Objectives: This study attempted to conceptualize women's understandings of the changes in their marital relationship in the first six months following a husband's diagnosis of gradual onset dementia, the nature and mechanism of transition to the role of caregiver, and the construal of the marriage in contrast to other care oriented relationships. Method: Six wives whose husbands had been diagnosed with gradual onset dementia in the previous six months participated. The qualitative techniques of grounded theory and data displays were applied to data derived from qualitative semi-structured interviews. This data was triangulated with rated repertory grids of care relationships, analyzed using a variant of INGRID. Results: The qualitative analysis yielded six significant categories pertaining to the research questions, organized temporally. A pre-existing relationship was punctuated unexpectedly by changes in a husband (catalysts) to which a wife reactively responded (adjustments of power and intrapersonal processes, and emotional consequences). This dynamic and continuous process driven by a husband's deterioration was termed 'role making'. A tripartite typology of pre-existing informal marital contracts emerged from the data underpinned by dimensions of 'power' and 'merging of identity'. This had utility in predicting the emotional consequences a wife was likely to experience, and the catalysts proving to be problematic, but not endorsement of a 'wife' or 'caregiver' role. The repertory grid analysis revealed that none of the wives replicated wholesale a 'parental' mothering model in caring for their husbands, but integrated aspects of different prior caring experiences in a flexible way, in accordance with situational demands. Conclusion: Wives' adjustments in the relationship, and the emotional impact of caring for a husband in the early stages of dementia are significant, and largely una~knowledged. There is also a need for the recognition of the importance of the marital relationship, beyond a predetermined definition of 'quality'.

No description available.

Abstract Caring is the core business of nursing and midwifery, involving a relationship in which the carer is committed to the needs of the one being cared for (Mason-Whitehead, Mcintosh, Bryan & Mason). Caring is the emotion which drives a midwife to care, the motive aimed at assisting someone to grow and self-actualise (Watson). The concern in midwifery is that irrespective of caring being central to the midwifery profession, caring taught in theoretical learning does not always translate into caring behaviour in practice. A qualitative exploratory study examined how midwifery educators impart the skill of caring during theoretical learning and clinical accompaniment, in order to respond to the general complaint made both locally and internationally that midwives are uncaring. The aim was to explore caring during theoretical learning and clinical accompaniment from the perspective of midwifery educators. Participants in the study were midwifery educators teaching midwifery in institutions of learning in Tshwane, South Africa. The naive sketch was used to gather data, wherein one central question was asked and the educators were invited to narrate and respond. Three themes emerged: the meaning of caring; how caring was conveyed during theoretical learning; and how it was conveyed during clinical accompaniment. Although the midwifery educators expressed how they conveyed caring to the learner midwives, it was not evident how caring competencies were assessed in order to ensure caring midwives at the end of training.

This is a phenomenological study on the experience of wellness of counselor education students who are mothers. The study used seven participants in two rounds of interviews and one focus group. Participants were of varying stages of motherhood and at different points in their doctoral journey. Findings included participants' views of motherhood and womanhood, sacrifices and rewards, counselor education program support, wellness, and dissonance of multiple roles. Findings were compared within and across cases using themes and categories. Suggestions for further research are made as well as implications for this population and counselor education.

This study focused on exploring the key markers associated with how Indigenous Peoples living in the Nlaka'pamux Territory perceive success in sport. It was designed using Community- Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach and underpinned by decolonial theory that attempts to deconstruct colonial misunderstandings by drawing on the rich lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples in community. Six individuals from the Citxw Nlaka’pamux Assembly were part of a conversation circle that employed open-ended questions and a conversational interviewing style. An interview guide was also used alongside the broader research questions that specifically looked more in-depth at how the Citxw Nlaka'pamux Peoples define success in sport. By employing thematic analysis to identify common markers in the data, we were able to address the overall research questions. The key markers identified were zuʔzuʔscút (take courage, feel encouraged, courage), kn̓ ə́m (support help along, access), ceʔcʔexw (showing happiness/love, enjoyment), relationship, nk̓ seytkn (family, community, cohort,), wʔexw (Live, Be as you are, self-determination) and ƛ̓ əq̓ mey̓ t (cultural teachings, values, and principals, identity). The findings contribute important knowledge for grassroot sports organizations, through to provincial and federal sporting bodies, in addressing the lack of Indigenous voice currently existing in the conventional sporting environments. For success to be achieved, there is an urgent need to include more grassroot local level sporting experiences, and to ensure Indigenous Peoples’ voices are included at all planning stages for all levels of sport. / Graduate

Thesis advisor: Eve Spangler / With large numbers of low-income single mothers facing a difficult job market while simultaneously experiencing the erosion of social welfare aid, it is vitally important to understand their efforts and the obstacles they face, trying to move out of poverty. This dissertation examines the ways in which a group of low-income single mothers, who were at the center of the enthnographic study presented here, struggled and also succeeded. Attention is paid to the institutional and personal obstacles that impacted the progress of the women. The research, including annual interviews, took place over a three-year period from 2009-2012, as part of a larger ethnographic study on the low-income single parents who were participants in a community based antipoverty program in South Boston. The articles call into question the ways in which social institutions like schools, workplaces, and social services agencies affect the progress of single mother-headed families, raising challenges to conventional approaches and embedded assumptions about social mobility. The mothers’ stories presented in the articles speak directly to the myth of the welfare queen single mother by offering a view of a group of low-income single mothers working very hard to parent, work and attend school. The research is presented in three articles: Article One: Social Network Development Among Low-income Single Mothers: Potential for Bridging, Bonding and Building Social Capital. This article explores social networks formed by the interviewees through their participation in the antipoverty program. The interview data refute the claim that bonds within the community hinder women in their attempts to move their families out of poverty. We observed benefits from social networks that emerged as a result of program participation in the following categories: practical support, emotional support, modeling and mentoring, and expansion of information resources. We also uncovered a new kind of social network formed among low-income women who were actively pursuing a path out of poverty. These hybrid networks, building social networks (BSNs), form among people who are straddling two worlds, and as such, are uniquely positioned to help one another. Article Two: Moving “Up and Out,” Together: Exploring the Benefits of the Mother-Child Bond for Low-Income Single Mother-headed Families. It is a commonly held belief, even among poverty researchers, that bearing children or bearing additional children negatively impacts the social mobility of low-income single mothers. The data here offer a more complex view of the interactions between mothers and children as they both try to move forward, suggesting that the mother-child bond may be a source of motivation and support. Benefits of the mother-child bond emerged in the following categories: forming an alliance around education for mother and child, viewing children as the primary motivation to move forward, and changing behaviors in order to be role models for children. Article Three: The Winding Path Back to School: Hidden Obstacles to Higher Education for Low-Income Single Mothers. This article explores obstacles to the pursuit of higher education for these low-income single mothers, uncovering challenges that have yet to be explored in the literature about higher education for low-income parents. Findings revealed institutional and practical obstacles to their pursuit of higher education, including conflicting advice from “experts” and difficulty retaining public benefits while attending school. The primary obstacles that emerged were categorized as follows: (a) winding paths and dead ends, (b) difficult transitions, (c) short-sighted decisions, and (d) inflexible institutions. Also evident among interviewees were misconceptions about the policies and practices of institutions of higher education, such as not predicting the difficulty of transferring credits between schools and lack of understanding about differences between degree programs. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

This thesis explores the life world of twelve occupational therapists. Interpretivist, phenomenological methodology has been employed to capture the central features of what it means to be an occupational therapist. Assumptions arising from phenomenological, social constructionist and hermeneutic theories underpin the methodology. Data gathered from nine in-depth interviews, three participant observations and personal reflection, were analysed in an attempt to understand the therapists' own view of their reality. Four global themes emerged through analysing the findings both phenomenologically and reflexively : 1. Who am I?: The fraught search for an occupational therapy identity; 2. The mission to make a difference : Enacting the therapists' craft; 3. Negotiating the boundaries : The caring-power relationship; 4. Safe haven or battleground? : Collaboration and conflict within the team. Analysis revealed that whilst the therapists' sense of professional identity is profoundly confused, these professionals are committed to holistic, person-centred values and sustained by a belief that occupational therapy promotes health-enhancing change. Therapists are challenged by caring-power relationships as they struggle to negotiate degrees of involvement and are damaged by pressures, abusive people and lack of professional recognition. Their sense of achievement when they make a difference helps them to regenerate themselves and they are 'healed' when valued in relationships with both patients/clients and team members. Throughout their various challenges, struggles and satisfactions, therapists are engaged in a search to find themselves and to cope in their uncertain world. Whilst the findings largely confirm the existing literature, they also offer some challenges. Therapists' experience has been found to be more complex (intense, ambivalent and contradictory) in practice than the literature indicates. A discussion explores the implications of the research for professional practice. The thesis also critically examines the use and value of phenomenology and reflexivity as research methods.

Background: Anxiety is one of the mood symptoms experienced by menopausal women; however, anxiety symptoms during menopause have received little attention in the literature despite the potential impact on quality of life. Many of the tools used to evaluate and measure anxiety associated with menopause assume that menopausal anxiety shares similar criteria as anxiety disorders and this may not be entirely true. There are very few studies that have assessed anxiety in the context of menopause leaving the concept of menopausal anxiety not well defined and raising the question: Is menopausal anxiety a unique and distinctly different syndrome? The purpose of this study was to explore and gain an in-depth understanding of the experience of anxiety in menopausal women. Methods: Twenty menopausal women were recruited for this qualitative study to explore the experience of anxiety in menopause. Through the use of a semi-structured interview using open-ended questions, participants were asked to share their experience with anxiety that was new or different with the onset of menopause. Interviews were audio recorded by the researcher and lasted approximately 30 - 60 minutes. Participants described their experience with anxiety and discussed how the anxiety is different in menopause. Results: Emergent themes revealed that anxiety in menopause is a unique and individual experience. The substantial variation in the onset, timing and severity of the symptoms made it impossible to construct a uniform and consistent definition of the experience. Participants discussed their preferences for management which included non-pharmacologic, lifestyle, relaxation based interventions. Conclusions: This research supports the existence of a unique and individualized experience of anxiety in menopause. A better understanding of the experience and patient preferences will assist healthcare providers in developing individualized treatment options aimed at improving quality of life.

Men are increasingly underrepresented in counselor education and in the counseling profession, with only 27% of members of the American Counseling Association reporting as men. Men in counseling often feel marginalized and isolated. Additionally, they are socialized to be independent, emotionally and physically strong, and to focus on success, while being discouraged from seeking help. Continual exposure to the trauma material of others can cause secondary trauma, with cumulative deleterious effects identified in this study using the Heidegger's hermeneutic phenomenology. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of male counselors who primarily work with children who have experienced trauma. Using purposive sampling 6 licensed male counselor participants were identified, and semistructured interviews were conducted. A hermeneutic interpretation made through the lens of constructivist self-development theory was used to further elucidate participants' experiences. The 13 themes generated from this data included: (a) counselors' use of an eclectic theoretical approach, (b) majority of the clients had experienced trauma, (c) experiences of vicarious trauma, (d) increased empathy and growth; (e) negative impact of vicarious trauma, (f) help-seeking behavior, (g) denial of help-seeking behavior, (h) additional training, (i) coping skills, (j) supportive supervisors, (k) peer consultation, (l) supervisor role, (m) world is unsafe/people are bad, and (o) increasing knowledge. Implications for social change include empowering current and future male counselors to effectively understand and mitigate negative consequences of vicarious trauma from working with children who have experienced trauma.

Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / Policy makers, service agencies and people with mental illness themselves view employment for people with mental illness as a major concern. This is due to the low rate of employment of people with mental illness, the difficulties many experience in finding and keeping satisfactory jobs, and the perception of paid employment as highly desirable for people with mental illness. The most extensive research on employment for people with mental illness has focused on establishing statistical relationships between various hypothesised predictors of employment success and vocational outcomes. While some attention has been paid to how individuals with mental illness view being employed, this has primarily focused on specific areas such as the benefits of employment, difficulties encountered and coping techniques used. My aim in this research was to develop a theoretical formulation which explains the processes that people with mental illness engage in with regard to employment. Data was gathered by way of in-depth interviews with users of psychiatric services. Some of these participants were employed, others were seeking employment, while others were not engaged in employment-related activities. At the centre of the theoretical formulation is a process I have called negotiating an appropriate vocational place. Using this process, people with mental illness make decisions about actions to take in relation to employment and these may or may not include trying to get and keep a job. Decisions are made by weighing up the benefits and drawbacks of employment and the advantages and risks of different vocational strategies. In doing so, people with mental illness are influenced by the Australian societal context, their individual social networks, their individual characteristics and circumstances (including their mental illness), and their employment options. This process of negotiating an appropriate vocational place is cyclical, ongoing and dynamic, as individuals' views and circumstances change. Knowing that people with mental illness strive toward an appropriate vocational place rather than taking for granted that they are working towards getting a job presents a challenge to policy and practice in which a successful outcome is defined as obtaining and maintaining a paid position in the workforce. Detailing and elaborating the process by which people with mental illness go about negotiating an appropriate vocational place provides a framework for practitioners, policy makers and researchers to understand the decisions made by people with mental illness and their actions in relation to employment. The understanding provided by the findings from this study will assist those working with people with mental illness and those responsible for employment policies to tailor their work more closely to individuals' desired goals. Immediate and longer term research opportunities are identified to apply the theoretical formulation derived from this study to vocational service practice with people with mental illness.