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 The Predictors of Family Cohesion and Conflict in Transracially Adoptive Families(2010) Jackson, Dawnyea Dominique; Leslie, Leigh A; Family Studies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Transracial adoption in the United States has a short, but controversial history. Between 1971 and 2001, U.S. citizens adopted 265, 677 children from other countries. The increased prevalence and controversial history of transracial adoption makes it very important to learn more about the well being of transracially adoptive families. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the extent to which the diversity of the community in which a family lives and the parent's multiethnic experiences are predictors of family cohesion and conflict in transracially adoptive families. This relationship was examined for a sample (N=47) of Asian (n=24) Black (n=12) and Latino (n=11) participants. Results yielded no significant results, except for one interesting finding for the Latino racial/ethnic group. The results indicated that for the Latino racial/ethnic group the higher the parent's multiethnic experiences the lower the level of family cohesion, which was not in the predicted direction. The empirical implications of these findings are discussed.Item Spiritual Community Experiences of Families of Children with Disabilities(2009) O'Hanlon, Elizabeth Ellen; Beckman, Paula J; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This mixed methods investigation examined experiences of families of children with disabilities in their spiritual communities. Using the Spiritual Community Experiences Inventory, fifty-eight parents rated importance of and satisfaction with clergy, various religious activities, and support received from clergy and spiritual community members. Families reported that participation in religious activities and support from clergy and members were important. Moreover, families were highly satisfied with these activities and support. As predicted, a significant relationship was found between frequency of attendance, amount of support, and satisfaction with activities and support. Only in the case of formal ceremonies was frequency/satisfaction relationship not significant. Parents described a variety of factors that influenced their level of satisfaction with spiritual community experiences. Families reported that participation was influenced by: (1) amount and quality of social interactions with other children and adults, (2) level of knowledge, training and understanding of staff and volunteers, (3) level and appropriateness of accommodations provided, and (4) degree to which their child's disability interfered with participation. Additionally, parents reported that their experiences were affected by availability of emotional and practical support targeted to their unique needs, existence of social support networks, level of acceptance and knowledge of community members and clergy about disability, and the value the religious community places on parental knowledge of disability. Parents did elaborate on negative experiences and lack of support, which led to their non-participation and in some instances to switching communities. Further testing and refining of the instrument is required to strengthen its reliability and validity, clarify ambiguities, and identify factors families believe are important to participation. Additionally, leaders of spiritual communities must identify needs of families of children with disabilities. By tapping families as "experts" and networking with other religious communities, disability groups, and agencies, they can better meet these families' needs.Item The Financial Well-being of Military Families(2006-06-02) Lipari, Rachel Noble; Segal, Mady W; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Entry into the military is a major turning point in the lives of many young adults; however, little is known about the financial well-being of military families compared to their civilian peers or about the differential effects of aspects of service within the military community. Using representative samples of the United States population and of active-duty military members, this study analyzes 1) differences between military and civilian families in financial well-being; and 2) how characteristics of service affect the financial well-being of military families. Results vary based on the measure of financial well-being examined and by age, race/ethnicity, paygrade/organizational seniority, and spouse employment status. The results generally indicate that the military may be a good place to start because young military families have comparable or more positive financial well-being than their civilian peers, but staying in the military negatively impacts financial well-being. Overall, military families experience a lower level of financial well-being than their civilian peers in regard to income and total household savings (controlling for dual income status, age, number of children, race/ethnicity, and education). Of those families experiencing lower financial well-being, civilian and military spouses share many of the same characteristics, such as being young, being race/ethnic minority members, and having less education. The analysis indicates that the unique aspects of military life do have differential effects on financial well-being. Military families who have experienced longer separations tend to have lower financial well-being, but number of separations and relocations does not have a significant negative impact on financial well-being. Military spouses who are underemployed have less total household income and less positive perceived financial well-being compared to spouses who are not underemployed. Voluntarily exiting the workforce is positively related to perceived financial well-being and saving habits. Suggestions for future research include creating a single measure of wealth, expanding the types of debt analyzed, conducting a longitudinal study of single and married service members to monitor the development of their financial well-being, and conducting more detailed research on the impact of relocations and separations.