Research on the ordination of women has focused on the effect in the church and on aspects of the personality of the women choosing the priesthood but not on effects on the families of ordained women. Using personal interviews, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Bem Sex Role Inventory, spouses in 12 families which contain ordained women from Episcopalian, Methodist, Unity and The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints churches were analyzed to determine the effects of ordination on the families. Couples containing an ordained female were found to have slightly higher marital adjustment and significantly higher levels of androgyny than a standardized sample. Androgyny and marital adjustment were significantly correlated. The more androgenous, the greater the marital adjustment.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Joye C. Gordon / Military spouses have a complex relationship with news coverage of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 2003 Iraq War. Utilizing uses and gratifications, hostile media perception, and cognitive dissonance perspectives as a basis, the researcher studied military spouses' media behaviors, perceived benefits of media usage, and whether hostile media perception and cognitive dissonance were present in this convenience sample of military spouses. Thirty military spouses participated in in-depth interviews. The results showed a desire for more positive news stories and less negative news stories about Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hostile media perception and cognitive dissonance responses were noted among participants–especially with regard to the media's tracking totals of soldier and civilian casualties. Military spouses in this sample found military news sources more credible than civilian news sources. They also described using news coverage for the purposes of gaining information, surveillance, political competency and empathy.

The onset of a progressive, fatal illness such as Motor Neuron Disease (MND) inevitably results in physical and communication disabilities that impinge on the individuals’ ability to remain functionally independent. The loss of speech as a result of dysarthria, a motor speech disorder, is one of the most profound changes that the person with MND will experience. The decline in the individuals’ speech intelligibility, that negatively influences communication effectiveness, implies that in 80% of cases alternative and augmentative communication (AAC) strategies are required to support the daily communication needs of individuals with MND. The dyadic nature of chronic illness implies that multiple aspects of one of the most important adult relationships, marriage, will be affected. Roles and responsibilities performed by each member of the couple will continually change as the disease progresses. The emotional trauma of adjusting to the unavoidable alteration in their relationship elicits strong emotions such as guilt, anger and frustration. Communication is one of the most constructive ways of dealing with these emotions. The ability of spouses to convey their innermost thoughts, feelings and intimacy through communicative interaction is vitally important in marital communication. The aim of this study was to compare how persons with MND and their spouses perceive changes in their marital communication in relation to the deteriorating speech of persons with MND. Fourteen couples divided into two participant groups, persons with MND and spouses, participated in this non-experimental correlational research study. Data was collected during three visits at six-monthly intervals over a 12 month period. At each of these visits both participant groups completed a variety of objective and subjective measures, of which twenty percent were interrated by independent raters. Results confirmed the inevitable decline in speech intelligibility of persons with MND across the disease progression. The persons with MND did not report a change in their perception of marital communication although their spouses indicated a statistically significant decrease between the first and last visits. Interestingly, there was no statistically significant relationship between the deteriorating speech of persons with MND and the couples’ perception of marital communication, confirming that marital communication was not influenced by decreased speech intelligibility. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC) / unrestricted

This research investigated the coping strategies that elderly caregivers use when caring for a spouse with brain impairment, categorizing their strategies into an external or internal locus of control.

No description available.

La presente investigación tiene como objetivo describir la experiencia emocional en el cónyuge de pacientes oncológicos. Este estudio fue de tipo cualitativo de diseño fenomenológico en el que se utilizó la técnica de entrevista semiestructurada. La muestra fue de 6 cónyuges, (3 femeninos y 3 masculinos). Se utilizó el análisis de contenido a partir de las categorías: Cognitivo, Afectivo, Conductual y Expectativa con las que se analizó lo expresado por cada participante. Se obtuvo que al conocer el diagnóstico de cáncer de su pareja surgen distintos pensamientos, sentimientos y emociones que embargan al cónyuge por todo lo que implica el tratamiento. Así mismo, los cuidadores tuvieron que dejar de lado ciertas actividades por centrarse en el cuidado de su pareja. Además, dicha experiencia hace que surjan cambios dentro de la dinámica familiar y que a raíz de esto se asuman nuevas responsabilidades. Por otro lado, en el proceso de enfermedad, surge un cansancio emocional y físico lo cual compromete el bienestar del cónyuge. / The present research to describe the emotional experience in the spouse of cancer patients. This study was of a qualitative type of phenomenological design in which the semi-structured interview technique was used. The sample consisted of 6 spouses, (3 female and 3 male). The content analysis was used to establish the categories: Cognitive, Affective, Behavioral, and Expectation (inductively and deductively) with which what was expressed by each participant was analyzed. It was obtained by the cancer diagnosis of their partner, different thoughts, feelings and emotions arise that overwhelm the spouse due to everything that the treatment implies. Likewise, caregivers had to put aside certain activities to focus on caring for their partner. In addition, this experience causes changes to arise within the family dynamics and that as a result new responsibilities are assumed. On the other hand, in the disease process, emotional and physical exhaustion arises which compromises the well-being of the spouse. / Tesis

The purpose of this study was to explore the nature of changes that take place in surviving HIVpositive spouses’ explanations of themselves in relation to their acquired positive status, and in relation to the role that forgiveness may play, all through Hermans’ theory of dialogical self in the self-identity reconstruction process. The interpretive qualitative paradigm was used, along with a phenomenological research design. Research was carried out in a rural area of Gwanda South Constituency in Zimbabwe. Homogenous purposive sampling was used to select five HIVpositive widows and five HIV-positive widowers. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were used and thematic, narrative and interpretive phenomenological analyses were employed to analyse the data. The results showed that the surviving HIV-positive spouses faced a plethora of challenges following the deaths of their partners. Identified key relations to the reconstruction of a new self were found to be: a good knowledge of HIV; being at peace with the past self; forgiveness of self; and reconciliation with what has happened. These were found to be good ingredients for quick recovery and self-identity reconstruction. Significant others play an important role in self-identity reconstruction as they offer an environment that is supportive of HIV disclosure, thereby reducing the occurrence of stigma and discrimination. The study recommends that HIV activists and all education systems that are involved in the HIV campaigns in Gwanda South Constituency incorporate teachings about and awareness of forgiveness, reconciliation, stigma and discrimination at all levels of their education efforts and campaigns. / Psychology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The primary emphasis in the field of expatriate adjustment has focused on the experiences of the person working overseas on assignment. Research that includes the experiences of the accompanying partner of the working expatriate frequently positions this person as an antecedent to the working partner's adjustment process. Understanding the adjustment process from the accompanying partner's perspective is underrepresented in the literature. In this qualitative research project eight expatriate couples were interviewed to examine in detail their experiences of adjusting overseas on assignment in order to identify the critical adjustment factors, the resources that are available to assist the adjustment process, and what personal characteristics aid a successful intercultural experience while living overseas. Recommendations are provided for both the employer and the accompanying partner to assist the adjustment process.

Alwén, L & Holst, S. (2006) Sova med fiende, en litteraturstudie om hjärtviktspatienter och deras närståendes upplevelser av sömnstörningar, trötthet samt dess påverkan i dagliga livet. Hur kan sjuksköterskor stödja patienter och närstående i denna problematik? Examensarbete i omvårdnad, 10 poäng. Malmö högskola: Hälsa och Samhälle, Utbildningsområde omvårdnad, 2006. Att leva med hjärtsvikt innebär en ständig oro för både patienten och de närstående. Information och undervisning om den förändrade livssituationen kan ge möjlighet till upplevd hälsa trots de komplikationer hjärtsvikten medför. Syftet med denna litteraturstudie var att beskriva patienters upplevelser av sömnstörningar och deras trötthet i relation till hjärtsvikt och hur detta påverkade sömnen och tröttheten hos deras närstående. Författarna ville undersöka närståendes funktion i form av stöd till patienterna och sjuksköterskans stödjande roll till patienter och närstående. Arbetet baseras på tio vetenskapliga engelska artiklar. Artiklarna analyserades utifrån Carnevalis omvårdnadsdiagnostiska modell för dagligt liv och funktionellt hälsotillstånd. Resultatet påvisade betydelsen av information och utbildning till patienten och närståendeNyckelord: Carnevali, Hjärtsvikt, Närstående, Patienter, Sjuksköterskans roll, Stöd, Sömn och Trötthet / Alwén, L & Holst, S. (2006) Sleeping with the enemy. A literature review of patients with heart failure and their experiences of sleep disorders and fatigue, as well as the effects these issues have on everyday life for both patients and their spouses. How can nurses provide support for these patients and their loved ones? Degree project, 10 Credit points. Nursing program. Malmo University: Health and Society, Department of Nursing, 2006.Living with heart failure is a constant worry for patients as well as their spouses. Information and education regarding the changes in life situations can possibly provide a patient with a feeling of good health in spite of the complications that the heart failure can cause. The purpose of this literature review was to describe patient’s experiences of sleep disorders and their fatigue in relation to heart failure and how this in turn affected sleep patterns and fatigue of loved ones and family members of the patients. We also wished to observe how and if spouses function as support for these patients but also how and if nurses have a supporting role for the patients and their spouses. This review is based on ten scientific articles. These articles are analyzed based on Carnevali´s care diagnostic model for Daily Life and functional health conditions. The results emphasize the importance of information and education for patients as well as for their spouses.Keywords: Carnevali, Fatigue, Heart Failure, Congestive, Loved ones, Nurse’s Role, Patients, Sleep, Spouses and Support

The subject matter of the study is parental relationship after divorce. The object matter of the study is psychological psychological features of parenthood after divorce and their relationship to the quality of relations between former spouses. The master's thesis consists of an introduction, two chapters, conclusions, a list of references (65 sources) and an annex including the blank forms of the applied methods. The volume of the master`s thesis is 132 pages, which include 4 figures and 10 tables. The introduction reveals the relevance of the chosen research problem, the level of development of the problematics; the objective and the tasks of the study are set, the subject matter and the scope of the research are determined, the basic and additional hypotheses are formulated, the methods and the empirical base are defined, as well as the stages of the research, its scientific novelty, theoretical and practical significance of the work. The first chapter includes a review of foreign and domestic literature on the research topic, a description of the structure of the family and parenthood, divorce and its impact on the characteristics of parenthood. The sections devoted to the responsible parenting, as well as the impact of divorce on relations between spouses and the characteristics of parenthood. Conclusions on the first chapter are the results of the study of theoretical material. The second chapter is devoted to the empirical part of the study. It includes a description of the organization and methods of the study, as well as the results obtained due to the applied methods: a Method of «Peculiarities of communication between spouses» by Aleshina Yu.E., a Method of «My letter about my spous» by Belorusov S.A., a Questionnaire "Conscious parenthood" (MS Ermikhina and RV Ovcharova) and The test "Analysis of family relationships"( Eidemiller EG, Yustitskis V.V.). Also, the chapter presents a comparative, correlation analysis and assessment of the reliability of differences of the results of the study. The findings of Chapter 2 are the main results of the empirical study. In the conclusion, brief results of the theoretical and empirical parts of the work are presented, as well as conclusions on the hypotheses. The practical significance of the study is substantiated. / Объектом исследования явилась родительские отношения в постразводный период. Предметом исследования стали психологические психологические особенности родительства в постразводный период и их связь с качеством отношений между бывшими супругами. Магистерская диссертация состоит из введения, двух глав, заключения, списка литературы (65 источника) и приложения, включающего в себя бланки применявшихся методик. Объем магистерской диссертации 132 страницы, на которых размещены 4 рисунка и 10 таблиц. Во введении раскрывается актуальность проблемы исследования, разработанность проблематики, ставятся цель и задачи исследования, определяются объект и предмет исследования, формулируются основная и дополнительные гипотезы, указываются методы и эмпирическая база, а также этапы проведения исследования, научная новизна, теоретическая и практическая значимость работы. Первая глава включает в себя обзор иностранной и отечественной литературы по теме исследования, описание структуры семьи и родительства, развода и его влияния на особенности родительства. Представлены разделы, посвященные ответственному родительству, а также влиянию развода на отношения между супругами и особенности родительства. Выводы по первой главе представляют собой итоги по изучению теоретического материала. Вторая глава посвящена эмпирической части исследования. В ней представлено описание организации и методов проведенного исследования и результатов, полученных по всем использованным методикам: методика «Особенности общения между супругами» (Алешина Ю.Е.), методика «Мое письмо о супруге» Белоусова С.А., Опросник «Сознательное родительство» (М.С. Ермихина и Р. В. Овчарова) и Тест «Анализ семейных взаимоотношений» (Эйдемиллер Э.Г., Юстицкис В.В Также в главе представлены сравнительный, корреляционный анализ и оценка достоверности различий результатов исследования. Выводы по главе 2 включают в себя основные результаты эмпирического исследования. В заключении в обобщенном виде изложены результаты теоретической и эмпирической частей работы, а также выводы по выдвинутым гипотезам, обоснована практическая значимость исследования.