Theses/Dissertations - Sociology
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Browsing Theses/Dissertations - Sociology by Author "Bradshaw, Matt."
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Item Accelerated and micro-longitudinal approaches to understanding depressive symptoms and human flourishing.(2018-03-16) Kent, Blake Victor, 1980-; Bradshaw, Matt.The three studies presented here assess self-reported depressive symptoms in two large samples of U.S. respondents. The first two examine the National Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), an ongoing nationally representative prospective study of adolescents, while the third examines SoulPulse, a non-representative, self-selected smartphone study of the adult population. The purpose of these inquiries is to apply group-based trajectory modeling and hierarchical linear modeling to enhance our understanding of depressive symptoms. These engage accelerated and micro-longitudinal designs, making it possible to map distinct etiological trajectories of symptom burden over a lengthy developmental period with Add Health, and to disentangle trait and state levels of psycho-social experience in assessment of depressive symptoms and flourishing with SoulPulse. Study one examines parental, educational, peer, and religious ecological clusters, finding that good parental relationships and positive family dynamics are strongly associated with decreased symptom burden. Peer support, teacher support, and educational achievement are also highly protective. Delinquent behavior, as well as Black and Asian ethnicity, are risk factors, while other ecological factors such as romantic relationships, number of sexual partners, and religious prayer and attendance have modest associations with depressive burden. Study two disaggregates the Add Health sample by gender, developing specific etiological trajectories for each. It then examines a range of religion and spirituality items, assessing subjective measures of religious experience not common in the depression literature. Results indicate that subjective forms of religion and spirituality are associated with increased depressive symptom burdens, and that these burdens are more strongly associated with depressive symptoms for men than for women. Study three examines daily stressors, daily spiritual experiences, depressive symptoms, and flourishing. The findings indicate robust direct associations between stressors, spiritual experiences, and the two measures of mental well-being, as well as substantial support for the moderating role of daily spiritual experiences on the relationships between stressful life events and well-being. This examination reveals that not only do higher average (trait) scores of spiritual experience associate with increased well-being, but that higher momentary (state) scores of spiritual experience are related to increased well-being above and beyond trait level.Item Cross-national analysis of the association between subjective social status and health.(2017-07-26) Kang, Su Jin, 1985-; Bradshaw, Matt.Socioeconomic discrepancies and their associations with health have been a persistent issue in the sociology of health and illness across the globe. Throughout the extensive research effort, subjective social status (SSS) has emerged as a relevant tool for social science and health researchers to investigate socioeconomic disparities in health. Despite the increasing evidences of a significant relationship between SSS and health, most of the findings have been drawn from Western countries. We have little knowledge about how SSS could be associated with health and illness in other countries like Asia and possible explanations of a different social and cultural context. Drawing on cross-national multiple data sets at the individual levels, the three national analyses in this project demonstrate the influence of SSS on a wide range of physical and mental health outcomes of mid and later life adult populations in South Korea, the United States, and a metropolitan area in Japan. The findings for each study are discussed. This study concludes with implications for policy and suggestions for future research.Item Ontological certainty and psychological distress : the role of religious beliefs.(2017-10-27) Henderson, William Matthew, 1980-; Bradshaw, Matt.Despite prominent criticisms, scholars generally agree that religious participation conveys important potential psychosocial benefits which contribute to well-being and protect against the deleterious nature of stress. However, the sociology of religion has been reticent investigating the unique impact that adherence to religious beliefs poses to mental health, despite calls for more research in this area. Meanwhile, social theorists have long posited that ontological uncertainty, i.e. doubts about the nature of God, the afterlife, etc., poses a real threat to well-being and a small subset of research findings suggest that committed irreligiosity may provide similar benefits as committed religiosity. This dissertation tests the general proposition that adherence to ontological beliefs shares a non-linear relationship with psychological distress, and that uncertain views about the nature of reality is associated with higher levels of distress. I test this proposition in three studies, each relying on the 2012 Baylor Religion Survey, a national a nationally random survey of U.S. adults (N = 1,710). Study one uses Ordinary Least Squares regression models to predict non-linear relationships between psychological distress and images of God. Study two investigates the effect of divine relationship uncertainty using Ordinary Least Squares regression models to predict non-linear relationships between psychological distress and insecure/secure attachment to God, non-linear relationships between insecure/secure attachment to God and anxious attachment to God, and deleterious linear relationships between psychological distress and anxious attachment to God. Study three uses Ordinary Least Squares regression models to predict non-linear relationships between psychological distress and adherence to afterlife beliefs. Results reveal a consistent pattern: those who exhibit greater certainty regarding ontological matters are predicted to report lower levels of general distress and lower levels of psychiatric symptoms. Those who exhibit less certainty regarding ontological matters are predicted to report the highest levels of general and psychological distress. In the conclusion, I summarize and discuss study findings in relation to existing religion and mental health literature. Theoretical, methodological and practical applications are also discussed.Item Positive, negative, and ambivalent attitudes toward one's spouse : longitudinal associations with health and well-being.(2019-04-23) Liu, Yingling, 1986-; Bradshaw, Matt.Incompatible feelings are inevitable in social relationships, and individuals can simultaneously hold both positive and negative attitudes toward others. This finding has led to the emergence of research on the causes and consequences of ambivalent attitudes toward others. Considerable research has examined the association between ambivalent attitudes and health in intergenerational relationships, yet little work focused specifically on spousal relations. Findings from an analysis of two waves of data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project showed that positive attitudes toward one’s spouse were associated with increases in self-rated health and happiness over time, while negative attitudes were associated with increases in depressive symptoms and declines in happiness. In addition, ambivalent attitudes toward one’s spouse were associated with increases in depressive symptoms and decreases in both happiness and self-rated health across the two waves of data. Frequency of sexual activity explained some, but not all, of these associations.Item Religious and spiritual struggles and health changes : consequences of the dark side of religion.(2016-08-01) Prine, Alexander B., 1988-; Bradshaw, Matt.The purpose of this work is to examine the relationships between religious and spiritual struggles (r/s struggles) and health. There is research that finds r/s struggles are associated with a variety of health outcomes; however, this work has not examined changes in health over time. I examine the relationship between r/s struggles and health using improved methods by exploring the association longitudinally. Ultimately, longitudinal association provides greater justification for causation between r/s struggles and health. Ordered Logistic regression techniques were implemented to examine the relationship health and r/s struggles. To test my hypotheses, the Portraits of American Life Survey (PALS) dataset is analyzed (N=1314). Results show a modest relationship between self-rated health and r/s struggles, a strong relationship between depression and r/s struggles, and a strong relationship between purpose and r/s struggles. This work provides a greater understanding to factors influencing health, and stronger support for religion as a potential cause of health.