Psy. D., Antioch University, 2024, Antioch Seattle: Clinical Psychology

The present study utilized Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis in order to examine the lived experiences of young adult, cisgender women and the development of internalized sexism. Eight participants completed semi–structured interviews focused on their relationships with other women and subsequent views of womanhood. Themes found were (a) womanhood is taught by women throughout the lifespan, (b) women are sexually responsible for men, (c) women are emotional caregivers, (d) there are biological bases of womanhood, (e) women are expected to “do it all,” (f) expectations of women are fueled by media portrayal, (g) traditional femininity is seen as oppositional to the feminist movement, and (h) womanhood is a community. The results of the study found that young adult women hold similar beliefs and attitudes surrounding what it means to be a woman. Additionally, young adult women's perceptions of womanhood are similarly influenced by common external factors that stem from society's sexism and misogyny and lead to behaviors of internalized sexism. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (D.H.A.), Franklin University, 2024, Health Programs

Thousands of teenagers and young adults are confirmed victims, and many more are at risk of maltreatment and neglect. Foster care is a temporary solution by providing 24/7 care for these victims in kinship and non-kinship foster boarding homes. The study examined child welfare social workers in New York State in the child welfare field on their experiences that impact the delivery of quality healthcare and mental health services for teenagers and young adults in foster care. The qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences of child welfare caseworkers in New York's child welfare system regarding providing psychological and medical services to teenagers and young adults. By conducting interviews with professionals from various child welfare non-profit organizations, the research aimed to identify common themes and subthemes that impact the delivery of quality healthcare and mental health services to this vulnerable population. The researcher interviewed 15 child welfare caseworkers who coordinated providing needed psychological and medical services for teenagers (ages 13-19) and young adults (ages 20-21) in the state of New York's child welfare system. The Zoom media platform was utilized while all security protocols were followed by the researcher. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. The interview transcriptions were coded using ATLAS.ti to assist in identifying common themes and subthemes pertaining to the key issues affecting child welfare caseworkers and the delivery of psychological and physical medical services to teenagers and young adults.

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2024, Educational Administration

This research study sought to identify barriers that hinder a group of marginalized parents who live in (LIEM) low-income, economically marginalized communities overcome barriers that hinder them from being able to support their children's early literacy development. As well as how the intersectionality of societal factors contributes to the parents and families who cannot provide meaningful support to their young children's literacy development. These children, who attend an inner-city charter school in a Mid-West state with a 100% free and reduced lunch rate, are in urgent need of support from the school. Their parents, identified as members of a marginalized group, need immediate assistance to enhance their children's early literacy development by the time they enter the Fourth grade. It is crucial to provide support to the children and accurate information to their families regarding the low ranking their children receive of the STAR Early Literacy assessment data the students receive on these quarterly assessments administrated to these students. As a result of the individual interviews the researcher had with each of the six parent participants, another theme that emerged from these interviews was that the parents did not clearly understand what their children's STAR Early Literacy scores and classifications meant. The majority of the parents interviewed believed the teachers were doing a good job teaching their children to read. However, the majority of parents did not have a clear understanding of what their children's assessment score data meant. The fact that children of these parents all had STAR Early Literacy scores ranged from early to late literacy readers and probable readers by the time the children entered the Fourth grade. This information underscores the need for the teaching staff to give the parents of these children clear, direct information on their children's STAR data, as well as specific materials they can use to work with their childre (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Psychology

Parenting in the child's early years is a critical influence on children's development (Frosch et al., 2021). One key component of high-quality parenting in infancy is sensitive, warm, and engaged parent behavior. A parent's ability to exhibit high-quality parenting is influenced by many factors, including their developmental history and personality, their marital relations, and work experiences (Belsky, 1984). Temperament is a biologically based component of a child's characteristics that can influence parenting behavior (Belsky, 1984). When a parent has a child with greater negative emotionality or poorer regulatory capacity, it may be harder to maintain high-quality parenting (Crockenberg & Leerkes, 2003). This then can impact a child's development. However, some parents may be better able to maintain high parenting quality regardless of the child's temperament. Parental empathy is characterized as a parent's ability to recognize, take the perspective of, and appropriately react to children's emotions (Boorman et al. 2019). Mothers with greater dispositional empathy are more sensitive and responsive to their infants, although relatively little research has considered the role of dispositional empathy in fathers' parenting quality. Therefore, this study examined the associations of infant negative emotionality and regulatory capacity with the parenting quality of new mothers and fathers, and whether these associations were moderated by parent empathy. Participants were drawn from a longitudinal study of 182 dual-earner U.S. couples, primarily White and of moderate to high SES, who had their first child in 2008-2009. During pregnancy, expectant mothers and fathers each completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (Davis, 1980) to assess their empathic concern, perspective-taking, and personal distress. At 3 months postpartum, mothers and fathers each reported their infant's negative affectivity and regulatory capacity on the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-VSF (Put (open full item for complete abstract)

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2024, Leadership and Change

The study sought to ascertain whether introducing democracy has adversely impacted Indigenous cultural practices in Ghana or whether the path to democracy has enhanced, shaped, or strengthened aspects of the country's Indigenous culture. The study sheds some light on the realistic, symbolic, and pervasive threat(s) that transitional or Indigenous societies like Ghana undergoing the process of democratization face and must deal with. More specifically, the study provides some insights into how traditional societies, where Indigenous values and practices are held with some reverence and esteem, can be integrated into liberal democratic institutions to potentially ameliorate cultural tension and political discord that often accompanies the process of democratic and electoral transitions. The study also provides a rich context to explain and dispel some of the pernicious stereotypes and perceptions about countries that strive to build a suitable system of governance by combining aspects of their Indigenous culture and liberal democratic tenets. The primary scholarly contribution of the study is a greater understanding of how Indigenous cultural norms, as informal institutions, shape the trajectory and consolidation of democratization in sub-Saharan Africa. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

MA, Kent State University, 2024, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences

The purpose of this research was to explore how young men describe their own personal experiences of self-disclosure within romantic partnerships. Frequencies of topics of self-disclosure were evaluated using a Likert scale. Personal reflections of experience with self-disclosing with past/current romantic partners was assessed through open-ended questions. The participants in this study were 41 emerging adult men (ages 18-30) who had been in at least one romantic relationship since high school. Participants completed an 81-item online survey about topics of self-disclosure and their experience with self-disclosure. Results revealed that most men who took the survey reported they talk in detail about a wide range of topics with their romantic partner and they experience mainly positive outcomes as a result of disclosing to their romantic partner.

EDD, Kent State University, 2024, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

This qualitative case study is situated in the area of educational leadership. It aims to explore possible strategies for increasing community-integrated employment for graduates of a Job Training Coordination Program at OakVeil High School. It is important to consider the lived experiences, hopes, fears, and barriers experienced from a caregiver's perspective so that a Job Training Coordinator can better assist families during the transition from school to a career. There is a gap in employment between people with disabilities and their non-disabled peers. Caregivers' perspectives on participation in community-integrated employment for their children of transition age with disabilities were examined through the investigation of three sub research questions. Open-ended interviews and record reviews were gathered and analyzed through coding. Data analysis resulted in the following themes: Employer and Person-Centered Values for CIE, JTC as CIE Support, Alternate Settings from CIE, and Family Support Services. Key findings were interpreted to consider safety, transportation, self-determination, caregiver support, and caregiver involvement. This study demonstrates how policies, safety at the workplace, and transportation are common barriers to community-integrated employment from the caregiver's perspective. Suggestions are offered to help Job Training Coordinators, special education teachers, job coaches, employers, and caregivers improve the rate of Community-integrated employment. This study also suggests that barriers, support services, personal preference, civil rights, and familial needs are interwoven and recognition of this is necessary for successful employment in the community for people with disabilities.

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

Previous studies on parent to child anxiety have not examined the role of the mother and father's differentiation levels on the child's anxiety. While there have been mixed findings, some studies have found an association between parent and child anxiety. Using anxiety and differentiation data from the Flourishing Families Project (FFP) Waves I and III, this study examined differentiation's role to the association of anxiety from parent to child. The FFP data was gathered in a longitudinal study comprised of 500 total families, with this article looking at the 337 two-parent families. ANOVA and group comparison tests amongst 4 classes, all with varying levels of parental differentiation. Class 1 (both parents had high differentiation) and 3 (father low, mother high) had the lowest child anxiety. The repeated measures test was done to find whether anxiety levels varied by the differentiation profile and to determine whether the associations between child anxiety and parent anxiety varied among the profiles. Lower levels of differentiation were associated with higher levels of anxiety in both parents. Child anxiety was highest in the class 4, where both parents had low differentiation. Engaging parents in treatment for their differentiation levels could be beneficial for treating the anxiety of their children.

Specialist in Education (Ed.S.), University of Dayton, 2024, School Psychology

Existing literature has underscored concerns regarding perspective-taking deficits in individuals with ASD, with limited success in achieving long-term effects and skill generalization through evidence-based interventions. This study investigated the extent to which preliminary self-awareness and perspective-taking skills can be taught to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and the generalizability of these skills. The research design was a single-subject approach, specifically a multiple-baseline across behaviors design. The dependent variable, self-awareness, was quantified through the measurement of verbal behaviors, including specific, reciprocal, and correct verbal responses to instructional questions. The independent variable was the teaching intervention, which involved stimulus prompting, prompt fading, and positive reinforcement. This study sought to contribute to the research on teaching preliminary self-awareness and perspective-taking skills to individuals with ASD and aims to bridge existing gaps in knowledge and improve intervention strategies for this population, ultimately enhancing the quality of life for individuals with ASD and their families. The implications for this study are also discussed.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2024, Sociology/Population Studies

This study investigates how the association between family affective ties during adolescence and the transition to adulthood differs for immigrant versus non-immigrant adult children. Children of immigrants build their lives with two frames of reference: the contexts of emigration and settlement. However, immigrant family members filter the influence of the country of origin's social norms on immigrant youth. Closeness with parents may thus carry a different meaning for the children of immigrants by decelerating their integration or encouraging their entry into mainstream social institutions, including college completion and cohabitation. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), I examine young adults' likelihood of completing college and entering a union through direct marriage or cohabitation by estimating discrete-time event history models. Findings for college completion suggest that the children of immigrants experienced decreasing chances of completing college as family affective ties increased. For the children of native-born parents, the opposite was found; stronger parent-child relationships boosted the probability of acquiring a college degree. Parental conflict increased the likelihood of college completion for children of immigrants only. Regarding first union type, the risk of entering cohabitation as a first union was lessened with stronger affective ties, to a larger extent for the children of immigrants compared to the children of native-born parents. Findings underscore the importance of foreign-born parents as agents of socialization in their children's journey into adulthood and integration into the host country.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2024, Antioch New England: Marriage and Family Therapy

Navigating parental biases within White affluent homes assumes family dynamics as yet unexplored within family therapy praxis. This dissertation examines parental biases directed toward domestic laborers employed in affluent White homes and how these biases might affect the parent-child relationship and the emerging values of children in these homes. Research from other fields demonstrates that domestic laborers experience social bias within the workplace; what this highlights is the likelihood that children in these settings are navigating unspoken subtleties of racism and classism in the context of developing socio-emotional maturity and family relationships. The first article within this dissertation critically reviews relevant literature to illuminate for the reader the lives of children in the care of domestic laborers in affluent White families. Themes from this review discussed in detail include social hierarchy and the symbolic boundaries of race and class, narrative cloaks to racial and class biases, parental attitudes about race and class and the effects of these on the socialization of their children, and the significance of the relationship between the child and the domestic laborer in the home. The literary review portion of this dissertation succeeds in emphasizing the value of continued research on this underexplored context of racial and class tension and the nuanced interactions that affect family relationships and the socialization of affluent White children. The second article within this paper incorporates evidence from two rounds of data collection–an open-ended questionnaire and a Likert scale questionnaire–surveying a panel of White adults (n = 9) who grew up in affluent White households employing domestic laborers. Items endorsed by participants within the study reveal that parents' views on race and class affect the parent-child relationship and the children's emerging values about race and class. The findings indicate that perceptions of (open full item for complete abstract)

MA, Kent State University, 2024, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History

My thesis discusses the history of gender and sexuality politics in postcolonial Zimbabwe. It utilizes the convening of Christianity and politics to explore how these areas of public life combined to influence different perceptions towards gender and sexuality identities. The background appraises the impact of African Traditional Religion (ATR) during the colonial period and the changes ushered in by Western Christianity. During this time of colonial conquest, ATR was the cornerstone of all the sectors of life including politics. This included the worshiping of God through nature and ancestral spirits. Reincarnation was a very prominent practice of the colonial Zimbabwe ATR, also known as the Mwari cult. The concept of reincarnation was considered an effective way of communicating with the dead through the Masvikiro (spirit mediums) who transmitted information, requests for rains, or prayers for healing and harvest to Mwari or Unkulunkulu (God). Masvikiro gained popularity as the quest for nationalism continuously shaped every aspect of colonial Zimbabwe especially in the anti-colonial protest of 1896-97 Chimurenga (war of independence). Although there was transition in religion since the precolonial, colonial, and postcolonial period where ATR's prominence began to diminish due to the absorption of western doctrines, all the three historic phases elaborate how religion was shaped by the prevailing situations until it became a chief cornerstone of every aspect of the postcolonial economy. As a result of colonialism, a significant number of people converted to Christianity. My thesis, therefore, serves to confirm the existence of a continued influence of religion in politics. It reexamines the various ways in which a combination of religion and politics affected the perceptions of gender and sexuality identities. This pinpoints dimensions in which gender identities were understood and perceived in independent Zimbabwe and most significantly how these changed through (open full item for complete abstract)

PHD, Kent State University, 2024, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History

This dissertation explores African market women's activities by analyzing and emphasizing the significance of their personal networks and connections, emotions, and spatial mobilities in sustaining their businesses and the informal economy in general. I argue that the social, economic, and political systems created by market women rest on their immediate ties to the household, their relationships, and wider networks of kin, friends, or other social connections as well as their performance and experience with emotions. I evaluate how these intricate connections impact women's success or failures in the market. I argue that competition and contestations over urban market spaces that are intensified by the Zimbabwean economic crisis led to different discourses by Zimbabwean citizens to claim spaces. Market women, for example, have used their life histories to make claims to the market and perceive ownership differently than other groups within the city. By primarily using life histories to recollect and explore women's experiences within the city and rural areas, I emphasize women's agency and perceptions of Zimbabwe's history. Starting in the 1960s when women nostalgically recollect their participation in markets, to the present, I follow women's markers of history and explore why they remember the past in that way. I expand debates on women's entrepreneurship and urban informality to emphasize why market women in Zimbabwe help us comprehend how women have reshaped urban spaces, economies, and political systems. In sum, I argue that in the different phases of Zimbabwe's economic volatility, market women have meritoriously supported the informal economy while bringing happiness to the residents.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2024, Antioch New England: Marriage and Family Therapy

Parentification, or parent-child role reversal, occurs when children and adolescents take on parental responsibilities within the family (Boszormenyi-Nagy & Spark, 1973). This can include caring for younger siblings, attending to their parents' emotional needs, and assisting with tasks such as translation. Parentification disrupts family dynamics as parents transfer significant responsibilities to the child (Martino & Coburn, 2022). Extensive research consistently demonstrates the negative impact of parentification on children, leading to depression, suicidal feelings, shame, guilt, worry, and social isolation (Jurkovic, 1997). It can also contribute to the development of conduct disorders. Unfortunately, these difficulties often go unnoticed. However, when it comes to language brokering, which can be viewed as a similar experience to parentification as indicated by research, it can yield some positive results, such as developing new skills, improving self-esteem, and contributing to family survival (Kam et al., 2017; Martino & Coburn, 2022). Limited research exists on factors that alleviate the impact of parentification in Latine and Hispanic households, and despite its potential harm, parentification is often rationalized by families for various reasons. Familismo, a cultural value emphasizing loyalty and community within the family (Ayon et al., 2010) may play a significant role in the experiences of Latine parentified individuals. Familismo promotes unity, support, and loyalty within the family, resulting in enhanced self-esteem, a strong sense of belonging, and deep respect for the cultural community and family members (Fuligni et al., 1999; Ayon et al., 2010, Montero & Ceballo, 2021; Walker et al., 2022). This quantitative study demonstrates that familismo acts as a moderator in the relationship between parentification and depression. Specifically, this study reveals that higher levels of familismo weaken the link between parentification and depression. This d (open full item for complete abstract)

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.

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2024, Human Ecology

Studies exploring the effects and experiences of a season and/or career-ending injury on college athletes are limited. Such studies suggest that the experience of a season and/or career-ending injury has an influence the college athlete's mental health and identity. Yet, to date, no studies have explicitly explored how a season and/or career- ending injury affects college athletes' social relationships or how those social relationships affect injury recovery. This study explored the effects and experiences of season and/or career-ending injuries on college athletes, with particular attention to the effects of injury on social relationships and the effects of social relationships on injury recovery. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Division I college athletes (N = 3) in the Big Ten conference using transcendental phenomenology. Three themes emerged from the data that captured the essence of college athletes' experiences of their season/career-ending injury: (1) Grief and Mental Health Reactions to the Injury, (2) the Reciprocal Relationship between Social Support and Injury, and (3) Coping and Making Meaning During Post-Injury Recovery. Given the reciprocal relationship between injury and social support, future research is needed to explore the effect of a season/career- ending injury on athlete's social relationships as well as how the injury affected their relationships.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, Psychology

Engaging and high-quality parenting is critical to children's positive development (Bornstein et al., 2013). The quality of coparenting relationships—how well parents work together to manage parenting responsibilities and meet parenting challenges—may shape each partner's quality and quantity of parenting. However, fathers' parenting behavior may be more susceptible to the impact of coparenting relationships than that of mothers (Cummings et al., 2010). Thus, this dissertation aimed to rigorously test the father susceptibility hypothesis by 1) examining whether coparenting relationships have a more substantial impact on fathering than mothering in diverse samples, 2) exploring moderators of parents' vulnerability to coparenting, 3) testing the directional associations between coparenting and parenting and distinguishing within-person and between-person associations. In Chapter 1, I introduced the family systems theory as a theoretical framework to understand the associations between coparenting and parenting and the potential differences between mothers and fathers in family systems. In Chapter 2, I used data from 4,606 families in the Building Strong Families project to investigate whether fathers' involvement in play with 36-month-old children is more susceptible than mothers' involvement to coparenting relationships at 15 months in low-income families and examine child gender and fathers' residential status as moderators of susceptibility. The results showed that, overall, fathers' involvement was more strongly affected by coparenting relationship quality than mothers' involvement. Elevated susceptibility to coparenting did not apply to all fathers. The involvement of fathers of girls (vs. fathers of boys) and non-resident fathers (vs. resident fathers) was more strongly affected by fathers' perceptions of coparenting. In Chapter 3, I used data from 182 dual-earner first-time parent families that were collected at the third trimester of pregnancy, three months (open full item for complete abstract)

Master of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, 2024, English

You Have to Save Something is a collection of nonfiction essays about growing up in Appalachia as the eldest daughter in a blue-collar, working-class family. The writer narrates profound moments with her family, especially with her brothers and their friends in a small community where they gained insight into their economic place, their losses, their abilities, their father's tremendous work ethic, and their mother's depression along with her particularly harsh methods of punishment. Memory and story are often connected to and shared through treasured objects that were and remain connected to the fabric of the family's life and to the writer herself. At the heart of these essays is a fondness for the place and the people that endures throughout the writer's life and into the present day.

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 0, Sociology

While many adults find parenthood to be rewarding, parenting young children can be stressful. Prior research has explored how parenting stress varies depending on the demands of raising children, yet less is known as to how various resources rooted in structural inequalities shape parental role strain and how it differs for mothers and fathers. Using data from Waves 2-4 of the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, I examine the effect of between-person differences and within-person change in one's own and their partner's socioeconomic, health, and social resources on parental role strain among married or cohabiting couples living in large cities in the United States when their children are aged 1 to 5 years old (N = 943), with specific focus on gender differences in these associations. Multivariate analyses use a pooled time series technique that allows for both random-effects and fixed-effects regression models. Findings suggest some gender differences in types of resources that shape parenting stress, indicating changing but persistently unequal parenting responsibilities for mother and fathers. Regarding socioeconomic resources, both being non-employed and becoming non-employed are positively related to mothers' and fathers' parenting stress alike. Higher levels of family income and increases in family income are negatively related to maternal parenting stress only, while one's own work-family flexibility is negatively associated with paternal parenting stress only. Homeownership is related to neither maternal nor paternal parenting stress. In terms of health resources, notably, for fathers, their partners' self-rated health and health insurance coverage, levels or change, are negatively related to paternal stress, while their own self-rated health, depression, or insurance coverage does not matter. For mothers, most of health-related factors are unrelated to parenting stress, except for serious depression. Regarding social resources, one's perception of (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2024, History

This dissertation uncovers how, why, and where the modern pet dog originated. The average dog's transition from a working animal to a nonworking companion in the nineteenth-century United Kingdom constituted the dog's most radical alteration of purpose since their initial domestication prior to the establishment of agricultural civilization. This dissertation contends that the modern family dog originated during the long-nineteenth century (1780-1920) primarily in Victorian Britain—the initial nation altered by the interlocking forces of industrialization and urbanization. These processes provided the necessary cultural and material preconditions to reconceptualize this traditional working animal as a nonworking companion. These phenomena also provided the necessary infrastructure to manufacture commodities—from biscuits to soap—that became necessary to maintain dogs. Family dogs altered domestic and urban environments, individual and collective habits, local and global economic markets, and traditional human and canine behaviors. British pet culture surged beyond national boundaries to become the global norm governing appropriate human-dog interaction. Fundamental English practices—such as leash laws—remain normal today alongside British breeds that garner worldwide favor. Despite their integral presence in modern Western culture, however, there remains no holistic—nor interdisciplinary—narrative explaining how the typical dog transformed from a working animal to a nonworking companion. In this sense, this project rectifies this pronounced historiographical absence and knowledge gap for the broader dog-owning public. Answering this question necessitates adopting an interdisciplinary perspective entangling humans and nonhumans since Britons were not solely responsible for creating pet dogs. Rather, dogs actively shaped this process. Understanding dogs in their own right—their cognitive, sensory, and physical capabilities—hinges on including insights from animal s (open full item for complete abstract)