Thesis advisor: Kevin Mahoney / Eight African American Protestant Christian couples in a healthy relationship participated in a mixed methods study seeking to learn how married Protestant Christian couples use their faith dyadically to address stress and relational discord. Themes were generated from the qualitative data and reinforced or extended by a quantitative questionnaire. Findings revealed that sacred process is involved directly and indirectly in the interactional processes and relationship functions of couples with healthy relationships. The process contained pervasive active and receptive elements throughout their relationships during peaceful and stress-filled times. Findings also identify uses of silence and separation as frequent de-escalation strategies; faith-based strategies and faith-informed secular strategies for reconciliation; uses of the marital triad in a healthy marriage. Additionally undervalued community gendered politics were identified, as well as novel perspectives on cultural and community factors that may contribute to domestic violence. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity International University, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-92).

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity International University, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-92).

Thesis (Ph.D. (Systematic Theology and Theological Ethics)) -- University of the North, 2000 / Refer to document

Thesis advisor: Janet E. Helms / Black women have been more likely to suffer from negative health conditions in comparison to Black men and White women. The biopsychosocial model might suggest that gendered racism and related stress may contribute to poor health, but the model has not been adapted to address the specific psychological factors that uniquely affect Black women’s health. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between gendered racism and eating and exercise practices of Black women in addition to examining racial and gender identity as potential mediators of the effects of gendered racism on health behaviors of Black women. Adult Black women (N= 153) were invited to complete measures that assessed gendered-racism experiences and stressors, racial identity (BRIAS), womanist identity (WIAS), and health behaviors. Multivariate multiple regression analyses revealed that more experiences of gendered racism were related to lower levels of emotional eating, but higher levels of uncontrolled eating and physical activity. WIAS Immersion/Emersion (idealization of women), WIAS Encounter (confusion regarding gender beliefs) and BRIAS Immersion (idealization of Black people) were significant mediators of these relationships. A post hoc canonical correlation analysis indicated that experiencing higher levels of gendered racism was related to greater use of less sophisticated racial and gender identity schemas, which were related to lower levels of emotional eating and higher levels of uncontrolled eating and physical activity. These results suggested that BRIAS and WIAS concepts should be integrated rather than treating them as separate sets of variables when investigating gendered racism. Collectively, the results of the main and post hoc analyses indicated that race and gender constructs were related to health practices, but not in explicable ways. Limitations of existing measures for studying this population are discussed and results are used to speculate about the implications of biological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors on the health engagement practices of Black women. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Thomas H. Groome / In the United States and in the American Academy there is a historical reality much like jump rope. In jump rope there is but one rope, in the case of the U.S. there is one white, western, male Christian narrative-a rope that one jumps in on specific way. This can be very difficult for those that do not identify with or know how to jump this particular rope. Theological education has a unique opportunity to be a prophetic voice in advocating for the addition of a womanist rope in order to do Double-Dutch, together, regardless of difference. This rope is one that embraces a womanist consciousness as is advocates for the agency and identity formation of all, the lifting up and accountability of all persons, the freedom of embodiment and expression in all forms, and remains active and critical of injustice and all systems of oppression. Once this rope is added everyone can begin to engage in womanish modes of play that are embodied aesthetic experiences and cultural expressions that function as a means of knowing, being, and making meaning in this world. When all persons do Double-Dutch together play becomes a tool for learning and teaching religious education across differences. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry.

This thesis investigates the womanist theme of spirituality in Amy Tan’s novel, The Bonesetter’s Daughter. Spirituality unfolds in five linked themes: ghosts, ghostwriting, nature, bones, and memory. In structure, the thesis is composed of four parts. The Introduction proposes spirituality as a womanist way of reading The Bonesetter’s Daughter. Chapter one investigates how the spirit of Gu Liu Xin, the Chinese grandmother, plays a critical role in developing the psychological integrity of Ruth Luyi Young, the American-born Chinese granddaughter. The second chapter examines how Gu Liu Xin’s ghost helps to guide LuLing Liu Young, Liu Xin’s daughter and Ruth’s mother, out of the hazardous situation in China, and how Gu’s spirit sustains LuLing in times of alienation and hardship in America. The thesis concludes that spirituality is essential for a subjugated woman character to achieve her personal and political freedom as well as her physical and spiritual wholeness.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Boston University, School of Theology, 1998. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (361-372).

Thesis (M. A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [86]-91).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Bowling Green State University, 2009. / Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 163 p. Includes bibliographical references.