Learning during infancy is dependent on many factors. One such factor is physiological self-regulation. This study investigated the relationship between physiological self-regulation abilities and evidence of learning based on Visual Expectation Paradigm (VExP) performance. Alterations in High Frequency Heart Period Variability (HFHPV) assessed physiological self-regulation and were hypothesized to correspond with VExP performance. Findings revealed patterns of HFHPV change during the VExP and that HFHPV change negatively corresponded with a resting measure of HFHPV and VExP performance. Results suggested that resting HFHPV was a better predictor of learning during the VExP than patterns of HFHPV change evidenced throughout the task.

Previous research has established the influence of the division of household labor between spouses on marital satisfaction, as well as the mental health of each spouse. Less is known about how the division of labor changes during the course of marriage. The family development perspective suggests that division of labor will change in response to different stages and circumstances, while the homeostasis perspective suggests that the division of labor will remain stable throughout the life course. This study used data from a 35 year longitudinal study of married women to examine changes of household division of labor over the life course. Participants in this study were wives of medical trainees at an East Coast medical school. Data collection at Time-1 included 175 wives in 1969-1970. The wives were also contacted in 1980 (Time-2), 1990 (Time-3), and 2005 (Time-4). All the participants were white. The average age of the women at Time-1 was 25.5 years. Participation in household labor was measured using five questions reflecting how much the husband helped in traditionally female stereotyped tasks. The five tasks were: does the family wash, sets table for dinner, clears table after meals, washes the dishes, and prepares meals. Other variables were included to help explain the change in husband participation in household labor over the course of the marriage, including number of children, the number of hours worked by the wife, and the wife's level of education. Multi-level growth curve modeling was used to examine stability and change in husband participation in household tasks over time. The fixed effects in the baseline model showed a significant positive linear slope indicating more husband participation over time. The random effect for time was also significant, suggesting variability in slopes across the sample. Results from the quadratic effect for time indicated a downward linear slope, attenuated by a positive quadratic slope. Thus, the results indicate that husbands participate less in household tasks early in marriage, but their level of participation increases in midlife. No predictor variables accounted for significant variability in the initial value or rate of change in the husband's participation in household tasks.

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One of the significant contributions of this study is its inclusion of the role of social contextual factors in determining parenting. I built on the ecological model proposed by Belsky (1984). As such, the parenting model tested in this dissertation included individual level determinants of parenting: 1) parent characteristics (e.g., developmental history), and 2) child characteristics (e.g., behavior problems). Yet, rather than include a social context domain as described by Belsky, I distinguished between within family context (e.g., interparental hostility) and external to family context (e.g., work-family conflict, neighborhood disorganization) as social contextual sources of stress and support to the parent-child relationship. A second significant contribution of this study is attention to parent gender. I included assessments of both mother and father parenting and specifically test for hypothesized differences in how the predictive model might operate differently depending on the parent’s gender. It is important to note further that the accomplishment of this examination of parent gender involved the use of a methodology that is itself an important contribution to the existing work. Specifically, my methodology involves simultaneous testing of mother and father data, something that has not typically been done in past studies. Critically, this methodology controls for any overlap or similarity between mother and father parenting and thereby allows for a better test of the uniqueness of mother and father parenting and of patterns of predicting mother and father parenting. This study employed parent reported data from the NIMH-funded Ogden Youth and Family Project, a longitudinal, sequential-cohort study of families with adolescent children (N = 933). Using structural equation modeling, we found that the model adequately fit the data while direct and indirect effects on parenting were found. The individual level parenting determinants of child behavior problems and parental depression were significantly directly associated with parenting, particularly for fathers. The within family contextual variable of covert marital conflict was directly associated with father parenting, and directly and indirectly associated with mother intrusive parenting through maternal depression. As risk factors external to the family, workfamily conflict was not significantly related to parenting, and neighborhood disorganization was indirectly related to intrusive mothering (but not her supportive parenting or to father’s parenting), through elevated levels of marital conflict and depression.

Drawing from concepts in criminological literature and sociological life-course perspective literature, data from adolescent and young adult measurements collected as part of a longitudinal panel study conducted on a cohort from Harris County, Texas, were used to estimate Structural Equation Models, testing the unmediated and mediated relationships between adolescent deviance, early timing of transitions to adult roles, and adult deviance. First, a simplified three latent variable model was estimated using the full sample (N= 3,379) to examine direct associations among adolescent deviance, early transitions to adulthood, and adult deviance while controlling for prior involvement in deviant behavior in adolescence. An expanded seven latent variable model was then estimated adding mechanisms in adolescence through which the relationships previously observed in the simplified model are mediated. Lastly, both the simplified and expanded models were estimated on eight subgroups in the sample to examine whether the relationships observed for the full sample are moderated by gender, race/ethnicity, paternal level of education, and expectations for future failure in conventional adolescent roles. For the full sample, the simplified model produced significant direct relationshipsbetween adolescent deviance and early transitions to adulthood, and between early transitions to adulthood and adult deviance. When this simplified model was estimated on the eight subgroups, the first relationship remained stable for each of the eight moderating subgroups, while the second relationship did not. When several intervening variables were added between adolescent deviance and early transitions to adulthood in the expanded model, the parameters added to the model using the intervening variables formed a chain of significant direct relationships fully mediating the relationship between adolescent deviance and early transitions to adulthood for the full sample. This chain of significant direct relationships remained stable for five of the eight subgroups, and the three subgroups that did not experience full mediation underwent great attenuation of the relationship. These intervening variables offer avenues for altering the trajectory of behavior seen in the simplified model.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of individuals who are aging with a lifelong and/or early-onset physical impairment. Method: A qualitative methodology was utilized consisting of narrative inquiry informed by the Life Course Perspective. The life course perspective is a dynamic approach that encompasses multiple theories including sociology, human development, and aging, highlighting how social, historical, and cultural contexts shape people’s lives. Narratives are storied ways of knowing and communicating that people use to organize events in their lives and make sense out of their experiences. Nine community-dwelling individuals (3 men; 6 women), aged 26-70, with mild to severe Cerebral Palsy were recruited using a combination of purposive and snowball sampling. Multiple (3-4), in-depth interviews were completed with each participant in order to co-construct their life stories. The data analysis was iterative. NVIVO 8 was used to organize the data, supporting a systematic caparison of emerging themes and categories, as well as the central plot that weaves the participants’ experiences together. Findings: “Defying the Odds” emerged as the central narrative that weaved together their experience of growing up and growing older. Their narrative is depicted through the trajectory of the disordered body that manifests itself in peaks and valleys. Their narrative is also weaved together by three central threads: Achieving a Sense of Belonging, Overcoming being Seen but not Heard, and Striving for Self-Reliance. “Normalization” emerged as a key recurring theme in the participants’ life stories. The focus of rehabilitation on "normalizing" movement, particularly walking, during childhood can lead to social psychological challenges as well as problems later in the life course as people encounter increasing fatigue and decreasing functional abilities but no longer have access to rehabilitation services. Implications: Theoretically, the disordered body needs to be reconceptualized in ways that are more positive. Conceptualizing a theory on aging with disability needs to be pursued. Clinically, we need to work towards developing a continuum of care across the life course with a focus on long-term maintenance and prevention of secondary health problems.