Grounded in the life course perspective, this study examined
stress among long-distance caregivers, asking whether stress levels vary
by family relation to the care recipient or by geographic distance. A
growing older adult population forecasts a corresponding need for
caregivers. Although family members are the primary source of care for...
Grounded in life span theory, this study explored how personal goals (as measured by possible selves) related to depressive symptoms in older adults. Possible selves represent individuals' ideas of what they would like to become (hoped-for selves) and what they are afraid of becoming (feared selves). Possible selves are also...
A primary aim of bereavement research is to alleviate suffering and promote well-being at the junction of life and death for the survivor in an attachment relationship. Bereavement research in the last decade has focused primarily on examining grief recovery within the context of intrapersonal processes. This emphasis has often...
Optimal aging is strongly related to personality factors along with health-behavior habits. Personality has played a key role in understanding the interactions between human behavior and the environment and as a vital predictor in determining health outcomes of individuals. Although previous studies have found links between personality traits and health,...
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...
Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD), this study assessed the implications of the division of labor on relationship intimacy for married and cohabitating dual-earner couples (N= 392 couples). The study focused on what mothers and...
Adolescence is a developmental stage marked by crystallization in individuals’ sense of identity (Erikson, 1994; Harter, 1999). Research on positive youth development stresses the ways in which thriving trajectories during adolescence contribute to positive lifelong outcomes (Lerner & Overton, 2008; Scales, Benson, & Roehlkepartain, 2011) A symbolic interactionism perspective (Mead,...
Despite recognition in the literature that adolescence
represents a relatively high-risk developmental period for
health-risk behaviors, only limited attention has been given
to the subjective meanings adolescents assign to such
behaviors. One potentially fruitful avenue to explore in
understanding the adolescent perspective on health-risk
behaviors is the use of word...
Empirical studies and theory have identified many early predictors of children's academic achievement and externalizing problems. Moreover, research shows that children's early cognitive abilities and behavioral problems are strong predictors of later academic achievement and externalizing problems. The current dissertation studies extend previous work and unpack how early predictors relate...