No / Objectives: The sociocultural model of stress and coping, which despite receiving support from several studies conducted with diverse ethnic groups, has yet to be tested longitudinally or used within the context of positive caregiver outcomes. The aim of the current study was to test a specific component of the model, which posits that caregiver coping will be influenced by the cultural value of familism (feelings of solidarity and loyalty among family members), which will in turn affect caregiver outcomes. Method: A questionnaire was completed by 123 family caregivers in the UK assessing familism, use of coping strategies, caregiver gains, anxiety and depression at three time points over nine months. Results: Mediation analysis followed guidelines proposed by Baron and Kenny. Religious coping and positive reframing at time 2 (T2) were found to significantly mediate between familism values at time 1 (T1) and caregiver gains at time 3 (T3). Behavioural disengagement at T2 was found to mediate between familism at T1 and caregiver depression atT3. Additionally familism was found to be positively associated with both negative and positive aspects of caregiving. Conclusion: Our longitudinal findings suggest that interventions and services acknowledging caregiver values and the associated coping responses may prove beneficial.

Magister Artium (Social Work) - MA(SW) / Ever since United Nations’ declaration of 1994 as the Year of the Family, the study and understanding of families has taken center stage, albeit with constant references to ‘normal’ versus ‘deviant’ families based on structural functionalism theory’s rigid definitions of what a ‘normal’ family should be. On the other hand HIV/AIDS has attracted much attention too because of its life threatening traits, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa where Zimbabwe lies. Efforts to fight the epidemic have seen the mushrooming of innovative programs, which include home–based care (HBC) services for those infected with HIV. However, although HIV and AIDS has clearly had adverse impacts on families, it is rarely discussed within perspectives that integrate family dynamics. To fill this gap this study has explored how HBC, as a response to HIV and AIDS, may change our understanding of families. Research data was gathered within the participatory action research design through methods such as focus group discussions by 35 HBC volunteers and patients, interviews of 26 of these, review of relevant family policies and other interactive participatory exercises by which research participants expressed their opinions through drawings. The evaluation showed that households were not always synonymous with families, although a thin line divided the two. Further, survival considerations are the leading priority why people find themselves in families within HBC settings. However, survival options available to women are exploitative and this has kept those in HBC settings reeling under the burden of demanding but unrewarded care work and domestic household jobs. The study teaches that families cannot be understood in aggregated terms and that individuals dictate what families become, not the other way round. The research essentially recommends policy revisions to reflect unique realities found in HBC settings, and among female HBC volunteers. This should be coupled with awareness campaigns in communities and further research on families.

This qualitative narrative descriptive study focused on nine successful Latino nursing school graduates. Five participants were interviewed twice and four participants were interviewed once for a total of fourteen interviews. Participants and their families immigrated from Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, and Mexico. Participants attended school in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Interviews revealed themes of Familism, Empowerment, and Perseverance. Familism was an overriding theme throughout each of the interviews. Participants described family as being their greatest support. They discussed sacrifices made by their families which assisted them in being successful. In addition, they also shared their willingness to make personal sacrifices in order to honor their family by being successful. Empowerment was also a theme which surfaced. Participants were empowered to attain their goal of attending college and then succeeding in nursing school. The theme of Empowerment was supported by descriptions of parental sacrifice, parental and family support, and support of faculty. The theme of perseverance was demonstrated through continued goal-attainment. Participants struggled through time-management issues such as balancing family, work, and school commitments. They also worked through the guilt of not providing 100% of their time and attention to any one area of their life, especially family. Perseverance was displayed in multiple ways by participants. One of the most compelling was their need to honor their family. Another area which fueled their perseverance was faith. Lastly, participants stated that their need to be self-sufficient added to their perseverance. Self-efficacy surfaced as an attribute they all attained. Familism, perseverance, and empowerment were themes which were consistent with other studies. However, this study is the first study to address the successfulness of Latino nursing school graduates in the Appalachian area of the United States. This study is also unique in that each of the participants attributed their success to family. In addition, seven of the nine families immigrated to the United States for sole purpose of educating their children. This act of sacrifice by families further strengthened the theme of familism.

abstract: The transition out of high school is a major milestone for adolescents as they earn greater autonomy and responsibilities. An estimated 69.2% of adolescents enroll in higher education immediately following high school completion, including increasing numbers of Latino adolescents (National Center for Education Statistics, 2016). Integrative model (García Coll et al., 1996) suggests a need for research on promotive and protective contextual factors for ethnic minority children and adolescents. Guided by the model, the proposed research will explore a salient Latino cultural value, familism, and family communication as predictors of changes in depressive symptoms from high school to university among Latino adolescents (N = 209; 35.6% male; Mage=17.59, SD=.53). Furthermore, sleep, a key bioregulatory mechanism, was explored as a potential moderator of these processes (Dahl & El-Sheikh, 2007). On average, familism values were not associated with college depressive symptoms, but family communication was significantly negatively associated with college depressive symptoms. Neither sleep duration nor sleep problems significantly moderated the association between familism values and college depressive symptom. Patterns were similar for family communication. The interaction between sleep problems and familism-support values were significantly associated with college depressive symptoms. However, when simple slopes were probed, none were significant. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2019

The Hispanic population has a higher incidence of diabetes and poorer health outcomes compared to other populations in the United States. Although previous research has reported that cultural and ethnic beliefs play a role in poorer diabetes self-management by Hispanic individuals, limited studies have been focused on the barriers to self-management from the perspectives of Hispanic immigrants. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding, through oral history narrative, of the experiences of Hispanic immigrants living with diabetes. In this study, the influence of cultural and ethnic beliefs on diabetes self-management in Hispanic immigrants in the Bronx in New York was explored. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 7 Hispanic immigrants who narrated their lived experiences regarding how they self-manage their conditions. The theory of reasoned action/theory of planned behavior guided this research. Data from in-depth interviews were coded and analyzed for themes. Six themes emerged from these interviews: knowledge of diabetes, diabetes self-management, strong cultural beliefs, social support, lifestyle changes, and strong cultural influence on diabetes management. The results from this study can lead to social change by providing information to health care providers and policy makers who need to deliver culturally sensitive education to both diabetic individuals and their families, which can help in the self-management of the disease.

This longitudinal study uses a cultural ecological-transactional perspective (Garcia-Coll, et. al., 1996; Kuperminc, et al., in press) to examine whether relational factors (familism and parental involvement) predict processes of motivation and achievement one year later among 199 Latino adolescents from immigrant families. Parent involvement predicted higher present-oriented and future-oriented motivation, and familism predicted higher present-oriented motivation. Future-oriented motivation predicted higher perceived school competence, while present-oriented motivation predicted lower perceived school competence. Both future and present-oriented motivation increased over time for recent immigrants significantly more than for US-reared youth. Findings suggest that 1) familism and parent involvement relate significantly to processes of achievement motivation among Latino youth 2) future-oriented and present-oriented motivation are distinct from one another and are linked to perceived school competence in unique, and inverse ways among Latino youth and 3) immigration age plays an important role in the motivational processes of Latino youth over time.

Filial responsibility and familism were examined among a sample of Latino youth through a number of diverse methods that included variable centered and person centered analyses. Effects of gender, birth order, and immigration age were examined. An exploratory principal components analysis of the Adolescent Filial Responsibility Questionnaire-Revised revealed that the most interpretable solution included five factors: fairness, chores, culture brokering, emotional tasks, and overburden. ANOVA analyses found significant main effects of birth order on culture brokering and chores, of gender on emotional tasks, and of immigration age on culture brokering. Cluster analysis identified five groups based on adolescents’ responses: traditional overburden, traditional balanced, non-traditional culturebrokers, traditional low, and non-traditional overburden. Chi-square analyses found significant birth order and gender differences within the traditional low cluster and immigration age differences within the traditional overburden, non-traditional culturebrokers, traditional low, and traditional balanced clusters.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate perceptions and experiences of four Latino male students who obtained their high school diploma despite considerable adversity. An in-depth examination of the participants' academic experiences, familial impact on their education, and societal acculturation were explored to elucidate Latino male academic achievement in public high school. The dropout conundrum has serious economic and societal implications for the United States. In addition, the explosion of the Latino population in the southwestern portion of the U.S. adds another dimension to this dilemma since Latinos have a greater dropout rate than their white counterparts. However, there has been minimal qualitative literature that has given voice to students and their perceptions of academic success. Therefore, this study was conducted with individual, semi-structured interviews to give the students' voice to their story and create rich, thick descriptions for educators to understand the reasons these students were successful in school. Participants were selected from a randomized purposeful sample from the same high school. In addition, each student was interviewed three times to ensure prolonged engagement. Interviews were audio-taped and then transcribed by the researcher. Member checking, peer debriefing, artifact collection, and reflexive journaling were utilized to establish trustworthiness. The transcribed interviews were categorized to establish patterns and themes in the data. Even though the four participants were very different from each other in generational status, family environment, and personal interests, they were all able to obtain their high school diploma despite the hardships that have played a role in the failure in school of others much like these four. The students clearly articulated that treatment by the staff at school was a major factor in their academic achievement, and, even though they all came from non-traditional families, education was valued and encouraged in their homes. Recommendations for future studies include research on Latino college achievement and the role of Latino parents in their children's education.

Researchers must consider the role of context when examining the behavior and characteristics of an individual. An individual must alter development, characteristics, and behavior, to adequately meet the challenges presented within their ecology. The following dissertation presents three manuscripts that examine individual differences while considering the role ecological (spatial) and developmental (temporal) context plays on the individual. Each paper utilizes Life History Theory to examine and to integrate the study findings into a cohesive framework. Life history theory is an evolutionary-developmental theory that focuses on how allocation of bioenergetic and material resources to different developmental facets will have long-term implications for behavior, traits, and health. Each paper collectively highlights key contextual factors throughout the lifespan and seeks to understand how life history strategies emerge. Study I examined the role mother's behavior had on the development of the child unpredictability schema (i.e., worldview where children view their environment and others as unreliable). The study included 65 children and their mothers. Results revealed that child unpredictability schema was predicted by mother's mating and parental effort. A quadratic effect was also found, whereby child unpredictability schema became constant at lower levels of parental effort. Study II utilized retrospective reports of childhood parental effort from extended kin family, positive emotional environment, and traditional social values from a sample of 200 Mexican and Costa Rican college students. High levels of childcare assistance from patrilineal and matrilineal kin were associated with more positive family environment, and the association was partially mediated between kin care and slow life history. Positive associations were also found between matrilineal kin childcare and traditional Latin social values. Study III utilized a nationally-representative, all-female sample to test whether higher reproductive effort increases physical/mental deterioration in women. Results reveal that reproductive effort and illness were mediated by both antioxidant defenses and inflammation. The results of the three studies broadly support hypotheses generated from Life History Theory. Contextual factors during key developmental stages have an impact on how an individual will allocate time and bioenergetic resources - thus contributing to specific behavioral life history strategies.

Caring for an elder with dementia at home is considered a challenging and complex process. The purpose of this study was to describe the impact of family caregiving upon caregivers of elders with dementia on caregiver's health in the context of Chinese family caregiving. The investigation also describes the roles of caregiving appraisal, coping, familism, and perceived social support on the relationship between caregving stressors and caregiver outcomes.A cross-sectional correlational design was used to examine relationships among the variables. Ninety-six family caregivers of elders with dementia in China were recruited. Self-reported questionnaires were utilized to measure the variables.Results from bivariate correlational analysis found that ADL impairments had no any significant relationship with other variables and was not used in model testing.. Path analysis indicated that the proposed Dementia Caregiving Model did not fit the data well. Model modifications were performed based on AMOS 5.0 output and the theoretical rationale for the potential modifications. The modified final model fit the data perfectly. It explained 21.1% and 39.7% of the variance in caregiver physical health and psychological health respectively. In the final models, behavioral problems of care-recipients and perceived social support of caregivers had direct and indirect effects on caregiver physical health and psychological health. Familism and caregiving satisfaction only had indirect effects on caregiver psychological health and no effects on caregiver physical health. Conversely, caregiving subjective burden and coping had direct effects on caregiver health; burden had direct effects on both physical and psychological health of caregivers, whereas coping had a direct effect on caregiver psychological health.The findings enrich knowledge of dementia family caregiving in the context of China and Chinese culture and add the important variables of caregiver appraisal of caregiving satisfaction and familism to existing theories and models of stress and coping on family caregiving cross culturally. This study not only contributes to Chinese nursing research by introducing a conceptual model for family caregiving of elders with dementia, but also can be a basis for formulating interventions to help family caregivers of elders with dementia cope with their caregiving situations.