There is a dearth of literature examining how the cohesiveness of the team may be connected to individual athlete participation in youth sport settings. Although results from studies conducted with adult athletes (Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1988; Prapavessis & Carron, 1997a; Spink, 1995) suggest a positive link between perceptions of team cohesion and individual participation, this relationship has not been established with adolescent athletes. The purposes of the studies in this dissertation were: (1) to examine the relationship between cohesion and participation in a youth sport sample; (2) to examine if task cohesion moderated the relationship between perceptions of teammates’ effort levels (descriptive norms) and a participation-related outcome (effort); (3) to experimentally test the combined influence of cohesion and descriptive norms on individual self-reported effort; and (4) to explore the plausibility of teammate support as one possible mediator of the cohesion-participation relationship. A multivariate approach was used in Study 1 to both establish the initial relationship between cohesion and individual participation as well as inform subsequent studies in this dissertation by identifying which specific cohesion factors (task, social) and participation-related outcomes (effort, attendance, intention to return to the team) were most strongly related. Multivariate results revealed that task cohesion was associated with two participation outcomes – effort and intention to return to the team. Examining if perceptions of cohesion would qualify the link between perceptions about how hard teammates were working and individual athletes’ self-reported effort levels was the purpose of Study 2. Both constructs emerged as positive, significant correlates of effort. As a follow up, a between-subjects experimental design with vignettes was used in Study 3 to test the combined effects of cohesion and descriptive norms about teammate effort on individual self-reported effort levels. Building upon Study 2’s correlational findings, cohesion and descriptive norms both had an independent, positive influence on how hard players rated that they would work. The purpose of Study 4 was to consider one possible reason why team cohesion may be associated with individual participation - social support. To examine the proposition that social support may mediate the relationship between cohesion and participation, a prospective design was used in Study 4 to test the links between early-season cohesion, late-season perceptions of social support, and two participation-related outcomes (effort, intention to return to the team in the future). Results supported the plausibility of social support as a partial mediator for both outcomes. Taken together, these four studies provided initial evidence for the potential link between team cohesion and individual participation in youth sport. Additionally, the emergence of two other team-related constructs, descriptive norms and social support, suggests that these forms of teammate influence also may be associated with youth sport athletes’ participation on their team.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF MELISSA J. HAITHCOX, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in HEALTH EDUCATION, presented on June 29, 2009 at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. TITLE: Social Support Experiences of HIV Positive HIV/AIDS Coalition Participants: A Grounded Theory Approach MAJOR PROFESSOR: Dr. Kathleen Welshimer For more than twenty-five years HIV/AIDS has overwhelmed and devastated all corners of the world, including the United States. Grassroots organizations and governmental have responded to this devastation by implementing various strategies, including community coalitions, to counteract the social and economic effects of HIV. While HIV/AIDS coalitions resemble other health promotion coalitions, they differ because People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) are federally mandated or required by the funder to participate. While it is thought that PLWHA membership is spurred largely by these mandates, other motivation and incentive to participate have gone undocumented. There is a plethora of research regarding membership and factors related to the success of HIV/AIDS coalitions, there is little focus on the influence of social support on community coalitions. The purpose of this study was to document the types and perception of social support experiences of People Living With HIV/AIDS with regard to their participation in HIV/AIDS coalitions. This study used a qualitative research design, guided by a grounded theory approach, to investigate and describe the social support experiences of HIV positive adults who participate in HIV/AIDS coalitions. Data collection consisted of 13 semi-structured, in-depth interviews and the researcher's personal thoughts and observations, recorded in a journal. Six main themes emerged from the data: (a) the acquisition of knowledge and information, (b) the desire to give back and help others, (c) the desire to participate in a "successful" effort, (d) the desire to stay connected through coalition activities, (e) the desire to give and receive social support, (f) PLWHA membership is the most important indicator of coalition success. Themes that emerged from participants' revolved around the need to belong and emotional support. The desire to feel valued was interconnected to most of the themes. In order to feel valued, PLWHAs had a strong desire to give back to others and strived to acquire information and skills to do so. Results revealed the influence of social support on the reasons PLWHAs join, continue or discontinue their participation in HIV/AIDS coalitions, the activities they choose to participate in, and their perception of coalition success. Recommendations for health education include exploring the inner dynamics of a coalition's membership as a way to evaluate coalition success from a more holistic and comprehensive perspective, clarify goals and objectives of HIV/AIDS coalitions to ensure members and leadership are on the same page, and explore the concept of a community organizer to cultivate participation and leadership in PLWHAs.

This investigation included two studies that examined the perspectives of support recipients (Study 1) and support providers (Study 2) regarding the context of social support seeking due to a violent or non-violent conflict with a romantic partner. Study 1 participants (78 female, 78 male) and Study 2 participants (73 female, 89 male) identified predominantly as European-American (48.1% in Study 1 and 50% in Study 2) and African-American (36.5% in Study 1 and 38.9% in Study 2). Social support responses were measured with Ullman's (2010) Social Reactions Questionnaire (SRQ). Results revealed that many of the expected differences in social support reactions by gender, ethnicity, and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization status were not supported. However, this investigation found a gender difference in the emotional support response, where females provided (F (1, 290) = 13.11, p < .001, partial η2 = .04) and received (F (1, 133) = 15.68, p < .001, partial η2 = .11) higher emotional support more frequently than males. When social support was provided to IPV victims, support providers reacted with egocentric support responses more often (F (1, 122) = 9.53, p < .003, partial η2 = .07) than when providing support for individuals not experiencing IPV. A comparison of Study 1 and Study 2 revealed that support providers (Study 2 participants) provided emotional support (F (1, 290) = 7.79, p < .05, partial η2 = .03), treating differently (F (1, 290) = 9.51, p < .01, partial η2 = .03), distraction (F (1, 290) = 10.09, p < .01, partial η2 = .03), taking control (F (1, 290) = 21.56, p < .001, partial η2 = .07), and tangible aid (F (1, 290) = 9.92, p < .01, partial η2 = .03) more frequently than support recipients (Study 1 participants) received. Regarding helpfulness of support responses, one difference emerged whereby female friends who provided distraction responses were viewed as more helpful than male friends who distracted (F (1, 50) = 9.40, p < .01, partial η2 = .16). This investigation suggests that gender, IPV victimization status, and type of participant (support provider, support recipient) are variables that impact social support during a conflict with a romantic partner. Measurement issues regarding the SRQ limited the ability to determine the helpfulness/harmfulness of social support reactions. Future research is necessary to continue to investigate the types of social support that are considered helpful when disclosing conflict with a partner.

Background: Adolescent girls are insufficiently active to achieve health benefits. As a result they have been targeted as a priority group for increasing physical activity levels. However, physical activity interventions for this population have had limited effect. A better understanding of the correlates of physical activity in adolescent girls may better inform intervention design. Social support describes interactions, resources, and assistance from others to influence physical activity behaviour. Social support has been linked to physical activity in adolescent girls and could be a modifiable correlate of physical activity. This thesis aimed to identify: (1) if there is a positive association between social support and physical activity in adolescent girls, and if so, (2) explore the potential pathways through which social support influences behaviour. Method: Firstly, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to explore the role of different providers (e.g. parents/friends) and types of social support (e.g. emotional/instrumental) on adolescent girls’ physical activity, providing effect size estimations for different combinations of associations. Secondly, an analysis of an 8- week school based physical activity intervention for adolescent girls was conducted. This involved a mediation analysis to examine: (1) if self-efficacy mediated associations between social support and physical activity at baseline; and (2) if social support or self-efficacy mediated the effectiveness of the intervention. Finally, a qualitative study using constructivist grounded theory was conducted to investigate the mechanisms through which social support influences physical activity behaviour through conducting individual interviews with adolescent girls (n = 18). Results: The systematic review and meta-analysis identified small but significant positive associations between social support and physical activity in adolescent girls. Similar magnitudes were identified for parent and friend support effect sizes. The mediation analysis found that self-efficacy mediated the relationship between social support and physical activity, however, social support did not mediate the effectiveness of a physical activity intervention for adolescent girls. The results of the grounded theory study suggest that social support can influence adolescent girls’ physical activity through enjoyment, self-efficacy, overcoming barriers to physical activity, motivation, and performance improvements, as well as enabling physical activity. Conclusions: Whilst only small significant associations between social support and physical activity in adolescent girls were identified, social support may also indirectly influence physical activity through enjoyment, self-efficacy, overcoming barriers, motivation, performance improvements and enabling physical activity. There may be promise in targeting these constructs through social support behaviour change strategies in physical activity interventions for adolescent girls.

AN ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION OF LLENA CHAVIS, for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in COUNSELING EDUCATION, presented on May 12, 2014, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. MOTHERING AND ANXIETY: AN EVALUATION OF THE ANXIETY LEVELS OF FIRST-TIME MOTHERS IN RURAL KENTUCKY AND RURAL MICHIGAN MAJOR PROFESSORS: Dr. Kimemia and Dr. Champe Postpartum depression is thoroughly addressed in professional literature, whereas anxiety in first-time mothers is generally addressed as a component of, or with, depression. This dissertation investigated anxiety as a phenomenon distinct from depression evaluated several variables that influence anxiety in first-time mothers. The question, how are maternal sense of competence and perceived social support related to first-time mothers' anxiety in a rural setting, when depression, socioeconomic status (SES), and marital status are controlled for was explored. The population studied in this research is made up of women with children 24 months or younger living in rural Murray, Kentucky, and rural Allegan City in Michigan. The constructs of maternal sense of competence and perceived social support were both found to be significant in explaining first-time mothers' anxiety.

Research related to positive psychological reactions following exposure to traumatic events, also known as post-traumatic growth (PTG), has suggested that support from others can facilitate such outcomes. The current study focused on whether people's perceptions of PTG differed based on the gender of a hypothetical survivor and nature of the trauma. Characterological differences amongst those who perceive growth as being more, or less, likely was also of interest. Perceptions of growth were measured in relation to three possible traumatic scenarios (vignettes) that were randomly assigned to participants. Following the vignette, participants completed a variety of self-report measures. Contrary to previous PTG literature, there were no consistent characterological differences among participants who did, and who did not, perceive growth as a possible outcome following trauma exposure. PTG was not related to nature of the trauma or gender of the survivor. Implications for clinical practice and future directions for research are discussed.

The current study examined the relation between symptoms of PTSD and depression with bullying victimization. Bullying victimization is a highly prevalent phenomenon that nearly half of all students experience (Gan, Zhong, Das, Gan, Willis, & Tully, 2014). Rates of bullying follow a linear trend through elementary grades, and plateau or peak in middle school (Atria, Strohmeier, & Spiel, 2007; Hoover, Oliver, Hazler, 1992; Nansel et al., 2001). Bullying increases a student’s likelihood to experience a range of emotional and behavioral disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), suggesting that bullying is a distressing life event for children. Yet only a small number of studies have provided evidence for the relation between bullying and symptoms of PTSD. This study sought to add support to a growing body of literature evaluating associations between these two variables, while also exploring possible moderators. Results suggested a significant relations among symptoms of PTSD, depression, andbullying victimization. This study identified several other significantly related variables, such as social support and gender, but failed to identify significant moderating variables between symptoms of PTSD and bullying victimization. This study also provided evidence for the relation between witnessing bullying and negative emotional reactions. The results, clinical implications, and limitations of this study are discussed.

Abstract The objective of this thesis was to evaluate the effects of return migration on the mental well-being of Finnish children and adolescents in the short and long term. The thesis presents results on the prevalence of mental symptoms and how mental well-being is associated with social contacts and language use among returning migrants. The children and adolescents in this study had lived part of their lives in Sweden. Many Finnish young adults migrated to Sweden in search for work in the 1960s and 1970s, when job opportunities were better in Sweden than in Finland. In the 1980s the direction of migration flow changed, and many of the migrants moved back with their families. The sample consisted all the 320 Finnish remigrant children who remigrated from Sweden to northern Finland in the years 1984 and 1985 and who attended comprehensive school after their remigration. A control group was formed by assigning each remigrant child a non-migrant counterpart of the same sex, age and class level in Finland. Information was gathered in three phases: In the first phase in 1986, questionnaires were sent to the children and their parents and teachers. In the second phase in 1992, questionnaires were sent to the adolescents and their parents, but not to the teachers, because many had already finished school. Thirdly, information on the hospital admissions of these children was obtained in the years 1986-96 from the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register (FHDR), which is held by the state. The main outcome variables were obtained from Children"s Depression Inventory (CDI) and Children"s Behavioural Questionnaire for Parents (RA2) and Teachers (RB2). Remigrant children had more depression and behavioural disturbances than their native peers shortly after remigration. Six years later they still had more depression. During the 10-year period after remigration, 13 remigrants had had inpatient care because of a psychiatric diagnosis compared to only two controls with such a diagnosis. Age at remigration and sex had an influence on the manifestation of psychiatric symptoms after remigration. Especially preadolescent boys had more psychiatric symptoms shortly after migration. After remigration to Finland, the remigrants had equally many friends as their controls, but they still felt more lonely as long as six years after remigration. Simultaneous maintenance of both the native language and the second language together with the two cultures experienced in childhood enhanced the remigrant"s mental well-being. However, the principle of one person - one language was essentially important.

Magister Artium - MA / This study explored the social support provided by family of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. The aim was to present an account of social support that is solicited by and given to women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. There is a dearth amount of literature on support from families of women with breast cancer in South Africa. Thus, this study can potentially contribute to filling the gap of knowledge in this area in the country. Qualitative method was used and in-depth interviews were utilized to study the women's experience of family social support. The theoretical framework underpinning the study is the relational communicational perspective.

Social support is best understood from a gendered perspective. Women place more emphasis on their social relationships than men, relying on them to cope with stressful situations. Women’s social relationships become crucial during experiences of homelessness as they rely on their relationships to address basic needs. This paper explored how social support and social networks are experienced within homelessness and housing vulnerability. Two studies examined social support and social networks in homeless and vulnerably-housed women. Study One used a quantitative approach to examine group differences on social support and social network characteristics. Forty-nine homeless and forty-three vulnerably-housed women completed three measures to assess their social networks, social support networks, and global social support. Results showed similar social networks and global social support scores between groups. However, vulnerably-housed women reported fewer social support network members than homeless women, suggesting they have fewer supportive individuals in their lives. Study two used a qualitative approach to understand how homeless and vulnerably-housed women experience social support. Ten homeless and ten vulnerably-housed women discussed their social networks and social support through semi-structured interviews. Responses were used to develop a model of social support interactions and highlighted new aspects of the experience. Participants described how they used strategies to offer and elicit support with their networks, as well as how their contexts shaped their interactions. The positive and negative outcomes from these interactions also became part of the contexts that influenced future interactions. These findings offer new considerations for social support theory and suggestions for service provision.