Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, 2009. / Title from screen (viewed on February 2, 2010). School of Nursing, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Joan E. Haase, Marion E. Broome, Janet S. Carpenter, Richard M. Frankel. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 227-258).

The primary aim of this study was to enhance understanding of readiness to change excessive alcohol use in young adults, ages 18-29 in order optimize clinical care for military personnel. Secondary data analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with a proxy sample of community health center beneficiaries obtained from the 2009 Insight Project Research Group’s study on Screening Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in the Harris County Hospital District (HCHD). Based on research-supported predictors of readiness to change alcohol use a multivariate model of pathways to readiness to change was created which incorporated psychological (i.e., emotional distress), behavioral (i.e., drinking severity, consequences severity), and maturation (i.e., age, marital status) factors, as well as demographic characteristics (i.e, race/ethnicity, gender). Multiple fit indices were used to assess the model fit with the data, while multiple group analysis was used to test for invariance between pathways to readiness to change for the young (18-29) and middle adult (30-60) groups. The study sample was ethnically diverse and consisted of 1,256 young adults and 4,623 middle adults. The proposed model showed a good fit with the InSight data set. Results demonstrated a strong path connecting emotional distress to both drinking severity and consequences severity, and then from consequence severity to readiness to change. Together, this path lends support to the concept that young adults are using alcohol to modulate their emotions and further, consequences may play an important role in readiness to chance excessive drinking. Variance detected in the multi-group analysis between young and middle adults also provided support for theory claiming differentiation of these groups, particularly as it relates to excessive drinking and readiness to change. Implications for future research and practice include the importance of replicating this and future studies with military samples. These findings lend support to the role of emotional distress and the coping theory paradigm in treating young adults. The military may be best served by continuing to support resources which promote healthy stress tolerance while simultaneously fostering proactive screening procedures and evidence-based care. Further, these findings also suggest that pathways to readiness to change may vary between young and middle adults, particularly as they relate to alcohol related consequences. Future research should focus on the role of consequences and the influence they may have in promoting readiness to change for each age group within the clinical setting. / text

This dissertation offered a close reading of African diaspora young adult novels, written by African American, Afro-Caribbean and black African women. The four novels selected for this analysis - Coe Booth's (2010) Kendra, Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond's (2010) Powder Necklace, Lynn Joseph's (2010) Flowers in the Sky and Adwoa Badoe's (2010) Between Sisters - represented the life circumstances, concerns and issues facing black adolescent girls of this generation. Set in Ghana, the United States, the Dominican Republic and England, the novels collectively provided a compelling site to examine thematic parallels as well as points of departure in each author's representation of black female adolescent identity development. Given this focus, the study employed a methodology of critical content analysis, relying on theoretical arguments from black feminism, postcolonial studies, and a youth lens. The three theories were brought into dialogue with one another in order to examine how multiple social constructions, including age, interacted and overlapped in the lives of each of the protagonists. Findings revealed that age, and concomitantly race, class and gender significantly influenced the protagonists' sense of subjectivity and selfhood. Across the text set, the significance of age was brought into light through a dramatic shift in the protagonists' relationships with their mothers or mother figures. Specifically, it was the onset of sexual maturity that fueled a multiplying of oppressive experiences for each of the protagonists within her home. By attending to the ways in which the protagonists grappled with such experiences, the researcher uncovered new models for solidifying black female adolescent identity.

The present study examined individuation and expectations for autonomous behavior (EAB) with incoming college freshmen and their parents. To test the theory that greater mismatch between young adults and their parents about EAB would be associated with more negative adjustment to college, Collins' (1990) Expectancy-Violation Model was applied. Data were initially collected with online questionnaires from incoming college freshmen and one of their parents before the transition to college. Follow-up data (W2) were collected three months later to assess adjustment to college. Individuation was measured with the Late Adolescence Individuation Questionnaire; EAB and reports of actual autonomous behavior were assessed with a measure based on the Psychological Separation Inventory. College student adjustment was measured with indicators of psychological well-being (i.e., psychosomatic symptoms, depressive symptoms, positive affect) and adaptation to college (i.e., college self-efficacy, satisfaction with college, and anticipated fall college grades). Open-ended data were collected from young adults and their parents describing topics of autonomy behavior where they perceived disagreement. A MANOVA indicated that there were significant differences between the four individuation groups (a) individuated (high connectedness and high separateness), (b) pseudoautonomous (low connectedness and high separateness), (c) dependent (high connectedness and low separateness), and (d) ambiguous (low connectedness and low separateness) on the young adults' adjustment to college. Post-hoc planned comparisons revealed that college students in the "individuated" group were consistently better off than those in the "ambiguous" group. Some support was found for the hypothesis that a higher discrepancy (a) between parent and young adult EAB and (b) between young adults' reports of expected versus actual autonomous behaviors was associated with lower W2 young adult well-being. Quality of parent-young adult communication was found to moderate some of these associations. Qualitative data somewhat supported the quantitative results, as well as illustrated unique areas for disagreement on EAB. Jointly, these quantitative and qualitative findings suggest that young adults' level of individuation from parents and a mismatch between parents' and young adults' perceptions of future autonomous behavior may impact college students' psychological well-being during the transition to college.

This study examines the contextual factors influencing polytobacco use behavior, or the concurrent use of two or more forms of tobacco, among young adult South Asians. Fifteen in-depth and qualitative case studies of South Asian college students were conducted in order to illuminate and understand the intrapersonal, social, cultural, and environmental determinants of polytobacco use. Results from the study highlight the dynamic and diverse nature of tobacco use, as patterns of consumption were found to be profoundly influenced and differentially distributed across lines of gender, socioeconomic status, age, nationality, situational context, and ethnic identity. Participants used two to five forms of tobacco, with 60% using more than two. In addition to cigarettes, several alternative tobacco forms, predominantly hookah, spliffs, and dokha, emerged as popular modes of tobacco consumption among this population. South Asian college students use multiple products intermittently in community settings, where use is normalized as a component of a social activity. The current cigarette-centered model for tobacco control must be adjusted to account for the variety of tobacco forms now accessible to and utilized by young adult South Asians, whose choice of product and frequency of usage is guided by the contextual factors identified in the case studies. Tobacco intervention efforts and cessation programs must develop cultural sensitivity that is attuned and responsive to unique patterns of polytobacco use in order to effectively combat the current tobacco epidemic.

The war on poverty started in America in the early 1960s, and the poverty rate of 22.4 percent in the year 1959 decreased to 11.1 percent in 1973. Regrettably, this war did not last long enough, as poverty rate increased to 15.1 percent in 1993. In the year 2000 the US poverty rate declined, but always stayed above 11.1 percent. Kentucky also did not achieve success in this poverty war, and it resulted in growing numbers of poor people. Analysis of poverty has always aroused the interest of economists, sociologists and policy makers. Goal of this paper is to intricate appropriate strategies and invent effective prevention efforts to eradicate the young adult poverty. Estimation of Gini coefficients for various age groups indicates that the young adult population of Kentucky is at risk. The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors of young adult poverty, employing ZIP Code data in Kentucky. Data analysis reveals that rural young adults are more vulnerable than urban young adults in Kentucky. Some significant factors such as; male and female educational level, presence of minorities and type of employment are the primary determinants of poverty for this age group. Analysis of outcomes leaves suggestions for the policy makers to exterminate young adult poverty from Kentucky.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--University of South Florida, 2007. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 206 pages. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Texas State University--San Marcos, 2008. / Vita. Appendix: leaves 90-93. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-99). Also available on microfilm.

Thesis (MA (Hons))--Macquarie University, Division of Humanities, Department of English, 2006. / The original thesis contains the novel "Stranger, I" as an integral part of the thesis. However this novel has been omitted in this digital copy. Bibliography: p. 93-97.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2004. / Title from title page screen, viewed Oct. 15, 2004. Dissertation Committee: Jan Susina (chair), Christopher Breu, Sally E. Parry. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 176-181) and abstract. Also available in print.