Browsing by Subject "Intergenerational relations"
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Item Adolescent mothers and grandparents: perspectives on family interaction and relationships(Texas Tech University, 2002-08) Willerton, C. ElaineAdolescent mothers often seek support from their parents while transitioning into the role of parenthood. Support and interaction from the grandparent(s) is important in determining the adolescent's attitude about parenting and impact on the development of the child. In this study, homes both with and without grandfathers were studied to determine differences between single grandparent and dual-grandparent homes. Adolescent mothers and grandparents were interviewed separately in a one-on-one semistructured open-ended interview. Findings indicate themes of importance and identify the positives and negatives of co-residency from the perspective of the mother and grandparents. Grandfather presence or absence seems to have an impact on attitudes about co-residency and the ability to cope with difficulties. Implications for parenting programs and future research are given.Item Examining marital power through intergenerational lenses(Texas Tech University, 1993-05) Winn, Krista IAs of yet, no research has utilized family therapy intergenerational theory to investigate marital power by probing into partner's perceptions that reflect their beginnings—family-of-origin. The purpose of this study was to use a family therapy perspective to study marital power. Self-administered surveys were completed by employees (ii=436) of Texas Tech University in order to determine the relationship between key family-of-origin variables and marital interaction styles that reflect power equality/inequality. On the whole, the results revealed support for the hypotheses indicating that individuals who reported power equality in their marriages also reported higher scores on family-of-origin measures than those individuals who reported power inequality. In addition, those individuals with higher scores on the family-of-origin measures reported more cognitive flexibility than individuals with lower scores on the family-of-origin measures. Overall, this study found significant associations between intergenerational dynamics and marital power dynamics. It also examined power in a way that incorporated more "microlevel" communication issues that are more central to women's concerns as opposed to solely utilizing traditional "macrolevel" power measures.Item Gender differences in intergenerational affectual solidarity(Texas Tech University, 1999-08) Davis, Jody L.Because the predictors of gender differences in parent-adult child relationships have not been investigated, the second goal of this research is to examine predictors of adult daughters' and sons' affectual solidarity for their natural parents. Walker, Thompson, and Morgan (1987) found that there was less attachment between married, young daughters and their mothers than between single, young daughters and their mothers. Bamch and Bamett (1983) also found that daughters who had children perceived their relationships with their mothers as less rewarding. The data suggest normative pressure on adult children to move toward their spouses and children and away from their families of origin, to distance themselves (physically and/or emotionally) from their families of origin and to place their new families and roles as first priority. The data also support the emphasis life course theory places on social roles and the interdependence between family members, how each family member reacts to a role transition influences the other family members.Item Great expectations : narratives of second generation Asian Indian American college students about academic achievement and related intergenerational communication(2012-08) Kahlon, Amardeep Kaur; Reddick, Richard, 1972-; Sharpe, Edwin R.; Ovando, Martha N.; Saenz, Victor B.; Accapadi, MamtaAsian Indian Americans are a highly successful subset of Asian Americans. According to a 2012 Pew Center report, this population has the highest level of degree attainment among Asian Americans as well as the highest median income among Asian Americans ("The Rise of Asian Americans," 2012). However, there is a cloak of invisibility surrounding this population. There is little research on how second-generation Asian Indian Americans navigate the expectations of academic excellence and cultural adherence in their relationships with their first-generation parents. There is limited knowledge and understanding of this population that is burdened by family expectations, community expectations, institutional expectations, and their own self-expectations of academic excellence. The paucity of research on this population creates the invisible minority where students’ needs may be ignored based on unfounded assumptions on part of the community and the institution. This phenomenological study adds to the sparse literature on Asian Indian Americans by exploring the intergenerational relationships of Asian Indian American undergraduate students in a narrowly focused area of academic choices and academic performance. This study examined students’ perceptions of the communication between first-generation parents and second-generation children who are currently enrolled at Southern State University. Further, this study examined the stress generated by the intergenerational relationships and the coping strategies employed by the students for dealing with the aforementioned stress. Findings from this study indicate that first-generation parents stress academic excellence and enrollment in certain majors based on their own experiences as new immigrants as well as to uphold the honor and prestige of the family. While the expectations of academic excellence from parents create stress for the students, the students remain grateful to their parents for instilling such values in them. However, the findings reveal that students felt stress from the expectation of excellence from the community, family, and institution to perform well. The findings of varying levels of intergenerational issues suggest that the parent-child relationships in this population were complex and non-linear.Item Police supervision: the generational differences(Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT), 2010) Goodwin, William R.Item The influence of parents' marital quality on parent-adult child intimacy: the role of the family expressiveness and relationship attributions(Texas Tech University, 2002-12) Allen, Melissa SueThis study investigated the relationship between parents' marital conflict and parent-adult child intimacy. Variables that might moderate the impact parents' marital conflict had on parent-adult child intimacy were also examined. Those variables were family expressiveness, attributions for parents' behavior, academic stress, and gender. Data was collected from undergraduate college students at a southwestern university. Some hypotheses were supported. Marital conflict was not negatively associated with mother-daughter intimacy when high positive family expressiveness was also reported. Negative attributions for parents' behavior seemed to increase the likelihood that parent-adult child intimacy would be negatively impacted by high marital conflict. However, if daughters reported negative attributions for mothers' behavior than high marital conflict was not negatively associated with father-daughter intimacy. When all direct effect variables were entered, marital conflict was no longer significantly related to father-daughter intimacy. Father-son and mother-son intimacy was more likely to be significantly related to parents' marital conflict, than mother-daughter and father-daughter intimacy. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.Item The relationship between adolescent characteristics and the quality of their natural mentors(Texas Tech University, 2002-12) Rychener, Stacey ReneeThe origin of the word mentor comes from ancient Greece when Odysseus entrusted his house and son Telemachus to an old man called Mentor when he set off on a journey (Merriam, 1983). Research has found that natural mentors play important role in supporting resilient outcomes for at-risk adolescents (Garmezy, 1993). Seventy-four adolescents from families with low SES backgrounds completed a questionnaire on their personal characteristics and their natural mentoring relationships. Results indicated that parents, adult relatives, unrelated adults, and peers were all named and as and seen as fulfilling the different mentoring roles. However, several findings indicated that fathers were not only less likely to be viewed as a mentor, but adolescents viewed the relationship as less functional than mothers, adult relatives, unrelated adults, and peers. Based on 10 qualitative interviews with the adolescents, it was found that adolescents were more likely to choose a male mentor. Adolescents generally were involved in a mutual activity with the mentor for around 3 to 4 years that involved both weekly one-on-one and group contact with the mentor. Finally, adolescents were drawn to their mentors for the following reasons: the mentor's area of expertise, their attitude and personality, intelligence, education, and willingness to help and sacrifice for others. Given that many mentoring programs target at-risk adolescents, it is particularly important to examine the quality and context of these natural mentoring relationships to develop more effective mentoring programs for adolescents in need of a supportive relationship.