Bariatric surgery, also known as weight loss surgery (WLS) is an intervention for individuals who are suffering from obesity and weight-related health complications which often accompany being 100 pounds or more overweight (Smith et al., 2011). Even though bariatric surgery has been shown to be a life-saving and life-enhancing operation, efforts to seek out surgery options, qualify and prepare for the procedure, recover from surgery, and then adapt new routines to support surgery are challenging not only for the patient, but also for the people with whom the patient spends the most time—their romantic partners (Applegate & Friedman, 2008; Bylund, Benzein, & Carina, 2013; Moore & Cooper, 2016; Sarwer, Dilks, & West-Smith, 2011). This dissertation was a means to explore relational, food, and WLS success experiences that take place within couples when at least one person has had bariatric surgery. Comparisons between life before, during, and after WLS were discussed with focused attention given to relationship dynamics and daily food routines (Bocchieri, Meana, & Fisher, 2002). The couple’s definition of WLS success and the means by which they have been successful were launching points for more in-depth conversation. Data was generated through 2 interviews per couple (n = 11) with patients who met selection criteria for the study—committed long-term relationship and of the same residence for at least the past 5 years with at least 1 person having been successful with WLS. Success was defined by the WLS patient, however they had to be at least 2 years post-WLS, the critical time period where postoperative weight regain has been shown to occur, in order to participate (Magro et al., 2008; Ogden, Avenell, & Ellis, 2011; Pories et al., 2016). A thematic analysis with multiple rounds of coding was conducted after data saturation was met and couples indicated their agreeableness with results through a short, follow-up survey which also functioned as a form of member-checking. Overall, couples’ relationship dynamics were characterized as secure and WLS gave them another way to give support, engage in teamwork, and ultimately become closer. Patients and spouses explained that they loved each other unconditionally, no matter what the patient weighed, and this had been the reality for their entire relationship. Thus, security was the theme for relationship dynamics with support, teamwork, and closer as subthemes. Spouses expressed their desire to help the WLS patient when it came to being open to change and then making necessary modifications in habits and lifestyle. The commitment to change happened before WLS and a mind-shift happened after WLS that enabled both people to adjust their thinking, consistently evaluate their routines, and continue to change their behaviors. As a result, commit and mind-shift were the themes and subsequent changes (diet, exercise, and mindsets) were the subthemes. A secure relationship and commitment to making “better choices” assisted the patient in experiencing WLS success and this meant that their spouse experienced success, too; “it’s our success together.” The theme for WLS success was follow-through and subthemes were results, comfort, happy, and freedom. Hope was also a by-product of success and it was the grand-theme of this study.

This project began with the notion that an in-depth examination of perceived changes in the parent-child relationship as reported by the noncustodial father would be both beneficial to mental health professionals as well as to paraprofessional groups and organizations working with divorced fathers. The authors were aware of much related research pertaining to the children of divorced parents and also the plight of divorced mothers, but felt there to be a lack of data concerning the noncustodial father and thus identified this area as an important mental health concern.

With approximately 65 stillbirths occurring each day in the United States, a significant number of parents are left to navigate a difficult grieving process. An event like stillbirth presents many individual and relational challenges. For this study, researchers focused on the hospital experience for couples following notification of stillbirth. Interviews were held with 8 couples that had experienced stillbirth within the past 10 years. Researchers wanted to know what similarities and differences existed in how mothers and fathers described the clinical encounter. The data for this study were collected through interviews. Couples were encouraged to share as much or as little as they’d like about the hospital experience. Couples were also asked to describe how they experienced the clinical encounter as individuals and as a couple. Participants in this study were also given the opportunity to provide feedback on what doctors and other hospital staff could do to assist individuals and couples during this difficult time. Participants discussed how hospital staff helped to shape the experience. This was done both in their interactions with staff and the accommodations that were made. Some parents described hospital staff as “gems” or their “angels” while others reported the pain of hospital staff invalidating their experience. While similarities existed in how parents experienced the clinical encounter, each participant’s experience was unique. Studies should continue to be conducted in an effort to further develop evidence-based practices in hospitals meant to help parents navigate this difficult experience.

Sometimes when a person who has been diagnosed with cancer finds out that his or her cancer returned and continuously has to go for surgeries, treatments, regular follow-ups, and continued overtime to deal with the same life-threatening illness, he or she can actually feel frozen due to feeling depressed and anxious in not knowing how to move forward with life. Dance is a metaphor used in this study to move forward. Psychotherapy can offer major benefits to help cancer patients cope with the depression, anxiety, stress, and other emotional reactions that often accompany a cancer diagnosis (Stuyck, 2008). Many studies have explored the benefit of psychotherapy for cancer patients, but little is known about the personal narratives of cancer patients who sought individual therapy to talk about their experience with cancer. The purpose of this study is to explore, through autoethnographic inquiry, what role dance plays in the process of seeking individual therapy. It also explores the impact of facing cultural biases that exist in the Haitian culture about mental health. Finally, this study explores what role psychotherapy played in my reflective therapeutic journal that I wrote while in therapy. This autoethnography was written from a first-person perspective, thus giving readers the chance to enter into the researcher’s world. This study brings a social constructionist and systemic understanding to the experience of being a Haitian Marriage and Family Therapist cancer patient who sought individual therapy and became transformed by accepting my therapist’s invitation to dance with cancer. Additionally, this study examines my unique position as a Marriage and Family Therapist to receive therapy.

Within the past 10 years, mobile devices have been widely adopted by adults and are now present in the lives of almost all U.S. children. While phones are common, our understanding of what effect this technology has upon children's development is lagging. Bioecological theory and attachment theory suggest that this new technology may be disruptive, especially to the degree to which it interferes with the parent-child relationship. This article reflects a National Organization for Human Services conference presentation and shares preliminary results from semi-structured interviews conducted with 18 youth, ages 7 through 11. Only four of eighteen interviewees voiced any negative thoughts concerning their parents’ use of mobile devices. However, those who reported feeling ignored by their parents experienced the negative emotions deeply. Themes that emerged from analysis of transcripts included devices as tools and boundaries.

Many sex trafficking survivors report problems in their interpersonal relationships, yet few studies have investigated the nuance of these important relational bonds. This phenomenological study began addressing this gap by exploring survivors’ perceptions of the quality and utility of their relationships with family members, peers, and service providers, specifically in the context of transitioning out of sex trafficking. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with six survivors in a residential recovery program. Analyses yielded three themes that represented distinct relational domains (1. non-professional, 2. professional, and 3. spirituality) and sub-codes which appeared to highlight nuance within each domain in the sense that some relationships were simultaneously helpful and challenging to negotiate. This poster will provide an overview of themes and codes, as well as a description of the practical significance of the results. Findings help extend existing literature and may inform potential modifications to resources provided by recovery programs.

The purpose of this study was to determine if parent adolescent attachment is correlated with adolescent hope and shame two years later with parent psychological control in the year in between as a mediator. Data at wave four, five, and six for 308 families from the Flourishing Families Project were used. In previous studies attachment has been shown to be important in adolescent development. This study found that the adolescent's perception of the relationship is negatively correlated with shame and positively correlated with hope in the adolescent. Additionally the adolescent's perception of their relationship with both mother and father was correlated with mother and father psychological control, and mother and father psychological control was correlated with adolescent shame and hope. Psychological control was a significant mediator between the adolescent perception of the relationship with both parents and adolescent shame and hope.

Ethnic minority research in the U.S. is important to study because of the increase of ethnic minorities over the past several decades. Content analyses help to track the progress of ethnic minority research and guide researchers to future areas of study. Journals of adolescence have been analyzed and coded in the following areas of methodology of the article: article topic, article funding by topic, funding agencies, geographic location of sample, and measures used. A steady increase in ethnic minority research by article topic, funding, and measures was found for some groups.

Externalizing behaviors among adolescents continue to concern researchers and clinicians nationwide, especially among Latinos who are part of the largest and fastest growing minority population in the U. S. This dissertation begins by describing an eco-developmental model, which provides the theoretical framework used to conceptualize the systemic factors being studied and by reviewing the relevant literature regarding the influence of parental warmth, parental behavioral control, the adolescent-teacher relationship, and academic achievement on externalizing behavior among Latino adolescents. This study uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health survey (Add Health) data to analyze direct and indirect effects of parenting and school-related factors on externalizing behavior among Latino adolescents over four waves of time. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), latent growth curve modeling, bootstrapping, and latent scoring were all employed to test the hypothesized models. Results indicated that higher levels of maternal warmth, the adolescent-teacher relationship and academic achievement were all negatively associated with initial levels of externalizing behavior and in some cases negatively predicted the rate of change of externalizing behavior. Paternal warmth, behavioral control and academic achievement were all found to be positively associated with academic achievement. In terms of indirect effects, paternal warmth negatively predicted initial levels and the slope of externalizing behavior through academic achievement. Behavioral control was also negatively predictive of initial levels and the slope of externalizing behavior through academic achievement. Finally, direct and indirect effects were found between the adolescent-teacher relationship and both initial levels and the slope of externalizing behavior through academic achievement. Implications for these findings are discussed according to an eco-developmental framework, and culturally appropriate recommendations for clinicians and educators are offered to facilitate the increase of parental warmth and behavioral control in Latino families and for improving the adolescent-teacher relationship in school systems. A culturally adapted parenting training model and a strong evidence-based, family therapy intervention is recommended to clinicians to address these issues in Latino families and critical race theory (CRT) and Latino critical race theory (LatCrit) are implemented to inform recommendations offered to educators to address the academic-specific factors influencing externalizing behaviors among Latino adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to examine how modality and exposure to intimate partner aggression (IPA) impact Marriage and Family Therapists' (MFTs) recognition of IPA, identification of perpetrator(s), and risk assessment in a case example among 37 MFTs. It was hypothesized that participants who received the male unilateral modality and who had previous IPA exposure would be more likely to recognize the IPA, correctly identify the perpetrator(s), and indicate risk of future harm in their given case example. Logistic regression analyses did not reveal any significant relationships between the variables. However, it was found that 91.9% of MFTs recognized the IPA in their case example, 78.4% correctly identified the perpetrator(s), and 89.2% indicated the potential for future harm. This study emphasizes the importance of the rates reaching 100% because until that occurs some couples experiencing IPA will be overlooked and subsequently provided with inadequate treatment.