Theses and Dissertations - Department of Human Development and Family Studies
Recent Submissions
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Exploring foster and adoptive parent stressors and resources : a mixed method study
At any given time over half a million children are in foster care and over 50,000 of these children are adopted each year in the United States. The majority of these children have been exposed to trauma. Parents may not ... -
Mechanisms of growth : social-emotional learning and the PwrHrs program
Recent public education reform initiatives have emphasized student academic achievement, primarily in reading and mathematics. To meet the pressure these initiatives present, a growing number of schools have chosen to ... -
LGBTQ wellbeing and telomere length : the role of political salience
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and gender queer (LGBTQ) individuals face disparities in experiences of negative physical and mental health. The current study examined the impact of internalized homophobia, sense of ... -
Pathways underlying differences in health between White and Black Americans : exploring the role of racial discrimination
This study explored the association between experiencing racial discrimination and poor health outcomes between White and Black Americans. Secondary data from wave 11 of HRS (N = 17,085) were used to test the research ... -
Effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on depressive symptoms, stress eating, and telomere length in adolescents at-risk for adult obesity
Rates of adolescent obesity and cardiometabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes are increasing. Recent studies suggest that depression symptoms may be one contributor to obesity and cardiometabolic diseases through ... -
Accelerometer measurements of physical activity in pregnant adolescents
In adult women, physical activity during pregnancy, assessed objectively with accelerometry, has been related to less excess gestational weight gain and better health outcomes for mother and child. Objectively-measured ... -
Mindful parenting : associations with parental depression and well-being
This study investigated the association between mindful parenting and both parent depression, and parent well-being. Current research has found that many individuals experience stress in parenting, which impacts their ... -
Becoming fathers : feasibility, acceptability, and exploratory efficacy of a group intervention
The transition to parenthood brings changes to identity and relationships for new parents. Increasing expectations for father involvement in childcare are emphasizing the importance of the father role, but social supports ... -
Danger signs in romantic relationships : the role of mindfulness
Danger signs in romantic relationships signal relational distress, dissolution, and dissatisfaction (Gottman, 1993; Markman, Stanley, & Blumberg, 2010b). Little is known about how mindfulness may improve danger sign ... -
Inside and out : individual and relational outcomes of contemplative practice
This study explored the relationships between two prevalent forms of contemplative practice (mindfulness and prayer) and their connection to wellbeing, both individual and relational. Furthermore, this study incorporated ... -
Association between father involvement and sexual risk behaviors among Black and White adolescent girls, The
This study explored the importance of father involvement for adolescent girls, particularly in the context of sexual risk behaviors. Research is only beginning to explore the effects of fathers on development and the ... -
Latent profiles and trajectories of family functioning : a risk and resilience approach to child maltreatment prevention and promotion of early achievement
Child maltreatment and being unready to learn at kindergarten entry are two societal problems that are associated with children's later development. Children are at highest risk for maltreatment during the first four years ... -
Understanding racial health differences : the role of stressor exposure and affect reactivity
Despite all that is known about racial differences in health and well-being outcomes, much less is known about the processes that give rise to these differences. Previous work examining racial differences in stress-health ... -
Factors influencing the effectiveness of a family intervention for adolescent versus adult mothers
A family intervention program entitled DARE To Be You was found to be equally effective for both adolescent and adult mothers, but the factors that predicted program effectiveness differed for the two groups. Adolescent ... -
Evaluation of Possums Sleep Intervention : a pilot feasibility study
The first year after the birth of a child is one of the most challenging times for mothers due to disrupted sleep associated with disorganized infant sleep. Research has shown that persistent fragmented maternal sleep ... -
Parental conflict and young adult romantic relationships : the role of sibling relationship quality
Romantic relationship development and maintenance contributes to the overall well-being and psychological health of partners. Decades of research has indicated that parental divorce is negatively associated with psychological ... -
Testing the efficacy of the "EA Brief" : an intervention to improve emotional attachment and emotional availability (EA)
The goal of this study was to determine the extent to which a brief parenting intervention provided the context for helping families to support positive mother-child interactions as well as more optimal mother and child ... -
Intergenerational transmission of trauma : attachment, adverse childhood experiences, and current life stress, The
Attachment theory highlights the importance of the quality of the relationship between an infant and his or her primary caregiver. However, caregivers with unresolved trauma or loss may behave in frightening ways and foster ... -
Pilot study of a mindfulness-based group program in adolescents at risk for excess weight gain, A
There is a cross-sectional and prospective association of depressive/anxiety symptoms with excess weight in adolescents. Theoretically, intervening to decrease mental health symptoms in adolescents at-risk for excess weight ... -
Goal matching in couple therapy : individual and couple level trajectories
In couple therapy, the degree to which partners are aligned in their therapy goals is important and is understudied in the psychotherapy literature. Individual and couple level factors likely influence whether a couple has ...
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