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Bakgrund: Globalt är bröstcancer den vanligaste cancerformen med prevalens på 7,8 miljoner. Mastektomi är ett kirurgiskt ingrepp där hela bröstet avlägsnas. Litteraturöversikten utgick från omvårdnadsteorin KASAM som beskriver känsla av sammanhang. Syfte: Att beskriva kvinnors upplevelser i samband med att mastektomi utförs och även senare i livet till följd av bröstcancer. Metod: Kvalitativ litteraturöversikt med induktiv design där resultatet grundades på 12 vetenskapliga artiklar från databaserna Cinahl, Pubmed och PsycInfo. Artiklarna granskades enligt kvalitetsgranskningsprotokoll för studier med kvalitativ metod. Dataanalys genomfördes enligt Fribergs fem steg (2022). Resultat: Det identifierades två teman: Möjlighet till stöd och Förändrad kropp med tillhörande subteman; (Stöd hos närstående), (stöd från samhället), (känslor i en annan kropp), (acceptera det nya) och (att vara nära). Kvinnor upplevde en förändrad kroppsbild, intimitet och levnadssituation. För att hantera de uppkomna känslorna utvecklades copingstrategier. Hälso- och sjukvård samt närstående hade en central roll under den postoperativa återhämtningen. Slutsats: Upplevelsen av mastektomi är individuell och präglas av samhällets uppfattningar, närståendes reaktioner, kvinnors självuppfattning och mental förberedelse. Vilket i sin tur leder till olika strategier av acceptans och förnekelse för att klara av livet i den nya kroppen. / Background: Globally, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer with a prevalence of 7.8 million. Mastectomy is a surgical procedure in which the entire breast is removed. The literature review was based on the nursing theory KASAM, which describes a sense of coherence. Aim: To describe women's experiences in connection with mastectomy being performed and also later in life as a result of breast cancer. Method: A qualitative literature review with an inductive design where the results were based on 12 scientific articles from the databases Cinahl, Pubmed and PsycInfo. Data analysis was carried out according to Friberg's five steps (2022). The articles were reviewed according to a quality review protocol for studies with a qualitative method. Results: Two main themes were identified: Possibility of Support and Altered Body, with associated subthemes; (Support from loved ones), (Support from society), (Feelings in another body), (Accepting the new) and (Being close). Women experienced a changed body image, intimacy and living situation. Coping strategies were developed to deal with the emotions that arose. Healthcare and relatives had a central role during the postoperative recovery. Conclusion: The experience of a mastectomy is individual and is characterized by society's perceptions, the reactions of relatives, women's self-perception, and mental preparation. Which in turn leads to different strategies of acceptance and denial to cope with life in the new body.

This thesis examines the embodiment and disembodiment of Middle Eastern women in Suheir Hammad’s Breaking Poems (2008) and Solmaz Sharif’s Look (2016) to better understand how war, diasporicity, violence, and intimacy affect the socio-political subjection of Middle Eastern women in the United States. Through analyzing poetry, this thesis posits that Middle Eastern women’s subjection to racism and sexism as diasporic subjects in the United States leads to their disembodiment, resulting in feelings of displacement, loss, and uncertainty regarding their identities, which parallels the disembodiment they experience in the Middle East as a result of war. The Introduction Chapter answers why this thesis focuses on diasporic Middle Eastern women and the poetry of Suheir Hammad and Solmaz Sharif. Chapter One provides a theoretical framework of the major themes discussed throughout the thesis, such as embodiment, disembodiment, precarity, and double consciousness. Chapter Two discusses Suheir Hammad’s Breaking Poems with an emphasis on a hyper-individualized account of disembodiment. Chapter Three addresses Solmaz Sharif’s Look, focusing on poetry’s movement between different geographical spaces and time frames to present a wide range of disembodiment(s) experienced by not only Solmaz Sharif, but also by other Middle Eastern subjects. The Conclusion Chapter demonstrates that the theme of embodiment and disembodiment supports Hammad and Sharif’s efforts to give voice to the silenced experiences of diasporic Middle Eastern women. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

Yes / For this paper, emotional and socio-political questions lie at the heart of relationships in understanding intellectual disability and what it is to be a human. While the sexual and intimate is more often than not based on a private and personal relationship with the self and (an)other, the sexual and intimate life of intellectually disabled people is more often a ‘public’ affair governed by parents and/or carers, destabilizing what we might consider ethical and caring practices. In the socio-political sphere, as an all-encompassing ‘care space’, social intolerance and aversion to difficult differences are played out, impacting upon the intimate lives of intellectually disabled people. As co-researchers (one intellectually disabled and one ‘non-disabled’), we discuss narratives from a small scale research project and our personal reflections. In sociological research and more specifically within disability research it is clear that we need to keep sex and intimacy on the agenda, yet also find ways of doing research in a meaningful, caring and co-constructed way. / Childhood and Youth Research Institute at Anglia Ruskin University

The purpose of this study was to examine the structure of the midlife marriage, focusing on identity, intimacy, and marital satisfaction. The investigator sought to identify the identity issues that midlife men and women are experiencing, describe the intimacy issues they face as couples, and show if/how these factors relate to marital satisfaction. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 48 midlife couples in the Roanoke Valley area. These couples were subgrouped into two categories: twenty-rive couples were classified as nonclinical couples (not in marital counseling at the present time) and twentythree were classified as clinical couples (currently in marital counseling). Information from the Waring Intimacy Questionnaire (WIQ) was used to analyze identity and intimacy issues and to examine factors that influenced marital satisfaction. Information from the Marital Satisfaction Scale was used to assess the level of marital satisfaction for both nonclinical and clinical couples. The results of the study indicated that (1) men and women who are in marital counseling are in the process of examining their identity issues. Women appear to be reassessing their roles as wives and mothers and are beginning to concentrate on their individuality. The issues for men were less clearly defined. They continued to view work as of central importance in their lives and did not seem to have made the transition from work to family as their main source of identity as Levinson, Darrow, Klein, Levinson, and McKee (1978) predicted. Based on WIQ scores and qualitative responses on the questionnaire, men in both the nonclinical and clinical subgroups, and women in the clinical subgroup did not feel they had an intimate relationship with their spouses. Contrary to the premises of this study, identity and intimacy were not the most significant factors affecting marital satisfaction for these midlife couples. The two factors that most determined their couples· level of marital satisfaction were social desirability and compatibility. / Ph. D.

The effectiveness of an adventure-based marriage enrichment program in increasing marital intimacy was studied. Thirty seven married couples from a relatively conservative Protestant religion composed the sample. The sample was composed of volunteer participants ranging in age from 21-47. The participants were randomly assigned to two treatment groups and a control group. The Waring Intimacy Questionnaire, a participants' Self-Rating of Intimacy Scale, a participants' Intimacy Change Scale, and an open-ended questionnaire were used to collect data. Analysis of Covariance was use to determine differences in post-test scores using the pre-test as the covariate. The findings showed statistical significance for group post-test scores on the WIQ Total Intimacy Scores, E (2,70)= 3.96, p < .05. Significance was shown for group post-test scores on the WIQ cohesiveness subscale, F (2,70) = 8.71, p < .001. / Ph. D.

During the past decade increased attention has been directed toward alcoholism as a family system problem. Recent publications have identified characteristics of the "alcoholic family" system and a model of psychosocial development specific to children of alcoholics. Both theoretical frameworks proposed that family and individual growth and development were delayed or stagnated by the effects of parental alcoholism. This study explored possible effects of problem parental alcohol use or alcoholism on adolescent development. The variables studied were differentiation from family, identity achievement, and intimacy in close relationships. Two data collection methods were used: a mailed questionnaire and an interview with a subgroup of respondents who returned the questionnaire. Respondents were classified as children of alcoholics (COAs) or children of nonalcoholics (NCOAs) based on answers to one of two questions posed in the demographics' section. Questionnaires were distributed at a four-year college to sophomores, juniors, and seniors residing on-campus. A total of 160 questionnaires were returned. Twenty-four percent of the respondents reported one or more problem drinking parents. Interviews were completed with ten students, four of whom were in the COA group. Student's t tests, analysis of variance and multiple regression tests were performed an the data between and within groups. Results from the between groups analyses indicated that differentiation From family was more developed for the NCOA group. Overall development did not appear affected by parental problem drinking. The within group analysis tested for differences based on gender of problem drinking parent. ANOVA results indicated no significant differences among mean scores on the measures of differentiation, identity, and intimacy. The results of multiple regression analyses indicated that differentiation and identity were statistically significant in the prediction of intimacy, although the model best explained intimacy for the COA group. Results suggested that development is most delayed for daughters of alcoholic mothers. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) on marital relationships. MCI refers to age-related decline in memory and other cognitive processes that do not necessarily interfere with daily activities or the maintenance of social relationships with others (Petersen et al., 1999). Using social exchange theory as the theoretical framework to guide this qualitative study, aspects of the marital relationship explored from the nonimpaired spouses’ perspective were couple interaction, intimacy, and the division of household labor. In-depth interviews were conducted with five husbands and five wives (M age = 76.6 yrs., S.D. = 6.64). Open-ended interview questions that focus on issues specific to the marital relationship included: (a) range of activities participated in as a couple, (b) ways of showing care or affection toward one another, and (e) management of everyday life. In addition to participating in the semi-structured interviews, the spouses completed three standardized scales (e.g., Revised Memory & Behavior Problems Checklist, Zarit Burden Interview, Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale). Their responses to these measures provided information about the memory and behavioral changes of the elder as it related to the outcomes for and responses of the spouse. Spouses noted both change and stability within their marriages. They expressed “mixed emotions” concerning the influence of MCI on both them as individuals and on their relationship. Husbands’ responses focused on the negative relationship outcomes (e.g., frustration, stress) associated with caring for a spouse with memory loss; however, wives reported higher levels of burden and depression on the standardized measures than did the husbands. Gender differences were found regarding how husbands and wives view their roles in context to the caregiving situation, as well as how they adapt and cope. Longitudinal research is needed to examine the changes in the dynamics of these late-life marital relationships over time. / Master of Science

Matryoshka is a poetry collection that inhabits the space between danger and desire. The poems are largely voice-driven and confessional, sprouting from a speaker who is somehow ruthlessly honest and deceptively evasive at the same time. She covets the domestic only to set it on fire. She runs for comfort and greets the comfortable with a knife. In the beginning of the collection, we see a speaker navigating her relationships with others. The poems in section one are seeped with intense longing and physical desire. In section two, we see the speaker turn her gaze inward and are met with a raw exploration of the self; a revelry of bad decision making, self-deception, and complicated sexuality. The collection leaves the reader curious and comfort-seeking. / Master of Fine Arts

In contemporary theatre, the integration of trauma-informed performance training is essential for creating a safe and empathetic environment for both performers and audiences. This approach acknowledges the psychological impact of trauma and aims to equip actors with tools to navigate and express complex emotions healthily and sustainably. Consent-forward practices are foundational in our training programs, encouraging students to practice courage and self-advocacy. By prioritizing clear communication and mutual respect, we foster an atmosphere where performers can safely explore their boundaries and develop a strong sense of agency. This curriculum includes complex, controversial, and deep scene work, utilizing therapeutic drama techniques. This method serves as both a powerful artistic expression and a form of emotional processing, allowing performers to engage with challenging material in a supportive setting. Through this intricate interplay of performance and therapy, students experience profound personal growth and enhanced dramatic skills.