In this two-manuscript dissertation, framed through queer and minority stress theories, I focus on heteronormative pressures and their impact on sexual identity fluidity and health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth and young adults. Heteronormativity, or the expectation to meet heterosexual norms in relationships, may be stressful for lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth and be linked to poorer health. In particular, I focus on bisexual young people because bisexual people can enter into either same- or different-gender relationships; these young people could experience pressure from family members and religious communities to conform to heterosexual norms, resulting in sexual identity transitions that could explain health differences between sexual minority groups. In the first manuscript, I conducted life history narratives interviews with 14 racially and ethnically diverse youth and young adults between the ages of 18-24 on how LGB youth make sense of expectations to conform to heterosexual norms and how their experiences vary based on youths’ characteristics. In the second manuscript, I used structural equation modeling analysis of one of the largest community samples of LGB youth and young adults between the ages of 15-21 in the U.S. to examine youths' current and future relationship desires in a broader system of heteronormative expectations and how these expectations operate as mechanisms to influence the mental health of sexual minority youth. Qualitative results from the first manuscript show that for many youth and youth adults, gender and sexuality intersect to influence their experiences of heteronormativity: Gender and sexuality were conflated for gay men who stated that their gender nonconformity meant that family members already knew their sexuality before they came out as gay. Many bisexual women described their experiences being gender conforming in which they struggled to legitimize their sexuality to others because they were feminine. Though gay and lesbian identities were present in discussions of gender, an expression of gender that signaled and was named as bisexuality was fundamentally missing in the interviews. That is, participants did not describe a gender presentation that would indicate someone attracted to more than one gender. Participants consistently considered childbearing, but not marriage, to be highly desirable. Latino participants discussed heteronormativity through the racialized lens of machismo. However, religion was a greater source of pressure to conform to heterosexuality for Latino participants than were racial communities. My quantitative results from the second manuscript showed that gay men, lesbian women, and bisexual men are more likely to desire same-gender marriages later in life compared to bisexual women, who are more likely to desire different-gender marriages. Participants who desired different-gender marriage were more likely to identify as a different sexual identity over time. However, neither relationship desires nor sexual identity transitions related to depressive symptoms. The findings of this manuscript suggest that initial transition to a sexual minority identity may be the most vulnerable time for youth. After this initial transition, lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth may be inoculated to stress related to identity transitions, even in the context of heteronormativity. This research informs queer and minority stress theories: Gender, sexuality, and family norms intersect to structure how youth understand heteronormativity and predicts whether youth maintain their sexual identity, but such norms might not be stressors that influence health after youth first identify as LGB.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University

This project builds upon the author's multi-year critical ethnographic study of urban immigrant students and their trajectories into STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) from high school through their transition to college. At its core, this study investigates the paths of over three dozen newcomer immigrant English language learner students in high-poverty urban neighborhoods who are not generally considered “legitimate contenders” for Bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields on the basis of such characteristics as test scores, high school and prior preparation, and age. The students are followed through their high school experiences, their transition to college, and through their current progress in college, with explicit attention paid to key mediating experiences and relationships in and especially outside of the classroom that were associated with their toward persistence and success. Thick description and analysis of the students and their experiences, among those who persisted as well as the minority who switched out of STEM majors, helps to demonstrate a proof-of-concept of these students’ ability to succeed while painting a comprehensive picture of their march forward to degrees in STEM fields against a backdrop of economic, linguistic, and other barriers to entry and success. Using a framework of social and capital and resilience theories, this work has uncovered a number of themes and factors that will help educators to better understand the evolution of these traditionally marginalized students' STEM-related interests, skills, and career plans. The findings center around students’ exposure to research internships and other STEM enrichment and outreach experiences, long-term mentoring and other key relationships, and integration of STEM and college access efforts in setting them up for a successful transition to college, as well as an emphasis on the importance of students’ calling upon their own resilience and other strengths and prior experiences. The results provide novel insights and recommendations for improving access and persistence in STEM among students in areas of concentrated poverty who are also struggling with mastering a new language and a host of other challenges.

Orientador: Maria Sylvia Simões Bueno. / Banca: Raimunda Abu Gebran / Banca: Iraída Marques Barreiro / Resumo: O presente trabalho objetiva verificar contradições e ambigüidades na definição do protagonismo juvenil e o uso desse conceito forma de adaptação dos jovens à excludente ordem social capitalista atual. As diretrizes educacionais, como a Reforma do Ensino Médio, explicitam o culto ao Protagonismo como via promissora para dar conta tanto de uma urgência social quanto das angústias pessoais dos jovens, de forma a transferir a responsabilidade de superação de tais questões aos próprios jovens, por esforços individuais, potencialização da resiliência e realização de ações sociais solidárias. Nessa perspectiva, o conceito adquire um valor político-ideológico voltado para a despolitização da juventude em relação às causas macro sociais da pobreza. A conceituação de Protagonismo Juvenil é um grande desafio para a produção científica, visto as divergências e ambigüidades que o permeiam, tais como perspectivas diferenciadas de cidadania, participação, responsabilidade social, entre outras. A metodologia do trabalho consiste em pesquisa bibliográfica e pesquisa de campo, com uso de questionários e grupos de diálogos, compostos por alunos do ensino médio de uma escola do município de Umuarama-PR. Sua análise revelou que ambigüidades conceituais, sendo que os jovens em muitas falas associam o protagonismo juvenil à ações de caráter social e voluntário. No entanto, revela, também, a expressão de uma busca de autonomia e a necessidade de ser concebido como sujeito social. O resultado desta pesquisa sugere que o protagonismo juvenil seja desvelado pelos pesquisadores de forma crítica, principalmente no que se refere à sua ambiguidade conceitual. / Abstract: This work aims to very contradictions and ambiguities in the definition of Young leadership and use this concept means to adapt to the exclusion of Young social order today. The educational guidelines, and the Reformo f Secundary Education, explain the Cult of prominence as a promissing way to account for both na urgent social and the personal anguish of Young people in order to shift responsibilityfor overcoming this issues to Young people themselves, by individual efforts, enhancement of the resilience and anchievement of social solidary actions. This perspective the concepto f education is a political and ideological toward the politicization of youth in relation to macro social cause of peverity. The concepto f Prominence Youthis a great challenge that permeat such as different perspectives of citizenship, participation, social responsability, among others. The metodology of the work is in literature and Field research, using questionnaries and dialogue groups, composed of high school students at a school in the city of Umuarama - PR. Their analysis revealedthat conceptual ambiguities, and the Young people in many lines associated with youth involvement in social activities and volunteer. However, italso reveals the expression of a quest for autonomy and need to be designed as a social subject. The resulto f this research suggests that youth involvementis unveiled by researchers in a critical way, speccially with regard to its conceptual ambiguity. / Mestre

Background: Agriculture is the most hazardous occupational industry for young adults. Young adults are engaging in agricultural work and interacting with common hazards, however, it is unknown how young adults are engaging with such hazards and whether administrative controls including workplace organizational factors and social influences in the workplace are associated with safe working practice. Methods: Workplace practices were examined among young adult agricultural workers (18-24). Workers responded to statements regarding their participation in six agricultural work areas, specific behaviors within each work area, risk-taking behaviors of parents, peers, and supervisors, and items about workplace organizational characteristics. A second study, conducted among swine facility workers in the Midwest, tested the effectiveness of an intervention that coupled behavioral theory with technology to increase the use of hearing protection in swine facilities. Results: Results from the cross-sectional, online survey indicated supervisor influence was more strongly associated with reported workplace behaviors than co-worker/peer or parent influence. Furthermore, organizational factors including number of hours worked each week and the presence of safety and health policies was associated with workplace behaviors Results from the intervention study suggest behavioral tracking is effective at increasing the use of hearing protection among young adult swine facility workers in the short term, however, changes in behavior are not maintained over time. Supplying hearing protection is a more effective tool in facilitating sustainable behavioral change. Conclusions: Results suggest interventions that address social and organizational factors of work to improve workplace behaviors among young adult agricultural workers should be tested.

Youth involved in the criminal justice system exhibit elevated rates of sexual risk behavior (SRB), placing them at high risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and other deleterious outcomes. High levels of youth-maternal connectedness have been shown to act as a protective factor for SRB in nationally representative studies and in studies with primarily White youth samples. However, there are mixed findings in the research literature on the association of maternal connectedness and SRB among African American and Latino youth, a population who are disproportionately over-represented in the criminal justice system. Additionally, no studies to date have examined the role of maternal connectedness in SRB among justice-involved youth. This dissertation used archived data to determine if maternal connectedness can buffer against the negative effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on SRB among justice-involved youth. A secondary aim was to explore the prevalence of ACEs among youth in the sample, including several new ACE items that focus on adversity occurring outside the home. Participants (N=263) were sentenced or detained adolescent males at a large correctional facility in New York City, aged 16-18 and predominantly African American and Latino. Data were collected from the baseline interview of an intervention study conducted from 2009-2010. Youth participated in an individually administered, computer-based survey covering a range of topics, such as sexual health history, family relationships, substance use, and exposure to adverse events. Consistent with the literature, our sample of detained youth reported a high degree of SRB and a significant number of adverse experiences. Logistic regression analysis found that total ACE scores do not predict risky sexual behavior, even when controlling for maternal connectedness, substance use, age, and number of days incarcerated/detained. However, every participant endorsed exposure to at least 2 ACEs and 92% endorsed exposure to 4 or more, suggesting that the restriction in range may have obfuscated a relationship between total ACE scores and sexual risk-taking. The new ACE items, including poverty, racial discrimination, and neighborhood violence were prevalent. Additionally, several of the individual ACE items, including physical abuse, emotional abuse, and racial discrimination were independently associated with sexual risk outcomes. Maternal connectedness was negatively correlated with one type of risky sexual behavior—frequency of substance use during sex. Maternal connectedness and total ACE scores were, as predicted, negatively correlated. These findings suggest that our sample of incarcerated youth have experienced such a profound degree of adversity and trauma that perhaps ACE scores alone cannot adequately predict their engagement in risky sex. The fact that so many of the adolescents in the study endorsed the new ACE items also provides strong support for dissemination of the revised ACE inventory. This study highlights the need for greater research on risk and protective factors influencing adolescent SRB, as well as psychosocial correlates of ACEs among at-risk youth. Furthermore, given the syndemic nature of SRB and high prevalence of STIs, HIV, and ACEs in urban communities of color, future research should consider a more comprehensive and integrative approach to preventing both childhood adversity and unwanted sexual risk outcomes. Directions for future research and clinical implications are discussed.

This formative research examines the effects of health promotion on girls' and young women's health behaviours. Health promotion campaigns targeting women have previously had variable success. Some have been criticised for containing unhelpful values and messages, for example, those that were seen to cause harm to women outside the target population or use of stereotypical symbolism to support the message. Within this study these are called 'unintended consequences'. The Young Women and Health Promotion (YW&HP) study examines the potential for unintended consequences (both negative and positive) of health promotion in general. The focus is then narrowed to examine in more detail whether the use of specific methodologies (such as social marketing), contribute to unintended consequences when promoting physical activity, nutrition and non- smoking messages to girls' and young women. These health behaviours were specifically targeted as they are known to be the major modifiable risk factors for women in the prevention of many chronic illnesses. / This formative research involved the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data from 132 girls and young women across three age categories. These were Year 7 girls (Children - 11-12 years), Year 10 girls (Adolescents - 14-15 years) and young adults (18-25 years). Eighteen focus groups and 15 in-depth interviews were conducted to elicit responses to examine the effects of health promotion on girls' and young women's health behaviours, with particular focus on unintended effects. Current and past health promotion materials, plus a selection of commercial campaigns were utilized to prompt discussion within the groups. The discussion allowed the exploration of girls' and young women's motivators (enabling and reinforcing factors) for personal health behaviours, attitudes and responses to health promotion materials, and the longer-term impacts of health promotion campaigns. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed at the commencement of each focus group, which provided additional information and was later triangulated with the qualitative data. Limitations due to the cross-sectional nature and sampling process of the study mean the results cannot be generalized beyond the study population. However the findings demonstrated that young women are motivated by a complex set of factors. The most common factors influencing the study groups were body image, self-esteem, media and role models. / In addition young women of all age groups had a high awareness of the available messages in the areas studied. All groups discussed the increasing volume of health information available that is targeted at women. Participants noted much of the information originated from commercial sources. This in addition to public health initiatives resulted in increased 'health noise' to which they 'switched off. Furthermore the YW&HP study revealed the importance of written media for women. The young women in this study appreciated the need for mass media advertising, however, preferred to have take-home advice to process at their own time. Discussion of how women process information revealed these young women to be a critical and analytical audience that are often skeptical of health information. Prior to making a decision, therefore, most of the women underwent a process of internal and external validation which included cross referencing information with peers, friends, family and health professionals to establish its accuracy, credibility and validity. Hence the findings of this study would support the need for further exploration of media such as women's magazines to promote health to young women which may in turn prompt discussion with peers and therefore expedite the validation process. / Due to study limitations, results from this formative research need to be interpreted with caution. The results, however, would indicate the area of health promotion and how it communicates health information to young women would benefit from further investigation. The findings suggest many types of media currently being used to communicate health information to young women were useful and appropriate, specifically the use of social marketing media, which, was seen as a worthwhile and necessary strategy for this target group. Methods routinely used by commercial companies were also viewed as effective especially the use of women's magazines. As part of a comprehensive health promotion approach, this is a strategy, which may be an equally useful vehicle for public health messages. In conclusion, discussion with participants revealed a number of negative and positive unintended consequences. This would, therefore, support the need for further research in this area. Furthermore, the research has highlighted the importance of a comprehensive approach to the delivery of health information to young women. Best practice suggests this approach should adhere to ethical communication principles, which would enhance the intended outcomes of the communications whilst also assisting to maximize positive unintended consequences and minimize negative unintended consequences.

Master of Philosophy / The purpose of this study was to examine the adolescent novels that were awarded in Greece from 1985 till 2005 by four major organizations. The primary focus was to outline the main characteristics of the awarded adolescent novel that developed during the last 20 years in Greece and secondly, to examine the main characteristics of those awarded novels so as to understand the importance of this newly formed genre and the important role it can play in the development of the adolescent. In the first part of the study we outlined the development and the main characteristics of the adolescent novel while we focused on the different criteria that are used by the four major organizations that award and promote this literary genre in Greece. The second part of the study analyzes the various stages of the buildingsroman as it’s seen through the themes of the novels, while a major component of it deals with the way the Greek identity is portrayed and promoted as well as the model of the adolescent hero. The study suggested that adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood, during which the adolescent changes both biologically and psychologically and those changes are directly related to his/her future personality. The study also indicates that the adolescent novel describes that period that coincides with the final stages of the maturation of the teenager. Therefore, the adolescent readers identify themselves with the heroes, their emotions, and the various problems with references to the surrounding environment and the every day life. It was also suggested that the adolescent reader can discover a role model in the novel’s heroes and heroines which could lead to a self evaluation and an evaluation of the others around him, while at the same time he/she can enjoy the entertainment and aesthetic values of the novel.

This thesis is a reader-centred investigation of Australian young adult selfdefined 'keen readers' of novels for pleasure, and considerations regarding audiencels by writers and publishers. It is predicated on the understanding that adult power operates at every level of young adults' lives, including the publishing, promotion and availability of their literature. The complexity of defining 'young adult' and 'Young Adult literature' and therefore publishing and promoting for this nominal audience is recognised as being dependent on the varying adult constructs of the terms and, therefore, is at the basis of decisions made in this adult-oriented industry. Historical and commercial aspects of Australian publishing (nominally) for this group of readers provide a context for this grounded theory-based qualitative study. Analysis of transcripts from focus group discussions with self-defined young adult 'keen readers of novels for pleasure' demonstrates that these participants had a sophisticated understanding of their leisure reading experiences regarding what they liked reading, how they found out about books, what made them choose one book over another, and where they obtained them. The insights gained from these 34 participants informed the analysis of comments by Australian adult 'creators' - writers and publishing staff - regarding audience, commercial pressures, promotional aspects and other factors influencing what is published and made available to young adult keen readers for pleasure. That these 34 participants were active buyers and promoters as well as borrowers of books indicates the need for the industry to recognise their expertise and value as a distinct and influential audience niche - the 'neo-consumers' of the future. The research provides a starting point into analysis of the influence of the group of adults I have termed 'gatekeepers', whose (largely institutional) roles enable them to either connect young adult readers with books and creators, or to separate them.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Technology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-79).