Casual sexual relationships and experiences (CSREs) are a common phenomenon experienced by the majority of emerging adults attending college and university. Despite researchers' increased interest towards the topic of casual sex in recent years, there is a lack of validated psychometric measures that operationalize different types of CSREs and an absence of uniformity in the definitions of casual sex. Few studies distinguish clearly between different types of CSREs and few studies include a balanced approach when considering well-being outcomes (i.e., negative and positive markers). The first study of this dissertation aimed to bridge the research gap through the development and validation of the Casual Sex Experiences Scale (CASEX), which measures frequency of four types of CSREs (one-night stands, booty calls, fuck buddies, and friends with benefits). The CASEX's validity (factorial, convergent, divergent) and reliability (internal consistency) were tested in two independent samples. The results indicated that the CASEX can indeed measure the four aforementioned types of CSREs. In the second study, we examined how those four types of CSREs were related to well-being in consensual sexual interactions in a cross-sectional study. We included positive and negative markers of wellbeing. Moreover, we tested whether the relation between CSREs and well-being was moderated by sociosexual attitudes. We derived hypotheses from the theory of cognitive dissonance related to the potential moderating effect of sociosexual attitudes. Participants reported a coexistence of negative and positive well-being outcomes related to CSREs (e.g., positive and negative emotions during and following casual sex). In most cases, sociosexual attitudes did not moderate the relationships between CSREs and well-being outcomes. However, a notable exception was that sociosexual attitudes moderated relationships between CSREs and emotions experienced during and following casual sex, which was expected from the theory of cognitive dissonance. As hypothesized, the relationship between casual sex and negative emotions during and following casual sex was stronger in those participants with less sociosexual attitudes. Nonetheless, some results refuted our hypotheses, for instance, some relationships between casual sex and positive emotions during and following casual sex were stronger in those participants with less sociosexual attitudes. In other words, casual sex seemed to have been less of an emotional experience (positive or negative) in those with more sociosexual attitudes. Overall, this dissertation provides initial evidence in favour of the validity and reliability of the CASEX, which can enable to understand more nuanced relationships between experiences of casual sex and well-being among emerging adults. Findings deepened the understanding of the role of sociosexual attitudes in the relations between different types of CSREs and well-being markers.

The purpose of the current study was to observe how music affects the mood of those who suffer from anxiety and depression and those who do not. While previous research has examined this many of the previous studies have induced either physical pain or mood in participants in order to measure the impact of music. The current study, however, intends to examine how music affects mood without attempting to induce mood in participants. Six-hundred and seventy college students were given a questionnaire containing an anxiety questionnaire, depression scale, demographic questionnaire, and music listening questionnaire. Intercorrelations, ANOVAS, as well as linear regressions were performed on the data and results for the study were significant in that music was found to impact participant's anxiety and depression. Results of the current study indicate that participants' preference for alternative music and soundtracks/showtunes impacted their level of depression and anxiety.

The Parental Authority Questionnaire is a widely used measure of parenting style that assesses Baumrind’s parenting prototypes, including authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive parenting styles. After the original validation on a sample of 108 high school students and 171 undergraduate students, few published studies have validated the factor structure of the Parental Authority Questionnaire across various regions, gender dyads, and ethnicities. Because research has shown that Southern states encompass characteristics (e.g., socioeconomic status, rural nature, lower education attainment, emphasis placed on religious beliefs) that may uniquely affect parenting styles and practices, the current study conducted a confirmatory factor analysis on the Parental Authority Questionnaire on 4,859 emerging adult college students attending a large Southern university to determine if such regional characteristics compromise the original factor structure of the Parental Authority Questionnaire. Further, given differences found in parenting across parent-child gender dyads and ethnicity, the current study also examined the factor structure of the Parental Authority Questionnaire across gender and ethnicity using confirmatory factor analyses.

Socialization of coping is the idea that child coping methods are learned through parents’ modeling of response to stressors. Literature has examined how various aspects of parenting quality may influence their children’s coping behaviors. However, a dearth of research has studied the lasting effect of coping socialization in emerging adulthood, a distinctive time period with the greatest onset rate of psychiatric disorders. Thus, the current study examined how parental mental health, coping responses and discipline strategies influence emerging adult mental health and coping behavior. Two separate multiple regression analyses and a series of moderation and mediation analyses were conducted. Results indicated that emerging adult gender moderated the association between paternal and emerging adult disengagement coping. Additionally, the association between parental and emerging adult mental health was mediated by emerging adults’ disengagement coping. Lastly, the effect of poor maternal coping on emerging adult coping behavior was moderated by parental mental health.

Parenting practices have great influence over a child’s behavior. Specifically, parental involvement may protect children from developing problem behaviors during their development. A strong parent-child relationship may act as a preventative measure towards development of disruptive behavior into emerging adulthood (i.e., 18 to 25 years). The current study aimed to examine the effects of parenting practices and parental involvement on emerging adult outcomes. Results indicated that parental involvement and parenting styles were negatively correlated with disruptive behavior, parenting styles and parental involvement were positively correlated with one another, and females tended to perceive higher levels of involvement from mothers. In addition, it was found that parenting styles and disruptive behavior were accounted for through parental involvement. Child disclosure also was associated with lower levels of disruptive behavior, whereas parental solicitation was found to be associated with higher levels disruptive behavior.

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<p>This thesis is concerned with a new generation of churches in Canada trying to respond to the significant changes being felt in communities across the country as a result of the federal government policies over the last 30 years dealing with immigration, refugees and multiculturalism.</p> <p>There is a growing awareness that churches will need to become more intentionally multicultural to accommodate the emerging generation. Many pastors are not equipped to minister cross-culturally and churches are often unwillingly to change to adjust to the changing communities in which they are located.</p> <p>A number of sociological and theological influences will be reviewed to determine their impact on Canadian churches. There will be a response to the issues raised by those who advocate an emerging postmodern worldview in search of genuine community. Theological observations on the possibilities of the diversity of a heterogeneous multicultural church model being a valid response to the pluralism of contemporary Canadian life will be developed.</p> <p>The research presented will be dealing with three emerging multicultural Canadian churches. These three churches are located in either Vancouver or Toronto and are representative of many other churches in Canada today. There will be a discussion on the current ministries and plans of these three churches and some common characteristics identified. An integration of the models presented, and the research observations will lead to a proposal for moving towards becoming a more intentional healthy multicultural church to meet the needs of the next generation.</p> / Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Sibling relationships have been proven to be influential to the well-being of emerging adults. However, the diversity of individuals, particularly in regard to siblings of individuals with disabilities, has rarely been examined. Therefore, the current study explored the association among sibling relationships, coping, and well-being of emerging adults who have non-disabled siblings or autistic siblings. A single online survey was distributed to people between 18-25 who have non-disabled siblings or autistic siblings. The results found that siblings of autistic individuals reported significantly less sibling warmth, less gratitude, and more emotion suppression than siblings of a non-disabled brother or sister. In addition, optimism, gratitude, and emotion suppression were mediators that affected how sibling warmth related to individual’s distress. Furthermore, optimism and gratitude could be mediators that influenced the relationship between sibling warmth and individual’s resilience. In conclusion, the current study proposed that the difference of coping styles may be the underlying mechanism of worse well-being of siblings, and more perceived sibling warmth may be a buffer for ASD-Sibs’ resilience and coping. / M.S. / Sibling relationships can provide great supports for people during emerging adulthood (18-25 years old). The current study explored how sibling relationships affected emerging adults’ distress. We recruited non-disabled individuals who had an autistic sibling or a non-disabled sibling, and distributed them into ASD-group and ND-group correspondingly. There were 26 participants in ASD-group and 73 participants in ND-group. We found that people who had autistic siblings reported less sibling warmth, gratitude attitude, and more emotion suppression compared to people who had non-disabled siblings. We also found that sibling warmth affected distress by influencing optimism, gratitude, and emotion suppression. In addition, sibling warmth affected individual’s resilience by influencing optimism and gratitude. In conclusion, we proposed that for emerging adults who had an autistic sibling, clinical practitioners should focus more on their coping styles and their sibling relationships.