Browsing by Subject "Family communication"

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    Developing a practical parenting workshop : a case study in family sexual communication .
    (2012-05) Croatt, Heidi S.
    This dissertation discusses the development and assessment of a parent intervention and training program. Out of concern for the sexual health of adolescents in the United States, both parents and researchers have called for programs assisting parents in the sexual education of their children. Encouraging sexual communication and increasing the number of families who feel confident engaging in this type of communication are essential in promoting sexually healthy behaviors and reducing the number of young people engaged in risky behaviors. There is a clear need for parenting programs that focus on this topic. The project discussed in this dissertation was developed with this need in mind. A parenting program called Beyond Birds and Bees was developed to help parents communicate about sex with their children in a way that is consistent with their family values and with research on parent-child sexual communication. This program was then assessed by the program developer and participants. The goal of developing this program was to utilize existing research and put forth a practical application of what researchers already know - children who talk with their parents about sex are more likely to make sexually healthy decisions. Programs like this are important in advancing our understanding of the practical dimension of facilitating family sexual communication. It is hoped that this program encourages other researchers to think about ways to apply the research in applied communication.
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    Understanding Adjustment of Adolescents Conceived Using Medically Assisted Reproduction within Family Contexts
    (2019-05) Chen, Muzi
    Adolescents conceived using medically assisted reproduction (MAR), as a continually growing population in the U.S., may be at risk for adjustment problems due to three challenging parenting tasks faced by their families. These challenges include a high likelihood of parental pregnancy loss, raising twins, and whether and when parents should tell children about being conceived using MAR. This dissertation investigated psychosocial adjustment of MAR-conceived adolescents in relation to these parenting challenges within family contexts in two studies. Study 1 tested a moderated mediation model that proposes a possible family process through which a pile-up stressors of pregnancy loss and twin status indirectly influence adolescent psychosocial adjustment in a sample of 278 adolescents from 193 families. Results suggest pregnancy loss has long-lasting, differential effects on parental emotions at middle childhood when parenting twins versus singletons, which relates to subsequent adolescent adjustment. Study 2 examined adolescent psychosocial adjustment following the MAR information sharing within family communication environments using multiple group analysis in a sample of 163 adolescents from 115 families. Results indicate a complex picture that family communication environments interplay with the timing of MAR information sharing to influence adolescent psychosocial adjustment. These studies suggest a critical role of family contextual factors in shaping MAR-conceived adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment.