Browsing by Author "Marek, Lydia I."
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- Boundary Ambiguity and Ambivalence in Military Family ReintegrationHollingsworth, William-Glenn Langley (Virginia Tech, 2014-03-13)Since the beginning of the Global War on Terror, almost three million children, spouses, and adult dependents have been directly affected by the deployment experiences of more than two million service members. This study examined the applicability of the Contextual Model of Family Stress (Boss, 2002) to a reintegrating military family sample (N = 228) by assessing the effects of external, military-related contextual factors (i.e., rank, component, combat exposure, length of time home post-deployment, and cumulative length of deployments) and internal contextual factors of boundary ambiguity and family and deployment-related ambivalence on family functioning. Quantitative data were taken from a national survey of service members from multiple branches of the United States military. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that, as a whole, the addition of the military-related contextual factors, boundary ambiguity, and the ambivalence variables made a significant contribution to the prediction of family functioning, controlling for all previously entered variables. Service members from lower ranks and those who had been home for longer periods of time reported poorer family functioning. Higher degrees of boundary ambiguity and family ambivalence were also associated with poorer family functioning. The results from this study extend existing theoretical applications of the Contextual Model (Boss, 2002) to military families through the incorporation of boundary ambiguity and ambivalence. Findings will also inform interventions aimed at promoting family resilience in the military population during the post-deployment period.
- Building Community Capacity: Sustaining America's Promise Partnerships in the Aftermath of Hurricane KatrinaMancini, Jay A.; Marek, Lydia I. (Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 2007-07-19)
- Moving Ahead Together: What Works For Youth... What Works For You?Marek, Lydia I.; Earthman, G. Erik (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2009-05-01)Overall, this report represents the survey responses from 41 teams of Cooperative Extension personnel from 36 states and the territory of Guam. These teams were asked to provide information regarding the training that had been provided in their states during the 12-month period following their participation in the AGDT CSREES/USDA training (between March 2000 and August 2001, inclusive).
- A multi-modal evaluation of an integrated treatment program for college women with eating problemsMarek, Lydia I. (Virginia Tech, 1995)This study evaluated an integrated treatment program that was provided for college women with self-identified eating problems, both clinical and subclinical, using both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The treatment model is based upon the biopsychosocial model integrating treatment from each of these dimensions: biological, psychological, and social. Eleven college students were self-referred and participated in bi-weekly nutritional counseling (biological), bi-weekly individual psychotherapy (psychological), and weekly group psychotherapy (social) over the course of one college semester. Details concerning these therapies are included. An evaluation was performed of both behavioral and psychosocial outcomes using both quantitative and qualitative data. Data were organized within the framework of the biopsychosocial model. Quantitative data (Eating Disorders Inventory-2, Eating Disorders Inventory Symptom Checklist, Beck’s Depression Inventory, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, Initial Questionnaire) indicated improvement in depression scores (biological/psychological), sense of effectiveness, impulse regulation, confidence in their ability to change (psychological), asceticism and body image (psychological/social), as well as a decrease in overexercise and binge eating. Recurrent themes that emerged through the qualitative data (individual interviews at the end of the treatment program and focus group interviews) included biological themes: changing eating patterns, need for general and personalized nutritional information; psychological themes: exploration of emotions, need to feel understood, setting goals, self care, need for personal understanding and identification of needs, and body image; and social themes: sharing with others, social connectedness, and family relations. These themes are discussed to provide a better understanding of the process of participating in this program for the participants as well as providing an evaluation of this program. Suggestions for future programs and research as well as issues concerning program delivery, methodology, and other considerations are explored.
- The National Youth At Risk Program Sustainability StudyMancini, Jay A.; Marek, Lydia I.; Brock, Donna J. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2009-05-01)The research and analyses reported here are designed to address some of the deficits in our understanding of program sustainability, specifically for at risk audiences, and reflects the second phase in a multi-year study of community-based programs that are targeted to at risk youth and families.
- The National Youth at Risk Program sustainability study : continuity, success, and survival of community-based projectsMarek, Lydia I.; Mancini, Jay A.; Brock, Donna J. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 1999)Programs for children, youth, adults, and families have been shown to have positive influences on the quality of community life (Comer & Fraser, 1998; Marek, Mancini, Lee & Miles, 1996; Schorr, 1997). Even though the human resource and economic resource investments in community-based programs are substantial, and despite what is known about the nature of successful programs, the matter of what sustains programs is less clear (Lerner, 1995; Mancini & Marek, 1998). The research and analyses reported here are designed to address some of the deficits in our understanding of program sustainability, specifically for at risk audiences, and reflects the second phase in a multi-year study of community-based programs that are targeted to at risk youth and families. The long-term goals of this research project are to document project longevity for at risk audiences and the processes that underlie it, to build a program sustainability conceptual framework, and to develop a community-level sustainability assessment inventory.
- The National Youth at Risk Program sustainability study : patterns of project survival & organizational supportMancini, Jay A.; Marek, Lydia I. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 1998)Even though substantial resources have been allocated to developing and maintaining community-based programs for children, youth, adults, and families, relatively little is known about how these programs are sustained and what factors lead to or detract from their success. What is known is that many community-based programs have relatively short lives and that once the initial funding base expires many programs do as well. Understanding how and why programs survive and thrive requires an ecological approach to individuals, families, programs, and communities. The following analysis reflects the first phase in a multi-year study of community-based programs. The long-term goals of this research project are to document project longevity and the processes that underlie it, to build a program sustainability conceptual framework, to develop a community-level sustainability assessment device, and to develop an action guide for communities.
- Ongoing community-based program implementation, successes, and obstacles: The National Youth at Risk Program Sustainability StudyMarek, Lydia I.; Mancini, Jay A.; Earthman, G. Erik; Brock, Donna J. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2009-05-01)The National Youth at Risk Programs Sustainability Study was designed to examine the sustainability of Youth at Risk projects initially funded through the USDA/CSREES CYFAR (Children, Youth, and Families at risk) Initiative. The current report focuses on 94 Youth at Risk (YAR) projects four years after their initial grant ended and represents the latest in a series of reports focused on the sustainability of these projects.
- Patterns of familial support: older mothers' perceptions of the relationship quality with their daughters and sonsMarek, Lydia I. (Virginia Tech, 1990)The intent of this study was to examine how perceived aid exchange patterns between mothers and adult children influence the mothers' perception of the quality of their relationship. We also examined how mothers’ characteristics (health, age, and marital status), children's characteristics (marital status and gender), and propinquity were associated with mothers' perceptions of giving and receiving of aid. The types of aid explored were Financial Help, Gifts Besides Money, Help With the House, Help During Sickness, Advice on Life's Problems, Advice on Decisions, Affection, and Overall Exchange of Aid. Aid patterns were classified as Mother Gave More, Child Gave More, About Equal Exchange, or No Exchange. Data were collected from interviews with 330 mothers, 65 years or older, using a six-stage sample selection process. Perceived relationship quality was significantly different for the four different aid pattern groups in regard to Financial Help, Gifts Besides Money, Advice on Life's Problems, and Overall Aid. Highest perceived relationship quality was found in those groups in which Child Gave More or in which there was About Equal Exchange. Lowest perceived relationship quality was found for the group Mother Gave More of these four types of aid. Mother's characteristics, child's characteristics, (except gender), and propinquity were not related to relationship quality. Differences in aid patterns were found between mother's health and Gifts Besides Money, Help When Sick, Affection, and Overall Aid; between mother's age and Advice on Life's Problems, Help When Sick, Help With House; between mother's marital status and Advice on Decisions, Help With House; between children's marital status and Financial Help, Gifts Besides Money, Help With House; between children's gender with Help With House; and between propinquity and Financial Help, Help When Sick, Help With House, Advice on Decisions.
- Patterns of Project SurvivalMancini, Jay A.; Marek, Lydia I. (Virginia Cooperative Extension, 2009-05-01)Understanding how and why programs survive and thrive requires an ecological approach to individuals, families, programs, and communities. The following analysis reflects the first phase in a multi-year study of community-based programs.