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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Item State-level Differences in Charitable Giving in the United States(2022) Wu, Zhongsheng; Bies, Angela; Public Policy; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Previous studies usually posit that heterogeneity in charitable giving within countries is less than the variation between them, yet the philanthropic landscapes in the states of the United States have more differences than expected. Substantial variations in both the level and rate of charitable giving exist across the states in the U.S., yet empirical evidence on why there are such substantial differences across the states is very limited and inconclusive. To address the gap in the literature, this study collected individual and/or state level data from multiple sources to answer whether and how state-level political, social, and cultural factors can explain the geographical variations in the level and rate of charitable giving across the states in the U.S. Based on statistical analyses using multiple regressions and multilevel modelling, the results indicate that state-level factors, including political ideology, public welfare expenditure, social capital, income inequality, and cultural capital contributed to the variations in both the level and rate of charitable giving at the state level. Specifically, state-level political ideology is found to have significant relationships with both the level and rate of charitable giving, while the marginal effects of political ideology on both the level and rate of charitable giving are moderated by the public welfare expenditure per capita at the state level. In addition, the density of associational organizations is found to consistently have a significant negative correlation with both the level and rate of charitable giving, while the impacts of the density of charitable organizations on both the level and rate of charitable giving are moderated by income inequality. This study contributes to the literature by revealing a more complex and nuanced picture on why there are substantial regional differences in both the level and rate of charitable giving across the states in the U.S. Specifically, the findings can help challenge the notions that “red (Republican-leaning) states are more donative”, that “higher density of nonprofits attracts more donations”, and that “government spending crowds out private contributions”. This study also shows the necessity to differentiate the impacts of the density of charitable organizations and the density of associational organizations on the level and rate of charitable giving at the contextual level1. What’s more, this study is the first empirical research that not only explored both the level and rate of charitable giving at the contextual level at the same time, but also compared the two stages of charitable giving, and revealed that different factors might behave differently on the level and the rate of charitable giving at the state level.Item Religion, Sex, and Family: The Role of Family Religiosity and Sex Communication in Emerging Adults’ Sexual Behaviors(2017) Quinn, Deirdre Ann; Lewin, Amy; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Religion plays an important role in many people’s lives and can impact both physical and mental health. A growing body of research has examined potential links between religiosity and health behaviors and outcomes in adolescents and young adults, in particular adolescents’ sexual risk behaviors. Consequences of sexual risk represent a major health concern in the United States, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Risky sexual behavior is common among college students; campus “hook-up” culture promotes casual and unplanned sexual encounters (Burdette, Hill, Ellison, & Glenn, 2009; Grello, Welsh, & Harper, 2006), and students often perceive potentially risky sexual behaviors (including oral sex and anal sex) to be less intimate (and therefore more allowable) than sexual intercourse (Chambers, 2007; Kelly & Kalichman, 2002; H. Lyons, Manning, Giordano, & Longmore, 2013). Parents have consistently been identified as the most important source of religious influence, both in childhood and adolescence, and into adulthood. Research also shows that parents can play an important role in adolescents’ sexual health decision making through their parent-teen relationships, parenting practices, and communication about sex and sexual risk. The current study of undergraduate students (n=608) extends the literature in order to improve our understanding of the relationships between multi-dimensional aspects of family religiosity and family sex communication and college students’ religiosity, attitudes about sex, sexual activity, and sexual risk and protective behaviors. Based on social learning theory’s principles of observation, communication, and social interaction, this study examined the ways in which college students’ religiosity and attitudes about sex, and ultimately their sexual risk and protective behaviors, are associated with family modeling of religiosity and family communication about sex. Findings suggest that a higher degree of family religiosity is significantly associated with aspects of students’ sexual activity and sexual risk, while more comprehensive family communication about sex is significantly associated with some aspects of students’ sexual activity. Potential mediation of parental monitoring during high school and students’ current sex attitudes is also explored.Item The Influence of Religiosity on Relationship Satisfaction and Therapeutic Outcome as Mediated by Commitment Level(2011) Dresser, Ciara Nicole; Werlinich, Carol A.; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to examine the common factor and client characteristic of religiosity in order to determine its effect on relationship satisfaction and therapy outcome, as well as to determine whether commitment level was a mediator of those associations within a clinical sample of couples who had experienced mild/moderate psychological, verbal, or physical abuse. Results indicated several trends. For males, a non-significant positive trend was found suggesting that their religiosity was positively associated with relationship satisfaction at the initiation of therapy. Another trend was for more religious females to be more committed to their relationships. Both females and males' commitment level was significantly correlated with their relationship satisfaction. A trend towards a negative association between religiosity and relationship satisfaction was found for females when commitment level was controlled for, and for males there was a trend towards a negative association between commitment level and therapy outcome.Item An Exploration of the Effects of Mastery, Self-Esteem, and Religiosity on Recidivism among Ex-Prisoners(2009) Farrell, Jill Lynn; MacKenzie, Doris L; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)While prior research has highlighted the importance of social factors for reentry and recidivism, several criminologists have pointed out that an individual's subjective perspectives (e.g., cognitions and self-concepts) are often neglected when studying these processes. This study attempts to address this gap in our understanding of the effects of subjective perspectives on recidivism by focusing on the impact of mastery, self-esteem, and religiosity among ex-prisoners reentering the community. This analysis utilizes data from the Urban Institute's Returning Home, a longitudinal study of prisoners from three major U.S. cities as they return to their communities. This comprehensive study provides information on both social experiences and the relevant subjective perspectives both during incarceration and after release. The current study utilizes a subsample of 740 males and examines three potential effects for mastery, self-esteem, and religiosity: direct effects, change effects (from prison to the community), and interaction effects with social stressors after release. Overall, the findings suggest that religiosity, through change processes and its capacity to buffer social stressors, is an important subjective perspective for male prisoners. More specifically, ex-prisoners who experienced an increase in religiosity from prison to the community were less likely to be reincarcerated. Further, pre-release religiosity moderated the effect of post-release social stressors on reincarceration. In contrast, religiosity had a positive interaction with social stressors to affect illegal drug use after release. Mastery and self-esteem, on the other hand, do not appear to have noteworthy effects on recidivism for this group, nor do changes in these perspectives or their interactions with social stressors impact the likelihood of recidivism. The findings also demonstrate that social stressors have a robust positive effect on reincarceration and illegal drug use among sample members. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.