Belonging to a tribe or American Indian Indigenous group in the United States, even if one has already been enrolled or accepted into the community, is a lifelong endeavor. Belonging may be achieved by meeting specific criteria during one life stage yet one must continue to behave and act in ways that align with community expectations to maintain a sense of belonging throughout all life stages. This descriptive qualitative case study presents the findings of in-depth interviews, with five individual tribal members, two male and three female participants, ranging in age from 25 to 55, who are college graduates and tribal members. The study aimed to understand the different forms and ideas of belonging for tribal members, how the notion of belonging is understood and achieved over the life course, and how phenotypic arguments, blood quantum, the role of schooling and demonstration of tribal knowledge influences the extent to which belonging is earned and how that can change over time. The study sought to answer the following questions: How do tribal members define “belonging”? How and in what ways do tribal members learn how to become members of the community? And, what can tribal communities and tribal members do to foster a sense of belonging for members who have left to obtain professional or academic training and seek to return to serve the nation?

The study focused on participants the Gila River Indian Community, a tribal community in southwest Arizona with approximately 23,000 enrolled members, who completed a higher education degree and sought to return to serve as professionals and/or leaders at their tribal nation. Interviews were conducted off-reservation in the Phoenix metropolitan area within a 30-day window and held during the month of September



2015. Interviews were analyzed using three iterative levels of content analysis. Findings suggest there can be three methods of belonging within Gila River: belonging by cultural practices, belonging by legal definition, and belonging by both cultural and legal definition. However, the three methods of belonging do not automatically equate to being accepted by other tribal members.

The field of developmental psychology often underrepresents Latinx individuals within their corpus of published scholarship. In the area of lifespan identity development this is particularly evident from the scarcity of Latinx life story narratives. In addition, Latinx family parenting styles is an underdeveloped area of scholarship. At the same time, a robust literature base demonstrates that for youth from non-dominant culture families, ethnic racial identity increases measures of adaptive well-being and academic achievement. Because academic achievement for Latinx students does not proportionately reach levels of educational success as compared to whites, research investigating foundations of ethnic racial identity within Latinx families is warranted. This investigation extends parenting style literature within the field of developmental psychology by exploring inter-generational practices of Latinx families. Participants within this study include mothers of Mexican descent who have earned at least one Master's degree, a level of high academic achievement attained by only 10 percent of adults within the U.S. Each Latina mother, ranging in age from 36 to 63 years, participated in two or more semi-structured interviews. Protocols were based on McAdams's life story interview; McAdams's life story narrative analysis, based upon Erikson's lifespan theory of identity development, provided a model of analysis. In addition, transcripts of participant interviews, totaling more than twelve hours, were analyzed according to themes of parenting styles and family socialization practices. Familial ethnic socialization was embedded within routines and practices of mothers' families of orientation. Mothers employed a concerted cultivation parenting style within their families of procreation. In alignment with McAdams's framework, mothers narrated life stories in a redemptive manner. In other words, a negative life event was conveyed as having a positive outcome. Implications from my study inform scholars and can offer usable information for parent and teacher education by means of contextualized family activities and parental practices gleaned from participants' life story narratives.

The purpose of this research is to examine rape and sexual assault as discussed in the literature including by not limited to the evolution of definitions pertaining to rape and sexual assault; the role of law-enforcement in re-victimization of victims through aggressive questioning tactics; the perpetuation of victim-blame as a consequence of internal guilt and external sources; and to extrapolate conditions surrounding the occurrence of rape and sexual assault. The methodology for this research is as follows: a literature review which was accomplished by searching for research and literature pertaining to sexual assault \u2014 particularly research pertaining to involvement of law-enforcement in sexual assault and rape cases, victim-blame, both internal and external, and attempting to uncover a universally accepted definition for rape; a testimonial: n=1 case study, written in the form of a narrative; and, an analysis synthesizing the literature review and testimonial. This analysis seeks to answer "what aspects of the literature does the testimonial support and which does it dispute?"; "what conditions of rape and sexual assault does it suggest, that may have yet to be identified or fully discussed and understood?" Furthermore, it strives to discuss the benefits of including a victim story, in its entirety, as told by the victim without any editing or censoring done by the researcher. The concluded findings for this research suggest that literature and research pertaining to sexual assault is quite vast, however the topics being researched are the same year after year. There is little headway being made to understand the conditions surrounding rape and sexual assault, characteristics of the victim and the perpetrator, and making efforts to move away from false perceptions of what must happen during rape for a victim to be classified a victim. Moreover, the findings conclude that there are few first-hand narratives of sexual assault and rape experiences. Researchers include snippets of a victim's words, but only those words that corroborate the findings the researcher is hoping to prove and solidify. By including the victim's story in its entirety, we are allowing for further exploration and understanding of why rape and sexual continue to frequently occur.

The primary objective of this study was to develop the Perceived Control of the Attribution Process Scale (PCAPS), a measure of metacognitive beliefs of causality, or a perceived control of the attribution process. The PCAPS included two subscales: perceived control of attributions (PCA), and awareness of the motivational consequences of attributions (AMC). Study 1 (a pilot study) generated scale items, explored suitable measurement formats, and provided initial evidence for the validity of an event-specific version of the scale. Study 2 achieved several outcomes; Study 2a provided strong evidence for the validity and reliability of the PCA and AMC subscales, and showed that they represent separate constructs. Study 2b demonstrated the predictive validity of the scale and provided support for the perceived control of the attribution process model. This study revealed that those who adopt these beliefs are significantly more likely to experience autonomy and well-being. Study 2c revealed that these constructs are influenced by context, yet they lead to adaptive outcomes regardless of this contextual-specificity. These findings suggest that there are individual differences in metacognitive beliefs of causality and that these differences have measurable motivational implications.

Human experience exists within space; it is the studio for the stories of our lives. Bounded by time, location and personal experience we assign our own meanings and feelings to them, and they become personal, symbolic places: some are unique to us, imagined places where we act out stories or dreams; most are part of the natural world.

Most spaces, though, are built or controlled by others; these constructed environments can become places where we may, or may not, like to be.

This research examined spaces and places of children's lives through the material worlds of their neighborhoods and schools, focusing on the visible environment outside of the school building. The intersection of school and community, it is a material embodiment of, and evidence toward, how a community's resources are apportioned to

important aspects of children's developmental years. These visible representations speak of that society's values and goals for the children for whom they (we) are responsible.

This examination used multiple research tools, primarily using visual approaches such as current photographs, archival images and data, descriptive census materials and maps. Historical documents, (many of which are now digitized), as well as other academic literature, local journalistic efforts and school district publications added important materials for analysis.

Findings lead to deeper understanding of ways that visible, material worlds of schools and neighborhoods -- past and present - can reflect, and direct the experiences of childhood today, and often mirror those of children past. These visual and narrative approaches contributed to understanding the importance of material evidence in revealing

inequity and class differences in ways that children, then, must &ldquodo school &rdquo

ABSTRACT The present study examined the relationship between the experience of trauma during childhood (ages birth -12 years) and life satisfaction in adulthood (ages of 30-45) in a sample of convenience consisting of eight (8) adults, six (6) women and two (2) men, who volunteered to participate in this qualitative study, and self-identified as having experienced trauma between birth and age 12 years. Participants were asked to describe the trauma(s) they experienced in childhood and to discuss their thoughts and feelings about present circumstances in their lives, and how their lives have been impacted by the trauma they experienced. Data were collected via in-person interviews that were audio-taped and transcribed. The data were analyzed using a process of thematic coding. Nine (9) emotional themes were identified: aggression, anger, fear, frustration, helplessness, insecurity, irritability, loneliness and sadness. Participants reported a variety of traumas experienced, and their responses to difficult experiences were varied. Participants reported being impacted differently in eight domains of life that were examined in the study: mood related problems, self-care, social support, primary partner relationship, career, decision to have children, parenting and adult life satisfaction. All participants stated they had been impacted by early life trauma, and all stated that early-experienced trauma(s) had an impact on their life satisfaction in adulthood. Inter-coder reliability for emotional thematic codes and domains of life impacted by early trauma was .82.

The purpose of this study is to explore the lived experiences of African American women in pursuit of doctoral degrees in the southwest, their challenges and motivations, and plans for the their next chapter. Drawing from critical race theory and a sociocultural framework, this qualitative study uses Dan McAdams' Life Story Interview (McAdams, 2005) to explore the journeys of these high achieving minority women and how achievement is conceptualized in their stories. Particular emphasis is placed on their critical events, challenges, and alternative futures. Seven separate themes (parental support and advocacy in early education, improved experiences among other African American students, perseverance through struggles/experiences led to purpose, poor department support, family support, impact of spirituality, and relocation and desire to give back) emerged that address three main research questions. Implications for findings and suggestions for future research are offered.

ABSTRACT The major hypothesis tested in this research is that the psychological well-being and life satisfaction of elderly adult individuals can be predicted from religiosity (organizational and non-organizational religious beliefs and behaviors). The sample consisted of 142 adults between the ages of 65-90, with the majority in the 65-70 age group (48%) (SD = 1.176). The entire sample resides in the state of Arizona, in both urban and rural communities. Participants were administered a questionnaire which requested demographic information, and three instruments: the Duke University Religion Index (the DUREL), and the Affect Balance Scale and the Life Satisfaction Index - Z (LSIZ). Correlational and Multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relation between these adults' psychological well-being, life satisfaction and their religiosity. Independent t-tests were also used to examine possible sex, ethnic and religiosity effects on psychological well-being and life satisfaction. Findings revealed that psychological well-being and life satisfaction are higher when religiosity is higher, regardless of sex or ethnicity. These findings are consistent with those of previous research in this field.

In the past two decades, the population of so-called "foreign brides" in Taiwan has increased significantly. "Foreign brides" are female immigrants from Southeast Asian countries who have married Taiwanese men through marriage brokers. The term "new immigrant women" is used in this study to describe this particular group of women because it is a self-identified, less derogatory term. New immigrant women's families are at significant disadvantages with their low social class, the commodified nature of marriage, and societal discrimination against them. Guided by a feminist epistemology and grounded in family studies and eco-cultural theories, this study explores this particular group of immigrant women's educational beliefs, practices, and agency manifested through their motherhood. The following research questions guide this study: 1) How do new immigrant women experience their motherhood? 2) How do new immigrant women conceptualize and contextualize their mothering experiences? 3) How is agency developed and displayed in new immigrant women's mothering practices? How does agency influence new immigrant women's mothering practices? 4) What are new immigrant women's mothering beliefs and practices? 5) What are the specific practices related to children's schoolwork in which new immigrant women are engaged? 6) What are the implications of new immigrant women's perspectives on motherhood for their education, including adult education and parenting education? Twenty-five immigrant women originally from various Southeast Asian countries who had at least one child participated in the study. They were interviewed at least two times and the interview duration ranged from one hour to four hours. All interviews were audio recorded and conducted in Mandarin Chinese, Holo Taiwanese, and English by the researcher. Constructionist grounded theory was utilized to analyze data. The findings suggest that new immigrant women's educational beliefs, practices, and agency are strongly influenced by interaction between their original cultural background, social class, family-in-law, and the ecology of the community in which they are situated. New immigrant women demonstrated dynamic mothering practices and developed agency from their mother role. The results can help policy makers to refine a framework to develop educational programs for these parents that are effective and more supportive of their children's development.

The associations among teacher-student relationships (e.g., close, conflictual, and dependent), peer victimization, internalizing (e.g., sadness, loneliness, and anxiety), and school attitudes (e.g., avoidance, liking) were investigated in a sample of 153 (76 boys and 77 girls) racially diverse (42% Latino and 46% White) third grade students and their teachers (N = 30: 15 T1; 15 T2). Specifically, a two year longitudinal design was used in which data were gathered using self and teacher questionnaires which were administered during the spring of third grade and then a year later when children were in fourth grade. Findings showed that conflictual and overly dependent teacher-student relationships were positively correlated with peer victimization; however, closeness as a quality of teacher-student relationships was not associated with peer victimization, internalizing, school liking, or school avoidance. Support for the hypothesis that teacher-student relationships moderated the relations between peer victimization and internalizing was mixed. Specifically, conflictual teacher-student relationships were found to exacerbate the effects of victimization on internalizing problems whereas no such relationships were found for close or dependent relationships. Taken together, findings from this study offer further evidence that the relationships students form with their teachers, especially conflictual and overly dependent teacher-student relationships, contribute to their psychological development, and may be especially influential for children who are victimized by classmates.