstrating that its constituent items load on the same factor, and to eliminate proposed items which cross-loaded on more than one factor. Factor scores and reliabilities of the models were computed to ensure unidimensionality and internal consistency as estimated by a coefficient alpha level. Other assessments of adequacy were done to test the hypothesized factor models, including the Keiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy and the Bartlett Test of Sphericity. One-way analysis of variance was conducted to test the hypotheses that there would be no group differences with regard to levels of general and gynecologic/urologic health stress, partner connectedness, self-esteem, and depressive symptomatology. A series of hierarchical regression analyses and a 3x2 factorial analysis of covariance were conducted to address the three research questions posed for this study. Results of this study yielded significant differences among young adults with HPV, young adults with other STIs, and young adults with no STIs, with regard to depressive symptomatology and partner connectedness. Respondents with HPV and other STIs experienced higher levels of depressive symptomatology than those with no STIs; however, young adults with no STIs reported significantly more partner connectedness than those with HPV and those with other STIs; young adults with other STIs reported significantly more partner connectedness than those with HPV. For young adults with HPV, hierarchical regression analyses indicated that general health stress and being female were significant predictors of depressive symptomatology. General health stress was the only factor in this group to have significant effects on depressive symptomatology, in that an increase in general health stress resulted in an increase in depressive symptomatology. Among respondents with other STIs, general health stress and partner connectedness were significant predictors of depressive symptomatology. General health stress was the only factor to have significant effects on depressive symptomatology in this group, in that an increase in general health stress resulted in an increase in depressive symptomatology. For young adults with no STIs, only self-esteem significantly predicted depressive symptomatology. In addition, self-esteem was the only factor to have significant effects on depressive symptomatology, in that as self-esteem increased among this group, depressive symptomatology decreased. The model that incorporated gynecologic/urologic health stress had no predictive ability among any of the groups, which indicated a poor fit of the model. Related findings indicated that females experienced significantly more depressive symptomatology and higher levels of gynecologic/urologic health stress than males; however, males perceived that their health was significantly better than females. With regard to health perceptions among groups, respondents with no STIs perceived that their health was better than those with HPV and those with other STIs. Implications for research, theory, and family health education are provided, including recommendations for future studies, theoretical applications, and the role of family and health educators in general health stress and HPV prevention. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2008. / March 19, 2008. / Self-esteem, Partner Connectedness, HPV, Depression, Stress, Sexually Transmitted Infections / Includes bibliographical references. / Carol A. Darling, Professor Directing Dissertation; Marsha Rehm Departmental, Committee Member; Gary Peterson, Outside Committee Member.

Children of clergy live within a unique family context that has been identified as having distinct needs based on the social environment in which they live. Although research has shown that clergy families experience a variety of stressors, very little attention has been given to children of clergy. Thus, it is important to better understand the various pressures that children of clergy experience and the impact these have on their perceived quality of life. The goal of this study was to examine the stressors that adult children of clergy experienced while growing up, and how the resources they had for coping, along with their perceptions of their experiences, affected their perceived quality of life they had as adolescents, as well as their current perceived quality of life as an adult. Gender differences were examined to determine if male and female children of clergy differ in their levels of stress, coping, perceptions, and quality of life. This project also sought to determine how identity formation would be affected by growing up in this unique context. Using the ABC-X model and Family Stress Theory, the interactive effect of individual and family stress, individual and family coping resources, and sense of coherence on overall perceived quality of life as adolescents (retrospectively) and currently as adults was examined. The sample used for the study consisted of adult children of clergy whose parents were in ministry while they were growing up, along with a comparison sample of adult non-clergy children. Clergy members were randomly selected from a mailing list from a clergy support center that provides services to clergy members from all across the United States. Clergy members received a letter with information about the research project and a request to forward the letter to an adult child, which included a link to the online survey. The comparison sample received an email invitation to participate with the link to the survey. Respondents were asked to complete an online survey consisting of demographic items and six instruments used to measure the variables of interest to this study. Additional questions were provided at the end of the questionnaire for children of clergy only, which included additional demographic items and open-ended items. The Stressors of Clergy Children and Couples Scale was used to measure individual stress, and the Family Inventory of Life Events and Changes was used to measure family stress. The Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences was used to measure individual coping, and the Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation Scales was used to measure family coping. The Sense of Coherence scale was used to measure sense of coherence. Finally, the Satisfaction With Life Scale was used to measure perceived quality of life, both as adolescents (retrospectively) and currently as adults. Two hypotheses and three research questions were used in the study to examine the quality of life of children of clergy. The original null hypothesis was that there would be no observed difference between male children of clergy, female children of clergy, male children of non-clergy, and female children of non-clergy in terms of the variables of interest. However, during the path analyses, gender had no significant effects on the path model and was subsequently dropped. Therefore, a second null hypothesis was added to compare the totals of clergy and non-clergy children, without comparing gender. Analysis of variance, along with Tukey's post-hoc procedure, was used to determine if significant differences existed among the four different groups of children of clergy (when considering gender), and between total clergy versus total non-clergy. Analyses demonstrated that the quality of life of the clergy children studied was influenced not only by the intensity of the stressors they experienced, but also by their resources for coping and their sense of coherence about their situations. Children of clergy reported greater perceived retrospective levels of individual and family stress than children of non-clergy. No differences were found between children of clergy and children of non-clergy in terms of individual and family coping. However, children of clergy did report a lower sense of coherence than children of non-clergy. Children of clergy reported a lower quality of life as adolescents, but no differences were found in quality of life as adults. Path analyses were conducted to examine the interactive effect of stressors, coping resources, and sense of coherence on quality of life as adolescents, as adults, and as adolescents and adults when modeled together. Significant direct relationships were found between perceived retrospective quality of life for adolescents and family stress, individual coping, and sense of coherence. Additionally, direct relationships were found between individual stress and quality of life as adolescents on quality of life as adults. Sense of coherence provided the greatest total influence on quality of life as adolescents, whereas quality of life as adolescents provided the greatest total influence on quality of life as adults. Several implications for theory, research, and practice were discussed. This project provided a good example of the utility of Hill's original Model of Family Stress, since it provided for the path modeling used in the predictive analysis of the study. The model also highlighted the effect of mediating variables such as coping and sense of coherence between stress and quality of life in clergy children, since greater individual resources for coping and sense of coherence about their situation resulted in a higher quality of life. Implications for Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development were also provided, which can be used to examine identity formation in the adolescent children of clergy, and how the quality of their lives was shaped by the unique social environment in which they were raised. Additional research is still needed to examine the validity of stereotypes, racial differences, denominational differences, and further exploration of identity formation in children of clergy. Implications were also provided for clergy families themselves, congregations, and helping professionals. These included balancing the demands of the family and church, examining the effect of expectations by families and congregations, providing additional support services, and enhancing the coping skills and perceptions necessary to improve the quality of life of children of clergy. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor ofPhilosophy. / Spring Semester, 2010. / February 23, 2010. / Quality of Life, Stress, Children, Minister, Clergy / Includes bibliographical references. / Carol A. Darling, Professor Directing Dissertation; Gary Peterson, University Representative; Marsha Lynn Rehm, Committee Member.

The study of cyclical (on again/off again) relationships during young adulthood is relatively new, but initial findings suggest that they experience lower relationship quality. This is problematic because early relationship quality impacts later relationship quality. Building on previous research, the current study compared partners in cyclical (n = 167) and non-cyclical (n = 249) relationships on individual and relationship characteristics, finding that African American young adults were more likely to be in cyclical relationships than Caucasians. Also, those in cyclical relationships more often reported living more than 50 miles apart from their partner, having relationships of longer overall duration, doing less conscious decision making around relationship transitions, expressing more uncertainty about the future of the relationship, less constructive communication, and lower relationship satisfaction than those in non-cyclical relationships. In testing a model of relationship satisfaction based on the ideas of Stanley et al. (2006), findings included both direct and indirect effects for dedication, lack of conscious decision making (sliding), uncertainty, and constructive communication on relationship satisfaction. Differences were found in the model between those in cyclical and non-cyclical relationships. That is, the model accounted for 40% of the variance in constructive communication for those in cyclical relationships, but only 21% of the variance for those in non-cyclical relationships. Additionally, the model accounted for only 1% more variance in uncertainty (cyclical = 46% and non-cyclical = 45%) and relationship satisfaction (cyclical = 57% and non-cyclical = 56%). Conversely, the model accounts for more variance in relationship safety for those in non-cyclical relationships (cyclical = 19% and non-cyclical = 30%). These findings provide more information on the mechanisms leading to lower relationship quality in cyclical relationships and support the ideas of Stanley et al. on the indirect impact of sliding on relationship satisfaction through relationship behaviors. Implications for intervention, especially couples therapy, and future research are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Family and Child Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2011. / March 30, 2011. / Sliding, Relational Uncertainty, Young Adult, Dating, Cyclical Relationships / Includes bibliographical references. / B. Kay Pasley, Professor Directing Dissertation; Neil Abell, University Representative; Frank D. Fincham, Committee Member; Lenore M. McWey, Committee Member.