Counseling, Higher Education & Special Education Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2757

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    ONLINE AND REAL LIFE COMMUNITIES OF LESBIAN, GAY, AND BISEXUAL PEOPLE: INTERNALIZED HOMONEGATIVITY, LIFE SATISFACTION, AND SEXUAL RISK TAKING
    (2019) Welch, James Christopher; Shin, Richard Q; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Previous research has demonstrated potential benefits provided to LGB people through affiliation with a larger LGB community (Sheets & Mohr, 2009; Halpin & Allen, 2004; Davidson et al., 2017). However, LGB people living in rural areas or who otherwise lack access to LGB communities may have difficulty accessing these benefits (De La Cruz, 2018; Oswald & Culton, 2003; Bachmann & Simon, 2014). With the advent of the digital age, humans are able to interact in new, virtual spaces that circumvent many of the difficulties associated with gathering in real-world spaces (boyd & Ellison, 2008). However, the ways humans are able to interact in virtual, online spaces remains relatively understudied. This study sought to explore potential similarities of benefits provided by real life and online communities as they relate to internalized homonegativity and life satisfaction, and to explore how sexual risk taking may be associated with affiliation with online communities in an internet recruited sample of LGB people. LGB persons’ affiliations with online communities of LGB people were not significantly related to sexual risk taking, life satisfaction, or internalized homonegativity. Affiliation with real life LGB community was significantly related to only life satisfaction. Life satisfaction was significantly related to sexual risk taking. Online and real life LGB community affiliation were significantly correlated. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.
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    First Baby, First Year: Gratitude and Emotional Approach Coping as Predictors of Adjustment and Life Satisfaction during the Transition to Motherhood
    (2011) Piontkowski, Sarah; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Becoming a mother is one of the most common major life transitions, with approximately 82% of the population of women in the United States having given birth by the age of 45. Although becoming a mother is generally thought of as a positive experience, the transition to parenthood can also present many challenges. This study examined the postpartum transition of 152 first-time mothers. Utilizing the stress and coping model, this study explored the role of gratitude and emotional approach coping on postpartum distress, postpartum adjustment, and life satisfaction. Data were collected using an online survey, and correlations, regression analyses, and mediation analyses were run. The findings revealed that women who reported higher levels of both gratitude and emotional approach coping also reported better postpartum adjustment, greater life satisfaction, and less postpartum distress. The health of both the mother and the baby also predicted better postpartum outcomes for mothers.