Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Texas, May, 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

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This thesis is a case study of the relationship between gender and sexuality at the empirical sites of asexuality and sexual abstinence. Whilst this relationship has been theorised in a number of ways, there has been limited empirical research on how this relationship ‘works’ in practice, with extant studies focusing largely on transgender. I suggest that asexuality and abstinence represent an interesting site to explore this relationship since they represent, for want of a better term, a lack, absence, or negative sexuality (in that there is a lack of sexual attraction to others, or there is an abstention from sexual activity). The study is also warranted due to the insufficient sociological research on abstinence, as well as the limitations of the literature and research in the nascent interdisciplinary field of asexuality studies. Through conducting qualitative research (using interviews and notebooks) with 33 participants who identified as asexual or abstinent, I found that gender and sexuality were experienced as entangled in the lives of participants. With reference to the socio-structural context of hetero-patriarchy, I trace how ideas about sexual desire, sexual activity and sexual agency are (still) gendered, and how this impacts on both the construction of abstinence and asexuality as concepts, as well as in the experiences participants had as asexual people or as people who were practising abstinence. I also explore how sexuality was central to participants’ understandings of gender, and how this affected their gender identities, gendered appearances, and experiences of gendered embodiment. Ultimately, this thesis argues for the importance in theorising and researching gender and sexuality together, and in particular, for the importance of ‘gendering’ sexualities research.

This thesis comprises three inter-related studies that have in common a focus on the nature of the behaviours of non-handicapped (NH) six and seven year olds in interactions with peers with severe learning difficulties (SLD). Research into children’s cross-age dyadic interactions is discussed and NH-SLD interaction is examined as a particular type of cross-(developmental) age Interaction. This work provides the background to Study 1 in which each of ten NH children was paired with a child with SLD during fortnightly integration sessions over one school year. NH-SLD interaction increased over the first two terms and decreased slightly after this, a pattern which can be explained in terms of features which promote or diminish child-child interaction. Study 2 focussed on changes in young NH children’s attitudes towards children with SLD over a year of fortnightly NH-SLD Integration sessions. These attitudes are considered in relation to work examining the development of attitudes towards other social groups. In particular, Katz' (19S2) model of the development of racial attitudes is applied to attitudes towards children with SLD. Year-end interviews indicated that knowledge about SLD encompassed four different physical explanations of SLD: sensory-motor difficulties, sickness, young age or "bad brains". Although the NH children became more realistic about probable futures of children with SLD, the NH children remained, in general, confused about the nature of SLD. It is concluded that Katz' (19B2) model provides a useful base for examining the development of attitudes towards children with SLD. Concepts held about the listener will Influence the nature of speech addressed to that listener and verbal NH-SLD interaction was the focus of the third study reported here. This study is set in the context of research on how young children address younger children, including tutees. Study 3 involved nine NH-SLD pairs of children whose verbal interactions were monitored over a school year of structured integration sessions. Study 3 found that, as in Study 1, NH children dominated NH-SLD interaction. This was evident in NH children's frequent use of requests and closed questions as well as in features such as speaking for SLD children. These characteristics were more frequent in the NH children's talk to SLD partners than in the NH children's talk to younger mainstream children. The issue of NH children's sensitivity, linguistically, to SLD partners is explored. It is suggested that while the types of reformulation of utterances by NH children to SLD partners were appropriate for SLD listeners, NH children often failed to recognise the need to reformulate utterances. This leads back to questions about young NH children's understanding of the nature of SLD.

A dissertação objetiva registrar e analisar as experiências e singularidades vividas por seis mulheres capoeiristas, com foco analítico no potencial educativo da Capoeira Angola na vida das mesmas. Coloca-se no contexto do tempo presente, tendo como recorte temporal a iniciação dessas mulheres na Capoeira, entre 1986 e 2016, destacando suas passagens em práticas da arte na espacialidade da cidade de Porto Alegre. Trata da Capoeira Angola enquanto campo formativo e educacional, interseccionando aspectos dessa prática cultural com questões de gênero e de pertencimento étnico racial. A pesquisa está inserida no campo da História da Educação e traz uma abordagem qualitativa amparada pela metodologia da História Oral, através do uso da entrevista compreensiva. A escrita destaca como as seis mulheres pensam e vivem a presença feminina no espaço da Capoeira Angola, evidenciando a experiência de cada uma e a compreensão da diferença que se produz no tornar-se mulher praticando e ensinando a arte da Capoeira. Compreende a Capoeira Angola como espaço de múltiplas aprendizagens, tensões e resistências, destacando temas como: tornar-se mulher, reconhecer ancestralidades, ética, equidade nas relações étnico-raciais e de gênero, vínculos com a religiosidade e solidariedade. Utiliza autoras (es) como ARAÚJO (2016) LOURO (1997), PERROT (1998), CHAUI (2011) CERTEAU (2012), SCOTT (1992; 2015) ERRANTE (2000) OLIVEIRA (2012), LAROSSA (2002; 2016). Analisa-se as mudanças ocorridas na vida das capoeiristas, com base em suas experiências vividas na Capoeira, utilizando-se a metáfora - da “pequena” para a “grande roda” (ARAÚJO, 2015) – a roda da vida. / The dissertation aims to record and analyze the experiences and singularities experienced by six women capoeiristas, with an analytical focus on the educational potential of Capoeira Angola in their lives. It is placed in the context of the present time, taking as a temporal cut the initiation of these women in Capoeira, between 1986 and 2016, highlighting their passages in art practices in the city of Porto Alegre. It treats Capoeira Angola as a formative and educational field, intersecting aspects of this cultural practice with issues of gender and ethnicity. The research is inserted in the field of History of Education and brings a qualitative approach supported by Oral History methodology through the use of comprehensive interview. The writing emphasizes how the six women think and live the feminine presence in the space of Capoeira Angola, evidencing the experience of each one and the understanding of the difference that occurs in becoming a woman practicing and teaching the art of Capoeira. Understanding Capoeira Angola as a space of multiple learning, tensions and resistance, highlighting themes such as: becoming a woman, recognizing ancestry, ethics, equity in ethnic-racial relations and gender, ties to religiosity and solidarity. It uses authors such as ARAÚJO (2016) LOURO (1997), PERROT (1998), CHAUI (2011) CERTEAU (2012), SCOTT (1992; 2015) ERRANTE (2000) OLIVEIRA (2012), LAROSSA (2002; 2016) . We analyze the changes in the life of capoeiristas, based on their experiences in Capoeira, using the metaphor - from "small" to "big wheel" (ARAÚJO, 2015) - the wheel of life.

This thesis seeks to provide a deeper understanding of public attitudes to inheritance in contemporary Scottish society, with particular regard to perceptions of parental obligation in an era of increased family diversity. The cornerstone of the thesis is an empirical study conducted in 2014 against the backdrop of the Scottish Law Commission’s (SLC) 2009 succession law reform proposals that would seriously curtail children’s inheritance rights. The thesis begins by contextualising the empirical study. It explains the current law of succession as it relates to provision for adult partners and children and examines the SLC’s proposed reforms. It argues that the SLC’s proposals to further bolster the spouse’s position at the expense of the deceased’s children are not supported by public opinion. Through analysis of a range of other empirical studies it demonstrates that public opinion supports continued recognition of children in succession law, particularly in reconstituted families. The second part of the thesis explains how the empirical study was planned and executed before detailing the methodological approach used to analyse the data. Having established the methodological framework, the thesis then discusses the key research findings, focusing primarily on the parent-child relationship. Firstly, it explores the obligations parents are considered to owe their children, addressing how these obligations can be reconciled with conceptions of testamentary freedom. Secondly, it examines whether parental duty is viewed differently when the deceased’s surviving spouse is not his children’s other parent and, thirdly, it asks what duty, if any, the deceased owes his stepchildren. While the parent-child relationship is the main focus of this thesis, the SLC also proposed reforms to the inheritance entitlements of half-siblings and these proposals are examined in the context of broader discussion on reconstituted families. The thesis concludes by arguing that, while the SLC rightly identifies social change as a ground for law reform, its proposed reforms fail to adequately reflect social norms in the context of the parent-child relationship. This is because the proposed reforms do not correspond to the societal changes identified: whereas the SLC acknowledges the rise in the number of reconstituted families, the reforms do not adequately consider how these families can be better served by succession law. Instead, confronted with increased family diversity, the SLC opts for simplicity, privileging the spouse ahead of all others regardless of the effect this will have on children in reconstituted families.

Many children, especially those with developmental disabilities, may present with problem behaviour which requires some form of intervention (e.g., Egger & Angold, 2006; Magee & Roy, 2008). Behavioural interventions are one of the most widely used and most empirically supported interventions for alleviating children’s problem behaviour. Nevertheless, research has highlighted that treatment acceptability should also be considered an important criterion that may play a role in the success of behavioural interventions (e.g., Calvert & Johnston, 1990; Carter, 2007; Kazdin, 1980). Studies have identified numerous factors that may influence parental acceptability of behavioural interventions for their child’s problem behaviour. In particular, parental attributions have received increasing attention as one of these possible factors (e.g., Mah & Johnston, 2008). However, very little empirical research has explicitly examined the potential relationship between parental attributions and treatment acceptability, and the findings were often limited by methodological issues. The present study extends the existing literature by exploring the relationship between parental attributions and treatment acceptability of behavioural interventions for problem behaviour in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Mothers of children with ASD aged 3 to 9 years (N = 139) completed survey measures that assessed demographics, parental attributions, treatment acceptability of parent-focused and child-focused behavioural interventions, severity of their child’s disruptive behaviour, and severity of their child’s ASD symptoms. The results showed that parental attributions of parent-referent stability, but not the other attributional dimensions, negatively predicted treatment acceptability of a parent-focused behavioural intervention, even when severity of disruptive behaviour was statistically controlled. Conversely, no associations were found between any attributional dimension and treatment acceptability of a child-focused behavioural intervention. Preliminary analyses also revealed that mothers’ ratings of the severity of their child’s disruptive behaviour were significantly negatively correlated to the acceptability of both parent-focused and child-focused behavioural interventions. The results have potential implications for professionals to identify and challenge distorted attributions of parent-referent stability in order to promote parental acceptance of a parent-focused behavioural intervention for problem behaviour in children with ASD.

Despite a wealth of research in the U.K. on the stock of lone parents, in recent years there has been a lack of research on the dynamics of lone parenthood, particularly leaving lone parenthood. In an attempt to fill this gap, this thesis provides a detailed study of repartnering patterns of lone mothers in the U.K. This study uses the first 14 waves of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), a nationally representative survey conducted annually which interviews every adult member of a sample of around 5,000 households amounting to around 10,000 individual interviews. This data is particularly advantageous for this study due to its prospective longitudinal nature, allowing lone mothers to be captured at the point of entry into lone motherhood and their repartnering patterns to be analysed over subsequent waves. In addition the data enabled the construction of marital and cohabitation histories for lone mothers in order to control for any effect of prior union history on the probability of repartnering. Employing discrete time event history analysis techniques, the first part of this research examines repartnering among two distinct groups of lone mothers; those entering through the breakdown of a cohabiting or marital union and those entering through the birth of a child whilst single and never-married. Of particular interest is the effect of these different routes of entry into lone motherhood on the timing and determinants of repartnering and the types of new unions formed. The second part of the study seeks to identify if repartnering is associated with improved well-being for lone mothers. Using a series of pooled logistic regression models this thesis explores the association of repartnering with transitions in three domains: economic, demographic and health. Amongst those entering lone motherhood through the breakdown of a previous partnership the most important determinant of repartnering is found to be age at entry into lone motherhood. However, the economic situation of a lone mother, in particular whether or not she was receiving Income Support, has a much stronger influence on repartnering among single never married lone mothers than age. The duration of lone motherhood is found to be similar for both types of lone mother, -estimated at around five years, however controlling for a number of demographic and socio-economic factors suggests the probability of repartnering is lower for those entering through the breakdown of a cohabitation compared with those entering through the dissolution of a marriage. There appears to be a preference for cohabitation over marriage with nearly three quarters of those who repartnered moving into a cohabiting union. However, the higher chance of moving into a marriage for those who were previously married appears to result from a high proportion reconciling with a former partner. Examining the relationship between repartnering and other transitions occurring in three domains reveals that repartnering is likely to occur against a backdrop of other changes. Repartnering is strongly associated with an improvement in financial situation, residential mobility and an increase in the number of resident dependent children. Although no direct link is found between repartnering and improved mental health outcomes, the strong association between improved financial well-being and an improvement in mental health indicates repartnering may be indirectly related to better mental health. However, the finding of a direct association between poorer mental health and repartnering warrants further investigation

Children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) present with social and communication deficits, and patterns of restricted and repetitive behaviours (APA, 2000). These difficulties have significant impacts for families, including increased levels of stress and mental health problems when compared to parents raising children with other developmental or intellectual conditions (e.g. Singer, 2006). Research has sought to understand this impact and to identify the factors that place parents at risk for poor adjustment outcomes so that interventions can be effectively tailored to facilitate improved outcomes for families. This thesis reviews the adjustment literature and considers how it fits within a widely used model of adjustment, the Double ABCX model (McCubbin & Patterson, 1983). It then goes on to consider the importance of the parent-child relationship for adjustment via the construct of Expressed Emotion (EE), and explores how this literature adds to our understanding of the adjustment process in families of children with ASC. Next, the role of EE in the adjustment process of families of children with ASC is investigated. A mediation model is proposed that incorporates a measure of EE within the Double ABCX model. The validity of this model is tested in a sample of primary caregivers who have children with ASC. Whilst the results of the study indicate that EE does not have a mediating role in the adjustment of these families, the study has a number of limitations and suggestions for future research that are discussed in detail.

High parental expressed emotion (EE) is often associated with ADHD in childhood. However, the direction of causation in the relationship is not well understood: is it the behaviour of the child with ADHD (i.e., child effects) or shared characteristics of the parent or family more generally that are independent of a specific child (i.e., family effects) that predict parental EE? Furthermore, does parental EE predict child problems over time? In this thesis, child and family effects on maternal EE and child problems and the specific child and family characteristics that explain these effects were examined using cross-sectional and longitudinal multilevel models of sibling pair data in families of children with ADHD sampled from a longitudinal study. The results revealed a complex picture with both child and family effects implicated in predicting both maternal EE and child behaviour. Studies 1 and 2 (which cross-sectionally used Time 1 [T1; n = 72 families] and Time 2 [T2] data [n = 48 families] respectively) and the longitudinal analysis of Study 3 (n = 45 families) demonstrated that, except for warmth, child effects were stronger in predicting maternal EE. Child effects seemed to be driven by oppositional/conduct problems (OPP/CP) and emotional problems, rather than ADHD per se. Mothers’ depressive symptoms and overall family levels of child OPP/CP largely predicted family effects on maternal EE. Study 4 (n = 45 families), the second longitudinal analysis, found similar T1 child and family effects on T2 child problems. Increase in negative maternal EE from T1 to T2 significantly predicted T2 child OPP/CP. T1 family effects on T2 child problems were predominantly predicted by T1 maternal ADHD symptoms and average family (i.e., sibling pair) levels of EE. The results suggested a potential causal role of both child (especially OPP/CP) and family effects (especially average family levels of child OPP/CP) in predicting maternal EE. In addition, high EE may be a risk factor for child OPP/CP over time and maternal ADHD for both behavioural and emotional child problems. This may have important clinical implications for interventions with families of children with ADHD.