This thesis is a report of a study on patients suffering one of two painful chronic illnesses (rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or migraine), and attempts to discover possible determinants of psychological reactions to long term painful illness. One hundred and sixty chronically ill individuals were interviewed, (80 migraine and 80 RA sufferers). In keeping with other evidence, the extent of psychological disturbance was found to be higher for chronically ill individuals than for general population samples. There were no zero order correlations between reported pain and psychological distress. Age and length of suffering have often been cited as possible factors influencing mood state, but no evidence was found for this in the data gained in this survey. The results provide no evidence for the use of coping strategies as a method of adapting to the demands of the painful chronic illnesses studied here. Beliefs in control over illness have been posited as possible factors that may influence psychological state, and were measured in this research using a health locus of control scale. However locus of control scores were not found to be associated with mood state, although, in keeping with other research, scores were found to be associated with age and social class, with both lower social class and older sufferers scoring higher on externality than those from higher social classes, or whom were younger. The strongest association was found between aspects of subjective health status and mood state. The major finding of this study is that patients assessment of their own health state, in both illnesses, is the major factor associated with psychological state.

The purpose of this focused ethnographic study was to describe the patterns of a good death held by elderly Japanese Americans living in Hawaii. Eighteen "healthy active" elderly Japanese Americans were interviewed individually. In addition, supplementary data, such as interviews with experts and field observations were collected for triangulation of the data. Four themes were derived from 1224 keywords, 56 categories, and 13 patterns. These were: being a burden to the family, process of life and death, individual views on death, and Japanese culture in Hawaii. Being a burden to the family was the largest concern in the participants' idea of dying a good death. Having secure financial resources were key for adequate preparation. The elderly Japanese Americans believed that suffering at the end-of-life should be avoided in order to achieve a good death. Their concept of suffering included: unmanageable pain, being ill for a long time, and being bedridden. Several participants preferred a sudden type of death because they would not have to suffer and not be burdens their family. Contentment in life was also an important aspect of a good death. There was a common belief that the way a person lived was connected with the way he/she died. A number of the participants preferred to die in their own home. Hospitals and retirement homes were other alternatives for the place of death. Individual views on death contributed to establish the concept of good death among elderly Japanese American participants. They shared similar attitudes toward death which were a part of life and inevitable. These attitudes were influenced by religious beliefs and past experiences with death. Different generations of elderly Japanese Americans had different views. The Shin-Issei (first generation who immigrated after World War II) and the Nisei (second generation) held more Japanese views compared to the Sansei (third generation) who were more acculturated. Although the Japanese American parents and children might have different views on life and death, the importance of close family relations and family support was passed on to younger generations.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Leventhal, Nerenz, and Steele’s (1984) self-regulation model of adaptation to chronic illness when applied to children with asthma and their parents. The self-regulation model posits that illness representations influence coping, and via coping, adaptive outcomes. In the adult literature, illness representations or perceptions of symptoms, cause, time-line, consequences and control of illness have been found to be important determinants of coping and adjustment. No study, however, has examined illness representations in relation to coping and adjustment in children with a chronic illness or their parents. A second goal was to examine the influence of parents on the coping processes of their children. One hundred and twenty-eight children (7-13 years) with asthma and their 120 primary caregivers (96% mothers) were individually interviewed regarding their illness representations, and completed self-report questionnaires of coping and psychological adjustment. For both children and parents, illness representations had a direct association with psychological adjustment that was not mediated by coping. Children and parents who considered the child’s asthma to be a serious condition with frequent symptoms and serious consequences reported poor psychological adjustment, over and above any effect of the clinical severity of the illness itself. Parental illness representations and adjustment were significantly related to these same variables for children. However, after controlling for relevant demographic/asthma variables in regression analyses, only children’s illness representations remained significantly associated with parental illness representations. Children who demonstrated more negative illness representations had parents who also held more negative beliefs about asthma. These findings suggest illness representations to be an important target for psychological interventions.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2006. / Title from title screen (viewed May 1, 2007). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the School of Occupation and Leisure Sciences. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

Thesis (M.Psych.(Clin.)) -- University of Adelaide, Dept. of Psychology, 2003. / "17 April 2003" "Research report attachments submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Psychology (Clinical). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Akron, School of Family and Consumer Science-Nutrition and Dietetics , 2007. / "May, 2007." Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed 4/26/2009) Advisor, Deborah Marino; Faculty readers, Richard Steiner, Evelyn Taylor, Cinda Chima; School Director, Richard Glotzer; Interim Dean of the College, James Lynn; Dean of the Graduate School, George R. Newkome. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Malmö University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University. / Includes tables. Typescript. Sponsor: R. Louise McManus. Dissertation Committee: Dwayne Huebner, Frances R. Kreuter. Type C project. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-106).

Thesis (M.H.A.)--University of Michigan, 1961.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1981.