MA, Kent State University, 2017, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Romantic relationships are one of the most important interpersonal ties in adolescence. Understanding how the social environment contributes to the formation and quality of these relationships is important. The current meta-analysis focuses on links between friendship quality and romantic relationship outcomes for adolescents up to 18 years of age. Specifically, I examined: (a) the strength of the relationship between friendship quality and romantic relationship involvement and quality, and (b) differences in qualities of friendships and romantic relationships. In a series of meta-analyses (k = 28 studies, N's ranged from 946 to 4040), positive and negative friendship qualities were not related to romantic involvement. However, I did find robust evidence for continuity between positive and negative qualities in friendships and romantic relationships. The only difference between friendships and romantic relationships was that adolescents experienced more negative quality in their romantic relationships than in their friendships. These findings suggest that friendships have implications for adolescents' romantic relationships, although more research is needed on specific quality associations, and on the moderators and mediators of these relations.

Committee: Kathryn Kerns Dr. (Advisor); Manfred van Dulmen Dr. (Committee Member); Judith Gere Dr. (Committee Member); Angela Neal-Barnett Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Sociology/Applied Demography

Roughly 30 percent of those 63 and older who are married are in a remarriage (Lin, Brown, and Hammersmith 2017). Past research has established that first marriages and remarriages operate differently and have different health and relationship quality outcomes. These health and relationship quality outcomes can be affected by functional limitations such as Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL). However, the effects of ADLs/IADLs on relationship quality between remarried and continuously married aging individuals is unknown. Using two waves of data from the Health and Retirement Study's Psychosocial survey, I examined potential relationship quality differences between continuously married and remarried individuals with and without ADLs/IADLs. Contrary to my expectation that continuously married individuals with an ADL/IADL would have higher positive relationship quality and lower negative relationship quality than remarried individuals with an ADL/IADL, the bivariate results showed continuously married and remarrieds had similar positive and negative relationship quality. OLS regression results also did not support the proposed hypotheses. Instead, first marriages and remarriages for older adults with and without ADL/IADL onset do not differ in terms of positive and negative relationship quality. These findings highlight that marriage operates similarly for older adults regardless of ADL/IADL onset for those who are either continuously married or remarried.

Committee: Susan L. Brown Dr. (Advisor); I-Fen Lin Dr. (Committee Member); Jenjira J. Yahirun Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2016, Sociology

A long-standing body of research shows that the married enjoy better health and health behavior outcomes than the unmarried across many health dimensions, except for BMI. Despite this perplexing aberration, research has yet to establish how eating behavior, a major contributor to BMI, is associated with relationship status. Furthermore, recent research contesting the notion of relationship status as the most salient predictor of health suggests that relationship quality is an additionally formidable health predictor; yet how relationship quality matters for eating behavior has yet to be examined. Data from the NLSY79 reveals that compared to the single, the married engage in significantly less risky eating behavior and there is no significant difference between the cohabiting and single on eating behavior, but only when SES is not accounted for. Additionally, among the married and cohabiting, relationship happiness is a more salient predictor of risky eating behavior than relationship strain, and these effects are similar for the married and cohabiting. Furthermore, SES confounds relationship status findings, but not quality findings. Findings bolster evidence on the declining premium of relationship status and suggest that relationship quality is a formidable predictor of health.

Committee: Corinne Reczek (Advisor); Kristi Williams (Committee Member); Cynthia Colen (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Human Ecology: Human Development and Family Science

There has been a rise in the number of individuals in interracial romantic relationships, however, little is known about their health. Despite the theorized health benefits among the married, interracial couples experience poorer health outcomes compared to those that partner within their race. These outcomes are due, at least in part, to increased discrimination. This three-study dissertation will examine how stressors, particularly racism and discrimination, are tied to the psychological well-being and relationship dynamics of individuals in interracial couples. Each study is guided by the Couple-Level Minority Stress framework which posits that minoritized individuals in marginalized relationships are at increased risk of poorer health outcomes. In this dissertation, I will be using a nationally representative sample of same and different gender couples in the United States, the National Couples Health and Time Study. In Study 1, I will examine if relationship dynamics are a buffer in the association between membership in an interracial couple and poorer psychological well-being. In Study 2, I will explore if community-level racism is negatively associated with the psychological well-being and relationship dynamics of interracial couples. Finally, in Study 3, I will test if dissimilarity in discrimination is associated with poorer psychological well-being and relationship dynamics for both partners of an interracial couple.

Committee: Allen Mallory (Advisor); Claire Kamp Dush (Committee Member); Kelly Purtell (Committee Member); Keeley Pratt (Committee Member) Subjects: Families and Family Life

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Sociology

Considerable research has confirmed the importance of parent-child relationship quality for deterring adolescents' delinquent behavior; less research has examined the influence that change in delinquent behavior has on improving previously strained parent-child relationships. This thesis explored the effect that desisting from delinquent behavior, including school suspension/expulsion, arrest, juvenile incarceration, and self-reported delinquent behavior, has on perceived mother-child closeness, identity support, and coercive parenting using the longitudinal Toledo Adolescent Relationships Study (TARS) (n = 535). Baseline associations between delinquent and non-delinquent youths and (a) mother-child relationship closeness, (b) identity support, and (c) coercive parenting were examined. Next, change in mother-child relationship quality among adolescents with three years of desisting behavior was examined. Lastly, differences in the association between daughters' versus sons' persisting delinquent behavior and mother-child relationship quality was examined. Results indicate that desisting adolescents reported higher levels of parent-child identity support and lower levels of coercive parenting. Additionally, daughters, compared with sons, who continued to engage in delinquent behaviors had higher odds of experiencing coercive parenting. Substantively overall, desisting youth appear to be mending ties and strengthening parent-child relationship quality through their desisting behaviors.

Committee: Monica Longmore Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Peggy Giordano Ph.D. (Committee Member); Wendy Manning Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology; Sociology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2022, Clinical Psychology (Arts and Sciences)

Teaching is a stressful profession, and teacher stress has been shown to be associated with job dissatisfaction, attrition from the field, and negative outcomes for teachers and their students. A major contributor to teacher stress is disruptive student behavior. Given that students with or at-risk for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) demonstrate high rates of disruptive behaviors and are present in nearly every classroom, studying the connection between student ADHD symptoms and teacher stress may provide useful insights for better supporting teachers and their students. The aims of this study were to (1) assess the replicability of the finding that students with elevated ADHD symptoms are rated by their teachers as more stressful to teach than students without these behavioral problems and (2) explore the extent to which key factors (i.e., overall work-related stress, student-teacher relationship quality, training and use of positive behavioral intervention and supports) moderate the relationship between student ADHD symptoms and related teacher stress. Participants were 97 K-2nd grade teachers who completed online survey questions about themselves and two male students in their classroom. Results showed that teachers report students with elevated levels of ADHD symptoms and impairment to be more stressful to work with than students who do not exhibit these behaviors (d = 1.52). Additionally, overall work-related stress, closeness and conflict in the student-teacher relationship, and prioritization of positive behavioral intervention and supports in the classroom moderated the relationship between student ADHD symptom severity and related teacher stress. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Committee: Julie Owens (Advisor); Darcey Allan (Committee Member); Steve Evans (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Psychology

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (D.H.A.), Franklin University, 2021, Health Programs

Globally, 37.8 million people were living with human immunodeficiency virus and acquire immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in 2018, with 1.7 million new cases reported and 57% receiving antiretroviral therapies. Nearly 76,000,000 people have been diagnosed with HIV and an estimated 33,000,000 people have died of HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic. The focus of this research was to investigate the perspective of persons living with HIV in respect to their relationship with their provider, provider communication, accessibility, and their perceived quality of care before and during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic using a cross-sectional quantitative analysis. This cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted to ascertain whether a relationship exists between provider patient relationship, communication, accessibility and convenience, and perceived quality of care from the perspective of patients living with HIV before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic using a regression analysis. Fifty-eight individuals participated in the study and their responses were anonymous. The study was guided by a patient-centered care model as an approach to inform health care providers who are providing services in HIV care.

Committee: JoAnn Jordan (Committee Chair); Karen Lankisch (Committee Member); David Meckstroth (Committee Member) Subjects: Health Care; Health Care Management; Public Health; Public Health Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2021, Communication Studies (Communication)

This dissertation investigated the communication uncertainty associated with caregivers as they provide care for their loved ones with end stage renal disease (ESRD). Caregivers of ESRD patients experience communication uncertainty due to stressors which negatively impact their quality of life (QOL) and psychosocial outcomes. The aim of the study was to improve QOL of caregivers by addressing the stressors that cause uncertainty, provide online education intervention, and evaluate that online education intervention. Managing, reducing, and coping with uncertainty are essential elements for caregivers without which they cannot provide adequate care for their loved ones with ESRD. This research involved a multistage longitudinal study which was conducted via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and Cloud Research (formerly known as TurkPrime) online research platforms using a multiple baseline design (MBD) approach in the middle of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The participants self-administered a multicomponent intervention which comprised of four components namely nutrition, exercise, social support, and finances. Various instruments were used to measure QOL indicators for caregivers of ESRD patients within the frameworks of relational turbulence model (RTM) and uncertainty in illness theory (UIT). When evaluating whether caregiver uncertainty was at or above the levels of uncontrolled uncertainty (deviation from the pre-specified value), post intervention, a single-sample t-test was performed on each of the four intervention components. The results were found to be significant indicating that the caregivers experienced high levels of uncertainty in their relationship with their ESRD patients. The findings of this study confirmed that the QOL of caregivers is important as they continue to provide care for their loved ones with ESRD. The MBD revealed that this particular intervention/set of intervention components (nutrition, exercise, social support, and (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: BENJAMIN BATES (Committee Chair); LYNN HARTER (Committee Member); STEPHANIE TIKKANEN (Committee Member); JOSEPH BIANCO (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Health; Health Care; Health Care Management; Public Health; Public Health Education; Public Policy

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2021, Sociology

The majority of Americans have siblings, who provide one another with warmth, support, and friendship, and also serve as a source of conflict, throughout the life course. Past research shows that sibling relationship quality influences mental health and self-concept. Over the past several decades, as more parents break up and re-partner, a substantial proportion of America's youth grow up with half-siblings or step-siblings. Limited research has examined how sibling relationship quality with half-siblings or step-siblings differs from those with full-siblings, however. Using Waves II and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, drawing from the core sample (N = 8,402) and the residential sibling pairs sample (N = 1,753), this dissertation examines the following three questions : (1) Does residential sibling relationship quality in adolescence, measured as feelings of love, fights, and time spent together, vary across full-siblings, half-siblings, and step-siblings, controlling for variation by sibling type in family characteristics, such as mother-child relationship quality, father-child relationship quality, and family belonging? (2) Does sibling relationship quality in young adulthood, measured as visits, phone calls, help-seeking, fights, and emotional closeness, vary by sibling type, controlling for sibling relationship quality during adolescence? (3) Does the association between relationship quality with residential siblings in adolescence and mental health and self-concept in young adulthood differ across the three residential sibling types? The findings suggest that among residential siblings, with the same family characteristics, relationships with step-siblings are more distant than those with full-siblings or half-siblings, while relationships with half-siblings are similar to those with full-siblings, both in adolescence iii and young adulthood. Emotionally close relationships and fights with siblings in adolescence are as (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Kei Nomaguchi Dr. (Advisor); Amy Morgan Dr. (Other); Karen Guzzo Dr. (Committee Member); I-Fen Lin Dr. (Committee Member); Wendy Manning Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2021, Sociology

Research in criminology has often treated peers as primarily criminogenic in their influence on offending behaviors. While scholars have posited different explanations for the consistent association between peer delinquency and offending from a variety of epistemological traditions, little work has considered the importance of peer relationships within this process. Based on this gap in the literature, and a call for research to expand on the way peers are conceptualized and measured, the current study focuses on the independent and interdependent effects of peer relationship quality and peer delinquency in explaining offending behaviors. The Pathways to Desistance data are used to address this issue and encompass a longitudinal sample of about 1,300 adjudicated adolescents across 11 waves of data. Drawing from social learning and social control theories, I use a life-course framework to consider the importance of peer relationships following adjudication. Findings from a series of mixed-effects models demonstrate that peer relationship quality is significantly predictive of increased aggressive offending but is not a significantly associated with income-based offending or polysubstance use. Further, while peer relationship quality does mitigate the positive relationship between delinquent peers and income-based offending, there is no significant interaction effect for polysubstance use nor aggressive offending. Overall, findings in the current research highlight that changes in peer relationships following adjudication may function as a key turning point when it comes to self-reported offending behaviors, particularly when examined in tandem with peer delinquency.

Committee: Thomas Mowen (Advisor); John Boman IV (Committee Member); Danielle Kuhl (Committee Member) Subjects: Criminology; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Psychology/Clinical

Unwanted consensual sex, when a person willingly consents to sexual activity that is unwanted in some way, is a largely understudied sexual behavior despite its relatively common prevalence. Many researchers have conceptualized unwanted consensual sex to be a negative sexual experience and even to lie on the spectrum of sexual coercion and violence. Previous research has demonstrated associations between unwanted consensual sex and poorer relationship quality and sexual satisfaction, but no research has investigated its potential association with psychological functioning. Additionally, there has been a lack of research on the role of motivations for unwanted consensual sex, though initial evidence suggests that reasons for having unwanted consensual sex may be differentially related to certain outcomes. Using an approach-avoidance motivational framework, I tested moderation models exploring how frequency of unwanted consensual sex relates to mental health and relationship variables, with either approach or avoidance motivations as moderators. A sample of 704 sexually active adults of varied age, gender, sexual orientation, and relationship status were surveyed using Amazon Mechanical Turk. Forty-four percent of the total sample endorsed engaging in unwanted consensual sex in the past year. Frequency of unwanted consensual sex was positively associated with mental health symptoms and negatively associated with well-being (marginally significant) and relationship quality. Results indicate that approach motivations for unwanted consensual sex did not moderate the relation between frequency of unwanted consensual sex and relationship quality as hypothesized. There was modest support for avoidance motivations for unwanted consensual sex as a moderator of the relation between frequency of unwanted consensual sex and mental health symptoms as well as well-being. Taken together, the findings provide initial support for the use of a motivational framework to understand unwa (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Eric Dubow Ph.D. (Advisor); Jeanne Novak Ph.D. (Other); Anne Gordon Ph.D. (Committee Member); Joshua Grubbs Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Education (EdD), Wright State University, 2020, Leadership Studies

As higher education institutions continue to compete for a declining population of students (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2019), an increased focus on retaining existing students is required to maintain current levels of undergraduate enrollment (Elliott & Shin, 2002; Habley, Bloom, & Robbins, 2012; Judson & Taylor, 2014; Schertzer & Schertzer, 2004, Vianden & Barlow, 2014). Predominant student retention models (Astin, 1965; Bean, 1985; Tinto, 1987, 1993) emphasize the interaction between students and institutional representatives as a primary factor influencing the student experience and student decisions to continue enrollment in future academic terms. Although academic advisors are the institutional representative most likely to interact with a student throughout the student's academic life, it is challenging to quantitatively examine the influence of academic advising on student persistence. Guided by the conceptual models for College Impact Theory (CIT), Social Exchange Theory (SET), Relationship Marketing Theory (RMT), and the Theory of Planned Behavior Theory (TPB), the current study examined the influence of perceptions of the academic advising experience on student-institution relationship quality, student loyalty to the institution, and student enrollment intentions. Based on theory and prior research, an a priori hypothesized structural equation model (SEM) was constructed. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesized structural model. Data were collected via a self-administered online survey completed by undergraduate, degree seeking students, over the age of 18, who were enrolled at the main campus of a large, Midwestern, 4-year, public institution of higher education (N = 10,809; n = 685). SEM analysis using maximum likelihood (ML) estimation was performed to a) assess the overall fit of the hypothesized structural model to the sample data; b) determine the amount of variance in all endogenous variables that could be exp (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carol Logan Patitu Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Yoko Miura Ed.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Daniel Abrahamowicz Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jennifer Bloom Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Sociology

The family structure in which a child resides had changed over the past several decades. Residing with married, biological parents, while still the norm, had declined and America had experienced growth in children residing in other family structures. Cohabiting relationships were typically short lived and married stepfamilies had a higher incidence of divorce than those in first marriages. These families created a new area of focus beyond biological parent divorce for family demographers yet there were still questions which needed to be addressed. This study examined if dissolution pathways, defined as the type of parental dissolution or divorce experienced, were linked to the short-term and long-term well-being of adolescents. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, I observed changes to relationship quality and changes to grade point average and college aspirations among adolescents who experienced each dissolution pathway. I explored the long-term ramification of dissolution pathway for adolescents by examining college completion among young adults. Assessing if economic resources and changes to parenting resources following a divorce or dissolution had an impact on well-being was the focus for each outcome. I found mother-child relationship quality and academic well-being did not vary across the three dissolution pathways and economic and parenting resources were not closely tied to these outcomes. Results did show college completion varied by dissolution pathway. Adolescents who experienced a biological or stepparent divorce were twice as likely to complete a 4-year college degree compared to those who experienced the dissolution of their mother's cohabiting union. Changes to social support and mother's baseline socioeconomic status explained the differences in college completion for adolescents who experienced the divorce of biological parents and the dissolution of a cohabiting stepfamily, but economic resources and ch (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Susan Brown PhD (Advisor); Philip Stinson JD, PhD (Other); Karen Guzzo PhD (Committee Member); I-fen Lin PhD (Committee Member); Laura Sanchez PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

MA, Kent State University, 2020, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences

The ease of online video game functionality has made online video game play the norm in research studies, but offline video game settings are still exercised today among friends. Video game play has grown exponentially as a favorable leisure activity not just among adolescents, but adults as well. This study sought to assess how relationship quality among emerging adults varies with offline video game play with friends. At Kent State University, 222 undergraduate students across multiple disciplines were recruited to complete an online survey on perceived friendship quality and video game play. Of those, 123 reported video game play and their responses were used to analyze support and strain received from friends based on the MIDUS II Support and Strain Scales. In addition, game genre and frequency of play answers were recorded as potential moderators between support and strain received from friends and video game play. Linear regressions revealed no significant association between support and strain receive from friends and offline video game play. Four linear regressions were used to analyze game genre and frequency of play respectively between support and strain received from friends and video game play. Although results showed no significance within these moderator regressions, time with friends was associated with support received from friends.

Committee: Kelly Cichy (Advisor); Aryn Karpinski (Committee Member); Scott Tobias (Committee Member) Subjects: Families and Family Life; Health Education

PHD, Kent State University, 2019, College of Communication and Information

This dissertation examines the communication between China left-behind children and their migrant parents from the three-level perspective of relational maintenance (Dainton, 2003): the self, the system, and the network contexts. Specifically, this study looks at how the left-behind children imagine about the interactions with parents at distance from the perspective of self, what relational maintenance behaviors are used by the migrant parents and the left-behind children as the coping strategies from the perspective of system, and how family support from grandparents facilitates the long-distance parent-child relationship from the perspective of network. The purpose of this study is to not only extend the existing literature on imagined interactions, relational maintenance behaviors, and family support, but also help maintain the long-distance parent-child relationship, and in turn improve their relationship quality. Results suggested that left-behind children who engaged in more IIs which relieved tension and improved self-understanding in relation to parents, and perceived more joyful and task-sharing relational maintenance behaviors from migrant parents had better relationship with their parents, when age, communication frequency, and reunion frequency were controlled for.

Committee: Mei-Chen Lin (Committee Chair); Janet Meyer (Committee Member); Jennifer McCullough (Committee Member); Yin Zhang (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2019, Psychology-Adult Development and Aging

Older adults often report better well-being than young adults, despite physical and cognitive declines that accompany aging. This paradox may be explained by older adults' better emotion regulation abilities and social support. Together, Selection, Optimization, and Compensation with Emotion Regulation Theory and Interdependence Theory offer a potential mechanism for how older adults are able to maintain emotion regulation success and suggest older adults might be more likely to shift their emotion regulation strategies to rely on and help manage the emotions of a romantic partner by using interpersonal emotion regulation strategies. However, extant emotion regulation research has mainly focused on individual regulation strategies even though the majority of situations requiring regulation involve a close social partner. The main goal of the present study was to understand what personal and social characteristics influence the use of interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) in general and throughout an interaction. Data were collected using an online survey and an in-person, videotaped session. Emotion regulation preferences, frequency of emotion regulation use, relationship quality, and interpersonal skills were assessed. Researchers coded and participants self-identified their IER strategy use by viewing their videotaped interaction with their partner. Young adults, compared to middle-aged and older adults, preferred all emotion regulation strategies and those with better interpersonal skills and longer relationship durations, on average, used interpersonal strategies more frequently on a weekly basis. Participants expressed negative affect and withdrawal, and females expressed conflict as cues for intrinsic IER. Participants expressed positive affect, problem solving, support/validation, effective communication, and physical touch of the female partner as extrinsic IER. Couples interdependently helped each other regulate their emotions; specifically, older couples (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jennifer Stanley PhD (Advisor); Toni Bisconti PhD (Committee Member); Eric Allard PhD (Committee Member); Ingrid Weigold PhD (Committee Member); Shannon Zentall PhD (Committee Member); Christiane Hoppman PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Aging; Psychology

Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.), Xavier University, 2019, Psychology

Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is a common treatment for blood cancers and often requires patients and their families to make and maintain lifestyle changes. This study examined depression, caregiver burden, relationship satisfaction, and quality of life (QOL) in caregivers (N = 55) for HSCT patients. Two groups of caregivers participated, those whose partners recently underwent HSCT (i.e., 2-4 weeks post-transplant; n = 30) and caregivers in the new normal phase (i.e., 1-2 years post-transplant; n = 25). There were no significant differences between the groups on any of the psychosocial variables. However, both groups reported clinically significant depression and low QOL. Additionally, caregivers in both groups reported high relationship satisfaction. This study provided insight to the experience of HSCT caregivers at different points in the transplant process. As our healthcare system heavily utilizes outpatient care and familial caregivers, it is important to understand their experiences so providers can help them navigate the responsibilities and challenges associated with this role.

Committee: Renee Zucchero Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Christine Dacey Ph.D. (Committee Member); Lyn Sontag Psy.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Mental Health; Oncology; Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2019, Management

Healthcare systems worldwide are challenged with caring for patients with chronic conditions. As of 2014, at least 60% of Americans have at least one chronic condition, with diabetes being among the top five chronic conditions. Although medical management is utilized for glucose control, the majority of diabetes management involves self-care, imposing physical and psychological demands. As a result, there is an underappreciation of the patients' actual workload and burden by providers. Although patients emphasize the importance of interpersonal relationships as a critical component of quality care, there is often incongruence between the goals of providers and the patients. This study aims to identify factors related to interpersonal interactions that influence behavioral change and chronic disease outcomes by exploring the dynamics of the patient-provider relationship. This is a three-part exploratory mixed methods study. In Study 1, thirty Type 2 Diabetic (T2DM) participants were interviewed to explore the social interactions that facilitate behavioral change. Findings showed that positive interpersonal interactions, social relationships, and the ability to cope during disease setbacks or situational events influenced sustained behavioral change. These findings informed measures for Study 2. In Study 2, a quantitative study surveying 423 T2DM participants examined the attributes that influence chronic disease outcomes. Findings revealed coping ability to positively fully mediate the effect of compassion on self-management and treatment satisfaction. Further, coping ability fully mediated the effect of optimism on self-management and treatment satisfaction. Providers enhanced self-management adherence and treatment satisfaction by helping their patients cope with the burdens of diabetes by communicating with compassion and optimism. In Study 3, 422 T2DM participants were surveyed to explore how the patients' perceptions of relationship quality influence c (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Yunmei Wang Ph.D. (Committee Chair); David Aron M.D. (Committee Member); Richard Boland Ph.D (Committee Member); Philip Cola Ph.D (Committee Member) Subjects: Health Care; Health Care Management

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2018, Arts and Sciences: Psychology

In this study, I investigated whether sexual agreements (monogamous, non-monogamous, or no sexual agreement) were associated with relationship quality and stability in a sample of young men who have sex with men (YMSM). A sample of 312 YMSM in same-sex relationships reported on their sexual agreement and indices of relationship quality (satisfaction, trust, and commitment) at baseline, along with their relationship status (still together or broken up) at 6- and 12-month follow-up. One-way ANCOVAs controlling for age indicated no differences by sexual agreement in concurrent trust, but YMSM with monogamous agreements reported higher satisfaction and commitment than YMSM with non-monogamous agreements and those with no sexual agreement. An interval-censored survival analysis revealed no differences in the occurrence of break-up at 6- or 12-month follow-up by sexual agreement. However, post-hoc analyses indicated that this analysis was underpowered, and indirect effect analyses revealed that having a monogamous agreement (vs. a non-monogamous agreement or no agreement) was indirectly associated with higher relationship stability through relationship commitment. These findings demonstrate that YMSM with monogamous agreements may have higher relationship quality at early relationship stages, and that monogamous agreements may be a protective factor against break-up through the mechanism of relationship commitment.

Committee: Sarah Whitton Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Jennifer Brown Ph.D. (Committee Member); Kristen Jastrowski Mano Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2018, Management

Executive coaching is a $2.4 billion global industry as of 2016 and is considered one of the fastest-growing executive leadership development interventions. However, empirical research on executive coaching has significantly lagged behind practice. The overarching goal of this dissertation endeavors to understand how executive coaching and quality of the coaching relationship facilitate executive behavior change and performance. To realize this goal, I conduct a mixed-methods empirical study focused on 1) qualitative exploration of factors impacting outstanding versus average leader performance; 2) quantitative assessment of the correlation between relational climate dimensions and coaching relationship quality; and 3) qualitative discovery of competencies enabling quality coaching relationships to flourish. Given the lack of executive coaching theory, I situate this work within three distinct, yet interrelated streams of literature in the psychology, management, and adult learning fields. This dissertation seeks to contribute to the emergent conversation on executive coaching and offers multiple empirical contributions to academia including 1) positive influence of a coach on executive performance; 2) positive correlation of relational climate dimensions with coaching relationship quality; 3) mutual validation of competencies executive coaching dyads experience as relevant and meaningful in their interactions; 4) frequency of specific coach competencies as demonstrated or observed within the coaching dyad; and 5) integration of dance into the executive coaching field as a leadership development intervention. Moreover, the results of this dissertation offer practitioners the following considerations: 1) executive coaching differentiates executive performance; 2) the bespoke nature of executive coaching enables executives to deftly navigate complexity; 3) the quality of the coaching relationship is instrumental in facilitating executives' desired behavior change; 4) (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Richard Boyatzis PhD (Committee Chair); Dave Aron MD (Committee Member); Melvin Smith PhD (Committee Member); Ellen Van Oosten PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Management; Organizational Behavior; Personal Relationships