Theses and Dissertations from UMD

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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM

More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.

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    Food Insecurity, Service Awareness, Social Factors, and Quality of Life in Community-Dwelling Older Adults
    (2021) Vaudin, Anna Margaret; Sahyoun, Nadine R; Nutrition; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Older adults are at risk for food insecurity due to financial constraints, physical difficulties, social isolation, and the resulting limitations on food access. Social isolation has two components – objective, such as social contacts, and subjective, such as loneliness – and each may have a unique relationship with food insecurity. Unmet needs exist for services that aim to improve food access in older adults, and research is limited on how those who do use the services find out about them. Additionally, these services aim to improve quality of life (QOL), and yet this impact cannot be quantified because current tools do not capture the ways food affect QOL beyond nutritional status. This dissertation uses qualitative methods to understand (1) how food and eating impact QOL in community-dwelling older adults, (2) how individuals become aware of the services they use to address barriers to food and eating, and (3) the interaction between food security, loneliness, and QOL. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 urban- and suburban-dwelling older adults. Interview scripts were transcribed and themes identified in the data using grounded theory methods. The first study showed that health and vitality, independence, mental and emotional well-being, socialization and support, and activities, both inside and outside the home, affected participants’ QOL. Food and eating affected QOL through access and choice, health and vitality, enjoyment of food, and food preparation. The second study showed that participants primarily found out about the resources they use through encounters in their daily lives, rather than service outreach. The final study showed that, compared with those who were food secure, those who were food insecure were more likely to report a negative effect of loneliness on their QOL, primarily experienced as depressive symptoms. This dissertation shows that food and eating affect older adults through not only the physiological effects of good nutrition, but also through social, psychological, and sensory effects on QOL. Additionally, the results point to the importance of social factors for both service awareness and mental health in those who face barriers to food and eating. Future studies and new tools are needed to quantify these impacts.
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    THE RELATIONSHIPS AMONG FOOD SECURITY, HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL, AND MENTAL HEALTH
    (2011) Munger, Ashley Lauren; Epstein, Norman B.; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Prior research has demonstrated a relationship between food insecurity and poor mental health, but this research has been conducted primarily in samples of females. In addition, the mechanisms through which this relationship operates are not well understood. This study investigated whether a relationship between food security and mental health exists for both males and females, as well as whether health locus of control mediates this relationship. Data were from a convenience sample of 110 female and 40 male Supplemental Nutrition Assistance eligible adults in Maryland. Based on self-reports, the relationship between food security and mental health was significant among males and borderline significant among females. Whereas health locus of control mediated the relationship between food security and mental health for the women, it did not for the men. Findings indicated men and women commonly experience food insecurity and poor mental health concurrently. Understanding this relationship is essential for appropriate intervention.