The aim of this dissertation is to provide a comprehensive examination of crime and delinquency over the early life-course through an informal social control perspective. Specifically, the dissertation examines how sources of informal social control (including family, school, work, peers, and community) influence the development of, and continuity and change in antisocial propensity and behaviour. Using a three-wave panel model with lagged and synchronous effects, estimated by a series of structural equation models, I follow a nationally representative birth cohort (born 1984-1985) from the age of 10 to the age of 19, through the first five cycles of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). The analyses are done in three life-stages: childhood, adolescence and emerging adulthood. This study represents the first national-level examination of the influences of informal social control on the development of, and continuity and change in, crime and delinquency in Canada. Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, criminal responsibility begins at age twelve. Considerable evidence shows that prior to this age, children exhibit signs of aggressive and antisocial behaviour which may lead to teenage delinquency and crime in adulthood. The theoretical foundation of my dissertation integrates age-graded informal social control theory, collective efficacy, and social disorganization theory. Traditionally, social control theories of crime such as Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) general theory of crime have assumed that deviance is stable over the life course. During childhood, social bonds to institutions such as the family and school teach children to internalize the norms and values of society. Deviance arises when these social bonds are weak and remains stable over the life course. Age-graded theory of informal social control by Sampson and Laub (1993) challenges the assumption of stability. This theory argues that deviant behaviour has elements of both stability (continuity) and change (discontinuity) over time. Under this life course perspective, social bonds are relevant at all life stages. Individuals may modify antisocial trajectories during adolescence or young adulthood with new age-appropriate social bonds such as a positive relationship with school or with nondelinquent peers. The results of the research confirm that antisocial propensity and behaviour are characterized by stability and change over the life course. Social bonds are the primary mechanism through which antisocial behaviours are developed or regulated, in childhood. Informal social control further mediates effects of community disorganization characteristics and family background characteristics on antisocial behaviour in childhood. There is stability in antisocial behaviour from childhood to adolescence to early adulthood, suggesting continuity in an underlying propensity. At the same time, there are changes in antisocial behaviour at each life-stage. The importance of social bonding extends beyond childhood into adolescence, as age-graded sources of informal social control contribute to changes in antisocial and delinquent behaviour. Furthermore, individuals are subject to varying levels and sources of informal social controls as they age: during childhood, informal social controls from families and school have the greatest influence on the development of antisocial behaviour, but during adolescence, school bonds and peer associations account for most of the variation in antisocial behaviour. Finally, emerging adults do not appear to be as subject to the effects of social control as children or adolescents. In emerging adulthood, changes in antisocial behaviour may be the result of a process of maturation. The results suggest that social bonds are dynamic and different sources of informal control are more or less important during different stages of the life course.

Sexual experiences are an important part of everyday life, yet little research has taken place to understand it’s implication in the leisure realm. As leisure scholars adopt a holistic view of the individual, one’s sexual experiences remain a critical element devoid of empirical research. The current study examined the linkages between leisure and sexual experiences for six couples in the life stage of early adulthood. Findings revealed that relationally, couples conceptualized sexual experiences as a means to express love. At an individual level, it was clear that leisurely dimensions including intrinsic motivation, perceived freedom, involvement, arousal, mastery and spontaneity were present in some sexual experiences. This research provides support that sexual experiences can be plotted on Neulinger’s (1981) Leisure Continuum highlighting the work-like and/or leisurely aspects of relational sexual experiences.

The aim of this dissertation is to provide a comprehensive examination of crime and delinquency over the early life-course through an informal social control perspective. Specifically, the dissertation examines how sources of informal social control (including family, school, work, peers, and community) influence the development of, and continuity and change in antisocial propensity and behaviour. Using a three-wave panel model with lagged and synchronous effects, estimated by a series of structural equation models, I follow a nationally representative birth cohort (born 1984-1985) from the age of 10 to the age of 19, through the first five cycles of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY). The analyses are done in three life-stages: childhood, adolescence and emerging adulthood. This study represents the first national-level examination of the influences of informal social control on the development of, and continuity and change in, crime and delinquency in Canada. Under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, criminal responsibility begins at age twelve. Considerable evidence shows that prior to this age, children exhibit signs of aggressive and antisocial behaviour which may lead to teenage delinquency and crime in adulthood. The theoretical foundation of my dissertation integrates age-graded informal social control theory, collective efficacy, and social disorganization theory. Traditionally, social control theories of crime such as Gottfredson and Hirschi’s (1990) general theory of crime have assumed that deviance is stable over the life course. During childhood, social bonds to institutions such as the family and school teach children to internalize the norms and values of society. Deviance arises when these social bonds are weak and remains stable over the life course. Age-graded theory of informal social control by Sampson and Laub (1993) challenges the assumption of stability. This theory argues that deviant behaviour has elements of both stability (continuity) and change (discontinuity) over time. Under this life course perspective, social bonds are relevant at all life stages. Individuals may modify antisocial trajectories during adolescence or young adulthood with new age-appropriate social bonds such as a positive relationship with school or with nondelinquent peers. The results of the research confirm that antisocial propensity and behaviour are characterized by stability and change over the life course. Social bonds are the primary mechanism through which antisocial behaviours are developed or regulated, in childhood. Informal social control further mediates effects of community disorganization characteristics and family background characteristics on antisocial behaviour in childhood. There is stability in antisocial behaviour from childhood to adolescence to early adulthood, suggesting continuity in an underlying propensity. At the same time, there are changes in antisocial behaviour at each life-stage. The importance of social bonding extends beyond childhood into adolescence, as age-graded sources of informal social control contribute to changes in antisocial and delinquent behaviour. Furthermore, individuals are subject to varying levels and sources of informal social controls as they age: during childhood, informal social controls from families and school have the greatest influence on the development of antisocial behaviour, but during adolescence, school bonds and peer associations account for most of the variation in antisocial behaviour. Finally, emerging adults do not appear to be as subject to the effects of social control as children or adolescents. In emerging adulthood, changes in antisocial behaviour may be the result of a process of maturation. The results suggest that social bonds are dynamic and different sources of informal control are more or less important during different stages of the life course.

<p>The current study examined the relationships among the neighborhood environment, levels of self-efficacy, health behaviors, and health outcomes among adults in the United States. The goals of the research were as follows: 1. To examine the role that health behaviors play in the relationship between neighborhood and health; 2. To determine whether health-related self-efficacy mediates or moderates the relationship between neighborhood and health behaviors; 3. To investigate potential gender, education, and race differences in the relationships among the constructs. </p><p>The study included 5,600 whites and 321 blacks who participated in the first wave of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the Unites States (MIDUS I). The age range of the sample was 20-75 (mean= 47.14 years) and roughly half of the participants were male (47.4%). Data on the neighborhood (including safety, physical conditions, social cohesion, and homeplace), health-related self-efficacy, health behaviors, and the health outcomes of self-rated health, obesity, and cardiovascular disease were collected through telephone interviews and self-report questionnaires. </p><p>Structural equation modeling was employed to address the research goals. The results showed that self-efficacy mediated the relationship between neighborhood and physical activity and that health behaviors mediated the path between neighborhood and physical activity. However, self-efficacy did not serve as a moderator in the association between neighborhood and physical activity. Demographic differences were found according to age, gender, race, and education. Specifically, the model was particularly salient for late midlife and older adults, females, and those with some college education. Furthermore, the impact of neighborhood factors on self-efficacy was greater for blacks than whites.</p><p>The present findings contribute to the literature by elucidating the interrelations among neighborhood and the individual-level factors of self-efficacy and physical activity in predicting health outcomes. Furthermore, the direct effect of physical activity on health outcomes suggests that physical activity engagement should be a particular area of intervention focus, especially among older adults and women. Future research should include objective measures of neighborhood, physical activity, and health, additional contexts such as the workplace, individuals above the age of 75, and greater representation of minority groups.</p> / Dissertation

This study examined Erikson&rsquo / s proposition that &ldquo / generativity&rdquo / plays an important role in adult lives and caring for one&#039 / s children is the ultimate expression of this particular developmental task. Thus, the general goal of the current study is to explore the connection between parental experiences and individual development especially generativity development in mid-adulthood within both qualitative and quantitative studies. Qualitative examination attempted to record the midlife parent experiences in order to verify the existence of parental generativity themes. This study conducted within a retrospective semi-structured interview schedule with 13 mothers and 10 fathers aged 37 to 61. All parents had at least one child at 17 or older. Overall, the results revealed that the most important theme of life for most of the midlife adults was parenthood. However, mothers&rsquo / role identities with respect to maternal role were much more stronger than fathers&rsquo / . The qualitative part of the present study contributes further to understanding of the connections between the perception of parental role, parents&rsquo / active involvement in childrearing, and adult development. In the quantitative study, the importance of parental behaviors in adult development and generativity both for females and males were tested within a proposed model. In the proposed model, both direct and indirect relationships between general well-being, marital satisfaction, self perception of the parental role, parental belief, parental involvement and societal generativity in gender-differentiated groups of mid adulthood were examined. 274 females and 207 males who were in a work settings participated in this study. The results with Lisrel analyses revealed that perceived parental role and more strongly parental involvement which were determined by parents&rsquo / marital satisfaction, categoric belief, perspectivistic belief (but not for male sample) and general psychological well-being (but not for female sample) predicted the societal generativity and played some important mediating roles in the model. Both mothers&rsquo / and fathers&rsquo / parenting were related to societal generativity. Therefore, the direct influences of parental experiences on generativity indicate that parenting contributes to one&rsquo / s sense of caring for the next generation or generativity development.

This thesis aimed to examine the process of projective identification in the couple relationship by focusing on two areas of investigation: Firstly, how projective identification operates &ldquo / within&rdquo / an individual regarding the associations among early parenting experiences, personality and couple relationship / secondly how projective identification operates between two partners in the couple relationship regarding partners&rsquo / similarities and complementarities have been focused. Initially, several multiple regressions were run to examine the relationships among the parenting, personality and couple relationship. Afterwards, several intra-class partial pairwise correlatons were conducted to reveal similarities and complementarities of the partners regarding their early maladaptive parenting experiences, personality constructs and couple relationship variables. Paulson Daily Living Inventory, Separation-Individuation Inventory and Splitting Scale were translated into Turkish and psychometric studies were conducted. For the main study, 356 participants (178 male and 178 female), who are cohabiting partners to each other, were achieved through snowball sampling method. Early maladaptive parenting experiences of the participants were examined by Young Parenting Inventory. Personality constructs contained &ldquo / separation individuation process&rdquo / and &ldquo / splitting defense&rdquo / as the theoretical correlates of projective identification, and &ldquo / early maladaptive schemas&rdquo / of the individuals. Couple relationship variables were &ldquo / relationship satisfaction&rdquo / , &ldquo / emotional dependency&rdquo / and &ldquo / jealousy&rdquo / . Findings of the study revealed that projective identification has bidirectional relatedness with the personality and couple relationship of the individual. Multiple regression analyses showed theoretically consistent associations among an individual&rsquo / s parenting experiences, personality and couple relationship. Intra-class partial pairwise correlations showed similarities and complementarities between two partners. Findings were discussed in the light of relevant literature.

This study examines the patterns of family-forming migration from Turkey to Germany as one of the categories of marriage migration by taking into account the effects of migration policies, societal factors in both home and host countries as well as gender differences. The main objective of this study is to investigate how and for what purpose transnational marriages are used as strategies by migrants. This study assumes that restrictive migration policies of Germany paves the way for transnational marriages even if the focus is not on the marriage, itself. In this respect, considering the last changes in German Residence Act, within the research for this study, in-depth interviews were held with 10 men and 11 women who are in the process of family-forming migration. German language courses in Ankara were selected as research site in order to reach family-forming migration candidates who were learning German as a necessity of German Language Legislation. The significance of the study comes from its focus on the perceptions of family-forming migration in several issues in the pre-migration process which is different than the migration researches focusing on experiences after migration. Study examines the role of transnational ties existing both in Turkey and Germany, family values and economic factors in Turkey on patterns of family-forming migration which is changed by gender differences.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on March 10, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Thesis advisor: Dr. Amanda Hinnant. Includes bibliographical references.

Mental health issues are widespread on college campuses. However, the majority of these individuals do not seek help. Prior research suggests many factors which may be related to mental health help-seeking including age, gender, and prior treatment experience. There has however been little work considering the context of the college campus on mental health help-seeking, specifically the influence of campus culture. Accounting for the context of mental health help-seeking may help to determine which social groups have the greatest influence on mental health treatment processes. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between perceived peer, student body, and faculty/administrator perspectives on different aspects influencing mental health help-seeking including attitudes towards treatment, stigma, and treatment barriers. Two hundred and twelve participants were recruited for the study. Data supported mediation for personal attitudes and barriers for the relationship between campus culture variables and mental health help-seeking. Implications for campus mental health policy efforts and directions for future studies are discussed.

Emerging adulthood has been emphasized as a time of exploration generally and of religious or faith-identity specifically, and successful resolution of this aspect of identity holds important consequences related to risk behaviors. The goal of this investigation was to better understand the types of faith-identities found in college, how emerging adults' relationships with parents related to their own faith-identities and how each faith-identity was related to risk behaviors. Spiritual Modeling, a type of modeling rooted in social learning theory, (Bandura; 1977; King, 2003; Oman & Thoreson, 2003) was expected to be predictive of emerging adults' faith-identities, while parent-emerging adult relationship quality and parental conflict were thought to moderate the relationship between spiritual modeling and faith-identity. Faith-Identity was expected to differentiate across binge drinking, marijuana use and number of sexual partners, and sensation seeking was thought to moderate the relationship between faith-identity and risk behaviors. Seven hundred ninety students completed an online survey across 11 large public and private religious universities. Spiritual Modeling was strongly predictive of both religious and commitment oriented faith-identities. The relationship between Spiritual Modeling and Faith-Identity was not moderated by relationship quality or parental conflict. A more religiously oriented faith-identity was predictive of fewer sexual partners and less binge drinking, while a more commitment oriented faith-identity was predictive of less marijuana use. High levels of sensation seeking amplified the relationship between a more secular faith identity and binge drinking. Commitment and Religious faith-identities significantly moderated the relationship between faith-identity and both binge drinking and number of sexual partners. Evidence is suggestive that a religiously oriented faith-identity may be more protective in combination with high levels of commitment while a faith-identity characterized by secularism and high commitment appears least protective. The potential utility of a faith-identity construct in emerging adulthood and future research directions are discussed. / text