The theory of rejection sensitivity, suggests that early experiences of rejection (e.g. parental rejection, peer rejection) can result in the tendency to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and overreact to rejection by significant others in future relationships. An abundance of quantitative research has suggested that rejection sensitivity has significant implications regarding one’s thoughts and actions within intimate partnerships (e.g. Downey & Feldman, 1996); however, little is known about the lived experience of the women who are sensitive to rejection. The present research sought to move beyond the developmental perspective of the theory of rejection sensitivity (as presented in the first two chapters) by aiming to gain an understanding of how women experience rejection sensitivity within their intimate partnerships and how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours have impacted their romantic lives. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to explore the lived experience of women who identified with rejection sensitivity. Data generated during two interviews with three participants was transcribed and analyzed using an interpretive phenomenological analysis approach. An over-arching theme of I won’t let it happen again: a journey of self-protection emerged that was representative of the women’s shared experience of protecting themselves from experiencing further rejection in their romantic relationships and was further illustrated throughout three secondary themes: I can control things so I won’t let it happen again, Wait…is it happening anyway?, and A continuous journey. Based on the present findings, considerations for further research and practice are offered. Given lack of research aimed at understanding the experiences of women who identify with rejection sensitivity, the value of the present study is twofold: This research makes a notable contribution to current literature, but also encourages women, and those devoted to helping them, to understand their own unique relationships with rejection sensitivity and navigate their own journeys with a sense of hope for mutually satisfying and beneficial romantic relationships in their futures.

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Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Adviser: Deborah Taub; submitted to the School of Education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 142-163).

Objective: To date there have been few if any qualitative studies of adults who have experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA) followed by psychotic experiences later in life. This study aimed to explore how a sample of four women make sense of their childhood experiences of sexual abuse and their psychotic experiences later in life. Methodology: Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews with four women. The data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) in order to develop a detailed understanding of the women’s search for meaning in their own lives. Results: Four major themes emerged from the analysis of the women’s accounts: ‘Interpersonal difficulties,’ ‘Striving to Get Better’ and ‘A Relationship with Shame’ and ‘Links Between CSA, Mental health & Psychosis’. These are explored in detail. Conclusions: The women’s accounts highlight the ongoing difficulty of living with psychosis and CSA, in particular, the role of psychosis in exacerbating isolation, shame and negative self perceptions. Attention is also drawn to the development of competence for therapists in this area of work. Clinical Implications: Supporting and validating existing healthy coping strategies as well as exploration of the interaction of psychosis and CSA through psychological mechanisms of shame as well as family / society discourses. Therapist/ researcher selfawareness is crucial in supporting clients with such traumatic histories.

No description available.

Grounded in feminist and sociocultural theories, the purpose of this study was to expand the focus of research in the field of learning disabilities to include descriptions from insiders' perspectives as to what it is like to be an adolescent girl identified with a learning disability in writing. This research sought to answer the following questions: How do the participants describe the various experiences with and purposes of writing both in and out of school? How do they describe the (non) efficacy of their in-school instructional and special education support service experiences? How do they describe their learning disability diagnosis? What meaning do they make of these experiences?This research took place on the campus of a large southwestern urban high school. Eleven adolescent girls identified with learning disabilities in writing participated in this study. Six of the participants were Mexican-American, three European-American, one African-American, and one Native-American. Data were collected over a six-month period and included in-depth phenomenological interviews, focus groups, field notes and official school record reviews. These were analyzed using a phenomenological framework.Three major themes emerged across findings: the importance of relationships, the emotive component of writing, labeling and learning, and the strategic thinking of the participants. Most significantly, the findings emphasized the essential theme of visibility as a major concern for the participants. The study concluded with a discussion of implications for classroom instruction, teacher education programs and future research.

This research examined leadership in difficult situations using phenomenological and critical incident analyses of 14 interviews with respected leaders. Leadership in difficult situations was examined as a personal experience consistent with the perspective of counselling psychology. The phenomenological analysis has produced four voices. The first voice captures the participants' description of leadership as a paradox of personal and situational dynamics. The second voice forms an uncommon elucidation of the lived experience of leadership in difficult situations. The participants are seen to be striving in a resilient manner characterized by a sense of acceptance and authenticity. The third and fourth voices describe the means by which the participants are effective in difficult situations. The third voice captures the intra-personal process of resonance, personal and social awareness, personal supports, mastery of the issues, and the capacity to generate remarkable outcomes. The fourth phenomenological voice captures the participant's active engagement in connecting with people, shaping the work context and leading collaboration to develop a successful process. Five categories have been produced by the Critical Incident Technique, which examined what helps and what hinders in the experience of leadership through difficult situations. The five categories are: being experienced, principled and self-aware; having personal supports and influences; being interested and skilled in connecting with people; being both energetic and able to withdraw appropriately; finally, actively cultivating their perspective or vision. These five categories indicate the capacity of the participants for diverse means of participation in difficult situations. Results are discussed in terms of implications for research and practice.

The Birth Centre is a midwife-led, out-of-hospital facility for normal births in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Exploring women’s experiences of choosing the Birth Centre was the primary objective for this thesis. Through a feminist perspective and using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), each participant’s idiographic description of the decision-making experience was analysed. A sample of seventeen women participated in in-depth interviews. Six themes emerged through the qualitative analysis: Exercising personal agency; Making the decision in the context of relationships; An expression of one’s ideology; Really thinking it through; Fitting into the eligibility criteria; and The psychology of the space. The findings suggest that a woman’s sense of safety is related to these themes. The women had a normal birth influence in their lives from personal relationships, past experiences, or personal values and beliefs. The study highlighted the importance of access to midwifery services in order to increase awareness and access to the Birth Centre.

This research examined leadership in difficult situations using phenomenological and critical incident analyses of 14 interviews with respected leaders. Leadership in difficult situations was examined as a personal experience consistent with the perspective of counselling psychology. The phenomenological analysis has produced four voices. The first voice captures the participants' description of leadership as a paradox of personal and situational dynamics. The second voice forms an uncommon elucidation of the lived experience of leadership in difficult situations. The participants are seen to be striving in a resilient manner characterized by a sense of acceptance and authenticity. The third and fourth voices describe the means by which the participants are effective in difficult situations. The third voice captures the intra-personal process of resonance, personal and social awareness, personal supports, mastery of the issues, and the capacity to generate remarkable outcomes. The fourth phenomenological voice captures the participant's active engagement in connecting with people, shaping the work context and leading collaboration to develop a successful process. Five categories have been produced by the Critical Incident Technique, which examined what helps and what hinders in the experience of leadership through difficult situations. The five categories are: being experienced, principled and self-aware; having personal supports and influences; being interested and skilled in connecting with people; being both energetic and able to withdraw appropriately; finally, actively cultivating their perspective or vision. These five categories indicate the capacity of the participants for diverse means of participation in difficult situations. Results are discussed in terms of implications for research and practice.

There is a need to understand the transition of students from primary to secondary schooling outside the confines of practitioners' and academics' viewpoints. This thesis explores that transition from the perspectives of the students themselves. It argues that they experience the transition into secondary schooling as challenging. This issue is significant because transition into high school coincides with adolescent developmental changes - social, physical, emotional, cognitive and psychological - as well as the move from the relative stability of one teacher a year to different teachers for each subject, and the shift in status from being the most senior to the most junior students in their school. These students also face challenges such as friendship and identity issues as well as problems locating places in the new environment, for example, subject classrooms, play areas, teachers' rooms. This study's theoretical framework is constructed from a phenomenological psychological stance. A phenomenological methodology guides this study, allowing students' experiences to speak for themselves. Other methodologies were not appropriate as the researcher wanted to hear the students' voices while they were experiencing transition. Few studies in the past have attempted to study transition into high school as it is lived and experienced by students themselves. This empirical study addresses that gap in the literature. Its findings could provide the necessary information needed to further assist educationalists in developing appropriate programs and activities to support this group. Sixteen adolescents participated in the study. Of two common methods of collecting data in phenomenological studies - interviews and journal writing - journal writing was chosen. This data collection technique enabled the researcher to learn about transition from students' perspectives. The data were collected in the first ten weeks of high school from Year 7 students (first year of high school in New South Wales). Drawing on the work of Giorgi (1985a, 1985b), who translated aspects of phenomenological philosophy into a concrete method of research (Ehrich, 1997), a phenomenological psychological approach was used to analyse the data in a step-by-step process. There were four steps to the analysis of the data. The first step involved reading through the entire description of the participants' experience to get a sense of the meaning of the experience as a whole. In the second step, the description was read to identify meaning units, i.e. words/phrases that clearly express meanings of the experience of transition. In the third step, the analysis involved transformation of the meaning units from participants' concrete descriptions into more general categories. The fourth step involved two aspects: a situated structural description of the experience was written, and finally the researcher produced a general structural description that represented the whole experience of the phenomenon. Because of the small sample selected, the study does not claim generalisability across other populations of adolescents. However, what the study does is to highlight seven essential themes of transition. First peers can play a significant role in enabling a smooth transition to high school. Second, schools support transition through a number of programs and activities to help students adapt to the new environment. Third, students need to learn new procedures, location of rooms and other new routines in this environment. Fourth, learning occurs through the academic, practical and extracurricular activities and some learning is more challenging than other types of learning. Fifth, high school transition is enhanced when students are confident and feel a sense of achievement and success in their new environment. Sixth, homework and assignments are a part of the high school curriculum. Finally, teachers' attitudes/abilities can affect student integration into high school and make learning fun or boring.