VTechWorks Repository :: Browsing by Author "Arditti, Joyce A."

Browsing by Author "Arditti, Joyce A."

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Adolescent contraceptive use: an ecological perspective
Conklin, Melinda M. (Virginia Tech, 1994-03-15)
The purpose of this study was to discriminate between adolescent contraceptive users and nonusers on the basis of five variables; sexual self-concept, family life education, father communication, mother communication, and years of fathers' education. Included in the sample were 116 college freshmen men and women. The results revealed four out of the five variables were able to predict group membership. Adolescent contraceptive users had scores indicating higher sexual self-concepts and more open communication with their fathers, while noncontraceptive users had more months of family life education and had more open communication with their mothers.
African American couples at midlife: life course and gender perspectives
Carolan, Marsha T. (Virginia Tech, 1995-06-15)
This study was designed to investigate the experiences of midlife and relationships of 20 African American individuals, aged 35-52, in 10 couples, married or cohabiting for 3-30 years. Basic to this study was the assumption that men and women are capable of and competent at intimate relationships. Guided by the theoretical perspectives of life course and gender, this research examined how men and women construct intimate relationships within the temporal circumstances of midlife and the interlocking cultural and social context of their lives. The following research questions guided this study: (a) What aspects of couples' lives contribute to the maintenance of intimacy in romantic relationships? (b) How do gender constraints, from within and without the relationship, act as barriers to such intimacy? (c) How does membership in a particular ethnic group affect such intimacy? (d) How do life course circumstances, such as work and family responsibilities, contribute to or restrict the process of intimacy? (e) How do life course transitions unique to midlife, such as the sandwiching of caregiving and the physical and sexual changes of midlife, act as constraints or contributors to intimacy? Qualitative in-depth interviewing was the method of data collection; participants were interviewed individually and conjointly. Individuals identified themselves as middle aged members of the African American ethnic group who were participating in a committed married or cohabiting heterosexual relationship for at least three years. The results of this study showed that African American couples were deeply devoted to their families and to their spiritual beliefs. The foundation of their intimate relationships was based on spiritual commitments as well as the capacity to be both friend and lover. Midlife emerged as a time of both change and stability, as a time of confidence for women, and as a time of maturity for men. Midlife was a busy time for couples, with competing demands of work and family. Strategies for successful management and coping were in abundant evidence.
After the Breakup: Adult Perceptions and Expectations of Post-Divorce Intimate Relationships
Schneller, Debora P. (Virginia Tech, 2001-12-17)
The purpose of this study was to examine the complex process adults traverse in their passage through divorce and in their establishment of post-divorce intimate relationships. The goal of this work was to describe how adults interpret their divorce experience, particularly in terms of how it connects with their ideas about intimacy and post-divorce intimate relationships. Four theoretical frameworks guided this study. Social constructionism provided a framework for understanding that reaction to a divorce may be impacted by language, in terms of the explanations an individual makes, by social interchange with others, and by the cultural meanings of marriage and divorce that have influenced a person’s thinking and perceptions. Attribution theory contributed a systematic approach to understanding how people may construe their divorce in ways that may damage trust, promote a sense of mastery and optimism regarding future relationships, or encourage creative change. Attachment theory provided a conceptual basis for examining the interplay between stability and change in adult conceptualizations of intimate relationships, processes that underlie how adults cope with changing interpersonal situations. Finally, theories of loss and renewal offered a conceptual basis for understanding how reactions to loss evolve over time, and enter post-divorce relationships. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 21 divorced men and women. Analysis of data was guided by the research questions and structured by a phenomenological approach to the analysis of themes and variations of themes found in the interviews. Peer review and triangulation of data were used to ensure trustworthiness in the findings. This study contributes new understandings about the connection between divorce experiences and post-divorce intimacy. Three conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, data analysis revealed divorce served consistently as a catalyst for interpretation and personal growth. An important component of this interpretive endeavor was the social context within which divorce occurred. Because divorce still carries some stigma in our society, divorce provided a challenge to create positive meanings from this experience. Second, the idiosyncratic understandings developed through the interpretive process shaped adults’ post-divorce perceptions and experiences in intimate relationships. From the attributions made regarding causes of divorce, these adults claim to have made deliberate changes in communication patterns, interactions, attitudes, and expectations from self and partner in intimate relationships. Third, during this process, some fundamental shifts in mental representations occurred. Changes were linked to gender, with women viewing themselves as more assertive in relationships, and men viewing themselves as more egalitarian and responsible for relationship maintenance.
Against the Odds: A Structural Equation Analysis of Family Resilience Processes during Paternal Incarceration
Morgan, Amy A.; Arditti, Joyce A.; Dennison, Susan; Frederiksen, Signe (MDPI, 2021-11-04)
On any given day, approximately 2.1 million children in Europe have an incarcerated parent. Although research indicates that material hardship is associated with parental incarceration, and particularly paternal incarceration, little is known about family processes that may mitigate the harmful effects of such hardship on children with an incarcerated parent. Guided by a resilience framework, this study examined how family processes mediate the effects of material hardship on youth academic adjustment within the context of paternal incarceration. Using Danish data that assessed key family constructs, structural equation modeling was used to perform a mediational within-group analysis of primary caregivers (n = 727) to children with an incarcerated father. Results indicate that although social support and parenting skills did not yield mediating effects, caregiver mental health strongly mediated the effects of material hardship on youth academic adjustment during paternal incarceration. Findings suggest that economic conditions, as well as caregiver mental health symptoms, are important areas of intervention that may promote family-level resilience for youth of an imprisoned father. We conclude with research and practice recommendations to advance our understanding of resilience among families with an incarcerated parent.
Ambiguous Freedom: A Grounded Theoretical Analysis of Life Outside Prison
Kennington, Mathis Alan Vila (Virginia Tech, 2013-11-18)
Prisonization refers to the idea that prisoners assimilate to prison society, import criminogenic characteristics, and are deprived by prison culture. Post-carceral prisonization is the process by which excarcerated prisoners (EXP) are socialized by features of prisonization that persist after release, and which manifest under probation and parole. Post-carceral prisonization occurs as a result of stigma and discrimination and a lack of access to crucial resources like employment, housing, and prosocial ties. EXPs make a decision to change their lives during or immediately following release from prison or jail, usually accompanied by a spiritual or religious change. EXPs seek to reform identities constructed both by years of incarceration and by their experiences with "prison satellites" which are prisonization agents that emerge after release. Hindered by a loss of social, economic, and material assets, the threat of sudden and unexplainable incarceration, and lifelong criminal stigma, EXPs endeavor to positively reform their identities and their lives.
An Analysis of Masculine Socialization and Male Sexual Anxiety
Philaretou, Andreas Georgiou (Virginia Tech, 2001-11-16)
This study uses autobiographical reflection to investigate the negative impact of essentialist masculine gender socialization on men's lives. In particular, I use personal recollective accounts both from my early childhood socialization-in the traditional Greek-Cypriot culture of the 1970s and 80s-and from my own introspections and analytical conceptualizations concerning intimate relationships in general. I analyze these accounts by using a feminist postmodern ideology of gender deconstruction and reconstruction. Men oftentimes fall victims of patriarchal masculine scripting by suppressing their needs for intimacy, connectedness, and self-disclosure, qualities traditionally devalued as feminine traits. Suppressing such needs exacerbates inadequacies in male intimacy with possible manifestations in the form of generalized non-clinical male sexual anxiety. Implications are also discussed in terms of the by-products of male sexual anxiety, such as non-clinical sexual addiction and male victimization.
Community Connections Factors Related to Army Wives' Adaptation
Keller, Christine (Virginia Tech, 2003-05-06)
When military members deploy or temporarily relocate, spouses are left behind to maintain not only their normal day-to-day activities, but also assume the responsibilities of the absent spouse. In cases such as these potentially stressful events, it is important to have adequate support networks within the community to assist individuals in sustaining a sense of personal well-being. The data source of the study is the 2001 Survey of Army Families IV. The survey focuses on randomly selected wives of active duty Army members (n=6451). The research model for this study includes wives' adaptation as the criterion variable, with community connections as independent variables and a set of contextual influence measures also considered as independent variables. Regression analysis for the entire sample indicated that wives with greater adaptation utilized more formal network resources. Among wives of officers, the most important predictors were volunteering and having a close confidant, whereas among wives of enlisted military members most important factors were participating with the Family Readiness Group and employment status.
The Effects of Family Structure and Family Process on the Psychological Well-Being of Children: From the Children's Point of View
Falci, Christina D. (Virginia Tech, 1997-05-08)
The impact of family structure on children’s outcomes is a highly debated topic in literature on the family. This research made an attempt to engage in this debate by testing the family process perspective. Theorists who favor this perspective believe that the effects of family structure on children can be mediated by the family processes occurring within families, such as the quality of parent-child relationships. The psychological wellbeing of children from six family structures were compared. After controlling for family processes and background variables the majority of the effects of family structure on children’s psychological well-being disappeared. Only children from stepfamilies had significantly lower levels of psychological well-being than children from intact homes. Stepfamilies, however, are a very complex family form and this research could not account for the possible unique processes occurring within stepfamilies. Finally, children from divorced homes did not have significantly lower levels of psychological well-being even before family processes and background variables were controlled. Overall, this research shows support for the family process perspective.
The effects of parental involvement on the academic achievement of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Longley, Kaye Fishel (Virginia Tech, 1993-07-05)
The purpose of this research was to identify parental involvement variables which are effective in improving the Reading and Math achievement of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). A conceptual model examining achievement as influenced by background variables and parental involvement variables was hypothesized. Background variables of socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender, child age, and ability were proposed to affect parental involvement variables which were represented by expectations, communication, structure, participation, homework procedures and time, TV time, medication, special education, and the outcome variable, achievement. Parental involvement variables were proposed to have direct affects on achievement. Data from a sample of 208 families with a child diagnosed as having ADHD and attending elementary school (grades Kindergarten through sixth) were subjected to path analytic analyses using multiple regression procedures. Findings were generally inconsistent with much of the previous research on parental involvement within the nonADHD population. Results did suggest some parental involvement variables which had differential, important effects on achievement depending on which criterion was used (Reading or Math grades). It was suggested that these findings were indicative of the behavioral and management problems seen in children with Attention Deficit Disorders, but that there do appear to be certain strategies parents can use to help their ADHD children achieve at a higher level in school.
The Essential Elements of Multi-family Group Therapy: A Delphi Study
Edwards, Scott Alan (Virginia Tech, 2001-04-09)
The purpose of this Delphi study was to explore and identify a panel of experts' opinions of essential elements for successful multi-family group therapy (MFGT) and to propose the identified elements as guidelines for future MFGT theoretical and program development. Multi-family group therapy continues to be implemented while there is little empirical research to support how it is effective and with what populations and presenting problems it is best employed. A panel of MFGT experts identified 35 essential elements for successful MFGT. Many of the identified elements coincided with elements identified in the relevant literature. However, elements specific to MFGT were distinguished. The essential elements are presented as guidelines for MFGT theoretical and program development. The implications of this study for theory, research, and practice are discussed.
Factors associated with coparental relationships: fathers' perspectives
Kelly, Michaelena C. (Virginia Tech, 1992-08-05)
Recent research on the effects of divorce indicates that the relationship between ex-spouses is a critical factor in the postdivorce adjustment of mothers, fathers, and children. In this study, guided by General Systems Theory and Ecological Theory, data from 225 divorced fathers was used to explore a set of selected variables which were predicted to affect the quality of their coparental relationships with former spouses. A standard multiple regression analysis revealed that a substantial amount of the variance in coparental relationships was explained by five of the eleven variables under investigation. Fathers who reported a positive coparental relationship with their ex-wives were 1) more satisfied with their custody arrangements, 2) more likely to blame themselves for the breakup of their marriage, 3) discussed fewer topics with their exwives, 4) had higher educational levels, and 5) had greater feelings of closeness to their children predivorce. Implications of the findings for future research and policy are discussed.
How Couples Raising Children on the Autism Spectrum Negotiate Intimacy: A Grounded Theory Study
Johnson, Jacob (Virginia Tech, 2014-06-12)
This study has explored how couples raising children on the autism spectrum negotiate intimacy in their marriages/committed partnerships as well as what contextual factors influence these process and how they change over time. Twelve couples currently raising children on the autism spectrum were interviewed conjointly regarding their experiences of intimacy negotiation. A methodological approached based on constructivist grounded theory was used to analyze the data collected from these couples. The results of this study indicate that intimacy negotiation for couples raising children on the autism spectrum is an interactive process in which both partners must work together to make several key cognitive and relational shifts. Couples were either aided or hindered in making these shifts by the degree to which contextual and environmental factors were experienced as resources or roadblocks. The result of the degree to which couples raising children with ASDs navigate the necessary cognitive and relational shifts, also taking into account the influence of any contextual factors on these processes, was found to be a couple's experience of intimacy. However, this study also found that intimacy was not a fixed point at which a couple one day arrived, but was instead an iterative process taking place over time and requiring work to develop and maintain.
The Implication of Childhood Adultification on the Mental Health of Young Adults Among Chinese and Taiwanese Immigrant Families
Chen, Jou-Chen (Virginia Tech, 2015-05-07)
The present study examined the impact of adultification on the mental health of Chinese immigrant young adults. Given the emphasis of Chinese cultural norms on interdependence and filial piety, I also explored whether family obligation attitudes influence how Chinese immigrant young adults perceive adultification experiences. Findings indicated that family obligation attitudes have a moderating effect on adultifcation when adultification plays a mediating role between acculturative stress and psychological distress, and on the well-being of Chinese immigrant young adults. The findings suggested that Chinese immigrant offspring who hold very traditional familial attitudes and are highly committed to family obligations tend to reinforce the effect of acculturative stress on adultification, although acculturative stress did not significantly predict adultification experiences. In addition, the findings also indicated that when adultification experiences were at the highest level, they served to strengthen the effect of acculturative stress on mental health outcomes. According to the study findings, taking the cultural value of the emphasis on Chinese family obligation into consideration when interpreting adultification experiences and its impact on the mental health outcomes among Chinese immigrant young adults is crucial.
The Influence of Religious Beliefs and Practices on Marital Commitment, Parent-Child Closeness, and Family Involvement
Jorgensen, Bryce LeRoy (Virginia Tech, 2010-05-10)
Strong families are built on positive relationships among husbands, wives, and children, and can be positively or negatively impacted by a variety of factors. This study focuses on the influence of religiosity on family strengths, particularly as it affects marital commitment, relationships between parents and children, and family involvement. Using Flourishing Families Project (FFP) data (N=305 couples) and a theoretical framework derived from Dollahite and Marks, Mahoney and colleagues, and Stinnett and DeFrain, I examined the ways in which a parent's religious beliefs and religious practices support or hinder family relationships. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) was used to examine the intrapersonal and interspousal relationships among religious beliefs, religious practices, marital commitment, parent-child closeness, and family involvement. Results suggest that religious beliefs and practices are equivocal and are associated with higher and lower marital commitment, parent-child closeness, and family involvement for both husbands and wives. Significantly, this research demonstrated that husbands and wives differed through both intrapersonal and interspousal pathways. These results provide important insight into the ways religiosity is associated with family strengths and provides additional handles for researchers and practitioners interested in strengthening families.
Intensive Mothering Attitudes and Children's Executive Function: The Role of Parenting Stress
McGregor, Casey Marie (Virginia Tech, 2022-03-03)
Intensive mothering (IM) is increasingly being recognized as a dominant parenting discourse. IM, conceptualized as hyper-parenting ideals that place pressure on mothers to cultivate children's cognitive development, has also been demonstrated to have consequences for mothers' mental wellbeing. On the other hand, IM attitudes also appear to contribute to parenting strategies that can be considered beneficial for young children's developmental growth. Considering these complexities, the present research was grounded in a theoretical framework guided by ecological and risk and resilience theories to test a holistic model which positioned IM as having indirect associations with children's executive functioning (EF) through two pathways: positive parenting strategies and parenting stress. Contrary to the theoretical purposes of IM-informed parenting, IM did not contribute to better cognitive outcomes in 3–5-year-old children through positive parenting. Instead, IM indirectly contributed to higher reports of dysfunctions in children's EF through the mechanism of parenting stress. Further, a conditional process model advanced previous understandings of IM by illuminating the processes through which cumulative risk strengthened the associations between these core constructs. Based on the results presented in this research, IM ideology is argued to be a context of risk for families with an accumulation of contextual risk factors.
Latin American Women's Perceptions of Divorce: An Exploratory Study of the Situation and Image of Divorced Women in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic
López, Nancy P. (Virginia Tech, 2004-02-10)
The identity of Latin America is composed of elements inherited from Europe, Asia and Africa. This identity has been defined with a series of images, roles, behaviors and rules created to maintain a particular unification among the citizens of these societies. Cultural ideologies involving marriage, separation and divorce have been subjected to historical changes. Divorce in Latin America typically has had a negative connotation and communities have considered divorced women as outcasts. The purpose of this study is to examine Puerto Rican and Dominican women's perception of divorce with particular emphasis on divorced women's image and experience in these countries. There are similarities and differences between the two countries based on geographical, cultural, historical, economic and legal issues. Due to the cultural presence of the United States in Puerto Rico, many issues now separate the two countries. I consider this "duality" (Traditional/Latin American and Westernized/American) to be an interesting context for exploration particularly as it relates to women's perception of divorce.
Levels of personal disclosure and engagement in communication of later-life couples coping with chronic illness
Edwards, Todd M. (Virginia Tech, 1996-10-28)
The relationships between marital communication of later-life couples coping with chronic, physical illness, caregiver depression and marital satisfaction were examined in this study of 25 patients and their spouse caregivers. Guided by Bowen Theory, lag sequential analyses and sequence repetition analyses were conducted on observational data to determine the effects of open communication, closed communication, and pursuer-distancer communication on caregiver depression and marital satisfaction. The findings indicate that reciprocal closed communication between caregivers and spouses was positively related to caregiver depression, reciprocal open communication between caregivers and spouses was negatively related to marital satisfaction, and reciprocal pursuer-distancer communication was negatively related to marital satisfaction. Further, sustained pursuer-distancer communication was related to higher caregiver depression. Communication patterns were found to be related to family of origin relationships. Possible explanations for these findings and implications for family therapy and future research are discussed.
Maternal Experiences of Self-Identity and Family Identity after a Child acquires an Acquired Brain Injury: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Analysis
Natwick, Jameson Eric (Virginia Tech, 2020-11-19)
An Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) can have lasting effects on the self-identity of the injured individual, but also on the self-identity of other family members. Using Contextual Family Stress Theory as a guiding theoretical framework, this qualitative study investigated how mothers experience changes and alterations in their self-identity and family identity, as well as the reconstruction of self-identity and family identity, after a child acquires an ABI. These experiences are important to capture so that clinicians and professionals may better understand the phenomenon of post-ABI self- and family identity and to help inform rehabilitation and professional services. Currently, research has been narrowly focused upon functional gains for individuals and families in rehabilitation while excluding changes in self-identity and family identity. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and self-report measures of individual mothers' needs and perceptions of the injured child. A constructivist grounded theory analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings reveal the reconstruction processes of mothers' self-identity and family identity after a child receives an ABI, such as internal and external self-identity and intentionality in reconfiguring family identity. Furthermore, results suggest that positive adaptation in self-identity and family identity promote resilience to the changes from the child's ABI. Future research directions, theoretical, and clinical implications are discussed.
The mediating effects of family resilience processes in the context of paternal incarceration: A structural-equation analysis of the Family Inequality Framework among Danish families with school-aged youth
Morgan, Amy Alida Audrey (Virginia Tech, 2020-03-10)
Approximately 63% of all incarcerated individuals in the U.S. identify as a parent (Glaze and Maruschak, 2010), with as many as 7% of children experiencing parental incarceration at some point in their lives (Murphey and Cooper, 2015). Historically, much of the parental incarceration literature has relied on between-groups comparison research, highlighting risks and determinants of pathology for youth with an incarcerated parent. However, significantly less research has attempted to understand resilience processes in the context of parental incarceration from a within-group resilience perspective. The overall goal of this dissertation research was to empirically test the theoretical Family Inequality Framework (Arditti, 2018) and better understand how family resilience processes influence the relationship between material hardship and child outcomes within the context of parental incarceration. Structural equation modeling was used to perform a mediational cross-sectional analysis. Results of these analyses suggest that parental mental health processes play an important role in mitigating adverse outcomes for families by mediating the effects of material hardship on youth academic adjustment in the context of parental incarceration. Theoretical, clinical, and policy implications, as well as future research directions are discussed.
Midlife development and disability onset in a family context: a qualitative integration
Wingfield, Nancy Poe (Virginia Tech, 1997)
Much research on disability has focused on individuals with congenital anomalies and birth defects, and has emphasized the medical aspects of various impairments. Investigations have centered on the treatment and management of problematic physical symptoms with little attention given to the meaning of disabilities for people's family and social relationships. The literature fails to reflect a recognition that most disabling conditions occur later in life as a result of injury or illness and are inadequately defined or described in singularly negative terms. This study was undertaken to examine how adult-onset disability is experienced in various social contexts, and to consider how individuals who become disabled in adulthood and their family members develop an understanding of what disability means, beyond consideration of medical care and physical treatment. Qualitative data were collected from a purposive sample of 9 intimate couples in which one of the partners had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Indepth conjoint interviews were conducted with each couple, followed by private interviews with the 18 individual partners, rendering different perspectives on disability as a personal and familial experience. The results indicate that disability onset in middle adulthood is an important, but not all-encompassing, experience that shapes the individual lives of those affected and their loved ones, as well as their shared life as a couple. Contrary to much research that frames disability in tenns of stress or deficit models which assume negative and problematic experience, the results of this investigation indicated that disability is perceived as having some positive aspects on personal and family development. The data indicated that disability is a process that takes place over time and through which people's perceptions and experiences are altered, as opposed to a being a permanent identity or status that occurs as a result of a discrete event.

Browsing by Author "Arditti, Joyce A."

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