Within the South Asian community, the cultural law and behavioural code of conduct followed in order to preserve the perceived family honour is known as Izzat. Much of the literature on Izzat has explored and documented the negative consequences of women challenging Izzat, particularly those who have experienced abuse. The existing literature, however, has rarely explored the act of challenging Izzat itself. This qualitative study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore the experiences of six South Asian women who have challenged Izzat. Taking a phenomenological stance, it focused particularly on (a) the participants’ experiences of challenging Izzat and (b) how they made sense of and gave meaning to their experiences. Six one-to-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with women aged between 25 and 30 who identified themselves as British South Asian (Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi). Three superordinate themes emerged from the data: ‘The Resistance’, ‘The Sense of Peril’ and ‘The Lasting Legacy’. The findings of this study have supported the existing literature and have provided a number of unique insights into the experiences of challenging Izzat. This study found the experience of challenging Izzat to be a complex process, whereby the participants’ encountered both distressing and positive experiences for their actions, and sought, as well as acquired, change and control within their hybrid British South Asian ‘life worlds’. It is hoped that the findings may aid practitioners in developing their understanding of the phenomenon of challenging Izzat and translate the insight gained into therapeutic practice. The implications of the research findings for clinical practice and recommendations for future research have also been discussed.

Research on pain in individuals with intellectual disabilities has largely focused on identification of pain and medical management of pain symptoms. Pain management programmes have not routinely been offered to such individuals. In view of the ample evidence that Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) can be used for chronic pain management including the management of dysmenorrhea in the general population, and the preliminary evidence for its effectiveness in people with intellectual disability (McManus & McGuire, 2014), there is a rationale for evaluating a CBT-based pain management programme for menstrual pain in women with intellectual disabilities. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a theory-based cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) programme for menstrual pain management in young women with intellectual disabilities. The programme was developed from the theory-based programme “Feeling Better” (McManus & McGuire, 2010). The study used a mixed methods design with the intervention delivered in group format, on a weekly basis, to those in the treatment condition. Those in the control condition received treatment as usual. Information was gathered throughout the process on a number of key pain variables including pain management knowledge, pain coping strategies, pain intensity and pain interference. Process evaluation was conducted with key stakeholders to examine which elements of the programme were most relevant in promoting change. Results suggest that participation in the menstrual pain management group had a positive impact in terms of increasing pain management knowledge over time, and increasing the use of wellness-focused coping strategies to manage pain in everyday situations. Findings suggest that a cognitive-behavioural therapy programme can be effectively used to support menstrual pain management amongst young women with intellectual disabilities.

Background: Endometriosis is a disease which, though it impacts one of ten women, has a lack of knowledge in the society and among healthcare professionals. The lack of knowledge causes delays in diagnosis and a lack of comprehension for the women. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe women's experiences of living with endometriosis. Method: The method used in this study was a method to contribute to evidence-based nursing with ground in analysis of qualitative research. Through the similarities and contradictions in the analyzed studies, themes and under-themes were created. Result: Findings showed that the women's experiences often were negative. Friends, family and healthcare professionals normalized the pain and the women often endured the pain in belief that it was normal. The lack of knowledge in endometriosis caused misdiagnosis and diagnostic delays. The endometriosis limited the women's daily living, work and social life by decreasing their activity because of symptoms as pain, nausea, fatigue, heavy bleeding and diarrhea. The disease also affected the women's relationships and the feeling of being a woman. Conclusion: The lack of knowledge in endometriosis caused an unnecessarily suffering among the women with the disease. If the awareness of endometriosis would increase in the society and among healthcare professionals the time for diagnosis and the encounters with patients suffering from endometriosis could improve.

Research conducted over the past twenty years has demonstrated the impact of parental ‘problem’ substance use on the lives of young adults (Velleman & Orford, 1999; Bancroft et al, 2004; Järvinen, 2013). Despite this increased awareness, public policies continue to exclude this group. This research sought to explore the ‘problem’ with parental substance use from the perspective of affected young adults (aged 16 – 30). Additionally, this research sought to contribute a contemporary, sociological interpretation of the problem to a field dominated by psychological literature. This research was undertaken from a feminist perspective, and involved a wide range of research methods: minimally structured interviews, participant observation, visual methods, and qualitative secondary data analysis. The accounts derived from these sources are complemented through the inclusion of autoethnographic, reflexive vignettes, where I situate myself – as someone with lived experience – in relation to the literature, the process of conducting research, and the data. The data chapters presented respond to three key research questions. The first considers how young adults use different approaches and engage with dominant theoretical approaches to engage in processes of ‘making sense’ of parental substance use. Following this, Ketokivi’s (2010) perspective of ‘disruptive events’ – as based on Bury’s (1982) influential theory of ‘biographical disruption’ – is utilised as a route to considering the disruptive force of parental substance use in the lives of affected young adults. Finally, the last data chapter employs Emerson’s (2015) ‘personal troubles’ framework, in conjunction with the concept of ‘candidacy’ (Dixon-Woods et al, 2006; Mackenzie et al, 2015) to consider how young people respond and react to the ‘problem’. In conclusion, this thesis argues for adopting a relational interpretation of the ‘problem’ of parental substance use. Furthermore, this research presents a strong case for considering the ways in which disciplinary and methodological boundaries are blurred. This research contributes to contemporary debates in wider bodies of work within the sociologies of substance use, youth, families, relationships, and intimacy. It concludes by making recommendations for the development of policy and practice, and highlighting potential avenues for further research.

This thesis represents an assessed requirement of the Applied Educational and Child Psychology Doctoral course at the University of Birmingham. Volume One explores the experiences of teenage fathers. Part one consists of a literature review, which considers teenage fathers as an identified category within the population that are not in education employment or training (NEET). The review explores; identified characteristics and factors associated with teenage fatherhood; identified psychological effects of fatherhood; service provision for teenage fathers; and the role of teenage fathers in research. The exploration of the views and experiences of fathers in United Kingdom was found to be a neglected area in the identified literature. Consequently, an empirical research study was designed to learn more about the views and experiences of teenage fathers in an area within the North West of England. Part two presents the research study entitled; ‘The experiences of being a teenage father: an interpretative phenomenological analysis.’ The study explores the experiences of five men who had become fathers in their teenage years. Resultant themes were identified and explored using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

A novel longitudinal study was conducted to investigate the roles of breastfeeding, positive maternal mealtime interactions and cortisol metabolism on weight gain and the development of eating behaviours during infancy, whilst controlling for covariates. Mothers and their new-born infants were recruited on maternity units and contacted five times over the first year. Mothers and infants were weighed and measured, feeding information recorded and urine samples collected for the analysis of cortisol metabolism. Mothers who breastfed for longer durations interacted more positively with their infants and had infants who were activating and clearing more cortisol at 12-months and gained weight more slowly throughout infancy. Mothers observed to interact more positively had infants who were metabolising more cortisol at 12-months, suggesting that maternal behaviour is involved in infant cortisol metabolism and may have a programming effect on their infant’s developing HPA axis. This thesis has provided the first set of normative data on the development of cortisol metabolism throughout infancy and has provided the first evidence that infant cortisol metabolism is an independent and significant predictor of eating behaviours and weight gain in the first year of life, even after accounting for breastfeeding duration and maternal interactions during feeding.

This thesis explores the topic of shame through my perspective as a pro-choice woman and future educator. It tells of the long relationship I have had with shame, which began when I had my first abortion. It also describes the history of shame inflicted on the women of Ireland, who continue to fight for their reproductive rights. I use these narratives to support my position that educators have a responsibility to create safe spaces for controversial topics and vulnerable populations on university campuses.

Thesis (M.A.)--Eastern Illinois University, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-44).

This thesis focuses on Chinese immigrant women’s experiences of household work and leisure in Canada. Socialist feminist perspective is used for an analysis of in-depth conversations with ten Chinese immigrant women with children. Results show that Chinese immigrant women experienced a significant increase of household work and a dramatic decrease on leisure pursuits after immigration and/or the birth of their children, implying that gender inequalities are reproduced and reinforced. Chinese immigrant women encounter and negotiate forms of tension resulted from the striking difference of being in China and being in Canada, their change in social status and their changed gender status. This thesis may contribute background knowledge for the practitioners in recreational programs and social works specialized in immigrant settlement services. Future research could be the motives for immigration, the actual experiences of immigration; a comparative study between Chinese immigrant women and women of other ethnicities is also suggested.

Susanna Centlivre, active in the post Restoration Theater, wrote nineteen plays from 1700 to 1723. A few of her plays were popular until 1900, but thereafter fell into limbo. By studying three of her plays, The Perjur’d Husband, The Busy Body, and The Wonder, A Woman Keeps a Secret, one can decide whether she can receive the classification of a protofeminist. This topic is important in helping to trace the evolution of women’s writing, and their movement toward the development in the novel. One must understand the issues involved for women writers as they struggled for recognition in the field of literature. Centlivre’s history prior to 1700 remains shadowy. Her early life is oft repeated with little or no substantiation of the facts. The study of situations and characters in her plays reveal attitudes of the interactions between men and women. The ideas about forced marriages and paternal attitudes toward children reveal themselves through both comedy and sorrow. Though Centlivre married three times no children came from those marriages; the plays she wrote reflected the manners of those times. Assigning the arbitrary label of protofeminist or feminist to Centlivre at this time might place her into a genre from which she could not escape. She should receive the same treatment as any male writer: a fair and balanced approach to her words based on equality between the sexes. / Thesis (M.A.)--Wichita State University, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dept. of English.