<p> Over the last several decades, Mexican origin immigrants have dispersed across the United States (Massey, Durand and Malone 2002). One community that has experienced particular growth in its Mexican origin population is Sunnyside, an agricultural city in the Yakima Valley. In this new destination community, Mexican origin families confront problems of gangs, violence, concentrated poverty and drug abuse, along with the challenges of surviving in a community that offers few pathways for mobility to Latinos. </p><p> In this study, I draw on 43 qualitative interviews and participant observer data to consider how Mexican origin parents, in two parent homes, go about the act of parenting in the context of Sunnyside. I query couples' parenting styles, with attention to how they develop aspirations for their children and to what models they use to inform their parenting. I look at how the structure of the community helps to perpetuate gendered parenting practices. Finally, I explore how these parenting approaches operate in the school system. </p><p> I argue that while much of the parenting that I observed deviates from that advocated by child development specialists (e.g. Baumrind 1968; 2012), the parenting was well designed to protect children from the particular forms of risk that were prominent in Sunnyside. The parenting was typically authoritarian and drew on models that families brought with them from Mexico. Other research on immigrant acculturation suggests this was probably an effective way to keep children safe by promoting selective acculturation (Portes and Rumbaut 2001; Zhou 1997). The parenting, however, was ill-designed to help the children to succeed educationally. Although parents wanted their children to get an education, they could offer little direct help to their children around educational tasks. Instead, they used discipline and engaged their children in physical labor to encourage the children to want to do well in school. This descriptive study helps to demonstrate how the characteristics of one particular new immigrant destination shape family life, parenting styles and children's life chances. </p>

<p> The present study identified and quantified five main barriers to treatment categories, deducted first from the qualitative dataset, then consolidated with the results of the quantitative dataset. Clinicians (<i>N</i>=36) that worked with youth and their families participated. The main findings suggested five parent themes (<i>practical obstacles, poor alliance with the therapist, therapist&rsquo;s perceptions, socioemotional, and cultural </i>) and seven concept groups (<i>transportation, financial, logistical, attendance, therapeutic relationship, lack of communication, and lack of engagement </i>). Implications provide strategies to ratify some of these barriers, such as gathering data on youth clients and their families. For the purposes of this study, the terms <i>children, adolescents</i>s, and <i> youth</i> will be used interchangeably and will be defined as any individual under the age of 18.</p>

<p> <i><b>Objective:</b></i> Intimacy is an essential part of marital relationships, spiritual relationships, and is also a factor in well-being. There is little research simultaneously examining the links among spiritual intimacy (defined as positive religious coping and a relationship with God), relational intimacy, and well-being. Data from the Adventist Health Study-2&rsquo;s Biopsychosocial Religion and Health Study (AHS-2 BRHS) were analyzed to first examine these links, and then to examine whether religious variables predict positive and negative perceptions of one&rsquo;s spouse.</p><p> <i><b>Design:</b></i> Structural equation modeling was used to examine associations among spiritual intimacy, relational intimacy, spiritual meaning, and well-being in a cross-sectional study of 5,720 married adults aged 29-100 years. Also, positive and negative spouse characteristics were regressed on control variables and 16 religious variables. This sample included 6,683 married adults aged 29-100 years.</p><p> <i><b>Results:</b></i> In the original structural model all direct associations between spiritual intimacy, relational intimacy, and well-being were significant and positive. With spiritual meaning as a mediating variable, the direct connections of spiritual intimacy to relational intimacy and to well-being became weakly negative. However, the indirect associations of spiritual intimacy with well-being were strongly positive through spiritual meaning. </p><p> Positive spouse characteristics were most strongly related to higher gratitude and lower negative religious coping; and negative spouse characteristics to greater negative religious coping and less gratitude. The higher participants rated their spouse&rsquo;s religiosity the better they rated their spouse. Conversely, the higher participants rated their own religiosity the worse they rated their spouse. For some religion variables there were gender and ethnic differences in prediction of spouse characteristics.</p><p> <i><b>Conclusion:</b></i> These findings suggest the central place of spiritual meaning in understanding the relationship of spiritual intimacy with marital intimacy and to well-being. They also suggest that individual religious variables have a strong association with how one views one&rsquo;s spouse, and thus need to be considered as important factors in relational intimacy. They also affirm the interplay of spiritual intimacy with relational intimacy and the need to consider both gender and ethnicity as contributing factors.</p>

<p> The context of this project is Community Outreach Ministry in Riverside, California, interviewing six families caught in the cycle of incarceration. The problem was no stories addressing the children's needs by the children of incarcerated parents existed in the literature. The objective included apprehending and analyzing fifteen stories in eight weeks. The hypothesis accepted the children's stories as a research tool informing interventions for breaking the cycle of incarceration. A qualitative research narrative case study was implemented. The findings tested that the qualitative insights from the stories informed the model and resources as effective interventions to break the cycle of incarceration.</p>

<p> This qualitative, descriptive case study explored the social learning process within complex systems as described by product support managers (PSMs) assigned to acquisition programs within the Naval Air Systems Command. The research questions asked how individuals, as influenced by their values and structure, shape their interactions and behavior in a complex environment. Nine PSMs for major acquisition and sustainment programs were referred by senior leaders and participated in the study.</p><p> Data were collected through in-depth interviews that were transcribed to capture the PSMs&rsquo; experiences and then synthesized into contextual and social learning profiles. The findings resulted in seven themes. (1) PSMs operate in complex, dynamic, and variably resourced environments that are highly dependent on interaction and result in uniquely executed programs. (2) The highly structured environment and functionally oriented structure diminish the authority of the individual and present barriers to interaction. (3) The highly structured and boundary-rich environment limits information flow and presents difficulty in communication and developing routines that align meanings, value orientations, and shared understanding across those boundaries. (4) PSMs attempt to adjust, increase, and routinize interactions but often react to emerging needs with limited authority and resources, which often leaves short-term and least helpful alternatives. (5) PSMs leverage key relationships as bridges of information but often receive limited feedback to resolve short-term issues to complete tasks. (6) PSMs are aligned with organizational goals and values to improve user outcomes and speed of delivering products, but there is value incongruency between expectations and what they want to do to achieve those outcomes. (7) PSMs experience role ambiguity, as they are torn between how much they want to develop the team and interactions versus becoming an expert and accomplishing tasks.</p><p> The study concluded that PSMs are effectively <i>leveraging different operating system</i> views to maximize the variety of the small alternatives they have; <i>countering the power of the system</i> through meaning making, developing their unique abilities (as well as their team&rsquo;s) and trying to reduce their isolation; and <i>increasing the available space for social learning</i> to make progress through trial and error and satisficing.</p><p>

<p> School age children with ADHD suffer functional impairment in social development, show signs of emotional dysregulation, and have learning difficulties. Other psychological disorders may present, and some children may have one or more co-morbid disorders. Studies demonstrated that the best practice was combined treatment. It was recommended that a pharmacological and behavioral approach be utilized. </p><p> ADHD also affects the family. Parents of children with ADHD often neglect their own health caring and advocating for their child. The amount of parent involvement raising a child with ADHD can lead to reactive parenting, strained relationships with spouses, social and emotional isolation, depression, and anxiety. </p><p> Prevailing research demonstrated far-reaching impacts of ADHD on the child and the family, but little was published on parent support groups for this parent population or on the benefits of yoga for improving the child&rsquo;s ability to self-monitor. </p><p> This research sought to demonstrate that improvement in parenting efficacy, parenting stress, and the parent-child relationship could be achieved through a parent support group. </p><p> The researcher utilized a parent support group because parents of children with ADHD were often socially and emotionally isolated. Through the parent support group, parents revealed the daily challenges and shared parenting strategies. Sharing success stories was shown to promote a greater sense of parenting efficacy. While the sample was small, common themes emerged which further illustrated the parenting challenges of raising a child with ADHD. Positive outcomes of this study were a greater sense of parenting skills, social support, and enhanced parent-child relationships. </p><p> This research also sought to demonstrate that regular practice of yoga would lead to improvement in the child&rsquo;s self-monitoring. Although parents and children attended the weekly session with fidelity, parent-taught or parent-led practice at home was commonly missed due to parents&rsquo; other commitments and the child&rsquo;s sports or summer activities. The effectiveness of yoga to improve the child&rsquo;s ability to self-monitor could not be validated.</p><p>

<p>This study examined strategies that seven corporate leaders use to enhance their performance within boundaryless work contexts. Participants described their best and worst days as examples of interrole facilitation and conflict. The behaviors, values, and beliefs underlying interrole facilitation strategies were then deduced. Experiences of interrole facilitation were characterized by wellbeing, efficacy, and connection. Interrole conflict was experienced as the absence of these, combined with stress, pressure, feeling out of control, and having a sense of defeat. Various planning and executing behaviors as well as internal and external conditions were believed to impact interrole facilitation. Participants? values and beliefs emphasized the importance of connection with others, self-care, contribution, and active management of themselves and their schedule. Further research should examine the intrapersonal and interpersonal conditions that act on interrole facilitation behaviors and identify recovery strategies to help individuals shift from interrole conflict to interrole facilitation.

<p> Boys who were sexually abused in childhood are three times as likely to report substance use problems that are associated with poor mental and physical health as well as academic, vocational, and interpersonal difficulties. A review of literature revealed commonly held beliefs that (a) boys are not vulnerable to childhood sexual abuse; (b) boys are collaborators more so than victims; (c) sexual activity is a rite of passage for boys; (d) sexual activity is synonymous with masculinity. Self-blame may be the result of these patriarchal and misogynistic cultural norms. This study hypothesized that forgiveness can replace substance use as a coping strategy. </p><p> This research examined the relationship between substance use problems, family communication, and forgiveness in men who were sexually abused in childhood. The sample consisted of 406 men who completed an anonymous survey distributed via national support and advocacy organizations. Variables were measured with the CAGE-AID; the Family Communication Scale, Heartland Forgiveness Scale, and the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire. Three dimensions of forgiveness were assessed, (a) forgiveness of self; (b) forgiveness of others; (c) forgiveness of situations. </p><p> Findings revealed statistical significance (p = .030) that forgiveness of self is inversely related to substance use problems in men who were sexually abused in childhood. Logistic regression analysis indicated that family communication, forgiveness of others, and forgiveness of situations did not contribute to substance use problems in this sample. Results suggest that higher scores for forgiveness of self are related to lower rates of substance use problems.</p><p>

<p> Using US General Social Survey (GSS) data gathered between 2002 and 2014, this study investigates the determinant of women and men&rsquo;s job satisfaction and develops several hypotheses about the effects of children on men and women&rsquo;s job satisfaction. The primary theoretical background of the thesis is built upon gender division and job satisfaction literature and seeks to develop hypotheses about the perceptions of men and women regarding child-rearing and perceived effects of their professional life on their preschool-age children. This study found that a woman&rsquo;s job satisfaction is more likely to affect her perception that preschool-age children experience negative effects from her work than a man. This finding indicates that gender is an important factor that influences one&rsquo;s perception of their children&rsquo;s well-being in relation to their job satisfaction. The study also found that the number of children does not have a significant effect on men&rsquo;s job satisfaction, but is significantly and positively related to women&rsquo;s job satisfaction. Data collected in this study show that a woman&rsquo;s perception of whether her children are suffering from her work is more likely to affect her job satisfaction than a man&rsquo;s. After controlling for personal and job characteristics, multivariate analysis indicates gender is a significant predictor of women and men&rsquo;s job satisfaction. Policy implications regarding these conclusions are also discussed in the study.</p><p>

<p> The main objective of this dissertation is to examine patterns of residential segregation, housing turnover, and neighborhood connection by race/ethnicity and family structure. Only two studies have examined residential outcomes by family structure, and both of these studies have focused on residential segregation and use cross-sectional data from the 2000 Decennial Census (Iceland et al. 2010; Marsh and Iceland 2010). In order to address these limitations, the current study asks two main research questions, (1) does family structure have a relationship with residential outcomes (residential segregation, housing turnover, and neighborhood connection) over and above race/ethnicity? And (2) does family structure have a relationship with residential outcomes (residential segregation, housing turnover, and neighborhood connection) in conjunction with race/ethnicity? </p><p> To address these questions, I perform three sets of analyses. The first uses the 1990, 2000, and 2010 Decennial Census data and 2006&ndash;2010 American Community Survey (ACS) data drawn from the Neighborhood Change Database (NCDB) and the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) to examine residential segregation between white, black, and Hispanic married-couple and female-headed families conducting Theil&rsquo;s H and isolation index analyses. In addition to these aggregate-level segregation analyses, my dissertation examines segregation at the micro-level by exploring patterns of housing turnover for 12 family types, white, black, and Hispanic two-parent, female-headed, SALA, and extended family households using the 2007 to 2011 panels of the American Housing Survey (AHS). These analyses allow me to explore micro-level change that may take place even as aggregate-level segregation analyses remain consistent. Finally, my analyses consider the context in which families live by exploring neighborhood connection variation for families between white, black, and Hispanic married-couple, female-headed, SALA, cohabiting-couple, and extended-family households in the 2013 AHS. These analyses conceptualize neighborhood connection as collective efficacy (measures of social cohesion and social control). </p><p> Overall, I find race/ethnicity to be the most salient factor in predicting residential outcomes, but that family structure plays an important role and should be considered in future analyses. My results suggest white married-couple families are most advantaged in the housing market, and that they likely use this relative advantage to access the &ldquo;best&rdquo; neighborhoods and may be restricting the access of other white family types as well as minority families. This self- segregation by white married-couple families, in conjunction with an avoidance of black female- headed families, maintains residential segregation, constrains housing turnover to generally &ldquo;like&rdquo; households (those of the same race/ethnicity and family structure), and results in variation in neighborhood connection with white married-couple families having relatively greater social cohesion, and black female-headed families having the lowest social cohesion scores.</p><p>