At a time when welfare regimes in Anglophone countries are being reshaped to reflect neoliberal ideology, there is little by way of empirical, qualitative research which directly addresses the question of how jobless families live or are affected by their circumstances, particularly in regional Australia. This study combines a consideration of questions of social structure as they pertain to jobless families at the theoretical level with an ethnographic journey into their life worlds. It aims to understand the impact of long-term joblessness upon the families and to explore the interconnections between system and life world.I adopt Layder’s (1997, 1998) theoretical and methodological formulations as the most appropriate means to underpin an investigation of this nature. The study is comprehensively situated within a structural context which examines discourses and events that have exerted an influence on our present social arrangements, including an analysis of relevant social policy. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with two non-purposive samples and analysed using a modified Grounded Theory approach as advocated by Layder (1998).It was found that the current welfare regime helps to stabilise the capitalist global economy and does at least provide a precarious stability for those excluded from the labour market. Whilst families receiving long-term income support are not a homogeneous group, they are subject to hidden injuries in common. The linkages between system and life world are theorised in terms of the displacement principle, which holds that the displacement of a problem does not solve it, but merely relocates it elsewhere. It is used to explain both large-scale displacements as well as micro processes occurring within jobless families. Long-term joblessness is found often to have destructive consequences for intimacy, though family structure may remain intact. This is partly due to a welfare regime which disrespects its beneficiaries. I argue that social policy must be informed by an alternative discourse which includes social or welfare rights as a part of human rights, based upon recognition of mutual interdependency and an ethic of care. This is vital if future policy directions are to accord equal respect to all citizens.

The overall aim of the thesis was to explore social inequalities in: a) mortality during mid-life, b) health in later life, and c) old-age mortality, from a life-course perspective. The studies are based on longitudinal Swedish survey and registry data. The results from Study I showed substantial inequalities in health, based on social class and gender, among older adults (aged 55+). Moreover, the magnitude of these inequalities did not change during the period 1991-2002. The results from Study II revealed social inequalities in cognitive functioning among the oldest old (aged 77+). Social turbulence and social class during childhood, education and social class in adulthood were all independently associated with level of cognitive functioning in later life. In Study III, social inequalities in mortality during mid-life (i.e., between ages 25 and 69) were explored. The results showed that childhood living conditions were associated with marital status and social class in adulthood and that, in turn, these conditions were associated with mid-life mortality. Thus, the results suggested that childhood disadvantage may serve as a stepping stone to a hazardous life-course trajectory. Study IV explored the association between income in mid-life, income during retirement and old-age mortality (i.e., mortality during retirement). The results showed that both income during mid-life and income during retirement were associated with old-age mortality. Mutually adjusted models showed that income in mid-life was more important for women’s mortality and that income during retirement was more important for men’s. Thus, the results of the present thesis suggest that there are substantial social inequalities in the likelihood of reaching old age, as well as in health and mortality among older adults. These inequalities are shaped by differential exposures throughout the life-course that affect health in later life both through direct effects and through processes of accumulation. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished  and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.

Recent research in the sociology of culture has placed significant focus on musical taste and practices. This research agenda has ushered an understanding of the relationship between social class and cultural consumption, and particularly, the implications that patterns of cultural preferences and practices have on social inequality. A frontrunner in this line of work is Bourdieu (1984), who offers a sophisticated and useful theoretical framework—the Cultural Capital Theory—to illuminate the role of culture and its consumption in society. Written as three publishable papers, the chapters use empirical evidence to explore three issues surrounding highbrow musical practices that enrich Bourdieu (1984)’s framework. The first paper (Chapter 2) examines the role of structural and personal barriers in blocking attendance to highbrow concerts. It takes as a starting point Bourdieu (1984)’s argument that upper class individuals are more likely to attend classical music and opera concerts than their lower class counterparts, and questions whether these distinct patterns of participation are attributable to the different barriers that each class faces. The second paper (Chapter 3) offers a sophisticated analysis of the impact of socialization on highbrow concert attendance. By innovatively integrating the concepts of timing and duration, hallmarks the Life Course Perspective, I map out the potentially dynamic nature of the socialization process. In doing so, I illustrate the varying implications that different timing and duration of exposure has on later life highbrow concert participation. The last paper (Chapter 4) investigates the process of socialization to understand what conditions present during this crucial period in time encourage persistence in highbrow musical practices. I find that engaging in interactions that allow one to experience positive emotional resonance, develop a musical identity, and feel a sense of autonomy over musical decisions lead to the propensity to remain engaged in musical activities throughout life.

Recent research in the sociology of culture has placed significant focus on musical taste and practices. This research agenda has ushered an understanding of the relationship between social class and cultural consumption, and particularly, the implications that patterns of cultural preferences and practices have on social inequality. A frontrunner in this line of work is Bourdieu (1984), who offers a sophisticated and useful theoretical framework—the Cultural Capital Theory—to illuminate the role of culture and its consumption in society. Written as three publishable papers, the chapters use empirical evidence to explore three issues surrounding highbrow musical practices that enrich Bourdieu (1984)’s framework. The first paper (Chapter 2) examines the role of structural and personal barriers in blocking attendance to highbrow concerts. It takes as a starting point Bourdieu (1984)’s argument that upper class individuals are more likely to attend classical music and opera concerts than their lower class counterparts, and questions whether these distinct patterns of participation are attributable to the different barriers that each class faces. The second paper (Chapter 3) offers a sophisticated analysis of the impact of socialization on highbrow concert attendance. By innovatively integrating the concepts of timing and duration, hallmarks the Life Course Perspective, I map out the potentially dynamic nature of the socialization process. In doing so, I illustrate the varying implications that different timing and duration of exposure has on later life highbrow concert participation. The last paper (Chapter 4) investigates the process of socialization to understand what conditions present during this crucial period in time encourage persistence in highbrow musical practices. I find that engaging in interactions that allow one to experience positive emotional resonance, develop a musical identity, and feel a sense of autonomy over musical decisions lead to the propensity to remain engaged in musical activities throughout life.

<p>Older women in the U.S. face greater risks of economic insecurity in comparison with other age groups and with men their own age. Although these risks have been documented in prior research, few studies investigate the life course mechanisms underlying women's retirement insecurity. This dissertation seeks to fill this gap by using a life course perspective and the theory of cumulative disadvantage to examine how women's earlier work and family experiences shape subsequent economic resources in retirement. The three major types of retirement resources in the U.S. - Social Security benefits, occupational pensions, and private retirement wealth - are considered. Analyses use a variety of modeling techniques and panel data from the Health and Retirement Study linked to restricted access Social Security Administration files. In addition, this dissertation specifically investigates retirement insecurity across birth cohorts of older women.</p> <p>The first substantive chapter examines how Social Security benefit eligibility type is influenced by four major life course predictors: marital continuity, family timing, employment commitment, and cohort change. Social Security benefit type is an important indicator of retirement security for women because, despite nearly universal program coverage, benefit type is associated with differential economic security in retirement for women. Multinomial logit models demonstrate the importance of women's own paid employment histories for later benefit type. Receiving own worker Social Security benefits or being dually eligible for Social Security are more likely outcomes with increased employment experience. The second empirical chapter uses discrete-time even history models to examine the timing of women's access to occupation pension income. The timing of pension income receipt is relevant for women's retirement security because delayed access indicates a missing source of economic resources. Results reveal significant cohort differences in the timing of first pension receipt as well as the important roles of marital continuity and family timing for older women's access to occupational pension income. The final empirical chapter employs age-based growth models to examine differential trajectories of private retirement savings in early retirement (ages 51-65) across U.S. birth cohorts of women. This analysis examines both initial retirement wealth and wealth accumulation over time to understand how life course processes advantage some older women, but contribute to ongoing disadvantage for others as part of this third, major source of retirement security. Results from growth models reveal variation across birth cohorts as well as the negative effects of divorce for initial wealth holdings and growth in retirement wealth. Overall, this dissertation illustrates the importance of women's work and family experiences across the life course for the cumulative disadvantages they face in retirement. Moreover, each type of major retirement resource interacts with different aspects of women's prior work and family roles to produce economic outcomes in retirement.</p> / Dissertation

Studies have supported the benefits of positive dietary behaviors in preventing or reducing morbidity and extending longevity, as well as the psychosocial function of dietary practices for quality of life. Research is needed though on the dietary behaviors of elders in general and older women in particular, for whom gender affects lifelong dietary patterns. Health behavior theory has typically focused on psychological factors, to the neglect of sociocultural processes. This investigation utilized a life course perspective, enhanced by social interactionist elements, to address aspects of development and change in behavior neglected by health behavior theories, such as temporal dimensions and social contexts. Using primarily an ethnographic approach centered on in-depth narrative interviews of 18 older women residing in a retirement community, this study explored how social milieu influences the development and progression of dietary behavior throughout life, the potential of life course transitions to modify dietary behavior, and how the retirement community environment shapes current dietary behavior. The interviews probed current dietary experiences and practices, as well as constructed histories of dietary behavior. Through the use of coding techniques and thematic analysis, themes and concepts that emerged from the data were organized for further analysis. Four levels of influence on dietary behavior were identified: 1) person factors, including psychological and physiological processes; 2) interpersonal relationships and social interaction; 3) social roles and statuses; and 4) contexts, particularly environmental, community policy and political economic contexts. Analysis additionally revealed four major food-related themes in the lives of the women: dietary morality, dietary wellness, dietary sociability and dietary duty. Interpretation of the findings, in terms of lifelong social experiences, the impact of relationships, roles and transitions, and structural characteristics of the retirement community that constrain or facilitate dietary practices, contributed to the development of a theoretical model. The research findings and model of life course influences on the nature of dietary behaviors of older women provide a more holistic understanding of dietary practices of older women and have implications for future research and practice, particularly as related to quality of life issues.

The OE is a working holiday phenomenon in New Zealand that shapes the life experiences of many young adults. "Should I stay or should I go?" critically engages with this social phenomenon by approaching it as simultaneously an opportunity for freedom and choice and a field of rules, regulations, and constraints. The analysis of the OE offered in this thesis draws on Foucauldian understandings of power and discourse and, more particularly, Nikolas Rose's approach to governance through freedom and the constitution of subjects in advanced liberal democracies. By using these theoretical resources, it investigates how the OE is discursively constructed as a life course experience through which power operates via the promises of freedom and choice. A combination of substantive resources, including existing academic literature, print and virtual media, questionnaires, web-based discussions, and conversations with young New Zealanders planning to pursue an OE are used to illustrate how many of them are governed as they embrace the freedoms associated with the OE. The use of Foucault facilitates an understanding of the discourses through which young New Zealanders are constituted and constitute themselves as OE travellers. Attention is also paid to the ways in which the actions of authorities - governments, non-state organisations, and commercial travel operators - contribute to the regulatory environments and social imaginaries that shape young adults' experiences of the OE.

Wilderness therapy is a unique approach to therapy that incorporates nature and experiential learning as a part of the therapeutic process. Wilderness therapy has proven to be a successful means of treatment, but research suggests the importance of family involvement for sustainable change post-wilderness therapy treatment. Wilderness family therapy was created as a result of this research; however, limited research reflects the experience and outcomes of wilderness therapy that includes more intense family involvement. Moreover, research lacks data collected from the therapists within the wilderness family therapy programs. Because the therapist plays an integral role in the success of treatment, it is important to consider the therapist’s experience of providing wilderness therapy, especially wilderness family therapy. The present study used a qualitative phenomenological approach to reach a greater understanding of the experience of wilderness family therapists. Results revealed six major themes that describe this experience including personal background, the role of a wilderness family therapist, positive and affirming experiences, difficult and challenging experiences, advantages of a wilderness family therapy approach, and limitations of a wilderness family therapy approach. Finally, a description was provided that portrays the essence of the experience of a wilderness family therapist.

While spirituality has been an increasingly researched topic within the field of marriage and family therapy, it has been largely overlooked within the context of couple’s therapy. The goal of the present study is to enhance the understanding of the role of spirituality in therapy by describing clients’ experiences of spirituality in couple’s therapy. The study utilized a phenomenological approach to come to a better understanding of the essence of clients’ experiences of spirituality in couple’s therapy. Semi-structured interviews with couples enrolled in couple’s therapy were conducted and analyzed. Four major themes emerged: spiritual experiences in couple’s therapy, perception of spirituality, spirituality as beneficial, and spirituality as a journey. Implications for clinicians and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Industrialized societies have been characterized by a trend of disconnecting humans from our natural environment, leading to environmental and psychological damage. Therefore, in order to work toward repairing such damage, reconnecting humans and the natural environment is critical. One way of conceptualizing human-nature relationships is through “environmental identity,” a term that describes self-identification as part of a larger ecosystem, aesthetic, spiritual, or recreational enjoyment of nature, environmentally positive behaviors, and a social, political, or moral identification with environmentalists. Despite the literature having emphasized childhood experience in nature as being essential to the development of an environmental identity, parental influence in environmental identity development has been vastly understudied. Drawing on research concerning environmental identity development, parent-child relationships and identity development, and primary analysis of interviews with college students and their parents reveals that parents and other primary caregivers are highly influential in the formation of environmental identities in their children.