In this dissertation, I qualitatively examined the meaning of mothering a child with autism in two countries: the United States and South Korea. The overarching research question focused on how sociocultural ideas about mothering and disability, particularly autism spectrum disorders, shape women’s understanding of themselves and their children with disabilities....
Child care stability affects child and family outcomes. Stability reflects the time dimension of a child care arrangement. Although stability does not guarantee positive outcomes, instability appears to decrease the likelihood of achieving them. Some level of stability is a necessary, although not sufficient, characteristic of care that meets children's...
This essay examines the low-income weatherization program in rural Oregon, shedding light on difficulties in increasing weatherization services to low-income rural households. This essay also identifies policy limitations. There are strict rules in place for utilizing Department of Energy weatherization funding and some of these rules
are likely to make...
Food insecurity is a widely researched global public health issue, but students in higher education are frequently omitted from the data and are not widely recognized as a population that faces hunger. This thesis explores the college student population in relation to food insecurity and, in particular, their attempt to...
Men are frequently left out of the picture in the study of family planning and sexual risk behavior. This approach means few programs and policies address men's family planning and sexual health issues. There is also a lack of understanding of the role fatherhood plays in men's development and in...
One of the most powerful and life-changing events that can occur in the life of a family is
the death of a child. Researchers who have studied death and bereavement suggest that a
child's death has a dramatic impact on parents. However, little is known about the ways
in which...
Parent-characters in televised family programs set examples for viewers who may re-enact their behaviors with real children. This study attempts to determine how much "desirable" and "undesirable" behavior is modeled on these shows, and whether the behaviors are coupled with responses that might encourage or discourage viewer adoption of the...
Past research on Head Start has focused on child outcomes, yet Head Start services also target the behaviors of parents. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-being Study (FFCW), the current study examined the effect of Head Start on mother (n = 3,575) and father (n = 1,812)...
Since the industrial revolution, work and family
have been viewed as separate spheres, with women
relegated to the family sphere. With the advent of women
into the paid labor force, few studies have considered
the potentially complex context of women's work and
family experiences. The purpose of this study was...
Research has shown that stress is related to
negative physical and psychological changes among
adults. Compared to the large body of literature on
stress among adults, research on the effects of life
stress among children and adolescents is relatively
sparse. There is evidence, however, that stressful
life events are related...